title: Disinfection of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilms using a remote non-thermal gas plasma.
abstract: The effective disinfection of hospital surfaces is recognised as an important factor in preventing hospital-acquired infections. The purpose of this study was to quantify the disinfection rate of a novel gas plasma system on clinically relevant biofilms. Clinical isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis and meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were grown as biofilms on glass surfaces and tested in a disinfection container remote from the plasma source. The strains used in this study were known to produce substantial quantities of biofilm and average log₁₀ counts were 9.0 and 9.1 cfu/cm(2) for S. epidermidis and MRSA respectively. Counts were reduced by between 4 and 4.5 log₁₀ after 1h of exposure for MRSA and S. epidermidis respectively. More prolonged treatment in the case of MRSA biofilms resulted in a 5.5 log₁₀ reduction after 90 min. Biofilm samples were also placed in medical device packaging bags and similar rates of disinfection were observed.
authors: UCD School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering, Centre for Synthesis and Chemical Biology, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors: J J
authors: JJ
authors: Cotter
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Maguire
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Soberon
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Daniels
authors: J P
authors: JP
authors: O'Gara
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Casey