Alternative to antibiotics: Plasmas attack bacterial cells on several levels
Tuesday, October 1, 2013 - 12:00
in Biology & Nature
As they destroy bacteria very efficiently, plasmas constitute an alternative to chemical disinfectants and potentially to antibiotics, as well. How they achieve this effect has been investigated by biologists, plasma physicists and chemists at the Ruhr-Universität (RUB). Cold atmospheric-pressure plasmas attack the prokaryote's cell envelope, proteins and DNA.