Surface Decontamination by Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma

Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), a source of non-thermal plasma, is used in surface decontamination. To study the effect of DBD plasma treatment, we evaluated the effect of plasma exposure time on inactivation of Bacillus subtilis. Applying the DBD plasma to the culture of B. subtilis caused complete sterilization of the surface without any thermal effects. In addition, the inactivated colony-forming units increased as the exposure time rises. Considering the low temperature and non-destructive features of this method, it seems that this method is applicable for fast sterilization of resistant bacteria and hospital sensitive instruments.