The influence of Argon, Oxygen, and Air plasma jet on Escherichia coli inactivation

In this research, the study of a plasma jet efficacy in inactivating microorganisms at atmospheric pressure was investigated by conducting plasma treatments with the presence of Argon(Ar), Oxygen(O
₂
), and Air under 3 conditions 1.)1.5 LPM of Ar gas 2.)1.5:0.2 LPM of Ar-O
₂
mixed gas 3.) 1.5:0.2 LPM of Ar-Air mixed gas. These conditions were used to inactivate a cultivated trial of Escherichia coli (E. coli). During the experiment, a 30 Watt High Voltage AC Power Supply was used to generate plasma. The plasma jet model was set perpendicular to the petri dish containing the cultivated bacteria, with a 1cm distance between the end of the glass tube and the dish. E. coli was treated with plasma for 5 minutes under all 3 conditions. It was discovered that the condition that used Ar flow at a gas flow rate of 1.5 LPM and Air flow at a flow rate of 0.2 LPM is the most effective in inactivating the bacterium, the extent of inactivation was measured by the amount of clearance area, which is equal to 3.31 cm
²
.