Elucidating the bacterial inactivation mechanism by argon cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet through spectroscopic and imaging techniques.

AIMS: This study aims to assess the potential bacterial inactivation pathway triggered by argon (Ar) cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet (CAPJ) discharge using spectroscopic and imaging techniques. METHODS AND RESULTS: Electrical and reactive species of the Ar CAPJ discharge was characterized. The chemical composition and morphology of bacteria pre- and post-CAPJ exposure were assessed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), Raman micro-spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A greater than 6 log reduction of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was achieved within 60 and 120 s of CAPJ exposure, respectively. Extremely low D-values (<20 s) were recorded for both the isolates. The alterations in the FTIR spectra and Raman micro-spectra signals of post-CAPJ exposed bacteria revealed the degree of destruction at the molecular level, such as lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, bond breakages, etc. Further, TEM images of exposed bacteria indicated the incurred damages on cell morphology by CAPJ reactive species. Also, the inactivation process varied for both isolates, as evidenced by the correlation between the inactivation curve and FTIR spectra. It was observed that the identified gas-phase reactive species, such as Ar I, O I, OH•, NO+, OH+, NO2-, NO3-, etc. played a significant role in bacterial inactivation. CONCLUSIONS: This study clearly demonstrated the effect of CAPJ exposure on bacterial cell morphology and molecular composition, illuminating potential bacterial inactivation mechanisms.

Development of a pulse modulated sub-radio frequency power supply for atmospheric pressure plasma devices.

The effect of pulse-modulated sub-RF range (100 kHz-1 MHz) excitation on atmospheric pressure argon plasma jet characteristics is studied. For this, a suitable power supply is developed, offering a sub-µs rise time with control of different parameters, such as voltage amplitude, pulse modulation frequency in the range of 1-30 kHz, and an oscillation frequency of ∼520 kHz, which can affect the plasma behavior. Plasma characteristics, such as reactive species generation, ionic composition, plasma plume length, and gas temperature, are evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively by employing diagnostics such as optical emission spectroscopy, molecular beam mass spectrometry, and optical imaging. Experimental observations indicate that the gas temperature of the plasma jet and plume length increase with the applied voltage for all pulse modulation frequencies, with a maximum value of ∼(325 ± 2 K) and a maximum length of ∼(23 ± 3 mm), respectively, at 30 kHz and 9 kVpp. The emission intensities of OH• and O• lines show an incremental behavior with the applied voltage across all pulse modulation frequencies. The relative yield of different positive (OH+, O+, etc.) and negative (OH-, O-, etc.) ions also increases with the applied voltage for all pulse modulation frequencies with maximum values of ∼(7.6%, 9.9%) and (3.9%, 9.4%), respectively; these are relatively close to RF excited ionic concentrations reported previously. Attaining a high plasma length and species yield signify the features of both kHz and RF atmospheric plasmas. This study offers significant insights and flexibility into exploring the impact of different RF frequency regimes on plasma characteristics.

Effect of an additional floating electrode on radio frequency cross-field atmospheric pressure plasma jet.

Atmospheric pressure plasma jets with cross-field electrode configuration are a potential jet design for gases with high breakdown fields. This study focuses on the effect of an additional floating electrode on the cross-field plasma jet properties. Detailed experiments are done with the additional floating electrodes of different widths introduced below the ground electrode in a plasma jet with a cross-field electrode configuration. It is observed that in the presence of an additional floating electrode in the jet propagation path, less applied power is needed for the plasma jet to cross the nozzle and jet length increases. This threshold power, as well as the maximum jet length, depends on the electrode widths. A detailed analysis of charge dynamics in the presence of an additional floating electrode shows decrement in the net charge transferred radially to the external circuit through the ground electrode, and an increment in the net charge transferred axially. Increment in the optical emission intensity of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, as well as the relative yield of ions like N[Formula: see text], O[Formula: see text], OH[Formula: see text], NO[Formula: see text], O[Formula: see text], and OH[Formula: see text] in the plasma plume, that are crucial for biomedical applications suggest an improvement in the reactivity of plasma plume in the presence of additional floating electrode.

A joint calibration technique for improving measurement accuracy of voltage and current probes during synchronous operation for RF-based plasma devices.

This paper presents a joint calibration scheme for voltage (V) and current (I) probes that helps accurately resolve the voltage-current phase differences even when the difference is very close to 90°. The latter has been a major issue with V-I probes when used with miniature RF plasma devices such as the atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ). Since the impedance of such miniature devices is predominantly capacitive, the phase difference between the voltage and current signals is very nearly 90°. It turns out, however, that when V-I probes are used with such devices without joint calibration, these frequently yield phase shifts over 90°. Also, since the power absorption is proportional to the resistive part of the impedance, it becomes very sensitive to the phase difference when it is close to ≈90°. Thus, it is important to be able to accurately resolve the phases. Post-calibration, V-I probes would be indispensable for the electrical characterization of APPJs for determining the average RF power Pav, plasma impedance Zp, etc. Typical post-calibration V-I data yield Zp ≈ 93.6 - j 1139 Ω (81.5 - j 1173 Ω) at Pav ≈9.8W (≈7.7W) for helium (argon) gas.

Reactive species variation in cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet discharge under the influence of intrinsic parameters and its effect on E. coli inactivation.

Cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet (CAPJ) has piqued the interest of researchers for various antimicrobial applications such as disinfection, wound decontamination, etc. In the current context, a deeper understanding of the correlation between CAPJ's intrinsic parameters, discharge characteristics, species composition, and antimicrobial activity is required for any successful application. This research evaluated the effect of intrinsic operational parameters such as voltage, frequency, gas flow rate, and operating gas on the reactive species composition of an in-house-developed CAPJ discharge along with the antimicrobial activity. It was observed that the identified excited atoms (Ar I, He I, N2, and O I), ions (Ar+, N2+, N+, H2O+, H3O+, etc.), radical reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) (OH•), and nonradical RONS (O I, O+, OH+, NO+, O2+, O2-, NO2-, N2O2-, NO3-, N2O3-, etc.) might play a synergistic role in bacterial inactivation via oxidative and electrostatic stress. The variation in voltage, frequency, gas flow rate, and operating gas influenced the discharge chemistry, leading to variation in bacterial inactivation. The reactive species in the discharge responsible for such variation was evaluated extensively. This investigation into various operational parameters would aid in determining the most effective settings for a developed CAPJ to achieve high productivity.