AVS 59th Annual International Symposium and Exhibition
    Plasma Science and Technology Monday Sessions
       Session PS+BI-MoA

Invited Paper PS+BI-MoA3
Nonthermal Bioplasma Sources and its Interactions to the Microbial, Fungal, Yeast and Living Cells

Monday, October 29, 2012, 2:40 pm, Room 24

Session: Applications of (Multiphase) Atmospheric Plasmas (including Medicine and Biological Applications)
Presenter: E.H. Choi, Kwangwoon University, Republic of Korea
Authors: E.H. Choi, Kwangwoon University, Republic of Korea
Y. Kim, Kwangwoon University, Republic of Korea
G.S. Cho, Kwangwoon University, Republic of Korea
G. Kwon, Kwangwoon University, Republic of Korea
B.K. Min, Kwangwoon University, Republic of Korea
H. Uhm, Kwangwoon University, Republic of Korea
P. Suanpoot, Maejo University Phrae Campus, Thailand
G. Lee, Kwangwoon University, Republic of Korea
R. Jung, Kwangwoon University, Republic of Korea
B. Park, Kwangwoon University, Republic of Korea
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We have investigated the atmospheric pressure (AP) nonthermal bioplasma sources and their characteristics as well as their interactions with biological cells of microbial, fungal, yeast, and living cells. The electron temperature and plasma density are measured to be about 1.1 eV~ 1.5 eV and (1~3)×1012 cm-3 , respectively,for the direct plasma jet and dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma under Ar gas flow. The densities for the reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as the hydroxyl radicals (OH), superoxide anions(O2*-), and nitric oxide (NO) have also been investigated in these AP direct plasma, respectively, inside the saline culture media by the ultraviolet optical absorption spectroscopy. Herein, we have investigated the basic interactions of these AP nonthermal bioplasma with the living organisms in morphological and biomolecular aspects. We found that the secondary electron emision coefficient of the biological surface has been drastically increased by atmospheric bioplasma, which indicates the biological surface to be oxidized especially by the hydroxyl (OH) radical species. In order to elucidate the basic mechanisms for the cell shrinking and apoptosis leading to a cell death by the nonthermal bioplasma, the cell membrane potential changes have been measured and investigated inside the culture media based on the ROS density as well as cell capacitances. It is also found that the molecular electron energy band structure in these biological cells have been modified and shifted toward the vacuum surface energy level by the AP nonthermal bioplasmas due to cell oxidation, mainly caused by OH radicals. We have also investigated the confocal Raman spectroscopy and circular dichroism as well as various biological assays to clarify these characteristics.