Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), especially in clinically important bacteria, has posed serious challenges to clinical treatments. Novel and effective antimicrobial strategies are urgently needed to address AMR. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is a new concept of disinfection method that kills bacteria through various active species and particles within an ionised and electrical-balanced gas. In this review, we introduced the generation of CAP and summarised its disinfection mechanisms. Moreover, we reviewed the applications of CAP in treating globally important bacteria, including Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus spp., Streptococcus pyogenes and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, as well as Gram-negative bacteria including Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Additionally, we discussed technological strategies to enhance CAP disinfection efficacy and evaluated the safety of CAP applications. We recommend CAP as an effective alternative technology for combating bacterial infections and hope that the comprehensive information provided in the present review will facilitate the development of CAP-based disinfection strategies to overcome AMR issues in the future.