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Inactivation of Candida albicans and Lemon (Citrus limon) Spoilage Fungi Using Plasma Activated Water

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Abstract

In the present work, we have studied the inactivation of Candida albicans (C. albicans) and lemon (Citrus limon) spoilage fungi using plasma activated water (PAW). Air and N2 are used as plasma forming gases for PAW preparation. Optical emission spectroscopy is used to determine various active radicals and species present in the air and N2 plasma. The present study shows the changes in physicochemical properties and reactive oxygen–nitrogen species formed in PAW. Furthermore, the fungicidal efficacy of PAW is investigated on C. albicans. The role of oxidizing potential of PAW and PAW treatment time with fungi (C. albicans and Citrus limon spoilage fungi) is investigated in the present work. Results showed high oxidizing PAW can achieve 6 + log10 CFU ml−1 reduction in fungi even with low treatment time. Morphology analysis by HR-SEM, leaked nucleic acids and protein measurement by UV–visible spectroscopy, and PI binding red fluorescence of cells showed PAW treatment with C. albicans damaged the membrane of cells due to which leakage of extracellular materials occurred that led to cells death. The present study also reveals the long-term fungicidal efficacy of PAW on C. albicans and Citrus limon spoilage fungi.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the Department of Atomic Energy (Government of India) graduate fellowship scheme (DGFS). Authors sincerely thank Mr. Chirayu Patil, Mr. Vivek Pachchigar, Dr. Subroto Mukherjee, Mr. Adam Sanghariyat, Dr. Vishal N. Jain, Mr. Yogesh Dahiya, Mr. Manas R. Bhuyan, for providing constant support and useful suggestions during this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 382428, India

    Vikas Rathore & Sudhir Kumar Nema

  2. Institute of Pharmacy, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, 382481, India

    Divyesh Patel & Shital Butani

  3. Natural Storage Solutions Pvt. Ltd, Dhanot, Gujarat, 382729, India

    Niyati Shah & Harikrishna Pansuriya

  4. Homi Bhabha National University, Mumbai, Maharashtra, 400094, India

    Vikas Rathore & Sudhir Kumar Nema

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  1. Vikas Rathore
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by VR, DP and NS. The first draft of the manuscript was written by VR and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Vikas Rathore.

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Rathore, V., Patel, D., Shah, N. et al. Inactivation of Candida albicans and Lemon (Citrus limon) Spoilage Fungi Using Plasma Activated Water. Plasma Chem Plasma Process 41, 1397–1414 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11090-021-10186-3

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