17th JPIAMR transnational call for research projects - AMR Interventions 2024 (IMPACT)

General Information

• Project title: PLAX - Plasma Life Water
• Type: Project looking for partner
• Organisation: Technische Universtiät Dresden
• Country: Germany (DE)
• Career stage: Other.

Research area

• Scientific area(s) of the call:
  1. Topic 1: Design novel or improved interventions to prevent, mitigate and /or treat fungal infections, which are resistant to treatments and/or are at risk of developing resistance
• Subtopics:

• One Health Setting:

  Human Health

  Animal Health (incl. wildlife, livestock, acquatic organisms, and companion animals)
  Plants (incl. trees and crops)
  Environment (incl. natural and built)

• Keywords:

  sterilisation; plasma activated water; multiphase plasma catalysis; modular reactor; technology transfer

• Brief description of your expertise / expertise you are looking for:

  We are looking for partners to use the low-temperature atmospheric pressure plasma technology we have developed for validation processes at various locations. The proof-of-concept of the process has already been completed. In order to test and determine the correct process parameters for the treatment of super-resistant germs, microorganisms and fungi, the removal of drug residues or chemical residues with special chemical and thermal stability, we need international partners. Through cooperation and simultaneous validation at different locations, scientifically independent investigations can be carried out under real conditions directly at the location of potential fields of application. The partners should have significant experience in handling and detecting the contaminants to be treated. At the same time, they should have a suitable network of necessary users and areas of application. The modular test stands can be easily adapted to local conditions. Related and other possible technologies for process monitoring and investigation can be expanded and adapted by both local manufacturers and existing international manufacturers. This provides a good opportunity for the implementation of individual research work in connection with the multi-phase plasma system and future private-sector cooperation and patents. Ideally, partners should already have experience and networks in these areas.

• Brief description of your project / the project you would like to join:

  The sterilizing effect of plasma has already been proven in various scientific studies. By functionalizing liquids with suitable plasma gas compositions, very effective sterilization agents can be produced regardless of the location. Despite its enormous potential to save energy and expensive catalysts the use of low-temperature atmospheric plasma as a catalyst for multiphase reactions remains very limited. A major obstacle to the use of atmospheric plasmas is the difficulty of transferring a laboratory proven process to industrial processes in a meaningful way. Scientific papers use a variety of different plasma sources, plasma excitations, and plasma reactors. The results of such studies are therefore difficult to compare and therefore do not provide a good basis for industrial application. To facilitate access for industry and academia, a system with increased resilience needs to be established. A cost effective solution for this is the modular two phase plasma catalytic reactor (ZPPK-reactor , german: Zwei-Phasen Plasmakatalysereaktor) which was developed. The system can be used for validation of further fields of application and for scientific investigations. The technology provides easy access for interdisciplinary applications in the fields of medical technology, water treatment, agriculture, food and consumer goods industry and process industry. In the near future, it is planned to adapt the newly developed reactor system for the desired areas of application and to determine the specific process parameters for specific applications. The process can be further optimized by merging the international test and validation data collected in the process. The metadata collected there allows modern analysis methods to be used and predictions to be made with the help of artificial intelligence. This will make it possible to react much faster to new local or global contaminations or unknown contaminations in space in the future and make the corresponding process data available to users of the system. The ZPPK reactor, which will be available in its basic version as open access for scientists and for development processes, is the intersection of the technology. Optimized models and the overall system for operating a corresponding plant are to be developed in cooperation with local and worldwide industries in order to ensure the sustainable and resilient operation of these systems. Specific adaptations and improvements to the system provide a variety of possible patent opportunities.

Alexander Alfred Zyla

• Organisation: Technische Universtiät Dresden
• Position:
• E-mail: alexander_alfred.zyla@mailbox.tu-dresden.de