Treatment of enterococcus faecalis bacteria by a helium atmospheric cold plasma brush with oxygen addition

An atmospheric cold plasma brush suitable for large area and low-temperature plasma-based sterilization is designed. Results demonstrate that the He/O-2 plasma more effectively kills Enterococcus faecalis than the pure He plasma. In addition, the sterilization efficiency values of the He/O-2 plasma depend on the oxygen fraction in Helium gas. The atmospheric cold plasma brush using a proper ratio of He/O-2 (2.5%) reaches the optimum sterilization efficiency. After plasma treatment, the cell structure and morphology changes can be observed by the scanning electron microscopy. Optical emission measurements indicate that reactive species such as O and OH play a significant role in the sterilization process. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4732135]