HomeSearchCollectionsJournalsAboutContactusMyIOPscienceAnovelplasmasourceforsterilizationoflivingtissuesThisarticlehasbeendownloadedfromIOPscience.Pleasescrolldowntoseethefulltextarticle.2009NewJ.Phys.11115014(http://iopscience.iop.org/1367-2630/11/11/115014)Viewthetableofcontentsforthisissue,orgotothejournalhomepageformoreDownloaddetails:IPAddress:144.214.6.143Thearticlewasdownloadedon13/12/2011at08:18Pleasenotethattermsandconditionsapply.NewJournalofPhysicsTheopen–accessjournalforphysicsAnovelplasmasourceforsterilizationoflivingtissuesEMartines1,MZuin1,RCavazzana1,EGazza1,GSerianni1,SSpagnolo1,MSpolaore1,ALeonardi2,VDeligianni2,PBrun3,MAragona3,ICastagliuolo4andPBrun41ConsorzioRFX,AssociazioneEuratom-ENEAsullaFusione,Padova,Italy2DepartmentofNeuroscience,OphthalmologyUnit,UniversityofPadova,Italy3DepartmentofHistology,MicrobiologyandMedicalBiotechnology,HistologyUnit,UniversityofPadova,Italy4DepartmentofHistology,MicrobiologyandMedicalBiotechnology,MicrobiologyUnit,UniversityofPadova,ItalyE-mail:emilio.martines@igi.cnr.itNewJournalofPhysics11(2009)115014(8pp)Received8April2009Published26November2009Onlineathttp://www.njp.org/doi:10.1088/1367-2630/11/11/115014Abstract.Asourcefortheproductionoflow-powerplasmasatatmosphericpressure,tobeusedforthenondamagingsterilizationoflivingtissues,ispresented.Thesource,poweredbyradiofrequencyandworkingwithaheliumflow,hasaspecificconfiguration,studiedtopreventtheformationofelectricarcsdangeroustolivingmatter.Itiscapableofkillingdifferenttypesofbacteriawithadecimalreductiontimeof1–2min;onthecontrary,humancellssuchasconjunctivalfibroblastswerefoundtobealmostunharmedbytheplasma.AhighconcentrationofOHradicals,likelytobetheoriginofthesterilizingeffect,isdetectedthroughtheirUVemissionlines.TheeffectoftheUVandtheOHradicalsonthefibroblastswasanalysedandnosignificanteffectsweredetected.Nonthermal,low-temperatureplasmas,havingpopulationsofhigh-temperatureelectronsandionsatornearroomtemperature