Gas discharge plasmas are widely used in many modern technologies. Unique properties of these weaklyionized plasmas are determined by their highly non-equilibrium state: distributions of electrons and ions substantially deviate from (equilibrium) Maxwellian distributions. These deviations are especially important for electrons which are responsible for ionization processes and plasma maintenanc...

The technological potential of non-thermal plasmas for the antimicrobial treatment of heat sensitive materials is well known and has been documented in a great number of research activities, but the realisation of industrial plasma-based decontamination processes remains a great challenge. One of the reasons for this situation is the fact that an antimicrobial treatment process needs to conside...

To achieve suitable conditions for generation and observation plasma at over-atmospheric pressures we constructed a specially adapted reactor. Plasma was generated between two parallel electrodes covered by dielectric material. Observations were made in the dynamic mode (gas flow 1.4 l/min.) and static mode at pressures form 0.8 atm. to 2 atm. (from 0.9 atm. to 1.3 atm. in static mode) in high ...

The use of non-thermal plasmas in bio-medical applications has been driven by the development of cold plasma devices capable of being operated in the open atmosphere. The generation of atmospheric pressure plasmas removes the need for costly high vacuum systems and avoids the inherent difficulties of treating living tissue under vacuum conditions. Moreover, since such plasmas are ‘cold’ they ar...

Thermal plasmas and lasers have been widely used in medicine to cut, ablate and cauterize tissues through heating; in contrast, non-thermal plasma produces no heat, so its effects can be selective. In order to exploit the potential for clinical applications, including wound healing, sterilization, blood coagulation, and cancer treatment, a mechanistic understanding of the interaction of non-the...

BACKGROUND Cold atmospheric plasma could constitute an alternative against multi-drug resistant pathogens. Susceptibility of enterococci to cold atmospheric plasma was investigated in vitro. METHODS 39 clinical isolates of enterococci were grouped dependent on the most important resistance patterns and treated on agar using dielectric barrier discharge plasma. These included enterococci with ...

Non-thermal plasma has been recognized as a promising tool across a vast variety of biomedical applications, with the potential to create novel therapeutic methods. However, the understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind non-thermal plasma cellular effects remains a significant challenge. In this study, we show how two types of different non-thermal plasmas induce cell death in mammalian ...