| AVS 60th International Symposium and Exhibition | |
| Plasma Science and Technology | Monday Sessions |
| Session PS+AS+BI+SE-MoM |
| Session: | Atmospheric Plasma Processing: Fundamental and Applications |
| Presenter: | D. O'Connell, University of York, UK |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Non-equilibrium plasmas, operated at ambient atmospheric pressure and temperature, are very efficient sources for highly reactive neutral particles e.g. reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) (such as atomic oxygen, atomic nitrogen, nitrogen oxides), charged particles, UV-radiation, and electro-magnetic fields. Individually many of these components have been implicated in therapeutics. Plasmas have the advantage of delivering these components simultaneously providing potentially superior processes through synergies. This has led to the establishment of low-temperature plasmas with potential in disease therapeutics and plasma pharmacology. The challenges lie in understanding the mechanism of interaction, quantifying and accurately tailoring the plasma and its power dissipation. Suitable optimized plasma sources are currently lacking, and improbable through empirical investigations. Therefore, quantifying the power dissipation and energy transport mechanisms through the different interfaces from the plasma regime to ambient air, towards the liquid interface and associated impact on the biological system through a new regime of liquid chemistry initiated by the synergy of delivering multiple energy carrying species, is crucial.
This presentation will include examining our interaction studies of atmospheric pressure plasma jets with prostate cancer cells and our results of employing advanced diagnostic techniques for direct measurements of reactive plasma species and comparison to chemical kinetics simulations. These include absolute densities of atomic oxygen and atomic nitrogen using non-linear laser spectroscopy and vacuum ultra-violet (VUV) absorption spectroscopy, where the VUV radiation was produced using a synchrotron and detected with a high-resolution Fourier-transform spectrometer.