Sylvain Iseni

Feed gas humidity: a vital parameter affecting a cold atmospheric-pressure plasma jet and plasma-treated human skin cells

In this study, the effect of feed gas humidity on the reactive component generation of an atmospheric-pressure argon plasma jet and its effect on human skin cells are investigated. Feed gas humidity is identified as one key parameter that strongly influences stability and reproducibility of plasma medical studies. The plasma jet is investigated by absorption spectroscopy in the ultraviolet and infrared spectral region for its ozone production depending on the humidity concentration in the feed gas. By optical emission spectroscopy the dependence of present excited plasma species such as hydroxyl radicals, molecular nitrogen, argon and atomic oxygen on the feed gas humidity is investigated. As an interface layer between the plasma jet effluent and the biological cell, a buffer solution is treated and the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production is studied with two independent colorimetric assays as a function of humidity admixture to the feed gas. Ultimately, the effect of varying feed gas humidity on the cell viability of indirect plasma treated adherent HaCAT cells is investigated. The highest viability is found for the driest feed gas condition. Furthermore, this work shows answers for the relevance of unwanted—or intended—feed gas humidity in plasma medical experiments and their comparatively large relevance with respect to ambient humidity. The findings will lead to more reproducible experiments in the field of plasma medicine.

Tracking plasma generated H2O2 from gas into liquid phase and revealing its dominant impact on human skin cells

The pathway of the biologically active molecule hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) from the plasma generation in the gas phase by an atmospheric pressure argon plasma jet, to its transition into the liquid phase and finally to its inhibiting effect on human skin cells is investigated for different feed gas humidity settings. Gas phase diagnostics like Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy and laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy on hydroxyl radicals (OH) are combined with liquid analytics such as chemical assays and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Furthermore, the viability of human skin cells is measured by Alamar Blue® assay. By comparing the gas phase results with chemical simulations in the far field, H2O2 generation and destruction processes are clearly identified. The net production rate of H2O2 in the gas phase is almost identical to the H2O2 net production rate in the liquid phase. Moreover, by mimicking the H2O2 generation of the plasma jet with the help of an H2O2 bubbler it is concluded that the solubility of gas phase H2O2 plays a major role in generating hydrogen peroxide in the liquid. Furthermore, it is shown that H2O2 concentration correlates remarkably well with the cell viability. Other species in the liquid like OH or superoxide anion radical do not vary significantly with feed gas humidity.

Detection of ozone in a MHz argon plasma bullet jet

This study for the first time confirms the presence of plasma bullets in a MHz argon atmospheric pressure plasma jet. Bullet characteristics are investigated by phase-resolved optical emission measurements. Regarding the jets reactive component output, its ozone production rates are investigated by two independent diagnostic techniques yielding complementary results. The first method—UV-absorption spectroscopy in the Hartley band—determines space-resolved distribution of the ozone concentration in the jet effluent. The second method—quantum cascade laser-absorption spectroscopy in the mid-infrared spectral region—yields high sensitivity results of the average ozone concentration in a multipass cell, in which the effluent is directed. The results of both diagnostic techniques show excellent agreement.

New insights on the propagation of pulsed atmospheric plasma streams: From single jet to multi jet arrays

Atmospheric pressure plasma propagation inside long dielectric tubes is analyzed for the first time through nonintrusive and nonperturbative time resolved bi-directional electric field (EF) measurements. This study unveils that plasma propagation occurs in a region where longitudinal EF exists ahead the ionization front position usually revealed from plasma emission with ICCD measurement. The ionization front propagation induces the sudden rise of a radial EF component. Both of these EF components have an amplitude of several kV/cm for helium or neon plasmas and are preserved almost constant along a few tens of cm inside a capillary. All these experimental measurements are in excellent agreement with previous model calculations. The key roles of the voltage pulse polarity and of the target nature on the helium flow patterns when plasma jet is emerging in ambient air are documented from Schlieren visualization. The second part of this work is then dedicated to the development of multi jet systems, using tw...

Reactive species output of a plasma jet with a shielding gas device?combination of FTIR absorption spectroscopy and gas phase modelling

In this work, a simple modelling approach combined with absorption spectroscopy of long living species generated by a cold atmospheric plasma jet yields insight into relevant gas phase chemistry. The reactive species output of the plasma jet is controlled using a shielding gas device. The shielding gas is varied using mixtures of oxygen and nitrogen at various humidity levels. Through the combination of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and zero dimensional kinetic modelling of the gas phase chemistry, insight into the underlying reaction mechanisms is gained. While the FTIR measurements yield absolute densities of ozone and nitrogen dioxide in the far field of the jet, the kinetic simulations give additional information on reaction pathways. The simulation is fitted to the experimentally obtained data, using the CFD simulations of the experimental setup to estimate the correct evaluation time for the kinetic simulation. It is shown that the ozone production of the plasma jet continuously rises with the oxygen content in the shielding gas, while it significantly drops as humidity is increased. The production of nitrogen dioxide reaches its maximum at about 30% oxygen content in the shielding gas. The underlying mechanisms are discussed based on the simulation results.

Nitric oxide density distributions in the effluent of an RF argon APPJ: effect of gas flow rate and substrate

The effluent of an RF argon atmospheric pressure plasma jet, the so-called kinpen, is investigated with focus on the nitric-oxide (NO) distribution for laminar and turbulent flow regimes. An additional dry air gas curtain is applied around the plasma effluent to prevent interaction with the ambient humid air. By means of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) the absolute spatially resolved NO density is measured as well as the rotational temperature and the air concentration. While in the laminar case, the transport of NO is attributed to thermal diffusion; in the turbulent case, turbulent mixing is responsible for air diffusion. Additionally, measurements with a molecular beam mass-spectrometer (MBMS) absolutely calibrated for NO are performed and compared with the LIF measurements. Discrepancies are explained by the contribution of the NO2 and N O 2 to the MBMS NO signal. Finally, the effect of a conductive substrate in front of the plasma jet on the spatial distribution of NO and air diffusion is also investigated.

Atmospheric pressure streamer follows the turbulent argon air boundary in a MHz argon plasma jet investigated by OH-tracer PLIF spectroscopy

An open question in the research of the dynamics of non-equilibrium cold atmospheric pressure plasma jets is the influence of ambient species on streamer propagation pathways. In the present work, by means of planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF), an atmospheric pressure argon plasma jet is investigated in a laminar and turbulent gas flow regime. The flow pattern is investigated with plasma on and plasma off. It is shown that in turbulent mode, the streamer path changes according to the flow pattern changes and the resulting changes in air abundance. From a comparison of an analytical diffusion calculation and LIF measurements, the air impurity boundary is determined. Most importantly, the origin of the streamer pathway is investigated in detail, by recording the flow pattern from OH-PLIF measurements and simultaneously measuring the streamer path by an overlay technique through emission measurements. It is shown that the streamer path is correlated to the turbulent flow pattern.

Nitrogen Shielding of an Argon Plasma Jet and Its Effects on Human Immune Cells

Atmospheric pressure plasmas are widely used in research for biomedical or clinical applications. Reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) produced by plasmas are thought to be of major significance in plasma-cell interactions. Different applications, however, may demand for different plasma properties. Tailoring plasma devices by modulating the supply gas or the surrounding is a suitable way to alter reactive species composition, vacuum ultra violet emission, or temperature. Treatment regimens involving availability of oxygen or humidity may lead to increased hydrogen peroxide deposition in liquids and thus will be toxic to cells. Using an atmospheric pressure argon plasma jet, we applied a nitrogen gas curtain to its visible effluent during treatment of human immune cells. The curtain deprived the plasma of molecular oxygen. This excluded gas-phase oxygen plasma chemistry and led to generation of highly energetic metastables. Planar laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy verified laminar gas flow and complete elimination of surrounding air by the gas curtain. We used human immune cells to monitor cytotoxic effects as they are highly relevant in potential clinical plasma applications, e.g., treatment of chronic wounds. Air curtain plasma treatment led to significantly higher cytotoxicity compared with nitrogen curtain plasma treatment. Scavenging of hydrogen peroxide abrogated cell death in both gas curtain conditions. This indicated a negligible contribution of highly energetic metastables or increased gas temperature to cytotoxicity. Finally, the results suggested an oxygen-independent generation of hydrogen peroxide pointing to an indirect role of UV or RNS in plasma-mediated cytotoxicity.

Numerical analysis of the effect of nitrogen and oxygen admixtures on the chemistry of an argon plasma jet operating at atmospheric pressure

In this paper we study the cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet, called kinpen, operating in Ar with different admixture fractions up to 1% pure , and + . Moreover, the device is operating with a gas curtain of dry air. The absolute net production rates of the biologically active ozone () and nitrogen dioxide () species are measured in the far effluent by quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy in the mid-infrared. Additionally, a zero-dimensional semi-empirical reaction kinetics model is used to calculate the net production rates of these reactive molecules, which are compared to the experimental data. The latter model is applied throughout the entire plasma jet, starting already within the device itself. Very good qualitative and even quantitative agreement between the calculated and measured data is demonstrated. The numerical model thus yields very useful information about the chemical pathways of both the and the generation. It is shown that the production of these species can be manipulated by up to one order of magnitude by varying the amount of admixture or the admixture type, since this affects the electron kinetics significantly at these low concentration levels.

NO2 dynamics of an Ar/Air plasma jet investigated by in situ quantum cascade laser spectroscopy at atmospheric pressure

In this work, quantum cascade laser (QCL) absorption spectroscopy was used to investigate the nitric dioxide (NO2) production dynamics at ambient conditions. For the first time, QCL detection of NO2 and NO was used at ambient conditions in order to remain close to the conditions that are present in the application of plasma jets in open atmosphere. For the investigations, the plasma jet was placed inside an open multi-pass cell. The detection limit of the setup was 20 ppb for NO2 and similar for nitric oxide (NO). Since the effective production of NO was below the detection limit, further investigations of the NO density were performed with optical emission spectroscopy.