Premium
Non‐thermal atmospheric plasma treatment of onychomycosis in an in vitro human nail model
Author(s) -
Bulson Jeffry M.,
Liveris Dionysios,
Derkatch Irina,
Friedman Gary,
Geliebter Jan,
Park Sin,
Singh Sarnath,
Zemel Marc,
Tiwari Raj K.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
mycoses
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.13
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1439-0507
pISSN - 0933-7407
DOI - 10.1111/myc.13030
Subject(s) - candida albicans , medicine , nail (fastener) , corpus albicans , nail disease , dermatology , surgery , dentistry , microbiology and biotechnology , antifungal , biology , materials science , metallurgy , psoriasis
Summary Background Onychomycosis affects almost 6% of the world population. Topical azoles and systemic antifungal agents are of low efficacy and can have undesirable side effects. An effective, non‐invasive therapy for onychomycosis is an unmet clinical need. Objective Determine the efficacy threshold of non‐thermal atmospheric plasma (NTAP) to treat onychomycosis in an in vitro model. Methods A novel toe/nail‐plate model using cadaver nails and agarose media inoculated with Candida albicans was exposed to a range of NTAP doses. Results Direct exposure of C albicans and Trichophyton mentagrophytes to 12 minutes of NTAP results in complete killing at doses of 39 and 15 kPulses, respectively. Onset of reduced viability of C albicans to NTAP treatment through the nail plate occurs at 64 kPulses with 10× and 100× reduction at 212 and 550 kPulses, respectively. Conclusions NTAP is an effective, non‐invasive therapeutic approach to onychomycosis that should be evaluated in a clinical setting.