• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.260-260
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• 2014

Dermatophytes can invade in keratinized tissues and cause dermatophytosis [1] that rank among the most widespread and common infectious diseases world-wide. Although several systemically and topically administered drugs with activities against these fungi are available, still complete eradication of some of these infections, is difficult and relapses and remissions are often observed [2,3]. In addition, some people are allergic to many of the available drugs which add complications even more. Therefore, the search for novel, selective and more effective therapy is always required and it may help the clinicians to choose the correct treatment for their patients. Non-thermal plasmas primarily generate reactive species and recently have emerged as an efficient tool for medical applications including sterilization. In this study, we evaluated the ability of non-thermal dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma for the inactivation of clinical isolates of Trichophyton genera, Trichophyton mentagrophytes (T. mentagrophytes) and Trichophyton rubrum (T. rubrum), which cause infections of nails and skin and, are two of the most frequently isolated dermatophytes [4]. Our results showed that DBD plasma has considerable time dependent inactivation potential on both T. mentagrophytes and T. rubrum in-vitro. Furthermore, the mechanisms for plasma based T. mentagrophytes and T. rubrum inactivation and planning for in-vivo future studies will be discussed.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2015.07a
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• pp.1249-1250
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• 2015

We report a plasma-on-a-chip (POC) which provides a non-thermal atmospheric plasma for superbacteria infection treatment A three-electrode configuration allows an initiation carrier injection prior to a primary discharge, leading to a significant reduction in a breakdown voltage. A stable non-thermal argon plasma is generated using a pulsed glow discharge and inactivation of anti-biotic resistant bacteria, for example MRSA, is successfully demonstrated by exposing the bacteria to the argon plasma in a couple of minutes.

• Food Engineering Progress
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.202-207
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• 2010

Low-pressure plasmas (LPPs) were generated with different gases such as air, oxygen and nitrogen, and their inactivation effects against Escherichia coli were compared in order to evaluate the potential as a non-thermal microbial disinfection technology. Homogeneous plasmas were generated under low pressure below 1 Torr at gas flow rate of 350 mL/min regardless the types of gases. Temperature increases by LPPs were not detrimental showing less than ${10^{\circ}C}$ and ${25^{\circ}C}$ increases after 5 and 10 min treatments, respectively. The smallest temperature increase was observed with air LPP, and followed by oxygen and nitrogen LPPs. More than 5 log reduction in E. coli was achieved by 5 min LPP treatment but the destruction effect was retarded afterward. The LPP inactivation was represented by a iphasic first order reaction kinetics. The highest inactivation rate constant was achieved in air LPP and followed by oxygen and nitrogen LPPs. The small D-values of the LPP also supported its potentialities as a non-thermal food surface disinfection technology in addition to the substantial microbial reduction of more than 5 logs.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1401-1411
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• 2019

Mycobacterial cell walls comprise thick and diverse lipids and glycolipids that act as a permeability barrier to antibiotics or other chemical agents. The use of OH radicals from a non-thermal plasma jet (NTPJ) for the inactivation of mycobacteria in aqueous solution was adopted as a novel approach. Addition of water vapor in a nitrogen plasma jet generated OH radicals, which converted to hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) that inactivated non-pathogenic Mycobacterium smegmatis and pathogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. A stable plasma plume was obtained from a nitrogen plasma jet with 1.91 W of power, killing Escherichia coli and mycobacteria effectively, whereas addition of catalase decreased the effects of the former. Mycobacteria were more resistant than E. coli to NTPJ treatment. Plasma treatment enhanced intracellular ROS production and upregulation of genes related to ROS stress responses (thiolrelated oxidoreductases, such as SseA and DoxX, and ferric uptake regulator furA). Morphological changes of M. smegmatis and M. tuberculosis H37Rv were observed after 5 min treatment with $N_2+H_2O$ plasma, but not of pre-incubated sample with catalase. This finding indicates that the bactericidal efficacy of NTPJ is related to the toxicity of OH and $H_2O_2$ radicals in cells. Therefore, our study suggests that NTPJ treatment may effectively control pulmonary infections caused by M. tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) such as M. avium or M. abscessus in water.

• Food Engineering Progress
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.398-403
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• 2011

A dielectric barrier discharge plasma (DBDP) treatment system was fabricated and the optimum operating conditions for the plasma generation were determined in order to explore the potential of cold plasma as a non-thermal proessing technology. The microbial inactivation performance of the system was also evaluated against Staphyloocus aureus. The system consisted of power supply, transformer, electrode assembly and sample treatment plate. The input power was 220 V single phase AC and amplified to 10.0-50.0 kV on a transformer. A pulsed sine wave of frequency 10.0-50.0 kHz was introduced to the electrode embedded in ceramic as a dielectric barrier material in order to generate plasma at atmospheric pressure. Higher currents and consequently greater power were required for the plasma generation as the frequencies increased. A homogeneous and stable plasma was generated at currents of 1.0-2.0, and frequencies of 32.0-35.3 kHz. The optimum electrode-gaps for the plasma generation were 1.85 mm without loaded samples. More power was consumed as the electrode-gaps increased. The practically optimum electrode- gap was, however, 2.65 mm when samples were treated on slide-glasses for microbial inactivation. The maximum temperature increase after 10 min treatment was less than 20$^{\circ}C$, indicating no microbial inactivation effect by heat and thereby insuring a non-thermal method. The DBDP inactivation effect against Staphyloocus aureus increased linearly with treatment time up to 5 min, but plateaued afterward. More than 5 log reduction was achieved by 10 min treatment at 1.25 A.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.56 no.10
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• pp.1802-1806
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• 2007

Nowadays, many configurations and applications of small atmospheric plasma source have been investigated with growing interest, as it provides the bacteria inactivation, the surface modification and removal of unwanted small regions, and so on. In this paper, the non-thermal micro plasma source under atmospheric pressure by means of submicrosecond pulse voltage waveforms is suggested. Plasma operates in helium is appears as a small (sub-mm) glow at the tip of a plasma gun. Electrical measurements show that the plasma source operates at low voltage (about 500V) and the power consumption is about 1W at 25kHz. Moreover, the emission spectrum shows the relatively higher emission intensity of oxygen particles than those of helium and nitrogen.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.81-86
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• 2015

Intense pulsed light (IPL), a nonthermal technology, has attracted increasing interest as a food processing technology. However, its efficacy in inactivating microorganisms has not been evaluated thoroughly. In this study, we investigated the influence of IPL treatment on the inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 depending on light intensity, treatment time, and pulse number. Increased light intensity from 500 V to 1,000 V, raised the inactivation rate at room temperature. At 1000 V, the cell numbers were reduced by 7.1 log cycles within 120 s. In addition, increased pulse number or decreased distance between the light source and sample surface also led to an increase in the inactivation rate. IPL exposure caused a significant increase in the absorption at 260 nm of the suspending agent used in our experiments. This indicates that IPL-treated cells were damaged, consequently releasing intracellular materials. The growth of IPL-irradiated cells were delayed by about 5 h. The degree of damage to the cells after IPL treatment was confimed by transmission electron microscopy.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.713-717
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• 2012

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of sodium habituation on thermal resistance of Staphylococcus aureus in various ready-to-heat (RTH) sauces. The strain mixture of S. aureus strains KACC10768, KACC10778, KACC11596, KACC13236 and NCCP10862 was habituated up to 9% of NaCl. The inocula of NaCl-habituated and non-habituated S. aureus were inoculated in 5 g portions of pork cutlet, meat and Carbonara sauces at 7 Log CFU/g, and the samples were vortexed vigorously. The inoculated samples were then exposed to 60 and $70^{\circ}C$ in a water-bath, and survivals of total bacteria and S. aureus were enumerated on tryptic soy agar and mannitol salt agar, respectively, every 30 min for 120 min. At 60oC, the cell counts of total bacteria and the significant difference in survivals between sodium-habituated and non-habituated S. aureus were observed only in the Carbonara sauce; the tailing effect, which is the period of no reduction of bacterial cell counts, was observed in pork cutlet, meat and Carbonara sauces subjected to $60^{\circ}C$. At $70^{\circ}C$, total bacterial populations and sodium-habituated and non-habituated S. aureus cell counts in meat and Carbonara sauce also significantly decreased (p<0.05) after 30 min of heat treatment, followed by the obvious tailing effect. Sodium-habituated S. aureus cell counts in meat and Carbonara sauces were higher (p<0.05) than those of non-habituated S. aureus at $70^{\circ}C$. The results indicate that sodium habituation of S. aureus cells may increase the thermal resistance of the pathogen in RTH sauces; moreover, heating RTH sauces for a short time before serving may not sufficiently decrease the cell counts of S. aureus, particularly for sodium-habituated strain.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.499-505
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• 2006

Clostridium botulinum spores are widely distributed in nature. Type A and proteolytic type B bacteria produce heat-resistant spores that are primarily involved in most of the food-borne botulism outbreaks associated with low-acid canned foods. Food-borne botulism results from the consumption of food in which C. botulinum has grown and produced neurotoxin. Growth and toxin production of type A and proteolytic type B in canned foods can be prevented by the use of thermal sterilization alone or in combination with salt and nitrite. The hazardousness of C. botulinum in low-acid canned foods can also be reduced by preventing post-process contamination and introducing hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) practices during production. Effectiveness of non-thermal technologies such as high pressure processing with elevated process temperatures on inactivation of spores of C. botulinum will be discussed.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.248-251
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the inactivation effect of intense pulsed light (IPL) on Micrococcus roseus, an irradiation-resistant bacterium isolated from laver, and the commercial feasibility of this sterilization method on dried laver. The inactivation of M. roseus in cultivated plates increased with increasing light intensity and treatment time. Approximately 6.6 log CFU/mL reduction of the cell viability was achieved with IPL treatment for 3 min at 1,000 V of light intensity, tailing was not shown. In addition, the inactivation rate of M. roseus increased with increasing pulse number at same light intensity and treatment time. The killing efficiency for M. roseus increased with by decreasing the distance between the light source and the sample surface.