An Engineered Robotic Plasma Array for Large Area Surface Decontamination

项目摘要/摘要 被冠状病毒如SARS-CoV-2和其他致病病毒和细菌污染的表面构成重大风险 在医疗机构中传播疾病。这增加了医院工作人员不断清洁表面的人力成本 用消毒剂来减缓疾病的传播。感染宿主可以将SARS-CoV-2和其他沉积在 固体表面，并将疾病传播给新的宿主。这种持续的传播以冠状病毒为例，因为它们可以 在表面上持续数小时或数天，并通过偶尔的身体接触保持传染性。在细菌病原体中， 已知耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌(MRSA)和艰难梭菌(CDIF等)会传播 通过接触被受感染宿主释放的细胞或孢子污染的表面。当物理或化学表面 局部防腐剂和空气过滤等治疗方法可以减少传播，但这些治疗方法并不总是实用的。 或与处理过的表面的物理或化学组成兼容。这些治疗也消耗了大量的 手套、湿巾、消毒剂和时间。一种既能减少材料消耗又能兼容的方法 与周围人一起使用，是医院和其他临床环境所必需的。冷大气压等离子体(CAP)具有 人们对其灭活表面细菌病原体的能力进行了研究，但很少检测其抗病毒效果。此外， 在医疗设施中发现的大面积表面积的处理尚未确定明确的实施路径。这 拟议的研究提供了一种工程驱动的方法，将CAP系统从实验室环境过渡到更多 在医疗环境中的现实应用。该方法得到了特定目标1的支持：构造 展示冠状病毒和其他微生物病原体表面污染物的快速灭活，并通过特定的 目标2：将CAP阵列完全集成到机器人系统中，并展示快速灭活冠状病毒和 大面积和各种表面上的其他病原体。该项目将开发一个大型CAP阵列(10厘米×10厘米) 部署在半自动机器人系统上，以实现大面积表面的快速、经济高效的等离子处理， 不需要化学品，对人员的风险很小。CAP-阵列将在各种现实世界中进行测试 相关表面，如油毡瓷砖、油漆石膏板和福尔米卡桌面，用于灭活病毒，如 人和动物冠状病毒(H229E，MHV)，提供了对抗SARS-CoV-2和抗SARS-CoV-2和抗SARS-CoV-2的良好模型 具有代表性的细菌病原体，如MRSA。本提案的目的是(1)证明履约协助方案-- 阵列治疗可导致100cm2范围内S体内病原体活力下降3对数，而不进行扫描和 然后(2)论证了CAP-阵列-机器人系统可以应用于处理125 S医院2500平方厘米的地面和 使病原体活性降低3个对数。一批工程和生物科学毕业生和 本科生将开发和测试CAP阵列，准备病毒和细菌病原体样本，并测量 等离子体处理后病原菌的存活情况。该项目的成功将带来机器人消毒的新范例 在医疗保健和其他环境中用于表面去污的设备。

Project Summary/Abstract Surface contamination by Coronaviruses like SARS-CoV-2, and other pathogenic viruses and bacteria pose significant risks for the spread of disease in medical facilities. This increases hospital labor costs for staff to constantly clean surfaces with disinfectants to slow the spread of disease. Infectious hosts can shed SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens that deposit on solid surfaces and transmit disease to new hosts. This persistent transmission is exemplified by Coronaviruses, as they can persist on surfaces for hours or days and remain infectious through casual physical contact. Among bacterial pathogens, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium difficile (CDif, and many others) are known to spread through contact with surfaces contaminated by cells or spores shed from infected hosts. While physical or chemical surface treatments, such as topical antiseptics and air-filtration, can mitigate transmission, these treatments are not always practical or compatible with the physical or chemical makeup of the treated surface. These treatments also consume vast quantities of gloves, wipes, disinfectant chemicals, and time. An approach that reduces material consumption, while still compatible with use around people, is required for hospitals and other clinical settings. Cold atmospheric-pressure plasma (CAP) has been studied for its ability to inactivate bacterial pathogens on surfaces, but seldom examined for anti-viral effects. Further, a clear implementation path for the treatment of large surface areas found in medical facilities has yet to be established. This proposed research provides an engineering driven approach to transition CAP systems from laboratory settings to more realistic applications in medical environments. The approach is supported by Specific Aim 1: Construct CAP-Arrays that demonstrate rapid inactivation of Coronavirus and other microbial pathogen surface contaminants, and by Specific Aim 2: Fully integrate a CAP-Array into a robotic system and demonstrate rapid inactivation of Coronavirus and other pathogens over large areas and varieties of surfaces. This project will develop a large CAP-Array (10 cm x 10 cm) deployed on a semiautonomous robotic system to enable rapid, cost-effective plasma treatment of large surface areas, without the need for chemicals and with little risk to personnel. The CAP-Array will be tested on a variety of real-world relevant surfaces, such as linoleum tile, painted drywall, and formica tabletops, for its ability to inactivate viruses such as human and animal Coronaviruses (H229E, MHV) that provide good models for activity against SARS-CoV-2, and against representative bacterial pathogens such as MRSA. The objectives of this proposal are to (1) demonstrate that CAP- Array treatment can cause a 3-log reduction in pathogen viability in <5 s over a 100 cm2 area without scanning and then (2) demonstrate that the CAP-Array-Robot system can be deployed to treat a 2500 cm2 surface in <125 s and cause a 3-log reduction in pathogen viability. A workforce of engineering and biological science graduate and undergraduate students will develop and test the CAP-Arrays, prepare viral and bacterial pathogen samples, and measure pathogen viability after plasma treatment. The success of this project will lead to a new paradigm for robotic sanitizing equipment useful in decontaminating surfaces in healthcare and other settings.