Antibacterial efficacy and mechanisms of action of low power atmospheric pressure cold plasma: membrane permeability, biofilm penetration and antimicrobial sensitization.

AIM: The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy and mechanisms of inactivation of two clinically relevant ESKAPE bacteria namely Pseudomonas aeruginosa and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by atmospheric pressure cold plasma. METHODS AND RESULTS: Plasma was generated between two brass grids by applying a radiofrequency electric field to a flow of helium. Intracellular generation of reactive species, alterations in cell membrane, and inactivation of bacteria in planktonic or biofilm growth were studied. Results were compared with commonly used antimicrobial drugs. Plasma exposure generated reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in bacteria, disrupted membrane integrity and reduced bacterial load. The efficacy in bacterial inactivation was comparable to antibiotics but exhibited a quicker killing rate. The antibacterial effect of plasma synergistically increased in association with antibiotics and did not diminish over repeated exposures, suggesting no development in bacterial resistance. CONCLUSIONS: Through generation of reactive species, cold plasma altered cell membrane and effectively inactivated clinically important bacteria, both in suspension and in biofilms. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: As cold plasma damages different targets in bacterial cells, it emerges as an effective strategy used alone or in combination with antimicrobial drugs to control microbial infections and prevent the selection of resistant bacterial strains.

Spatially resolved diagnostics for optimization of large ion beam sources.

Giant negative ion sources for neutral beam injectors deliver huge negative ion currents, thanks to their multi-beamlet configuration. As the single-beamlet optics defines the transmission losses along the beamline, the extraction of a similar current for all beamlets is extremely desirable, in order to facilitate the beam source operation (i.e., around perveance match). This Review investigates the correlation between the vertical profile of beam intensity and the vertical profiles of plasma properties at the extraction region of the source, focusing on the influence of increasing cesium injection. Only by the combined use of all available source diagnostics, described in this Review, can beam features on the scale of the non-uniformities be investigated with a sufficient space resolution. At RF power of 50 kW/driver, with intermediate bias currents and a filter field of 2.4 mT, it is found that the central part of the four vertical beam segments exhibits comparable plasma density and beamlet currents; at the edges of the central segments, both the beam and electron density appear to decrease (probably maintaining fixed electron-to-ion ratio); at the bottom of the source, an increase of cesium injection can compensate for the vertical drifts that cause a much higher presence of electrons and a lower amount of negative ions.

First hydrogen operation of NIO1: Characterization of the source plasma by means of an optical emission spectroscopy diagnostic.

NIO1 (Negative Ion Optimization 1) is a compact and flexible radio frequency H(-) ion source, developed by Consorzio RFX and INFN-LNL. The aim of the experimentation on NIO1 is the optimization of both the production of negative ions and their extraction and beam optics. In the initial phase of its commissioning, NIO1 was operated with nitrogen, but now the source is regularly operated also with hydrogen. To evaluate the source performances, an optical emission spectroscopy diagnostic was installed. The system includes a low resolution spectrometer in the spectral range of 300-850 nm and a high resolution (50 pm) one, to study, respectively, the atomic and the molecular emissions in the visible range. The spectroscopic data have been interpreted also by means of a collisional-radiative model developed at IPP Garching. Besides the diagnostic hardware and the data analysis methods, the paper presents the first plasma measurements across a transition to the full H mode, in a hydrogen discharge. The characteristic signatures of this transition in the plasma parameters are described, in particular, the sudden increase of the light emitted from the plasma above a certain power threshold.

First experiments with the negative ion source NIO1.

Neutral Beam Injectors (NBIs), which need to be strongly optimized in the perspective of DEMO reactor, request a thorough understanding of the negative ion source used and of the multi-beamlet optics. A relatively compact radio frequency (rf) ion source, named NIO1 (Negative Ion Optimization 1), with 9 beam apertures for a total H(-) current of 130 mA, 60 kV acceleration voltage, was installed at Consorzio RFX, including a high voltage deck and an X-ray shield, to provide a test bench for source optimizations for activities in support to the ITER NBI test facility. NIO1 status and plasma experiments both with air and with hydrogen as filling gas are described. Transition from a weak plasma to an inductively coupled plasma is clearly evident for the former gas and may be triggered by rising the rf power (over 0.5 kW) at low pressure (equal or below 2 Pa). Transition in hydrogen plasma requires more rf power (over 1.5 kW).

Modeling and simulation of a beam emission spectroscopy diagnostic for the ITER prototype neutral beam injector.

A test facility for the development of the neutral beam injection system for ITER is under construction at Consorzio RFX. It will host two experiments: SPIDER, a 100 keV H(-)/D(-) ion RF source, and MITICA, a prototype of the full performance ITER injector (1 MV, 17 MW beam). A set of diagnostics will monitor the operation and allow to optimize the performance of the two prototypes. In particular, beam emission spectroscopy will measure the uniformity and the divergence of the fast particles beam exiting the ion source and travelling through the beam line components. This type of measurement is based on the collection of the Hα/Dα emission resulting from the interaction of the energetic particles with the background gas. A numerical model has been developed to simulate the spectrum of the collected emissions in order to design this diagnostic and to study its performance. The paper describes the model at the base of the simulations and presents the modeled Hα spectra in the case of MITICA experiment.

Modeling and design of a beam emission spectroscopy diagnostic for the negative ion source NIO1.

Consorzio RFX and INFN-LNL are building a flexible small ion source (Negative Ion Optimization 1, NIO1) capable of producing about 130 mA of H(-) ions accelerated at 60 KeV. Aim of the experiment is to test and develop the instrumentation for SPIDER and MITICA, the prototypes, respectively, of the negative ion sources and of the whole neutral beam injectors which will operate in the ITER experiment. As SPIDER and MITICA, NIO1 will be monitored with beam emission spectroscopy (BES), a non-invasive diagnostic based on the analysis of the spectrum of the Hα emission produced by the interaction of the energetic ions with the background gas. Aim of BES is to monitor direction, divergence, and uniformity of the ion beam. The precision of these measurements depends on a number of factors related to the physics of production and acceleration of the negative ions, to the geometry of the beam, and to the collection optics. These elements were considered in a set of codes developed to identify the configuration of the diagnostic which minimizes the measurement errors. The model was already used to design the BES diagnostic for SPIDER and MITICA. The paper presents the model and describes its application to design the BES diagnostic in NIO1.

Design of a beam emission spectroscopy diagnostic for negative ions radio frequency source SPIDER.

A facility will be built in Padova (Italy) to develop, commission, and optimize the neutral beam injection system for ITER. The full scale prototype negative ion radio frequency source SPIDER, featuring up to 100 kV acceleration voltage, includes a full set of diagnostics, required for safe operation and to measure and optimize the beam performance. Among them, beam emission spectroscopy (BES) will be used to measure the line integrated beam uniformity, divergence, and neutralization losses inside the accelerator (stripping losses). In the absence of the neutralization stage, SPIDER beam is mainly composed by H(-) or D(-) particles, according to the source filling gas. The capability of a spectroscopic diagnostic of an H(-) (D(-)) beam relies on the interaction of the beam particles with the background gas particles. The BES diagnostic will be able to acquire the H(α) (D(α)) spectrum from up to 40 lines of sight. The system is capable to resolve stripping losses down to 2 keV and to measure beam divergence with an accuracy of about 10%. The design of this diagnostic is reported, with discussion of the layout and its components, together with simulations of the expected performance.

Diagnostics of the ITER neutral beam test facility.

The ITER heating neutral beam (HNB) injector, based on negative ions accelerated at 1 MV, will be tested and optimized in the SPIDER source and MITICA full injector prototypes, using a set of diagnostics not available on the ITER HNB. The RF source, where the H(-)∕D(-) production is enhanced by cesium evaporation, will be monitored with thermocouples, electrostatic probes, optical emission spectroscopy, cavity ring down, and laser absorption spectroscopy. The beam is analyzed by cooling water calorimetry, a short pulse instrumented calorimeter, beam emission spectroscopy, visible tomography, and neutron imaging. Design of the diagnostic systems is presented.

Active-feedback control of the magnetic boundary for magnetohydrodynamic stabilization of a fusion plasma.

Stable operation with control on magnetohydrodynamic modes has been obtained in the modified reversed field experiment employing a set of 192 feedback controlled saddle coils. Improvements of plasma temperature, confinement (twofold), and pulse length (threefold) and, as a consequence of the magnetic fluctuation reduction, strong mitigation of plasma-wall interaction and mode locking are reported.