Jun-Seok Oh

Imaging gas and plasma interactions in the surface-chemical modification of polymers using micro-plasma jets

This paper reports on the correlation between gas flow and plasma behaviour in the outflow of a micro-atmospheric pressure plasma jet operating in helium using both 2D optical imaging and Schlieren photography. Schlieren photography shows that the helium outflow changes from laminar to turbulent conditions after distances between 20 and 50 mm from the nozzle. Above a flow rate of 1.4 slm, the length of the laminar region decreases with increasing flow rate. However, by contrast the visible plasma plume increases in length with increasing flow rate until its extension just exceeds that of the laminar region. At this point, the plasma becomes turbulent and its length decreases. Exposing polystyrene (PS) samples to the plasma jet significantly alters the water contact angle in a defined area, with the hydrophobic PS surface becoming more hydrophilic. This modification occurs both with and without direct contact of the visible glow on the surface. The radius of the treated area is much larger than the width of the visible jet but much smaller than the area of the turbulence on the surface. The treated area reduces with increasing nozzle–substrate distance.

Probing the transport of plasma-generated RONS in an agarose target as surrogate for real tissue: dependency on time, distance and material composition

We report a simple experimental approach to follow the transport of helium (He) plasma-generated reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) through millimetre thick agarose targets. These RONS may be either primary RONS, generated directly by the plasma jet, or secondary RONS generated for example at the surface of, or within, the material. Our experiment involves placing an agarose film over a quartz cuvette filled with deionized water. The agarose film is exposed to a He plasma jet and the UV absorption profile (of the deionized water) is recorded in real-time. Plasma exposure time, source-target distance and agarose film thickness and composition are varied to explore their effects on the depth of RONS delivery by the plasma jet. We conclude that plasma UV plays a minor role in the transport of RONS; whereas direct plasma contact and the He gas flow promote the transport of RONS into tissue. Our data indicate an accumulation of RONS within the agarose film (during plasma exposure) and a subsequent (time-lagged) release into the deionized water. Our approach can be readily adapted to other plasma sources; it can accommodate more complex biological materials, and has the potential to provide new insights into plasma-induced phenomena within real tissues.

Schlieren Photography of the Outflow From a Plasma Jet

Using Schlieren photography, the helium outflow configuration from a fine capillary-based microplasma jet discharge has been captured for free-stream conditions. The transition from laminar to turbulent flow is clearly identified with and without operation of the plasma. At a flow rate of 2.3 L·min-1 with no plasma operating, this transition occurs 54 mm from the nozzle; however, with plasma struck (peak voltages of 8 kVp-p), this reduces to 40 mm.

Combined effect of protein and oxygen on reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in the plasma treatment of tissue

The influence of protein and molecular, ground state oxygen (O2) on the plasma generation, and transport of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) in tissue are investigated. A tissue target, comprising a 1 mm thick gelatin film (a surrogate for real tissue), is placed on top of a 96-well plate; each well is filled with phosphate buffered saline (PBS, pH 7.4) containing one fluorescent or colorimetric reporter that is specific for one of three RONS (i.e., H2O2, NO2−, or OH•) or a broad spectrum reactive oxygen species reporter (2,7-dichlorodihydrofluorescein). A helium cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) jet contacts the top of the gelatin surface, and the concentrations of RONS generated in PBS are measured on a microplate reader. The data show that H2O2, NO2−, or OH• are generated in PBS underneath the target. Independently, measurements are made of the O2 concentration in the PBS with and without the gelatin target. Adding bovine serum albumin protein to the PBS or gelatin shows that protein either rais...

Investigation of Water-Vapor Plasma Excited by Microwaves as Ultraviolet Light Source

The potential of using water-vapor plasmas excited by microwaves as a ultraviolet (UV) light source has been investigated by using various pressures and input powers. The UV irradiation power increased and saturated at a pressure range dependent on the input power. On the other hand, other visible and infrared emissions corresponding to four atomic lines, i.e., the Balmer series of hydrogen at 486.1 nm ( Hbeta) and 656.3 nm (Halpha) and oxygen atoms at 777.2 and 844.6 nm, were clearly decreased with an increase in the total gas pressure. It was found that pressures (1.4-2.0 kPa) near the saturated water-vapor pressure were found to give the most intense UV irradiation. With a vapor pressure of 1.6 kPa and a total microwave power of 300 W, the power density of UV (Gammauv) was measured to be 10.5 muWmiddotcm-2 at a distance of 30 cm from the center of the discharge tube as measured through an optical viewing port on the cavity discharge applicator. This value for (Gammauv) is comparable to that for a mercury lamp. However, the (etauv) efficiency was estimated to be considerably lower than that of a mercury lamp.

Investigating the effect of additional gases in an atmospheric-pressure helium plasma jet using ambient mass spectrometry

Using ambient mass spectrometry, positive and negative ions created in an atmospheric-pressure plasma jet have been detected for a variation of different traces gases (Ar, N2, and O2) added to the flow, downstream of the main helium discharge plasma. We find that such additions can change the chemistry in the outflow plasma plume. For instance, small amounts of O2 increases the formation of positive ion clusters, e.g., water clusters H+(H2O)n (with n up to 5) through hydration reactions, but decreases the intensity of heavy negative ions detected. With the addition of Ar and N2 we see a marked decrease in the intensity of negative ions in the plume but with increased Ar+ and nitrous oxide ions (e.g., N2O+) for the two cases respectively. From broadband optical emission measurements of the glowing plasma we see that the relative emission intensity of OH radical were changed with addition of the four different gases but the emission spectra were not changed. A calculation of rotational temperature of OH radicals, indicates that the gas temperatures is about 290 K for the four different gas mixture cases.

Discharge and Plasma Bullet Formation in a Capillary DBD Atmospheric-Pressure Microplasma Jet

Time-resolved ICCD images of discharge and plasma bullet formation in a capillary dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure have been obtained across the whole period in the voltage cycle. The images clearly show that the capillary discharge ignites at the inner edges of both electrodes, when each electrode is working as a cathode, and this leads to the formation of afterglow plasma bullets traveling upstream and downstream.

How plasma induced oxidation, oxygenation, and de-oxygenation influences viability of skin cells

The effect of oxidation, oxygenation, and de-oxygenation arising from He gas jet and He plasma jet treatments on the viability of skin cells cultured in vitro has been investigated. He gas jet treatment de-oxygenated cell culture medium in a process referred to as “sparging.” He plasma jet treatments oxidized, as well as oxygenated or de-oxygenated cell culture medium depending on the dissolved oxygen concentration at the time of treatment. He gas and plasma jets were shown to have beneficial or deleterious effects on skin cells depending on the concentration of dissolved oxygen and other oxidative molecules at the time of treatment. Different combinations of treatments with He gas and plasma jets can be used to modulate the concentrations of dissolved oxygen and other oxidative molecules to influence cell viability. This study highlights the importance of a priori knowledge of the concentration of dissolved oxygen at the time of plasma jet treatment, given the potential for significant impact on the biol...

Tracking the Penetration of Plasma Reactive Species in Tissue Models

Electrically generated cold atmospheric plasma is being intensively researched for novel applications in biology and medicine. Significant attention is being given to reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), initially generated upon plasma-air interactions, and subsequently delivered to biological systems. Effects of plasma exposure are observed to millimeter depths within tissue. However, the exact nature of the initial plasma-tissue interactions remains unknown, including RONS speciation and delivery depth, or how plasma-derived RONS intervene in biological processes. Herein, we focus on current research using tissue and cell models to learn more about the plasma delivery of RONS into biological environments. We argue that this research is vital in underpinning the knowledge required to realize the full potential of plasma in biology and medicine.

Effect of plasma jet diameter on the efficiency of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species generation in water

The plasma jet generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) in solution is important in biology, medicine, and disinfection. Studies using a wide variety of plasma jet devices have been carried out for this purpose, making it difficult to compare the performance between devices. In this study, we compared the efficiency of RONS generation in deionized (DI) water between 3.7-mm- and 800-µm-sized helium (He) plasma jets (hereafter mm-jet and µm-jet, respectively) at different treatment distances and times. The efficiency of RONS generation was determined by considering the total amount of RONS generated in DI water with respect to the input energy and gas consumption. We found that the mm-jet generated 20% more RONS in the DI water than the µm-jet at the optimized distance. However, when the input power and He gas consumption were taken into account, we discovered that the µm-jet was 5 times more efficient in generating RONS in the DI water. Under the parameters investigated in this study, the concentration of RONS continued to increase as a function of treatment time (up to 30 min). However treatment distance had a marked effect on the efficiency of RONS generation: treatment distances of 25 and 30 mm were optimal for the mm-jet and µm-jet, respectively. Our method of comparing the efficiency of RONS generation in solution between plasma jets could be used as a reference protocol for the development of efficient plasma jet sources for use in medicine, biology, and agriculture.