Düsseldorf 2007 – scientific programme
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P: Fachverband Plasmaphysik
P 22: Poster
P 22.24: Poster
Thursday, March 22, 2007, 16:30–18:30, Poster A
The sterilization of bacillus subtilis via chemical sputtering — Jörn Opretzka1, Jan Benedikt1, Peter Awakowicz1, •Achim von Keudell1, and Joachim Wunderlich2 — 1Center for Plasma Science and Technology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany — 2Fraunhofer Institut für Verpackunsgtechnologien, Freising
The sterilization of pathogenic bacteria by plasma discharges offers the unique benefits of short treatment times, minimal damage to the objects being sterilized and minimal use of hazardous chemicals. Plasmas produce reactive fluxes of ions, atoms and UV photons from any given precursor gas and are expected to be a viable method for the decontamination of biological warfare. Plasma sterilization is not yet widely used, because any validation is hampered by the limited knowledge about the interaction mechanisms at the interface between a plasma and a biological system. By using quantified beams of hydrogen atoms, argon ions and UV photons, the treatment of bacteria in a typical argon-hydrogen plasma is mimicked in a very controlled manner. It is shown that the simultaneous impact of atoms and low energy ions causes a perforation of the endosporic shell of bacteria. The same process occurs during plasma treatment and explains the efficient inactivation of bacteria. This fundamental etching mechanism is identical to the process of chemical sputtering which is the key plasma surface process responsible for the anisotropic etching of semiconductors in the microelectronics industry.