Plasma-chemical synthesis of nanosized bactericidal particles under the action of ultrasonic cavitation

It is shown that the combined impact on a liquid medium of high-intensity ultrasonic vibrations (above the cavitation threshold) and pulsed or stationary electric fields leads to the appearance of a special form of plasma discharge in a cavitating liquid medium. This type of discharge is a new, little-studied before physical phenomenon possessing original electrical and optical characteristics. In such a discharge, nanosized $20$–$50$-nm particles of zinc, aluminum, copper, titanium, and iron oxides, depending on the material, are synthesized with a narrow size distribution. It is shown that the synthesized nanosized particles have antibacterial activity against pathogenic microorganisms, while the antibacterial activity is enhanced under the action of intensive ultrasound.