Investigating the Detrimental Effects of Low Pressure Plasma Sterilization on the Survival of Bacillus subtilis Spores Using Live Cell MicroscopyFelix M. Fuchs 1, Marina Raguse 1,2,3, Marcel Fiebrandt 2, Kazimierz Madela 4, Peter Awakowicz 2, Michael Laue 4, Katharina Stapelmann 3, Ralf Moeller 1
1Department of Radiation Biology, Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Space Microbiology Research Group, German Aerospace Center (DLR e.V.), 2Institute of Electrical Engineering and Plasma Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Ruhr-University Bochum, 3Institute of Electrical Engineering and Plasma Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Biomedical Applications of Plasma Technology, Ruhr-University Bochum, 4Advanced Light and Electron Microscopy (ZBS 4), Robert Koch Institute
This protocol illustrates the important consecutive steps required to assess the relevance of monitoring vitality parameter and DNA repair processes in reviving Bacillus subtilis spores after treatment with low pressure plasma by tracking fluorescence-labelled DNA repair proteins via time-resolved confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.
