Evaluating the sterilization effect of cold plasma generated by using oxygen and mixture of oxygen and argon

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus can harboured on denture surfaces which are quite resistant to antibiotic treatment and disinfecting methods. This bacterium is able to cause wide range of infections including systemic infections such as aspiration pneumonia. Currently, the cold-plasma generated by using Argon can be used as an excellent sterilization method for denture treatment; however, it is relatively costly. This study aimed to evaluate the sterilization effect of cold plasma generated by using Oxygen and the mixture of Oxygen and Argon on S. aureus coated- dentures. The effect was assessed for these types of cold plasmaunder time and voltage parameters. The viability of cells on dentures after treating with these types of cold-plasma was checked by the standard plating method. Our results showed that the coated dentures with S. aureus were sterilized completely at 130 seconds by cold plasma generated by using 5L/min Oxygen at the parameters of 110V and 1A. The sterilization efficiency of cold-plasma was influenced not only by the time of treatment but also by the applied voltage. In general, at 200V, the S. aureus - coated denture was sterilized in 15 seconds.The cold plasma generated by using Oxygen is a promising sterilization methodwith lower cost than using Argon but still retains high efficiency and much less time- consuming and subject- interfering than other sterilization methods. Key words: Cold-plasma, efficiency of sterilization, dentures, Staphylococcus aureus, Oxygen.