Abstract: The use of plasma technology for CO2 splitting is gaining increasing interest, but one of the major obstacles to date for industrial implementation is the considerable energy cost. We demonstrate that the introduction of a packing of dielectric zirconia (ZrO2) beads into a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor can enhance the CO2 conversion and energy efficiency up to a factor 1.9 and 2.2, respectively, compared to that in a normal (unpacked) DBD reactor. We obtained a maximum conversion of 42 % and a maximum energy efficiency of 9.6 %. However, it is the ability of the packing to almost double both the conversion and the energy efficiency simultaneously at certain input parameters that makes it very promising. The improved conversion and energy efficiency can be explained by the higher values of the local electric field and electron energy near the contact points of the beads and the lower breakdown voltage, demonstrated by 2 D fluid modeling.

Abstract: The overexpression of voltage dependent anion channels (VDACs), particularly VDAC1, in cancer cells compared to normal cells, plays a crucial role in cancer cell metabolism, apoptosis regulation, and energy homeostasis. In this study, we used molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the effect of a low level of VDAC1 oxidation (induced e.g., by cold atmospheric plasma (CAP)) on the pyruvate (Pyr) uptake by VDAC1. Inhibiting Pyr uptake through VDAC1 can suppress cancer cell proliferation. Our primary target was to study the translocation of Pyr across the native and oxidized forms of hVDAC1, the human VDAC1. Specifically, we employed MD simulations to analyze the hVDAC1 structure by modifying certain cysteine residues to cysteic acids and methionine residues to methionine sulfoxides, which allowed us to investigate the effect of oxidation. Our results showed that the free energy barrier for Pyr translocation through the native and oxidized channel was approximately 4.3 +/- 0.7 kJ mol-1 and 10.8 +/- 1.8 kJ mol-1, respectively. An increase in barrier results in a decrease in rate of Pyr permeation through the oxidized channel. Thus, our results indicate that low levels of CAP oxidation reduce Pyr translocation, resulting in decreased cancer cell proliferation. Therefore, low levels of oxidation are likely sufficient to treat cancer cells given the inhibition of Pyr uptake.

Abstract: In recent years, the interest in treating cancer cells with plasma treated media (PTM) and plasma treated water (PTW) has increased tremendously. However, the actions of PTM and PTW are still not entirely understood. For instance, it is not clear whether the action of PTM is due to a modification in proteins/amino acids after plasma treatment of the media, or due to reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) generated from the plasma, or a combination of both effects. To differentiate between the actions of RONS and modified proteins/amino acids on the treatment of cancer cells, we compared the effects of PTM and PTW on two different pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (MiaPaca-2, BxPc3) and pancreatic stellate cells
(PSCs) (hPSC128-SV). PSCs closely interact with cancer cells to create a tumor-promoting environment that stimulates local tumor progression and metastasis. We treated culture media and deionized water with a cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) jet, and subsequently applied this PTM/PTW at various ratios to the pancreatic cancer and PSC cell lines. We evaluated cell death, intracellular ROS concentrations and the mRNA expression profiles of four oxidative stress-related genes, i.e. Mitogen-activated protein kinase 7 (MAPK7), B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2), Checkpoint kinase 1 (CHEK1) and DNA damage-inducible transcript 3, also known as C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP). Our findings demonstrate that PTM and PTW have a similar efficacy to kill pancreatic cancer cells, while PTW is slightly more effective in killing PSCs, as compared to PTM. Furthermore, we observed an enhancement of the intracellular ROS concentrations in both pancreatic cancer cells and PSCs. Thus, it is likely that under our experimental conditions, the anti-cancer activity of PTM can be attributed more to the RONS present in the treated liquid, than to the modification of proteins/amino acids in the media. Furthermore, the fact that the chemo-resistant PSCs were killed by PTM/PTW may offer possibilities for new anti-cancer therapies for pancreatic cancer cells, including PSCs.

Abstract: Reactive molecular dynamics simulations are performed to study the interaction of reactive oxygen species, such as OH, HO2 and H2O2, with the endotoxic biomolecule lipid A of the gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli. It is found that the aforementioned plasma species can destroy the lipid A, which consequently results in reducing its toxic activity. All bond dissociation events are initiated by hydrogen-abstraction reactions. However, the mechanisms behind these dissociations are dependent on the impinging plasma species, i.e. a clear difference is observed in the mechanisms upon impact of HO2 radicals and H2O2 molecules on one hand and OH radicals on the other hand. Our simulation results are in good agreement with experimental observations.

Abstract: This paper reports on the incorporation of three commercial fluorescent dyes, i.e., rhodamine 6G, fluorescein, and fluorescent brightener 184, in plasma coatings, by utilizing a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor, and the subsequent monitoring of the coatings homogeneity based on the emitted fluorescent light. The plasma coatings are qualitatively characterized with fluorescence microscopy, UVvis spectroscopy and profilometry for the determination of the coating thickness. The emitted fluorescent light of the coating correlates to the amount of dye per area, and deviations of these factors can hence be observed by monitoring the intensity of this light. This allows monitoring the homogeneity of the plasma coatings in a fast and simple way, without making major adjustments to the process.

Abstract: In this tutorial review paper, we illustrate how computer modeling can contribute to a better insight in inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). We start with a brief overview on previous efforts, studying the fundamentals of the ICP and ICP-MS, with main focus on previous modeling activities. Subsequently, we explain in detail the model that we developed in previous years, and we show typical calculation results, illustrating the plasma characteristics, gas flow patterns and the sample transport, evaporation and ionization. We also present the effect of various experimental parameters, such as operating conditions, geometrical aspects and sample characteristics, to illustrate how modeling can help to elucidate the optimal conditions for improved analytical performance.

Abstract: In the present work, reactive magnetron sputtering in DC mode was used to grow complex oxide thin films, starting from two separate pure metal targets. A series of coatings was produced with a stoichiometry of the film ranging from MgO, over MgxAlyOz to Al2O3. The surface energy, crystallinity, hardness, refractive index, and surface roughness were investigated. A relationship between all properties studied and the Mg content of the samples was found. A critical compositional region for the Mg-Al-O system where all properties exhibit a change was noticed.

Abstract: Increasing the selectivity of cancer treatments is attractive, as it has the potential to reduce side-effects of therapy. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is a novel cancer treatment that disrupts the intracellular oxidative balance. Several reports claim CAP treatment to be selective, but retrospective analysis of these studies revealed discrepancies in several biological factors and culturing methods. Before CAP can be conclusively stated as a selective cancer treatment, the importance of these factors must be investigated. In this study, we evaluated the influence of the cell type, cancer type, and cell culture medium on direct and indirect CAP treatment. Comparison of cancerous cells with their non-cancerous counterparts was performed under standardized conditions to determine selectivity of treatment. Analysis of seven human cell lines (cancerous: A549, U87, A375, and Malme-3M; non-cancerous: BEAS-2B, HA, and HEMa) and five different cell culture media (DMEM, RPMI1640, AM, BEGM, and DCBM) revealed that the tested parameters strongly influence indirect CAP treatment, while direct treatment was less affected. Taken together, the results of our study demonstrate that cell type, cancer type, and culturing medium must be taken into account before selectivity of CAP treatment can be claimed and overlooking these parameters can easily result in inaccurate conclusions of selectivity.

Abstract: A packed bed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) was studied by means of fluid modelling, to investigate the influence of the dielectric constant of the packing on the plasma characteristics, for two different gap sizes. The electric field strength and electron temperature are much more enhanced in a microgap reactor than
in a mm-gap reactor, leading to more current peaks per half-cycle, but also to non-quasineutral plasma. Increasing the dielectric constant enhances the electric field further, but only up to a certain value of dielectric constant, being 9 for a microgap and 100 for a mm-gap reactor. The enhanced electric field results in a higher electron temperature, but also lower electron density. This last one strongly affects the reaction rate.

Abstract: We present a combined study of experimental and computational work for a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) used for CH4 conversion into H2. More specifically, we investigated the influence of N2 as an impurity (150,000 ppm) and as additive gas (199%) on the CH4 conversion and H2 yield. For this purpose, a zero-dimensional chemical kinetics model is applied to study the plasma chemistry. The calculated conversions and yields for various gas mixing ratios are compared to the obtained experimental values, and good agreement is achieved. The study reveals the significance of the View the MathML source and View the MathML source metastable states for the CH4 conversion into H2, based on a kinetic analysis of the reaction chemistry.

Abstract: Biological membranes are under constant attack of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), which may lead to a complex mixture of nitro-oxidized lipids that are responsible for structural and dynamic changes on the membrane. Because of that, nitro-oxidized lipids are also associated with several tumors and inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, lipid oxidation may induce membrane phase-separated domains, which also drastically affect the membrane function. Evidence suggests that domain interfaces are “hot spots” for pore formation, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. There is an urgent need for an improved understanding of oxidation-induced phase separation on membrane properties. Likewise, the molecular structure at domain interfaces still needs to be elucidated. To evaluate the effect of lipid nitro-oxidation on the permeability of single-phase (homogeneous) and phase-separated (heterogeneous) phospholipid bilayers (PLBs), we performed atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using: (1) single-phase PLBs composed of several isomers of nitrated and/or oxidized lipids; (2) phase-separated PLBs composed of coexisting liquid ordered (Lo) and liquid disordered (Ld) domains, where the Ld domain is composed of non-oxidized and/or oxidized lipids. Our results show that nitrated lipids increase the membrane permeability of single-phase PLBs by three-fold compared to oxidized lipids. In addition, we show that oxidized lipids in the presence of nitrated lipids decrease the membrane permeability, suggesting an interaction between nitrated and oxidized lipids. Overall, the permeability of single-phase and phase-separated PLBs was comparable, and the presence of oxidized lipids increases the membrane permeability only in single-phase PLBs. Despite the latter, the presence of only 1.5% of lipid aldehydes at the Lo/Ld domain interfaces of phase-separated PLBs was able to increase the membrane permeability. In consequence of this, we also performed coarse-grained MD simulations to evaluate whether lipid aldehydes have a preference to accumulate at the interface between Lo/Ld domains. Our results show that lipid aldehydes derived from mono-unsaturated lipids accumulate at the interface, but those derived from poly-unsaturated lipids remain in the Ld domain. This study is of interest for photodynamic therapy and plasma medicine for cancer treatment, to understand the effects caused by RONS in cell membranes.

Abstract: Warm plasma offers a promising route for CO2 splitting into valuable CO, yet recombination reactions of CO with oxygen, forming again CO2, have recently emerged as critical limitation. This study combines experiments and fluid dynamics + chemical kinetics modelling to comprehensively analyse the recombination reactions upon CO2 splitting in an atmospheric plasmatron. We introduce an innovative in-situ gas sampling technique, enabling 2D spatial mapping of gas product compositions and temperatures, experimentally confirming for the first time the substantial limiting effect of CO recombination reactions in the afterglow region. Our results show that the CO mole fraction at a 5 L/min flow rate drops significantly from 11.9 % at a vertical distance of z = 20 mm in the afterglow region to 8.6 % at z = 40 mm. We constructed a comprehensive 2D model that allows for spatial reaction rates analysis incorporating crucial reactions, and we validated it to kinetically elucidate this phenomenon. CO2 +M⇌O+CO+M and CO2 +O⇌CO+O2 are the dominant reactions, with the forward reactions prevailing in the plasma region and the backward reactions becoming prominent in the afterglow region. These results allow us to propose an afterglow quenching strategy for performance enhancement, which is further demonstrated through a meticulously developed plasmatron reactor with two-stage cooling. Our approach substantially increases the CO2 conversion (e.g., from 6.6 % to 19.5 % at 3 L/min flow rate) and energy efficiency (from 13.5 % to 28.5 %, again at 3 L/min) and significantly shortens the startup time (from ~ 150 s to 25 s). Our study underscores the critical role of inhibiting recombination reactions in plasma-based CO2 conversion and offers new avenues for performance enhancement.