Cold Plasma Sterilization of Open Wounds: Live Rat Model

Atmospheric pressure non-equilibrium (cold) plasmas are already known to be effective sterilization agents. This work further confirms the ability of cold plasma to inactivate pathogenic organisms in a live animal model. The rat wound model used here represents a surgical treatment situation whereby the wound is open and the bleeding is controlled. High concentration of Staphylococcus aureus is placed onto the wound area and allowed to incubate for four hours prior to cold plasma treatment. We show a 3-log reduction in pathogen load on the wound following a one minute treatment.