A novel approach to regulate cell membrane permeability for ATP and NADH formation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae induced by air cold plasma

Air cold plasma has been used as a novel method for enhancing microbial fermentation. The aim of this work was to explore the effect of plasma on membrane permeability and the formation of ATP and NADH in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, so as to provide valuable information for large-scale application of plasma in the fermentation industry. Suspensions of S. cerevisiae cells were exposed to air cold plasma for 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 min, and then subjected to various analyses prior to fermentation (0h) and at the 9 and 21 h stages of fermentation. Compared with non-exposed cells, cells exposed to plasma for 1 min exhibited a marked increase in cytoplasmic free Ca ²⁺ concentration as a result of the significant increase in membrane potential prior to fermentation. At the same time, the ATP level in the cell suspension decreased by about 40%, resulting in a reduction of about 60% in NADH prior to culturing. However, the levels of ATP and NADH in the culture at the 9 and 21 h fermentation stages were different from the level at 0 h. Taken together, the results indicated that exposure of S. cerevisiae to air cold plasma could increase its cytoplasmic free Ca ²⁺ concentration by improving the cell membrane potential, consequently leading to changes in ATP and NADH levels.