TITLE:
Inhibition of Biofilms by Non-Thermal Plasma Treated Novel Solutions
AUTHORS:
Utku K. Ercan, Siddharth S. Joshi, Adam Yost, Natalie Gogotsi, Sean O’Toole, Michelle Paff, Eric Melchior, Suresh G. Joshi
KEYWORDS:
Acinetobacter baumannii, Antibacterial Solution, Antibiofilm Agent, Biofilm, MRSA, Nonthermal Plasma
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Microbiology,
Vol.4 No.16,
December
15,
2014
ABSTRACT: Biofilms act as a reservoir of infection,
and periodically release cells in vicinity that are capable of developing new
biofilm colonies and disseminate infection. Many chronic bacterial infections
are serious that are associated with biofilms and have high morbidity and
mortality, partly due to their higher resistance to antimicrobial agents, and
partly due to lack of strong biocides which can efficiently treat and inhibit
biofilm formation. We recently demonstrated that nonequilibrium non-thermal
dielectric-barrier discharge plasma (Plasma) can also be applied to control
pathogens via applying treated-liquids, and these liquids acquire
broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties. In present studies we demonstrated a
range of plasma-activated simple chemical solutions which significantly
inhibited biofilm formation by multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens.
Plasma-activated methionine solution exhibited strong inhibitory activity
against the biofilms of car-bapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii,
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, metal-lo-β-lactamase
(NDM1)-positive Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Enterococcus faecalis, and prevented
the formation of biofilms by about 70% as compared to untreated controls in
single exposure. In addition to inhibition of biofilm formation, a complete
inactivation of biofilm-embedded bacterial cells was observed in less than 30
minute’s exposure to candidate plasma-activated methionine solution. These
findings suggest that plasma-activated solutions have a potential to prevent
biofilm formation, and as biofilm inhibitor.