Cold Plasma, a New Hope in the Field of Virus Inactivation

Abstract

Viruses can infect all cell-based organisms, from bacteria to humans, animals, and plants. They are responsible for numerous cases of hospitalization, many deaths, and widespread crop destruction, all of which result in an enormous medical, economical, and biological burden. Each of the currently used decontamination methods has important drawbacks. Cold plasma (CP) has entered this field as a novel, efficient, and clean solution for virus inactivation. We present recent developments in this promising field of CP-mediated virus inactivation, and describe the applications and mechanisms of the inactivation. This is particularly relevant because viral pandemics, such as COVID-19, highlight the need for alternative virus inactivation methods to replace, complement, or upgrade existing procedures.

Keywords: cold plasma; reactive nitrogen species; reactive oxygen species; virus; virus inactivation.