In our research, we investigated the effect of cold atmospheric plasma on pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV). The aim was to find out if cold atmospheric plasma is a suitable method to inactivate PMMoV in water. PMMoV is a plant pathogen that is found in high concentrations in wastewater and is difficult to inactivate using conventional water treatment methods. Moreover, these methods may have some limitations, such as high cost and the formation of harmful by-products. After treating water samples containing PMMoV with cold atmospheric plasma, infectivity assays were performed on test plants. The presence of PMMoV in the test plants was determined by reverse transcription real-time polymerase chain reaction. The effect of cold atmospheric plasma on viral RNA degradation was determined by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction, and the amplified products were detected by gel electrophoresis. We have shown that it is possible to inactivate PMMoV after only 5 min of treatment with cold atmospheric plasma, during which time RNA was also degraded. Therefore, cold atmospheric plasma could be an important tool for wastewater treatment and inactivation of existing pathogens in the future.
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