Cold Plasma Could Treat Nail Infections Caused by Fungi

A new study will test cold atmospheric ionized plasma gas as a new option for treating onychomycosis, the most common fungal nail infection.

Researchers at the University of Southampton (United Kingdom) and Solent NHS Trust (Winchester, United Kingdom) are planning a study to investigate the use of plasma gas to treat onychomycosis in just one or two treatments. The tissue-tolerant ionized plasma gas device will operate at low temperatures that do not damage normal tissue. The plasma device is being developed together with industrial gas producer Linde (Munich, Germany).


The medical device will be tested in 80 patients who have onychomycosis in both large toenails. One large toenail will be surface-treated by a podiatrist during a short visit at the study site, and the other will remain untreated. Subjects will be reviewed at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after treatment, and will be assessed for clearance of the fungal infection and evidence of clear nail growth. The study will be undertaken at a single site in the Southampton (United Kingdom) area.

“Fungal nail infections might be seen as a purely cosmetic problem, but in people with diabetes, it can lead to very serious infections which are difficult to treat,” said lead researcher David Voegeli, PhD, BSc, RN, of the University of Southampton department of health sciences. “We believe this new way of treating patients will be more effective in getting to the infection quickly, possibly reducing the need for antibiotics in the future.”

“We are facing huge challenges in antimicrobial resistance and we desperately need to find new ways of treating conditions before they need antibiotics,” said Professor Tim Leighton, MD, chair of the University of Southampton's network for antimicrobial resistance and infection prevention (NAMRIP). “This is an exciting study which has great potential in treating a common condition early, before antibiotic interventions are needed.”

Onychomycosis is the most common disease of nails, and constitutes about half of all nail abnormalities; it is prevalent in up to 10% of the population. Dermatophytes are the fungi most commonly responsible for onychomycosis in the temperate western countries, while Candida and nondermatophytic molds are more frequently involved in the tropics, and in subtropic areas with a hot, humid climate. Most current treatments involve topical or oral antifungal medication that requires months of administration, and is not very effective.

Related Links:
University of Southampton
Solent NHS Trust
Linde