Many seriously ill Covid-19 patients must contend with more than just the coronavirus. Approximately half of the people who were mechanically ventilated yet still died had acquired additional infections in hospital. Cold plasma therapy could prevent these superinfections and reduce the risk of hospital staff becoming infected with coronavirus. Preliminary tests carried out by terraplasma medical GmbH, the subsidiary of the Max Planck spin-off terraplasma, suggest that cold atmospheric plasma (i.e. weakly ionised air) can render Sars-CoV-2 harmless in cell cultures. In order to clarify whether cold plasma can actually help treat Covid-19, investigations in both cell cultures and Covid-19 patients have been initiated together with various partners.
Plasma is the fuel of the stars. In a highly diluted cold variant, ionised gas – or more precisely, ionised air – inactivates bacteria in chronically infected wounds. As studies, conducted with various partners by Julia Zimmermann, CMO, have already shown in the past, atmospheric plasma can also inactivate viruses, like noro- and adenoviruses in solution. It could also help treat Covid-19 patients. “The initial tests suggest that cold atmospheric plasma kills corona viruses in solution”, says Jens Kirsch, CEO of terraplasma medical. “This is particularly interesting for us because the viruses are also found in fluids – for example, saliva – on mucous membranes”.
