Abstract
Infectious viruses can survive on surfaces for hours; they can be
responsible for the fomite transmission mechanism of many diseases. We
report the development and evaluation of a compact non-thermal plasma
(NTP) flow reactor and its application for disinfection of surfaces. The
concentric flow reactor produces a high concentration of reactive
species by ionizing air flow passed through the reactor; the ionized jet
exiting the reactor is impinged on the surface, exposing pathogens to
high concentrations of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. The reactor
performance is characterized by measuring ozone concentration for
various geometries and operating conditions. The ozone concentration
reaches saturation at the exit for electrical power input above 100 W.
The approach was tested for the inactivation of MS2 bacteriophage on
surfaces with varied exposure times. We observed a 1.3 log reduction in
viable virus counts at the exposure of 30 s and a 5.3 log reduction at
120 s exposure. The ozone production rates suggest that the reactor can
be scaled to operate at higher flow rates, producing a concentration of
reactive species sufficient for virus inactivation.