Impact of Microwave Plasma Torch on the Yeast <i>Candida glabrata</i>

Abstract

Recently, various cold plasma sources have been tested for their bactericidal and fungicidal effects with respect to their application in medicine and agriculture. The purpose of this work is to study the effects of a 2.45 GHz microwave generated plasma torch on a model yeast example Candida glabrata. The microwave plasma was generated by a surfatron resonator, and pure argon at a constant flow rate of 5 Slm was used as a working gas. Thanks to a high number of active particles generated in low-temperature plasma, this type of plasma has become highly popular, especially thanks to its bactericidal effects. However, its antimycotic effects and mechanisms of fungal inactivation are still not fully understood. Therefore, this study focuses on the antifungal effects of the microwave discharge on Candida glabrata. The main focus is on the measurement and evaluation of changes in inactivation effects caused by varying initial concentration of Candida glabrata cells, applied microwave power and exposure time. The discharge was applied on freshly inoculated colonies of Candida glabrata spread on the agar plates and its inhibitory effects were observed in the form of inhibition zones formed after the subsequent cultivation.

Keywords

• microwave discharge
• surface wave sustained discharge
• atmospheric pressure plasma torch
• low-temperature plasma
• plasma sterilization
• yeast inactivation