|   | 
Details
   web
Records
Author Jalali, H.; Ghorbanfekr, H.; Hamid, I.; Neek-Amal, M.; Rashidi, R.; Peeters, F.M.
Title Out-of-plane permittivity of confined water Type A1 Journal article
Year 2020 Publication Physical Review E Abbreviated Journal Phys Rev E
Volume 102 Issue 2 Pages 022803
Keywords A1 Journal article; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT); Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract The dielectric properties of confined water is of fundamental interest and is still controversial. For water confined in channels with height smaller than h = 8 angstrom, we found a commensurability effect and an extraordinary decrease in the out-of-plane dielectric constant down to the limit of the dielectric constant of optical water. Spatial resolved polarization density data obtained from molecular dynamics simulations are found to be antisymmetric across the channel and are used as input in a mean-field model for the dielectric constant as a function of the height of the channel for h > 15 angstrom. Our results are in excellent agreement with a recent experiment [L. Fumagalli et al., Science 360, 1339 (2018)].
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000560660400004 Publication Date 2020-08-11
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1539-3755; 1550-2376 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 2.366 Times cited 38 Open Access
Notes ; This work was supported by the Flemish Science Foundation (FWO-Vl) and the Methusalem program. ; Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:171157 Serial 6574
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Heijkers, S.
Title Plasma chemistry modelling for CO2 and CH4 conversion in various plasma types Type Doctoral thesis
Year 2020 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 316 p.
Keywords Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos Publication Date
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:168055 Serial 6582
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Lin, A.; Biscop, E.; Breen, C.; Butler, S.J.; Smits, E.; Bogaerts, A.; Jakovljevic, V.
Title Critical Evaluation of the Interaction of Reactive Oxygen and Nitrogen Species with Blood to Inform the Clinical Translation of Nonthermal Plasma Therapy Type A1 Journal article
Year 2020 Publication Oxidative Medicine And Cellular Longevity Abbreviated Journal Oxid Med Cell Longev
Volume 2020 Issue Pages 1-10
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); Center for Oncological Research (CORE)
Abstract Non-thermal plasma (NTP), an ionized gas generated at ambient pressure and temperature, has been an emerging technology for medical applications. Through controlled delivery of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS), NTP can elicit hormetic cellular responses, thus stimulating broad therapeutic effects. To enable clinical translation of the promising preclinical research into NTP therapy, a deeper understanding of NTP interactions with clinical substrates is profoundly needed. Since NTP-generated ROS/RNS will inevitably interact with blood in several clinical contexts, understanding their stability in this system is crucial. In this study, two medically relevant NTP delivery modalities were used to assess the stability of NTP-generated ROS/RNS in three aqueous solutions with increasing organic complexities: phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), blood plasma (BP), and processed whole blood. NTP-generated RNS collectively (NO2−, ONOO−), H2O2, and ONOO− exclusively were analyzed over time. We demonstrated that NTP-generated RNS and H2O2 were stable in PBS but scavenged by different components of the blood. While RNS remained stable in BP after initial scavenging effects, it was completely reduced in processed whole blood. On the other hand, H2O2 was completely scavenged in both liquids over time. Our previously developed luminescent probe europium(III) was used for precision measurement of ONOO− concentration. NTP-generated ONOO− was detected in all three liquids for up to at least 30 seconds, thus highlighting its therapeutic potential. Based on our results, we discussed the necessary considerations to choose the most optimal NTP modality for delivery of ROS/RNS to and via blood in the clinical context.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000600343500001 Publication Date 2020-12-03
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1942-0900 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 4.593 Times cited Open Access
Notes This work was supported in part by the Research Foundation Flanders grant 12S9218N (A.L.) ,12S9221N (A.L) and G044420N (A.B. and A.L). This work was also supported by the Methusalem grant (A.B.). Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:174000 Serial 6658
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Marinov, D.; de Marneffe, J.-F.; Smets, Q.; Arutchelvan, G.; Bal, K.M.; Voronina, E.; Rakhimova, T.; Mankelevich, Y.; El Kazzi, S.; Nalin Mehta, A.; Wyndaele, P.-J.; Heyne, M.H.; Zhang, J.; With, P.C.; Banerjee, S.; Neyts, E.C.; Asselberghs, I.; Lin, D.; De Gendt, S.
Title Reactive plasma cleaning and restoration of transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication npj 2D Materials and Applications Abbreviated Journal npj 2D Mater Appl
Volume 5 Issue 1 Pages 17
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract The cleaning of two-dimensional (2D) materials is an essential step in the fabrication of future devices, leveraging their unique physical, optical, and chemical properties. Part of these emerging 2D materials are transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). So far there is limited understanding of the cleaning of “monolayer” TMD materials. In this study, we report on the use of downstream H<sub>2</sub>plasma to clean the surface of monolayer WS<sub>2</sub>grown by MOCVD. We demonstrate that high-temperature processing is essential, allowing to maximize the removal rate of polymers and to mitigate damage caused to the WS<sub>2</sub>in the form of sulfur vacancies. We show that low temperature in situ carbonyl sulfide (OCS) soak is an efficient way to resulfurize the material, besides high-temperature H<sub>2</sub>S annealing. The cleaning processes and mechanisms elucidated in this work are tested on back-gated field-effect transistors, confirming that transport properties of WS<sub>2</sub>devices can be maintained by the combination of H<sub>2</sub>plasma cleaning and OCS restoration. The low-damage plasma cleaning based on H<sub>2</sub>and OCS is very reproducible, fast (completed in a few minutes) and uses a 300 mm industrial plasma etch system qualified for standard semiconductor pilot production. This process is, therefore, expected to enable the industrial scale-up of 2D-based devices, co-integrated with silicon technology.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000613258900001 Publication Date 2021-01-28
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2397-7132 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access OpenAccess
Notes Daniil Marinov has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 752164. Ekaterina Voronina, Yuri Mankelevitch, and Tatyana Rakhimova are thankful to the Russian Science Foundation (RSF) for financial support (Grant No. 16-12-10361). This study was carried out using the equipment of the shared research facilities of high-performance computing resources at Lomonosov Moscow State University and the computational resources and services of the HPC core facility CalcUA of the University of Antwerp, and VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center), funded by the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO) and the Flemish Government. Patrick With gratefully acknowledges imec’s CTO office for financial support during his stay at imec. The authors thank Mr. Surajit Sutar (imec) for his help during sample electrical characterization, and Patrick Verdonck for lab processing. Jean-François de Marneffe thank Prof. Simone Napolitano from the Free University of Brussels for useful discussions on irreversibly adsorbed polymer layers, and Cédric Huyghebaert (imec) for his continuous support in the framework of the Graphene FET Flagship core project. All authors acknowledge the support of imec’s pilot line and materials characterization and analysis (MCA) group, namely Jonathan Ludwig, Stefanie Sergeant, Thomas Nuytten, Olivier Richard, and Thierry Conard. Finally, Daniil Marinov thank Mikhail Krishtab (imec/KU Leuven) for his help in selecting the optimal plasma etch system for this work. Part of this project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 649953. Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:175871 Serial 6671
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Lin, A.; Razzokov, J.; Verswyvel, H.; Privat-Maldonado, A.; De Backer, J.; Yusupov, M.; Cardenas De La Hoz, E.; Ponsaerts, P.; Smits, E.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Oxidation of Innate Immune Checkpoint CD47 on Cancer Cells with Non-Thermal Plasma Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Cancers Abbreviated Journal Cancers
Volume 13 Issue 3 Pages 579
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); Laboratory for Experimental Hematology (LEH); Center for Oncological Research (CORE)
Abstract Non-thermal plasma (NTP) therapy has been emerging as a promising cancer treatment strategy, and recently, its ability to locally induce immunogenic cancer cell death is being unraveled. We hypothesized that the chemical species produced by NTP reduce immunosuppressive surface proteins and checkpoints that are overexpressed on cancerous cells. Here, 3D in vitro tumor models, an in vivo mouse model, and molecular dynamics simulations are used to investigate the effect of NTP on CD47, a key innate immune checkpoint. CD47 is immediately modulated after NTP treatment and simulations reveal the potential oxidized salt-bridges responsible for conformational changes. Umbrella sampling simulations of CD47 with its receptor, signal-regulatory protein alpha (SIRPα), demonstrate that the induced-conformational changes reduce its binding affinity. Taken together, this work provides new insight into fundamental, chemical NTP-cancer cell interaction mechanisms and a previously overlooked advantage of present NTP cancer therapy: reducing immunosuppressive signals on the surface of cancer cells.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000614960600001 Publication Date 2021-02-02
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2072-6694 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access OpenAccess
Notes We thank Erik Fransen (University of Antwerp; Antwerp, Belgium) for his help and guidance on the statistical analysis. Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:176455 Serial 6709
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Van Alphen, S.; Jardali, F.; Creel, J.; Trenchev, G.; Snyders, R.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Sustainable gas conversion by gliding arc plasmas: a new modelling approach for reactor design improvement Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Sustainable energy & fuels Abbreviated Journal Sustainable Energy Fuels
Volume 5 Issue 6 Pages 1786-1800
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Research in plasma reactor designs is developing rapidly as plasma technology is gaining increasing interest for sustainable gas conversion applications, like the conversion of greenhouse gases into value-added chemicals and renewable fuels, and fixation of N<sub>2</sub>from air into precursors of mineral fertilizer. As plasma is generated by electric power and can easily be switched on/off, these applications allows for efficient conversion and energy storage of intermittent renewable electricity. In this paper, we present a new comprehensive modelling approach for the design and development of gliding arc plasma reactors, which reveals the fluid dynamics, the arc behaviour and the plasma chemistry by solving a unique combination of five complementary models. This results in a complete description of the plasma process, which allows one to efficiently evaluate the performance of a reactor and indicate possible design improvements before actually building it. We demonstrate the capabilities of this method for an experimentally validated study of plasma-based NO<sub>x</sub>formation in a rotating gliding arc reactor, which is gaining increasing interest as a flexible, electricity-driven alternative for the Haber–Bosch process. The model demonstrates the importance of the vortex flow and the presence of a recirculation zone in the reactor, as well as the formation of hot spots in the plasma near the cathode pin and the anode wall that are responsible for most of the NO<sub>x</sub>formation. The model also reveals the underlying plasma chemistry and the vibrational non-equilibrium that exists due to the fast cooling during each arc rotation. Good agreement with experimental measurements on the studied reactor design proves the predictive capabilities of our modelling approach.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000631643300013 Publication Date 2021-02-22
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2398-4902 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access OpenAccess
Notes Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, GoF9618n ; Vlaamse regering, HBC.2019.0107 ; European Research Council, 810182 ; This research was supported by the Excellence of Science FWOFNRS project (FWO grant ID GoF9618n, EOS ID 30505023), the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no. 810182 – SCOPE ERC Synergy project), the 1798 | Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2021, 5, 1786–1800 Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:177540 Serial 6745
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Shaw, P.; Kumar, N.; Privat-Maldonado, A.; Smits, E.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Cold Atmospheric Plasma Increases Temozolomide Sensitivity of Three-Dimensional Glioblastoma Spheroids via Oxidative Stress-Mediated DNA Damage Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Cancers Abbreviated Journal Cancers
Volume 13 Issue 8 Pages 1780
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); Center for Oncological Research (CORE)
Abstract Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most frequent and aggressive primary malignant brain tumor in adults. Current standard radiotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy with the alkylating agent temozolomide (TMZ) yield poor clinical outcome. This is due to the stem-like properties of tumor cells and genetic abnormalities in GBM, which contribute to resistance to TMZ and progression. In this study, we used cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) to enhance the sensitivity to TMZ through inhibition of antioxidant signaling (linked to TMZ resistance). We demonstrate that CAP indeed enhances the cytotoxicity of TMZ by targeting the antioxidant specific glutathione (GSH)/glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) signaling. We optimized the threshold concentration of TMZ on five different GBM cell lines (U251, LN18, LN229, U87-MG and T98G). We combined TMZ with CAP and tested it on both TMZ-sensitive (U251, LN18 and LN229) and TMZ-resistant (U87-MG and T98G) cell lines using two-dimensional cell cultures. Subsequently, we used a three-dimensional spheroid model for the U251 (TMZ-sensitive) and U87-MG and T98G (TMZ-resistant) cells. The sensitivity of TMZ was enhanced, i.e., higher cytotoxicity and spheroid shrinkage was obtained when TMZ and CAP were administered together. We attribute the anticancer properties to the release of intracellular reactive oxygen species, through inhibiting the GSH/GPX4 antioxidant machinery, which can lead to DNA damage. Overall, our findings suggest that the combination of CAP with TMZ is a promising combination therapy to enhance the efficacy of TMZ towards the treatment of GBM spheroids.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000644001200001 Publication Date 2021-04-08
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2072-6694 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access OpenAccess
Notes We thank the Department of Biomedical Sciences, and the Laboratory of Protein Science, Proteomics & Epigenetic Signalling, at the University of Antwerp, for providing the facilities for the cell experiments. We are also grateful to Peter Ponsaerts from the Laboratory of Experimental Haematology, at the University of Antwerp, for providing the fluorescence microscope. Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:177779 Serial 6746
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Logie, E.; Chirumamilla, C.S.; Perez-Novo, C.; Shaw, P.; Declerck, K.; Palagani, A.; Rangarajan, S.; Cuypers, B.; De Neuter, N.; Mobashar Hussain Urf Turabe, F.; Kumar Verma, N.; Bogaerts, A.; Laukens, K.; Offner, F.; Van Vlierberghe, P.; Van Ostade, X.; Berghe, W.V.
Title Covalent Cysteine Targeting of Bruton’s Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) Family by Withaferin-A Reduces Survival of Glucocorticoid-Resistant Multiple Myeloma MM1 Cells Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Cancers Abbreviated Journal Cancers
Volume 13 Issue 7 Pages 1618
Keywords A1 Journal article; ADReM Data Lab (ADReM); Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematological malignancy characterized by plasma cells’ uncontrolled growth. The major barrier in treating MM is the occurrence of primary and acquired therapy resistance to anticancer drugs. Often, this therapy resistance is associated with constitutive hyperactivation of tyrosine kinase signaling. Novel covalent kinase inhibitors, such as the clinically approved BTK inhibitor ibrutinib (IBR) and the preclinical phytochemical withaferin A (WA), have, therefore, gained pharmaceutical interest. Remarkably, WA is more effective than IBR in killing BTK-overexpressing glucocorticoid (GC)-resistant MM1R cells. To further characterize the kinase inhibitor profiles of WA and IBR in GC-resistant MM cells, we applied phosphopeptidome- and transcriptome-specific tyrosine kinome profiling. In contrast to IBR, WA was found to reverse BTK overexpression in GC-resistant MM1R cells. Furthermore, WA-induced cell death involves covalent cysteine targeting of Hinge-6 domain type tyrosine kinases of the kinase cysteinome classification, including inhibition of the hyperactivated BTK. Covalent interaction between WA and BTK could further be confirmed by biotin-based affinity purification and confocal microscopy. Similarly, molecular modeling suggests WA preferably targets conserved cysteines in the Hinge-6 region of the kinase cysteinome classification, favoring inhibition of multiple B-cell receptors (BCR) family kinases. Altogether, we show that WA’s promiscuous inhibition of multiple BTK family tyrosine kinases represents a highly effective strategy to overcome GC-therapy resistance in MM.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000638328000001 Publication Date 2021-03-31
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2072-6694 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access OpenAccess
Notes The authors thank Eva Lion, Head of Tumor Immunology Group of the Laboratory of Experimental Hematology (University of Antwerp), for kindly providing GC‐resistant U266 cells. Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:177781 Serial 6751
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Jafarzadeh, A.
Title First-principle studies of plasma-catalyst interactions for greenhouse gas conversion Type Doctoral thesis
Year 2020 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 163 p.
Keywords Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos Publication Date
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:174073 Serial 6765
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Ranjbar, S.
Title Mathematical model of plasma therapy on bacterial growth Type Doctoral thesis
Year 2020 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 95 p.
Keywords Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos Publication Date
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:175471 Serial 6768
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Kolev, S.; Paunska, T.; Trenchev, G.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Modeling the CO2 dissociation in pulsed atmospheric-pressure discharge Type P1 Proceeding
Year 2020 Publication Technologies Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 012007
Keywords P1 Proceeding; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract CO2 dissociation and its subsequent conversion into added-value chemicals is a promising strategy for recycling CO2 gas into reusable products. One of the possible methods is direct plasma-induced dissociation. In this work we study the efficiency of CO2 dissociation in pulsed atmospheric-pressure gas discharge between two conducting electrodes by a 0-D numerical plasma model. The purpose of the study is to provide results on the optimal conditions of CO2 conversion with respect to the energy efficiency and dissociation by varying the maximum power density value and the pulse length. The power density is directly related to the discharge current and the reduced electric field in the discharge. We consider pulse lengths in the range from hundreds of nanosecond up to milliseconds. The results obtained show that the dissociation degree and energy efficiency are sensitive to the pulse length (duration) and the power density, so that a considerable improvement of the discharge performance can be achieved by fine-tuning these parameters. The study is intended to provide guidance in designing an experimental set-up and a power supply with the characteristics necessary to achieve optimal conversion.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000593712900007 Publication Date 2020-06-03
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume 1492 Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1742-6588; 1742-6596 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:174447 Serial 6769
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Uytdenhouwen, Y.
Title Tuning the performance of a DBD plasma reactor for CO2 reforming Type Doctoral thesis
Year 2020 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 303 p.
Keywords Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos Publication Date
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:174026 Serial 6774
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Van Loenhout, J.; Freire Boullosa, L.; Quatannens, D.; De Waele, J.; Merlin, C.; Lambrechts, H.; Lau, H.W.; Hermans, C.; Lin, A.; Lardon, F.; Peeters, M.; Bogaerts, A.; Smits, E.; Deben, C.
Title Auranofin and Cold Atmospheric Plasma Synergize to Trigger Distinct Cell Death Mechanisms and Immunogenic Responses in Glioblastoma Type A1 Journal Article;oxidative stress
Year 2021 Publication Cells Abbreviated Journal Cells
Volume 10 Issue 11 Pages 2936
Keywords A1 Journal Article;oxidative stress; auranofin; cold atmospheric plasma; glioblastoma; cancer cell death; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ;
Abstract Targeting the redox balance of malignant cells via the delivery of high oxidative stress unlocks a potential therapeutic strategy against glioblastoma (GBM). We investigated a novel reactive oxygen species (ROS)-inducing combination treatment strategy, by increasing exogenous ROS via cold atmospheric plasma and inhibiting the endogenous protective antioxidant system via auranofin (AF), a thioredoxin reductase 1 (TrxR) inhibitor. The sequential combination treatment of AF and cold atmospheric plasma-treated PBS (pPBS), or AF and direct plasma application, resulted in a synergistic response in 2D and 3D GBM cell cultures, respectively. Differences in the baseline protein levels related to the antioxidant systems explained the cell-line-dependent sensitivity towards the combination treatment. The highest decrease of TrxR activity and GSH levels was observed after combination treatment of AF and pPBS when compared to AF and pPBS monotherapies. This combination also led to the highest accumulation of intracellular ROS. We confirmed a ROS-mediated response to the combination of AF and pPBS, which was able to induce distinct cell death mechanisms. On the one hand, an increase in caspase-3/7 activity, with an increase in the proportion of annexin V positive cells, indicates the induction of apoptosis in the GBM cells. On the other hand, lipid peroxidation and inhibition of cell death through an iron chelator suggest the involvement of ferroptosis in the GBM cell lines. Both cell death mechanisms induced by the combination of AF and pPBS resulted in a significant increase in danger signals (ecto-calreticulin, ATP and HMGB1) and dendritic cell maturation, indicating a potential increase in immunogenicity, although the phagocytotic capacity of dendritic cells was inhibited by AF. In vivo, sequential combination treatment of AF and cold atmospheric plasma both reduced tumor growth kinetics and prolonged survival in GBM-bearing mice. Thus, our study provides a novel therapeutic strategy for GBM to enhance the efficacy of oxidative stress-inducing therapy through a combination of AF and cold atmospheric plasma.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000807134000001 Publication Date 2021-10-28
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2073-4409 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access OpenAccess
Notes Olivia Hendrickx Research Fund, 21OCL06 ; University of Antwerp, FFB160231 ; The authors would express their gratitude to Hans de Reu for technical assistance with flow cytometry. Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:182915 Serial 6826
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Kelly, S.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Nitrogen fixation in an electrode-free microwave plasma Type A1 Journal Article
Year 2021 Publication Joule Abbreviated Journal Joule
Volume 5 Issue 11 Pages 3006-3030
Keywords A1 Journal Article; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ;
Abstract Plasma-based gas conversion has great potential for enabling carbon-free fertilizer production powered by renewable electricity. Sustaining an energy-efficient plasma process without eroding the containment vessel is currently a significant challenge, limiting scaling to higher powers and throughputs. Isolation of the plasma from contact with any solid surfaces is an advantage, which both limits energy loss to the walls and prevents material erosion that could lead to disastrous soil contamination. This paper presents highly energy-efficient nitrogen fixation from air into NOx by microwave plasma, with the plasma filament isolated at the center of a quartz tube using a vortex gas flow. NOx production is found to scale very efficiently when increasing both gas flow rate and absorbed power. The lowest energy cost recorded of ~2 MJ/mol, for a total NOx production of ~3.8%, is the lowest reported up to now for atmospheric pressure plasmas.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000723010700018 Publication Date 2021-10-26
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2542-4351 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access OpenAccess
Notes We acknowledge financial support by the European Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship ‘‘PENFIX’’ within Horizon 2020 (grant no. 838181), the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no 810182 – SCOPE ERC Synergy project), and the Excellence of Science FWO-FNRS project (FWO grant ID GoF9618n, EOS ID 30505023). The calculations were performed using the Turing HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen (UAntwerpen), a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Centre VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI) and the UAntwerpen. We thank Dr. Waldo Bongers and Dr. Floran Peeters of the DIFFER institute for their help and advice in the initial phase of the project, as well as Mr. Luc van‘t Dack, Dr. Karen Leyssens and Ing. Karel Venken for their technical assistance. We thank Dr. Klaus Werner, executive director of the RF Energy Alliance, for his extensive expertise and helpful discourse regarding solid-state MW technology. Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:184250 Serial 6835
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Biswas, A.N.; Winter, L.R.; Loenders, B.; Xie, Z.; Bogaerts, A.; Chen, J.G.
Title Oxygenate Production from Plasma-Activated Reaction of CO2and Ethane Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Acs Energy Letters Abbreviated Journal Acs Energy Lett
Volume Issue Pages 236-241
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Upgrading ethane with CO2 as a soft oxidant represents a desirable means of obtaining oxygenated hydrocarbons. This reaction is not thermodynamically feasible under mild conditions and has not been previously achieved as a one-step process. Nonthermal plasma was implemented as an alternative means of supplying energy to overcome activation barriers, leading to the production of alcohols, aldehydes, and acids as well as C1−C5+ hydrocarbons under ambient pressure, with a maximum total oxygenate selectivity of 12%. A plasma chemical kinetic computational model was developed and found to be in good agreement with the experimental trends. Results from this study illustrate the potential to use plasma for the direct synthesis of value-added alcohols, acids, and aldehydes from ethane and CO2 under mild conditions.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000732435700001 Publication Date 2021-12-14
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2380-8195 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access OpenAccess
Notes Basic Energy Sciences, DE-SC0012704 ; Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, S001619N ; H2020 European Research Council, 810182 ; National Science Foundation, DGE 16-44869 ; This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Catalysis Science Program (grant no. DE-SC0012704). L.R.W. acknowledges the U.S. National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program grant number DGE 16-44869. B.L. and A.B. acknowledge support from the FWO-SBO project PLASMA240 Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:184812 Serial 6897
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Laroussi, M.; Bekeschus, S.; Keidar, M.; Bogaerts, A.; Fridman, A.; Lu, X.; Ostrikov, K.; Hori, M.; Stapelmann, K.; Miller, V.; Reuter, S.; Laux, C.; Mesbah, A.; Walsh, J.; Jiang, C.; Thagard, S.M.; Tanaka, H.; Liu, D.; Yan, D.; Yusupov, M.
Title Low-Temperature Plasma for Biology, Hygiene, and Medicine: Perspective and Roadmap Type A1 Journal article
Year 2022 Publication IEEE transactions on radiation and plasma medical sciences Abbreviated Journal IEEE Trans. Radiat. Plasma Med. Sci.
Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 127-157
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Plasma, the fourth and most pervasive state of matter in the visible universe, is a fascinating medium that is connected to the beginning of our universe itself. Man-made plasmas are at the core of many technological advances that include the fabrication of semiconductor devices, which enabled the modern computer and communication revolutions. The introduction of low temperature, atmospheric pressure plasmas to the biomedical field has ushered a new revolution in the healthcare arena that promises to introduce plasma-based therapies to combat some thorny and long-standing medical challenges. This article presents an overview of where research is at today and discusses innovative concepts and approaches to overcome present challenges and take the field to the next level. It is written by a team of experts who took an in-depth look at the various applications of plasma in hygiene, decontamination, and medicine, made critical analysis, and proposed ideas and concepts that should help the research community focus their efforts on clear and practical steps necessary to keep the field advancing for decades to come.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000750257400005 Publication Date 2021-12-14
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2469-7311 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access OpenAccess
Notes Research Foundation—Flanders, 1200219N ; Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:185875 Serial 6907
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Shaw, P.; Kumar, N.; Sahun, M.; Smits, E.; Bogaerts, A.; Privat-Maldonado, A.
Title Modulating the Antioxidant Response for Better Oxidative Stress-Inducing Therapies: How to Take Advantage of Two Sides of the Same Medal? Type A1 Journal article
Year 2022 Publication Biomedicines Abbreviated Journal Biomedicines
Volume 10 Issue 4 Pages 823
Keywords A1 Journal article; Pharmacology. Therapy; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); Center for Oncological Research (CORE)
Abstract Oxidative stress-inducing therapies are characterized as a specific treatment that involves the production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) by external or internal sources. To protect cells against oxidative stress, cells have evolved a strong antioxidant defense system to either prevent RONS formation or scavenge them. The maintenance of the redox balance ensures signal transduction, development, cell proliferation, regulation of the mechanisms of cell death, among others. Oxidative stress can beneficially be used to treat several diseases such as neurodegenerative disorders, heart disease, cancer, and other diseases by regulating the antioxidant system. Understanding the mechanisms of various endogenous antioxidant systems can increase the therapeutic efficacy of oxidative stress-based therapies, leading to clinical success in medical treatment. This review deals with the recent novel findings of various cellular endogenous antioxidant responses behind oxidative stress, highlighting their implication in various human diseases, such as ulcers, skin pathologies, oncology, and viral infections such as SARS-CoV-2.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000785420400001 Publication Date 2022-03-31
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2227-9059 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access OpenAccess
Notes Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Core Research Grant, Department of Science and Technology, India., (CRG/2021/001935) ; Department of Biotechnology, BT/RLF/Re-entry/27/2019 ; We are grateful to Charlotta Bengtson for her valuable input. Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:187931 Serial 7051
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Lin, A.; De Backer, J.; Quatannens, D.; Cuypers, B.; Verswyvel, H.; De La Hoz, E.C.; Ribbens, B.; Siozopoulou, V.; Van Audenaerde, J.; Marcq, E.; Lardon, F.; Laukens, K.; Vanlanduit, S.; Smits, E.; Bogaerts, A.
Title The effect of local non‐thermal plasma therapy on the<scp>cancer‐immunity</scp>cycle in a melanoma mouse model Type University Hospital Antwerp
Year 2022 Publication Bioengineering & Translational Medicine Abbreviated Journal Bioengineering & Transla Med
Volume Issue Pages
Keywords University Hospital Antwerp; A1 Journal article; Pharmacology. Therapy; Engineering sciences. Technology; ADReM Data Lab (ADReM); Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); Center for Oncological Research (CORE); Proteinscience, proteomics and epigenetic signaling (PPES)
Abstract Melanoma remains a deadly cancer despite significant advances in immune checkpoint blockade and targeted therapies. The incidence of melanoma is also growing worldwide, which highlights the need for novel treatment options and strategic combination of therapies. Here, we investigate non-thermal plasma (NTP), an ionized gas, as a promising, therapeutic option. In a melanoma mouse model, direct treatment of tumors with NTP results in reduced tumor burden and prolonged survival. Physical characterization of NTP treatment in situ reveals the deposited NTP energy and temperature associated with therapy response, and whole transcriptome analysis of the tumor identified several modulated pathways. NTP treatment also enhances the cancer-immunity cycle, as immune cells in both the tumor and tumor-draining lymph nodes appear more stimulated to perform their anti-cancer functions. Thus, our data suggest that local NTP therapy stimulates systemic, anti-cancer immunity. We discuss, in detail, how these fundamental insights will help direct the translation of NTP technology into the clinic and inform rational combination strategies to address the challenges in melanoma therapy.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000784103500001 Publication Date 2022-04-21
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2380-6761 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access OpenAccess
Notes Vlaamse regering, 1S67621N 1S76421N G044420N 12S9221N 12S9218N ; The authors would like to thank and acknowledge Christophe Hermans, Ho Wa Lau, and Hilde Lambrechts for their help with sectioning and preparing the IHC slides. The authors would also like to thank Dani Banner for designing the ergonomic NTP applicator handle and Hasan Baysal for 3D printing the pieces used in this experiment. We would also like to thank several patrons, as part of this research was funded by donations from different donors, including Dedert Schilde vzw, Mr Willy Floren, and the Vereycken family. Some of the resources and services used in this work were provided by the VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center) The data that support the findings of this study are available from the Flemish Government. The FWO fellowships and grants that funded this work also include: 12S9218N (Abraham Lin), 12S9221N (Abraham Lin), G044420N (Abraham Lin, Annemie Bogaert, and Steve Vanlanduit), 1S76421N (Delphine Quatannens), and 1S67621N (Hanne Verswyvel). Figure 7 was created with BioRender.com. Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:187909 Serial 7056
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Oliveira, M.C.
Title Influence of phase-separated domains on the permeability of oxidized lipid membranes Type Doctoral thesis
Year 2022 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 151 p.
Keywords Doctoral thesis; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
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.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos Publication Date
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:191039 Serial 7173
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author van 't Veer, K.C.
Title Plasma kinetics modelling of nitrogen fixation : ammonia synthesis in dielectric barrier discharges with catalysts Type Doctoral thesis
Year 2022 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 241 p.
Keywords Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Ammonia (NH3) synthesis is crucial for the production of artificial fertilizer and is carried out through the Haber-Bosch process. With an energy consumption of 30 GJ/t-NH3 and the emission of 2 kg-CO2/kg-NH3, ammonia is the chemical with the largest environmental footprint. Haber-Bosch operates under high pressure and high temperature conditions. Plasma technology potentially allows greener ammonia production. Dielectric barrier discharges are a popular plasma source in which a catalyst is easily incorporated. The combination of plasma and catalyst can circumvent the harsh reaction conditions of the Haber-Bosch process. Plasma kinetics modelling is used to gain insight into the mechanisms of such plasma-catalytic systems. Special attention is given to the instantaneous power absorbed by the electrons, the relevant fraction of the microdischarges and the discharge volumes. The importance of vibrational excitation is investigated. Depending on the exact discharge conditions, it was found that both the strong microdischarges and vibrational excitation can be simultaneously important for the ammonia yield. The temporal behavior of filamentary dielectric barrier discharges was explicitly taken into account. Ammonia was found to decompose during the microdischarges due to electron impact dissociation. At the same time atomic nitrogen and other excited species are created. Those reactive species recombine to ammonia in the afterglow through various elementary Eley-Rideal and Langmuir-Hinshelwood surface reaction steps with a net ammonia gain. Finally, the concept of the fraction of microdischarges was generalized. It directly represents the efficiency with which the applied electric power is transferred to each individual particle in the plasma reactor. It is argued that any type of spatial or temporal non-uniformity of the plasma will cause unequal treatment of the gas molecules in the reactor, corresponding to a lower efficiency at which the power is transferred to the gas molecules. All of those insights aid in an increased understanding of plasma-catalytic ammonia synthesis as a potential green chemistry solution to the synthesis of ammonia on small scale.  
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos Publication Date
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:188246 Serial 7193
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Van Alphen, S.
Title Modelling plasma reactors for sustainable CO2 conversion and N2 fixation Type Doctoral thesis
Year 2023 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 202 p.
Keywords Doctoral thesis; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract 200 years ago, humanity started the industrial revolution by discovering fossil fuels, which lead to unprecedented technological advancements. However it has become alarmingly clear that the major environmental concerns associated with fossil fuels require a short-term transition from a carbon-based energy economy to a sustainable one based on green electricity. A key step concerning this transition exists in developing electricity-driven alternatives for chemical processes that rely on fossil fuels as a raw material. A technology that is gaining increasing interest to achieve this, is plasma technology. Using plasmas to induce chemical reactions by selectively heating electrons in a gas has already delivered promising results for gas conversion applications like CO2 conversion and N2 fixation, but plasma reactors still require optimization to be considered industrially competitive to existing fossil fuel-based processes and emerging other electricity-based technologies. In this thesis I develop computational models to describe plasma reactors and identify key mechanisms in three different plasma reactors for three different gas conversion applications, i.e. N2 fixation, combined CO2-CH4 conversion and CO2 splitting. I first developed models to describe a new rotating gliding arc (GA) reactor operating in two arc modes, which, as revealed by my model, are characterized by distinct plasma chemistry pathways. Subsequently, my colleague and I study the quenching effect of an effusion nozzle to this rotating GA reactor, reaching the best results to date for N2 fixation into NOx at atmospheric pressure, i.e., NOx concentrations up to 5.9%, at an energy cost down to 2.1 MJ/mol. Afterwards, I investigate the possible improvement of N2 admixtures in plasma-based CO2 and CH4 conversion, as significant amounts of N2 are often found in industrial CO2 waste streams, and gas separations are financially costly. Through combining my models with the experiment from a fellow PhD student, we reveal that moderate amounts of N2 (i.e. around 20%) increase both the electron density and the gas temperature to yield an overall energy cost reduction of 21%. Finally, I model quenching nozzles for plasma-based CO2 conversion in a microwave reactor, to explain the enhancements in CO2 conversion that were demonstrated in experiments. Through computational modelling I reveal that the nozzle introduces fast gas quenching resulting in the suppression of recombination reactions, which have more impact at low flow rates, where recombination is the most limiting factor in the conversion process.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos Publication Date
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:194811 Serial 7270
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Wang, J.
Title Plasma catalysis : study of CO2 reforming of CH4 in a DBD reactor Type Doctoral thesis
Year 2022 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages XVI, 232 p.
Keywords Doctoral thesis; Engineering sciences. Technology; Laboratory of adsorption and catalysis (LADCA); Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract The plasma-based dry reforming in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor is important to achieve sustainable goals, but many challenges remain. For example, the conversion and energy yield of DBD reactors are relatively low, and the catalysts or packing materials used in existing studies cannot improve them, possibly due to the unsuitable properties and structures of catalysts or packing materials for plasma processes. In order to study the effect of catalyst structure on plasma-based dry reforming, a controllable synthesis of the catalyst supports or templates was explored. In Chapter 2, an initially immiscible synthesis method was proposed to synthesize uniform silica spheres, which can replace the organic solvent-based Stöber method to successfully synthesize silica particles with the same size ranges as the original Stöber process without addition of organic solvents. Using the silica spheres as templates, 3D porous Cu and CuO catalysts with different pore sizes were synthesized in Chapter 3 to study the effect of catalyst pore size on the plasma-catalytic dry reforming. In most cases, the smaller the pore size, the higher the conversion of CH4 and CO2 due to the reaction of radicals and ions formed in the plasma. An exception are the samples synthesized from 1 μm silica, which show better performance due to the electric field enhancement for pore sizes close to the Debye length. Besides the pore size, the particle diameter of the catalyst or packing is also one of the important factors affecting the interaction between plasma and catalyst. In Chapter 4, SiO2 spheres (with or without supported metal) were used to study the effect of different support particle sizes on plasma-based dry reforming. We found that a uniform SiO2 packing improves the conversion of plasma-based dry reforming. The conversion of plasma-based dry reforming first increases and then decreases with increasing particle size, due to the balance between the promoting and hindering effect of the particle filling on the plasma discharge. Chapter 5 is to improve the design of the DBD reactor itself, in order to try to increase its low energy yield. Some stainless steel rings were put over the inner electrode rod of the DBD reactor. The presence of rings increases the local electric field, the displaced charges and the discharge fraction, and also makes the discharge more stable and with more uniform intensity. The placement of the rings improves the performance of the reactor at 30 W supplied power.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos Publication Date
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:194045 Serial 7273
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Kovács, A.
Title A structured methodology for natural deep eutectic solvent selection and formulation for enzymatic reactions Type Doctoral thesis
Year 2023 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages viii, 216 p.
Keywords Doctoral thesis; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); Biochemical Wastewater Valorization & Engineering (BioWaVE); Intelligence in PRocesses, Advanced Catalysts and Solvents (iPRACS)
Abstract Natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) show great promise as media for enzymatic reactions in areas where (bio)compatibility with natural or medicinal products is a must. While in theory they can be tailored to the intended reaction to ensure optimized yields, the knowledge to date is predominantly empirical, with some mechanistic reports providing a fragmented view at best. Therefore, it is not easy to explain experimental observations, let alone make predictions. The aim of this study was to develop a structured, holistic understanding of the effects of NADES media on enzymatic reactions, distinguishing between effects on solubility, solvation, viscosity, inhibition and denaturation. Experimental and computational chemistry methods were combined to separately study the interactions between enzyme, substrate, and NADES as reaction media. The initial enzyme activity and the final conversion of vinyl laurate transesterification by immobilized Candida antarctica lipase were studied experimentally. The direct effect of NADES on the same enzyme was modeled by molecular dynamics simulation. The effect of solubility was studied by both experimental and computational methods. To predict the solubility and viscosity of NADES, data-driven models were developed by combining group contribution and machine learning methods, based on the accumulated experimental knowledge on NADES found in the literature. Finally, the composed relationships and prediction models were applied to the practical example of deacetylation of mannosylerythritol lipids (MELs). The experimental findings show that the chosen NADES system has a significant effect on both the apparent initial activity and the final conversion. However, in the simulations, the enzyme retains its original structure; moreover, NADES has an additional stabilizing effect on the enzyme. In addition, changes in the molar ratio of the compounds in NADES do not show a significant effect on the stability of the enzyme. These results indicate that the main effect of NADES on the reaction is mainly related to the substrate-solvent interactions (solvation energy) and the viscosity of the system. On the other hand, the experimental results only confirmed the significance of solvation, viscosity did not show a clear correlation with the studied reaction parameters. The machine learning models built for solubility and viscosity gave quantitative predictions of these properties. The accumulated knowledge was used to optimize the yield in the deacetylation reaction of MELs. The combination of these methods provides fundamental knowledge about the effect of NADES on biocatalysis, but the results are also applicable to other uses of NADES.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos Publication Date
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:194886 Serial 7276
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author De Backer, J.
Title The versatile nature of cytoglobin, the Swiss army knife among globins, with a preference for oxidative stress Type Doctoral thesis
Year 2023 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages XVIII, 232 p.
Keywords Doctoral thesis; Pharmacology. Therapy; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); Proteinscience, proteomics and epigenetic signaling (PPES)
Abstract Since its discovery 20 years ago, many studies have been performed to gain insight into the functional role of cytoglobin (Cygb). However, Cygb has been proven to be a promiscuous protein. Yet, there is a consensus that Cygb is a cytoprotective protein involved in redox homeostasis. CYGB is a ubiquitously expressed hexacoordinated globin that is highly expressed in melanocytes and is often found to be downregulated during melanocyte-to-melanoma transition. In Chapter III, we investigated the molecular mechanism through which CYGB could be involved in redox regulation. Here, we showed that CYGB contains two redox-sensitive cysteine residues and that the formation of an intramolecular disulfide bridge resulted in the heme group becoming more accessible to external ligands. This supports the hypothesis that Cys38 and Cys83 serve as sensitive redox sensors. In Chapter IV we showed that CYGB mRNA and protein levels were elevated upon exposure to hypoxia. Interestingly, this upregulation was most likely HIF-2α-dependent. We propose that in melanoma, HIF-2α, rather than HIF-1α, positively regulates CYGB under hypoxic conditions in a cell type specific way. In Chapter V, the cytotoxic effect of indirect NTP treatment in two melanoma cell lines with divergent endogenous CYGB expression levels was investigated. We confirmed that NTP endows cytotoxicity that induces cell death through apoptosis and that this was mediated through the production of ROS. Moreover, we showed that CYGB protects melanoma cells from ROS-induced apoptosis by the scavenging of ROS. Interestingly, CYGB expression influenced the expression of NRF2 and HO-1. We identified the lncRNA MEG3 as a possible mechanism through which NRF2 expression and its downstream target HO-1 can be regulated by CYGB. In chapter VI, increased basal ROS levels and higher degree of lipid peroxidation upon RSL3 treatment contributed to the increased sensitivity of CYGB knockdown G361 cells to ferroptosis. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis demonstrates the enrichment of multiple cancer malignancy pathways upon CYGB knockdown, supporting a tumor-suppressive role for CYGB. Remarkably, CYGB expression regulation was identified as a critical determinant of the ferroptosis–pyroptosis therapy response. This suggests that CYGB is involved in the regulation of multiple modes of programmed cell death. FInally, we sought to delineate the RONS that are responsible for plasma-induced ICD. Our results highlight the importance of the short-lived species. Furthermore, we are first to demonstrate that NTP-created vaccine is safely prepared and offers complete protection. Moreover, we provide conclusive evidence that direct application of NTP induces ICD in melanoma.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos Publication Date
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:193568 Serial 7277
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Zhang, L.
Title Characteristic diagnosis of atmospheric discharge plasma and kinetics study of reactive species Type Doctoral thesis
Year 2021 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages XVIII, 148 p.
Keywords Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Low-temperature plasma has received extensive attention due to its promising application prospects in the field of air pollutants degradation and energy conversion. To fulfill the need for particular applications, constructing stable plasma sources and investigating the interaction mechanisms between plasma and substances have been hot research topics. This thesis reports the diagnosis and improvement of plasma sources, diagnosis of the active species in plasma and a modeling study of chemical kinetics processes. The main research contents are as follows: In Chapter 3, a diffuse sine AC dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is successfully obtained by optimizing the electrode structure. It is found that using double-layer dielectric plates can limit the discharge current intensity and significantly improve the discharge uniformity. The electrical characteristics and gas temperature with different operating time show that the discharge stability is also improved by using double-layer dielectric plates. In Chapter 4, nanosecond pulses are employed to generate diffuse DBD plasmas. Three main discharge stages are distinguished by ICCD images, i.e., the streamer breakdown from the needle tip to the plate electrode, the regime transition from streamer to diffuse plasma, and the propagation of surface discharge on the plate electrode surface. The chapter reveales that in nanosecond pulsed discharges the vibrational temperature of N2 increases with the discharge duration, while the rotational temperature mainly stays constant, which means electron energy is transferred into the vibrational levels, but gas heating is not obvious during the discharge pulse. In Chapter 5, both sine AC DBD and nanosecond pulsed DBD, studied in Chapter 2 and 3, are used for formaldehyde degradation. It is found that nanosecond pulsed DBD has more homogenous characteristics, better stability, and lower plasma gas temperature. Moreover, the energy consumption of nanosecond pulsed DBD is much lower than that of AC DBD. In Chapter 6, a 0D chemical kinetics model is developed to investigate the underlying plasma chemistry of methane dry reforming in a nanosecond pulsed discharge. An overview of the dominant reaction pathways of CO2 and CH4 conversion into the major products is given. Furthermore, most of the CO2 molecules are populated into vibrational states during the pulse. Hence, the vibrational states of CO2 play an important role in its dissociation process. In general, this PhD thesis contributes to a better insight in the mechanisms of sinusoidal AC DBD and nanosecond pulsed DBD plasmas and their applications, i.e., decomposition of formaldehyde and dry reforming of methane.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos Publication Date
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:183166 Serial 7605
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Shaw, P.
Title Dual action of reactive species as signal and stress agents in plasma medicine : combined computational and experimental research Type Doctoral thesis
Year 2021 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 191 p.
Keywords Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); Center for Oncological Research (CORE)
Abstract Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) generated by cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) can activate discrete signaling transduction pathways or disrupt redox cellular homeostasis, depending on their concentration. This makes that CAP possesses therapeutic potential towards wound healing, cancer, and other diseases. In order to effectively use CAP in the clinic, a clear understanding of the interaction of RONS with biomolecules (lipids, proteins and nucleic acids) from the atomic to the macro scale, and their biological significance, is needed. In this work, I have therefore studied the dual role of CAP-derived RONS, i.e., (i) in the signaling pathways involved in wound healing, and (ii) in their reaction with biomolecules to cause oxidation-mediated damage. I performed computer simulations to provide fundamental insight about the occurring processes that are difficult or even impossible to obtain experimentally. Furthermore, next to computational studies, I used both 2D and 3D tissue cultures. 3D model allows proliferation in a more physiologically relevant geometry that stimulates the production of extracellular matrix proteins. I investigated the treatment of human gingival fibroblasts with low doses of CAP-generated RONS. This treatment demonstrated that it can inhibit colony formation but does not induce cell death, induce the expression of metalloprotease proteins, induce extracellular matrix degradation, and promote cell migration, which could result in enhanced wound healing. In contrast, at high concentrations, RONS can disrupt the cell membrane integrity and induce cancer cell death through oxidative stress-mediated pathways. I discovered how oxidation of the cell membrane (lipid-peroxidation) can facilitate the access of a drug (Melittin) into cancer cells, and in this way, reduce the required therapeutic dose of Melittin in melanoma and breast cancer cells (demonstrated using in vitro, in ovo and in silico approaches). Furthermore, I studied how excessive lipid-oxidation in chemoresistant pancreatic cancer cells promotes ferroptotic cell death. This was due to the stimulation of the iron-dependent Fenton reaction by targeting a redox specific signaling network. However, upon oxidative stress, cells protect themselves via a sophisticated intracellular antioxidant system that involves the regulation of glutathione/glutathione peroxidase 4 (lipid repair enzyme). Cancer cells exhibited increased levels of intracellular RONS due to their hyper metabolism, leading to high expression of anti-oxidant systems. I therefore focus on the effect of reactive species on the intracellular anti-oxidant system and corresponding DNA damages in both temozolomide-sensitive as well as temozolomide-resistant glioblastoma spheroids, in a 3-dimensional tumor model with a more complex tumor microenvironment than cell monolayers.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos Publication Date
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:183751 Serial 7828
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Cui, Z.
Title Experimental and theoretical study on SF6 degradation by packed-bed DBD plasma Type Doctoral thesis
Year 2021 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages
Keywords Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), as a man-made gas, is widely used in power industry, semiconductor industry and metal-processing industry. However, SF6 is a greenhouse gas and its global warming potential is 23500 times that of CO2. Besides, SF6 is very stable, with a lifetime in the atmosphere for more than one thousand years. Under natural conditions, only the ultraviolet light can make it slowly decomposed. Thus, the emission of SF6 has a great threat to the environment. In recent years, with the development of our national economy, the use of SF6 increased dramatically. And 90% of the SF6 emissions come from the power industry. In the meantime, the emission of SF6 exists a ‘hysteresis effect’, as many of the SF6-gas insulation equipment will retire in next decades, the emission of SF6 may increase sharply, and this may put great pressure on the environment. Therefore, it’s necessary to make efforts in controlling and treating the SF6 emission. Among the SF6 abatement technologies, the non-thermal plasma(NTP) represented by the dielectric barrier discharge(DBD) can effectively degrade SF6 and is suitable for large-scale industry applications. However, its energy efficiency still gets room for improvement and this kind of method has a defect that it’s hard to regulate the degradation by-products. Therefore, this paper proposed the combination of the packed bed reactor and the DBD technology to form a packed DBD discharge system for SF6 degradation, so that to further improve the energy efficiency and regulate the selectivity of by-products. By experiment and simulation research, the following innovations have been achieved: (1) Based on the packed bed DBD platform, the power parameter and gas-phase parameters of SF6 degradation were studied. It was found that the discharge process was significantly enhanced with the addition of packing particles, and the discharge energy efficiency was improved. The increase of input voltage can obviously increase the degradation rate, but reduces the energy efficiency. The increase of SF6 initial concentration and gas flow rate can improve the energy efficiency, but reduce the degradation rate. Therefore, both degradation rate and energy efficiency should be considered in deciding basic experimental conditions. (2) Active gases, such as O2, H2O and NH3, could effectively promote the degradation rate of SF6, and changed the product selectivity. In our packed bed DBD system, O2 and H2O have the optimal concentration conditions, which are 2% and 1%, respectively. The addition of O2 can promote the generation of S-O-F products, and inhibit the selectivity of SO2, while the addition of H2O had the opposite effects. In addition, the synergistic degradation of NH3 and SF6 will produce solid products, such as NH3HF, NH4HF2 and elemental S. For gaseous products, the increase of NH3 will lead to the generation of SO2 in the final degradation products and inhibit the generation of S-O-F products. (3) Different kinds of packing materials have great impacts on the degradation system in the discharge parameters, degradation rate and energy efficiency, as well as the products distribution. In the experiment, we compared the degradation results in three systems: glass beads packing, γ-Al2O3 packing and no-packing system. The packing of glass beads effectively improved the discharge voltage amplitude and discharge power, while had a limited effect on the equivalent capacitance of the dielectric. Besides, γ-Al2O3 packing had little effect on voltage amplitude, but obviously increased the equivalent capacitance of the dielectric. Furthermore, the degradation rate and energy efficiency in γ-Al2O3 system was higher than that of glass bead system. For products selectivity, γ-Al2O3 system was more desirable, where S-O-F type of product selectivity was suppressed and the SO2 selectivity increased significantly. By contrast, the glass beads system hardly affected the product selectivity. This results are presumably due to the relatively high dielectric constant of γ-Al2O3 particles and γ-Al2O3 itself may act as a reactant or a catalyst participating in the degradation reactions. (4) The size and status of the packing particles also have significant effects on the degradation process. The systems packed with 1, 2 and 4mm γ-Al2O3 particles for SF6 degradation were compared, and the 2mm system had the best performance, which may because the 2mm system had a good balance between the active contact area and the gas residence time. In addition, the packing pellets suffered from a hydration process slightly reduced the discharge parameters in the γ-Al2O3 packing system and significantly reduced the degradation rate was, which may because the H2O molecules pre-occupied the active sites on the γ-Al2O3 surface and reduced the discharge process. (5) Based on density functional theory (DFT), the degradation process of SF6 in the packed bed DBD system was studied at atomic scale. It was found that the SF6 can occur a physical adsorption at AlⅢ active sites on γ-Al2O3 surface. The activation barrier for the first degradation step of SF6 on γ-Al2O3 surface is much lower than in gas phase, which proved that the SF6 molecule is activated on the γ-Al2O3 surface. In addition, the plasma may affect the γ-Al2O3 surface to generate excess electrons or external electric fields. This two effects can change the adsorbed SF6 molecules from physical adsorption to chemisorption, together with an obvious stretching of S-F bonds, indicating that the plasma surface effects prmote the activation and decomposition of SF6 molecules. Furthermore, the stepwise degradation process of SF6 on γ-Al2O3 surface were investigated. The influence of radicals produced by plasma on the degradation process was analyzed. It was found that via Eley–Rideal (ER) reactions, high-energy radicals could effectively reduce the activation barriers and promote the surface reactions. Finally, the degradation mechanism of SF6 molecules in the packed bed plasma system was summarized, which may provide a theoretical basis for the study of harmless degradation of SF6. Keywords: SF6; Packed Bed DBD; Discharge Parameters; Products Analysis; Degradation Mechanism
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos Publication Date
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:180819 Serial 7946
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Clima, S.; O'Sullivan, B.J.; Ronchi, N.; Bardon, M.G.; Banerjee, K.; Van den Bosch, G.; Pourtois, G.; van Houdt, J.
Title Ferroelectric switching in FEFET : physics of the atomic mechanism and switching dynamics in HfZrOx, HfO2 with oxygen vacancies and Si dopants Type P1 Proceeding
Year 2020 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages
Keywords P1 Proceeding; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract The fine balance between dipole-field energy and anion drift force defines the switching mechanism during polarization reversal: for the first time we show that only Pbcm mechanism obeys the ferroelectric switching physics, whereas P4(2)/nmc (or any other) mechanism does not. However, with lower energy barrier, it represents an important antiferroelectric mechanism. Constraints relaxation can lead to 90 degrees polarization rotation (domain deactivation). Intrinsically, the Si/VO-doping can switch faster than undoped HfO2 or HfZrOx. Theoretical Arrhenius model / intrinsic material switching (DFT) overestimates the switching speed extracted from experiments.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000717011600218 Publication Date 2021-03-11
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 978-1-7281-8888-1 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:184730 Serial 7963
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Cong, S.
Title Numerical study on low-pressure hollow cathode argon arc plasma Type Doctoral thesis
Year 2021 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages XIX, 126 p.
Keywords Doctoral thesis; Philosophy; Educational sciences; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract The low-pressure hollow cathode discharge made of a hollow circular tube and an anode is a type of simple structure discharge system. In particular, under the arc discharge mode, hollow cathodes have high plasma density and energy density with a wide range of adaptability of pressure and current. Low-pressure hollow cathode arc (HCA) discharges have been widely used as plasma sources in various fields such as manufacturing, vacuum welding, and aerospace since the 1960s. Despite the early experimental and applied researches on low-pressure HCA discharges, the basic theoretical study was relatively lagged much behind, resulting in many unanswered questions, such as the optimal discharge operating parameters, the power deposition inside the cathode, the causes of plasma instability, and how to effectively reduce cathode erosion and so on. Due to the special discharge structure of the hollow cathode, it is difficult to make an accurate experimental diagnosis, so a reasonable numerical simulation is an effective study method. However, up to now, there is still a lack of complete and effective numerical models which can evaluate various physical fields in the low-pressure hollow cathode discharges. To address the above problems and difficulties, a comprehensive and self-consistent 2D multi-physical coupling numerical model based on a commercial program of finite element method, the COMSOL Multiphysics, was provided in this paper. The model involves plasma transport, arc flow and heat transfer, and cathode thermal equilibrium, and can consider the effect of an applied magnetic field. The processes of secondary electron emission, thermal-field electron emission, ions and backflow high-energy electrons bombardment, and thermal radiation from the cathode surface are considered in the cathode thermal equilibrium process. Based on the above background, this paper works from the following aspects: In Chapter 1, the basic concepts of low-pressure HCA discharge including the hollow cathode effect, the basic characteristics, and operation modes were introduced firstly; Secondly, the application fields, development history, and overseas and domestic research status of hollow cathode discharge were reviewed; finally, the problems were presented and the research background was explained, and the research purpose of this paper was clarified. In Chapter 2, a complete and self-consistent numerical model of low-pressure hollow cathode discharge was proposed based on the fundamental theory and assumptions, and the set of control equations and boundary conditions in the model were elaborated. In addition, the electron energy distribution function, the collision processes, the solving tools of this model, and calculation schemes were introduced in detail. Finally, a validation example was given to test the rationality and applicability of the numerical model. In Chapter 3, the fundamental plasma properties of low-pressure hollow cathode arcs were investigated. Firstly, the ion Joule heating effect was studied. The results showed that the temperature distributions of the arc and cathode are only able to approach the experimental measurements after considering the ion Joule heating, which shows that the Joule heating of ions is crucial for the heating of the arc plasma. Secondly, by comparing the radial distribution of electron and ion density inside the cathode, the structure of the cathode sheath could be simulated well using this model. Finally, it was shown that the thermal radiation from the cathode surface is an important cooling mechanism of the cathode and only under higher surface emissivity can balance the larger heat flow given by the plasma to the cathode, and the temperature distribution of the cathode shows a non-monotonic increasing trend and is consistent with the profile of experimental measurement so that the so-called active zone is formed. In Chapter 4, the power deposition in the low-pressure HCA was studied in simulation. Two main aspects were considered: the power deposition into particles (both electrons and heavy particles) and the power deposition onto the cathode. It was found that the deposited power into particles increases with the rise of discharge current, but there is no effect on the total power deposition onto the cathode. In high-density plasmas, Coulomb collisions between electrons and ions also become very important, especially since a portion of the deposition energy on heavy particles comes mainly from the energy transfer from electrons to ions. It was also found that regardless of external parameters, half of the power deposition onto the cathode always comes from the particle contribution, while the other half is the net contribution of heat transfer and cathode radiation. The HCA model also allows the simulation of multiple discharge modes for low-pressure HCA discharges over a wide range of gas flow rates. It was also shown that the discharge operating conditions and the external magnetic field can change the distribution of the particle flow on the cathode wall. In Chapter 5, the ion sputtering erosion process on the cathode was simulated by coupling the HCA numerical model with the moving grid technique. The results showed that the ion sputtering erosion on the cathode depends on the ion flux and the plasma potential near the cathode wall and that their distribution and magnitude jointly determine the erosion morphology of the cathode. It was also found that the location of the most severe erosion on the cathode is located in the region of the densest ion flux on the cathode wall, rather than in the longitudinal correspondence with the central region of the internal positive column (IPC). The external magnetic fields can mitigate the cathode erosion and reduce the erosion depth, but stronger magnetic fields lead to a concentration of current density at the cathode tip, which can enhance erosion slightly at the cathode outlet end. Finally, the conclusions and innovation highlights were summarized, and prospects for future work were discussed.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos Publication Date
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:178725 Serial 8323
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Van Loenhout, J.
Title Targeting pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and glioblastoma with oxidative stress-mediated treatment strategies : focus on tumor cell death and modulation of the tumor microenvironment Type Doctoral thesis
Year 2021 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 167 p.
Keywords Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); Center for Oncological Research (CORE)
Abstract Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) are two of the most malignant solid tumor types with poor survival rates, which underscore the urgency of novel and efficacious treatment strategies. Within the last decade, immunotherapy has been established as a breakthrough in cancer therapy. This mainly has been driven by the clinical data and approval associated with several immune checkpoint inhibitors (e.g. anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1/L1). Despite the clinical benefit in specific tumor types, these inhibitors have not yet fulfilled their promise in low immunogenic tumors such as PDAC and GBM. Oxidative stress in cancer cells due to elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) and an inability to balance intracellular redox state has recently been highlighted as promising target for anticancer treatment strategies with possible immunogenic effects. In this PhD dissertation, I investigated novel oxidative stress-mediated treatment approaches to target PDAC and GBM and to enhance immunogenicity by inducing immunogenic cell death (ICD). In the first part of this thesis (chapter 2), I reviewed the mechanistic responses of cancer cells towards different oxidative stress-inducing treatment strategies and their immunomodulating effects. The resulting literature demonstrated that different exogenous and endogenous ROS-inducing therapies show direct and indirect immunomodulating effects, which can be either immunostimulatory or immunosuppressive. One of the indirect immunostimulatory effects of the ROS-mediating therapies is the capacity of inducing immunogenic cell death (ICD) in tumor cells, which can increase the immunogenicity and consequently can trigger an antitumoral immune response. In chapter 3, I investigated a novel exogenous ROS-inducing treatment method, namely cold atmospheric plasma, to determine the therapeutic and ICD-inducing effects in PDAC, in vitro. I revealed that plasma-treated PBS (pPBS) has the potential to induce ICD in pancreatic cancer cells (PCCs) and to reduce the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) by attacking the tumor supportive pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs). Although the cell death induced in PSCs was non-immunogenic as seen by the lack of danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) emission and DC activation, I showed that pPBS could disrupt the physical barrier and lower the immunosuppressive secretion profile (lower TGF-β) of PSCs. In contrast, DAMPs were released by PCCs after treatment with pPBS which resulted in activation and maturation of DCs and a more immunostimulatory secretion profile (higher TNF-α, IFN-γ). Hence, indirect plasma treatment via pPBS has the potential to enhance immunogenicity in PDAC by triggering ICD and by attacking the immunosuppressive PSCs. Tumor cells can evolve adaptation mechanisms to protect themselves against intrinsic oxidative stress by upregulation of pro-survival molecules and their antioxidant defense system to maintain the redox balance. As such, tumor cells can become resistant towards exogenous ROS-inducing therapies, like plasma. Dual targeting of the redox balance of tumor cells by increasing exogenous levels of ROS and inhibiting the antioxidant defense system can maximally exploit ROS-mediated cell death mechanisms as therapeutic anticancer strategy. In this regard, cold atmospheric plasma was combined with auranofin, a thioredoxin reductase inhibitor, in GBM (chapter 4). A synergistic effect was shown after this combination treatment in 2D and 3D, however, in 3D only high concentrations of auranofin synergized with plasma treatment. I confirmed a ROS-mediated response after combination treatment, which was able to induce distinct cell death mechanisms, specifically apoptosis and ferroptosis. Additionally, the auranofin and plasma combined treatment strategy induced cell death, which resulted in an increased release of DAMPs. Together with the observed DC maturation, these results indicates the potential increase in immunogenicity, though, the phagocytotic capacity of DCs was inhibited by auranofin. In chapter 5, I evaluated this promising oxidative stress combination therapy in GBM, in vivo. A decrease in tumor kinetics and an increased survival in GBM-bearing mice was observed when auranofin was sequentially combined with direct plasma treatment. No T cell infiltration was observed after auranofin monotherapy. However, further characterization of the TME after the combination therapy is necessary to provide more insight in the immunogenic effects in vivo. In conclusion, this PhD dissertation comprises novel and important therapeutic and immunogenic insights in cold atmospheric plasma and auranofin as promising oxidative stress-mediated treatment strategies for low immunogenic tumors, like PDAC and GBM. These preclinical results provide a solid basis for future research towards combinations with immunotherapeutic approaches.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos Publication Date
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved (down) Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:181309 Serial 8643
Permanent link to this record