Effects of low-temperature plasmas on bio-macromolecules and vegetative cells - and bacterial defenses

越来越多的人在医疗领域研究低温非平衡等离子体，其应用范围从医疗设备的消毒到严重伤口感染的探索性治疗。我们对低压和常压等离子反应堆的灭菌和去污性能进行了表征。我们研究了等离子体和等离子体产生的光子和粒子导致细菌失活的机制，发现细菌失活与对氧化敏感的基本酶的失活具有时间相关性。利用我们的合作者J.Benedikt开发和提供的独特的等离子体源装置，我们将研究等离子体离子在干燥环境和水溶液中对繁殖体细菌细胞和生物大分子的破坏作用。为此，我们将采用在第一个资助期建立的方法，包括生存测试、蛋白质折叠和活性分析以及质谱仪。我们将进一步研究血浆对慢性伤口常见细菌病原体的诱变作用。我们鉴定了氧化还原调节的伴侣蛋白Hsp33是一种被等离子体处理激活的细菌应激蛋白。我们将表征其被等离子体激活的机制，并研究该蛋白和其他应激反应蛋白是否能够保护细菌细胞免受等离子体的破坏。

Increasingly, low temperature non-equilibrium plasmas are being investigated in the medical sector with applications ranging from sterilization of medical equipment to exploratory treatment of serious wound infections. We characterize low-pressure and atmospheric-pressure plasma reactors with regards to their sterilization and decontamination properties. We investigated the mechanisms underlying bacterial inactivation by plasma and plasma generated photons and particles and found that bacterial inactivation is time-correlated with the inactivation of essential enzymes sensitive to oxidation.Employing a unique plasma source set-up developed and provided by our collaborator J. Benedikt, we will investigate the damaging effects of plasma ions on vegetative bacterial cells and bio-macromolecules in dry environments and in aqueous solution. To this end we will employ methods established during the first funding period including survival tests, protein fold and activity assays, and mass spectrometry. We will further study mutagenic effects of plasma in bacterial pathogens commonly found in chronic wounds. We identified the redox-regulated chaperon Hsp33 as a bacterial stress protein activated by plasma treatment. We will characterize the mechanism underlying its activation by plasma and investigate if this protein and other stress response proteins are capable of protecting bacterial cells from the damaging effects of plasma.