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Antibiotic-Resistant and Non-Resistant Bacteria Display Similar Susceptibility to Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma

Akikazu Sakudo1,2, Tatsuya Misawa3

  • 1School of Veterinary Medicine, Okayama University of Science, Imabari, Ehime 794-8555, Japan.

International Journal of Molecular Sciences
|September 4, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Plasma treatment effectively reduces bacterial viability, including antibiotic-resistant strains. This study found no differential effect, suggesting plasma can eliminate difficult-to-treat bacteria.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Plasma Physics
  • Biotechnology

Background:

  • Antibiotic resistance poses a significant global health threat, necessitating novel sterilization methods.
  • Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma is an emerging technology with potential antimicrobial applications.
  • Understanding plasma's efficacy against antibiotic-resistant bacteria is crucial for its clinical translation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the differential susceptibility of antibiotic-resistant and non-resistant bacteria to plasma treatment.
  • To assess the impact of plasma on bacterial viability, enzyme activity, and cellular integrity.
  • To evaluate the potential of plasma as a method for eliminating antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Main Methods:

  • Transformation of *Escherichia coli* with a plasmid encoding antibiotic resistance genes.
  • Treatment of bacterial cultures with a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma torch.
  • Quantification of viable cell counts, enzyme activity (acetyltransferase), lipopolysaccharide loss, and DNA damage.

Main Results:

  • Plasma treatment significantly reduced viable cell counts of *E. coli*.
  • No significant difference in viability was observed between antibiotic-resistant and non-resistant strains after plasma exposure.
  • Plasma treatment reduced chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) activity and caused lipopolysaccharide loss and DNA damage.

Conclusions:

  • Plasma treatment degrades bacterial components, leading to reduced viability.
  • Plasma does not exhibit differential efficacy against antibiotic-resistant versus non-resistant bacteria.
  • Plasma technology shows promise for eliminating bacteria resistant to conventional antibiotic therapies.
Keywords:
E. coliantibiotic resistance geneantibiotic resistant bacteriadisinfectioninactivationplasmasterilization

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