Horizon Europe: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) aims to enhance the creative and innovative potential of researchers holding a Ph.D. degree. The fundamental principle is mobility. Through mobility, one can acquire new skills needed to further career growth.
Dr. Oleksandr Galmiz was victorious in one of the five types of fellowships - MSCA PF - Postdoctoral Fellowships. European Commission, with a total budget of €242 million, supported 1156 experienced postdoc researchers to work at top universities, research centers, private organizations & SMEs in Europe and beyond. Each science branch was represented: 278 Social Sciences & Humanities, 249 Life sciences, 159 Chemistry, 154 Information sciences & engineering, 142 Environment & geosciences, 130 Physics, 25 Mathematics, and 19 Economic sciences. Dr. Galmiz was one of the victorious 130 applicants from a total of 847 from the Physics category.
Project MSCA PF has opened an opportunity for dr. Galmiz to work for two years at Comenius University in Bratislava. His project named "A Step Towards New Plasma Processing Technology for Medical Purposes" with the shortcut "PlaTechMedi" will last from October 2022 to October 2024.
The project topic is the study of low-temperature plasma technologies for direct and indirect disinfection of polymer materials used in medicine. Catheter-related infections are among the most common causes of healthcare-associated diseases worldwide.
Dr. Galmiz will use a Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge (SDBD) with liquid electrodes and investigate plasma-induced physical and chemical changes on the surface of the processed material. The analysis of the surrounding gas and liquids will also be crucial. Examining the discharge under specific conditions is necessary for understanding the undergoing chemical and physical processes.
The decontamination effect of the plasma treatment of polymer materials is the project's key point. Dr. Galmiz will study in detail the bacterial response to reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in liquid and the biofilm growth inhibition on the polymer after the plasma treatment. "How bacteria and biofilm react to plasma treatment of catheter surfaces? Will the inhibitions of biofilm and bacteria growth be significant? These are the questions to which I will search answer for," comments dr. Galmiz.
The development of plasma technology capable of polymer treatment in the continuous regime and the application of such plasma systems for catheters will open doors for new industrial applications. Importantly it will lead to an increase in the quality of medical treatment and therefore to the cost reduction of specific medical care for the conditions caused by infections from these sources. “Nowadays, plasma applications in medicine are leaping to become the medical technology of the future, and this is my chance to contribute to its development,” closes dr. Galmiz.
