Plasma-fungal biofilm interaction: diagnostic of the plasma and inactivation process of the Candida spp strains

• Grant number: 15/10876-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: September 01, 2015
• End date: February 28, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Biomedical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Rodrigo Savio Pessoa
• Grantee: Anelise Cristina Osorio Cesar Doria
• Host Institution: Instituto de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (IP&D). Universidade do Vale do Paraíba (UNIVAP). São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 11/50773-0 - Center of excellence in physics and applications of plasmas, AP.TEM

Abstract

Fungal biofilms represent a constant and predominant cause of chronic infections which can be associated with the use of medical devices for a long period, such as catheters and prostheses. Such infections exhibit a significantly increased tolerance to antifungal, biocidal agents and immunological changes. This makes it difficult, and sometimes impossible, to treat with conventional therapeutic agents. Atmospheric pressure non-thermal plasmas are gaining increased attention as a potential approach to the eradication and control of infection and / or bacterial or fungal contamination, however, with regard to fungal contamination, many factors related to these processes need to be further discussed. In this work, different types of plasmas operated at atmospheric pressure will be applied in the process of inactivation of biofilms of Candida yeasts grown in vitro on polyurethane and silicone elastomer substrate, main components of venous catheters. The effects of plasma chemistry, plasma operating frequency and operating time in plasma biofilm interaction and consequently the antifungal activity will be investigated. For this, the study will be divided into three experimental steps: (i) plasma diagnostics through molecular beam mass spectrometry, optical emission spectroscopy, and electrical characterization; (ii) analysis of the morphology of biofilms/substrate before and after plasma treatment by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy; (iii) determination of the amount of colony forming units (CFU/ml) and cell viability by fluorescence microscopy, before and after treatment to evaluate the antifungal activity of the tested plasmas. Finally, we intend to correlate the experimental analysis of this study with results of theoretical modeling developed for plasma-biological surface interaction in order to better explain the observed phenomenology and thus contribute to the areas of biomedical engineering and plasmas applied to biological processes, that is new branch in the international scientific literature and, in particular, in Brazil.

Scientific publications

(9)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

CHIAPPIM, W.; TESTONI, G. E.; DORIA, A. C. O. C.; PESSOA, R. S.; FRAGA, M. A.; GALVAO, N. K. A. M.; GRIGOROV, K. G.; VIEIRA, L.; MACIEL, H. S.. Relationships among growth mechanism, structure and morphology of PEALD TiO2 films: the influence of O-2 plasma power, precursor chemistry and plasma exposure mode. Nanotechnology, v. 27, n. 30, JUL 29 2016. (11/50773-0, 15/05956-0, 15/10876-6)

DIAS, VANESSA; MACIEL, HOMERO; FRAGA, MARIANA; LOBO, ANDERSON O.; PESSOA, RODRIGO; MARCIANO, FERNANDA R.. Atomic Layer Deposited TiO2 and Al2O3 Thin Films as Coatings for Aluminum Food Packaging Application. MATERIALS, v. 12, n. 4, FEB 2 2019. (14/18139-8, 11/50773-0, 11/17877-7, 12/15857-1, 11/20345-7, 16/00575-1, 15/05956-0, 15/09697-0, 18/01265-1, 15/10876-6)

ANELISE CRISTINA OSÓRIO CESAR DORIA; CAMILA DI PAULA COSTA SORGE; THAISA BAESSO SANTOS; JHONATAN BRANDÃO; POLYANA ALVES RADI GONÇALVES; HOMERO SANTIAGO MACIEL; SÔNIA KHOURI; RODRIGO SÁVIO PESSOA. Application of post-discharge region of atmospheric pressure argon and air plasma jet in the contamination control of Candida albicans biofilms. Res. Biomed. Eng., v. 31, n. 4, p. 358-362, 2015-11-27. (11/50773-0, 15/10876-6)

CHIAPPIM, W.; TESTONI, G. E.; DORIA, A. C. O. C.; PESSOA, R. S.; FRAGA, M. A.; GALVAO, N. K. A. M.; GRIGOROV, K. G.; VIEIRA, L.; MACIEL, H. S.. Relationships among growth mechanism, structure and morphology of PEALD TiO2 films: the influence of O-2 plasma power, precursor chemistry and plasma exposure mode. Nanotechnology, v. 27, n. 30, p. 15-pg., 2016-07-29. (11/50773-0, 15/05956-0, 15/10876-6)

FIGUEIRA, FERNANDA R.; DORIA, ANELISE C. O. C.; LIMA, JHONATAN S. B.; KHOURI, SONIA; PESSOA, RODRIGO S.; IEEE. ARGON/AIR AND HELIUM/AIR ATMOSPHERIC PLASMA JET INACTIVATION OF CANDIDA ALBICANS BIOFILM FORMED FROM CLINICAL STRAINS. 2017 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PLASMA SCIENCE (ICOPS), v. N/A, p. 1-pg., 2017-01-01. (15/10876-6)

DORIA, ANELISE C. O. C.; LIBERATO, GISLENE S.; FIGUEIRA, FERNANDA R.; CARVALHO, CAMILA A.; LIMA, JHONATAN B. S.; PESSOA, RODRIGO S.; KHOURI, SONIA; IEEE. DISINFECTION OF REVERSE OSMOSIS WATER BY ATMOSPHERIC PLASMA RICH IN OH RADICAL. 2017 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PLASMA SCIENCE (ICOPS), v. N/A, p. 1-pg., 2017-01-01. (15/10876-6)

CHIAPPIM, WILLIAM; WATANABE, MARCOS; DIAS, VANESSA; TESTONI, GIORGIO; RANGEL, RICARDO; FRAGA, MARIANA; MACIEL, HOMERO; DOS SANTOS FILHO, SEBASTIAO; PESSOA, RODRIGO. MOS Capacitance Measurements for PEALD TiO2 Dielectric Films Grown under Different Conditions and the Impact of Al2O3 Partial-Monolayer Insertion. NANOMATERIALS, v. 10, n. 2, FEB 2020. (18/01265-1, 15/05956-0, 11/50773-0, 15/10876-6, 16/17826-7)

PESSOA, R. S.; DOS SANTOS, V. P.; CARDOSO, S. B.; DORIA, A. C. O. C.; FIGUEIRA, F. R.; RODRIGUES, B. V. M.; TESTONI, G. E.; FRAGA, M. A.; MARCIANO, F. R.; LOBO, A. O.; et al. TiO2 coatings via atomic layer deposition on polyurethane and polydimethylsiloxane substrates: Properties and effects on C. albicans growth and inactivation process. Applied Surface Science, v. 422, p. 73-84, NOV 15 2017. (11/50773-0, 12/15857-1, 11/17877-7, 11/20345-7, 15/10876-6, 15/09697-0, 15/08523-8, 16/00575-1, 15/05956-0)

RODRIGUES, BRUNO V. M.; DIAS, VANESSA M.; FRAGA, MARIANA A.; DA SILVA SOBRINHO, ARGEMIRO S.; LOBO, ANDERSON O.; MACIEL, HOMERO S.; PESSOA, RODRIGO S.. Atomic layer deposition of TiO2 thin films on electrospun poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) fibers: Freestanding TiO2 nanostructures via polymer carbonization. MATERIALS TODAY-PROCEEDINGS, v. 14, p. 7-pg., 2019-01-01. (15/10876-6, 17/18826-3, 15/09697-0, 11/50773-0, 12/15857-1, 11/20345-7, 16/00575-1, 15/05956-0, 18/01265-1)