AAAR 32nd Annual Conference
September 30 - October 4, 2013
Oregon Convention Center
Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Rapid Viral Aerosol Inactivation Using Atmospheric Cold Plasma
Yan Wu, Yongdong Liang, MAOSHENG YAO, Jue Zhang, Peking University
Abstract Number: 629 Working Group: Homeland Security
Abstract Effective control of airborne viruses is of vital importance to public health. Here, we investigated the use of atmospheric cold plasma in inactivating airborne viral aerosols. MS2 viruses were aerosolized into the exposure chamber where they were exposed to the produced plasma using different energy (20, 24, and 28 Watt) and carrier gas (air, Ar+O2 and He+O2) for less than 1 second. Similar experiments with extended exposure (up to 3 min) were performed with water-borne MS2 viruses. The contents of the plasma were analyzed using optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and the exposed viruses were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
The results revealed that the inactivation of airborne MS2 viruses depended on the plasma generation energy, carrier gas type and exposure time. The inactivation rate was shown up to more than 95% when exposed to the plasma at an energy level of 28 W regardless of carrier gas, and decreased with reduced generation energy. Water-borne virus exposure revealed that the inactivation also depended on exposure time. OES analysis indicated that use of higher generation energy resulted in higher emission level of reactive oxygen species for specific carrier gas. SEM images also revealed that after exposure to the plasma the viral envelope was ruptured. In addition, relevant genes which regulate A protein, capsule protein, lysis protein and replication protein, suffered different degrees of damages when exposed to different level of generation energy. This study provides important information for developing high efficient virus decontamination technology using atmospheric cold plasma.
Key words: MS viruses, Cold Plasma, Carrier gas, Viral protein