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Non-Thermal Plasma Interactions with Different Living Systems 2.0

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biophysics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2022) | Viewed by 9002

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Guest Editor
Cancer Research Institute, Biomedical Research Centre of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská Cesta 9, 845 05 Bratislava, Slovakia
Interests: bioctive compounds; secondary metabolites; structure-activity relationship; DNA damage detection; oxidative stress; non-thermal plasma
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

For optimal and broad use of modern technologies in human life, it is necessary to know the molecular mechanisms of their interactions with biological materials. Among these technologies, non-thermal plasma (NTP) and its impacts on different biological systems have begun to be more extensively studied in the past few decades. Its decontamination effects are the most significant and most studied. Plasma can effectively inactivate a broad range of microorganisms, which predetermines it for many practical applications in the agriculture and food industry. The positive impact of NTP has been confirmed in medicine, especially, in dermatology and oncology. Besides this, NTP can also degrade various pharmaceuticals from wastewater or the environment.

This Special Issue will bring together original research and review articles on non-thermal plasma interactions with various living systems. It highlights discoveries, comprehensive approaches, and developments in molecular research on the utilization of this physical factor in different fields of human life. The main feature of this Special Issue is to provide open-source sharing of significant works in the field of molecular research that can advance our understanding of plasma action, which may lead to the genotoxicological safety in all mentioned applications.

Topics of this Special Issue include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Plasma–cell and plasma–tissue interactions – biological and biochemical reactions
  • Plasma–surface interactions/modifications for biomedical applications
  • Plasma-based decontamination and sterilization
  • Plasma medical applications – clinical and animal studies
  • Plasma for pharmaceutical applications; biochemical, and biomolecular engineering
  • Agricultural and food applications of plasma
  • Plasma-activated liquids for biological applications
  • Plasma-induced damage of biomacromolecules

Dr. Eva Horvathova
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • non-thermal plasma
  • molecular mechanisms of plasma action
  • reactive oxygen and nitrogen species
  • charged particles
  • plasma decontamination
  • plasma medicine
  • plasma agriculture
  • plasma activated water
  • plasma activated medium
  • oxidative stress
  • plasma source
  • plasma genotoxicity
  • plasma and biomacromolecules interactions
  • plasma pharmaceuticals degradation
  • plasma interactions
  • plasma treatment

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 4593 KiB  
Article
Quantitative Analysis of Plant Cytosolic Calcium Signals in Response to Water Activated by Low-Power Non-Thermal Plasma
by Enrico Cortese, Alessandro Galenda, Alessia Famengo, Luca Cappellin, Marco Roverso, Alessio G. Settimi, Manuele Dabalà, Diego De Stefani, Alessandro Fassina, Gianluigi Serianni, Vanni Antoni and Lorella Navazio
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(18), 10752; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms231810752 - 15 Sep 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1713
Abstract
Non-thermal plasma technology is increasingly being applied in the plant biology field. Despite the variety of beneficial effects of plasma-activated water (PAW) on plants, information about the mechanisms of PAW sensing by plants is still limited. In this study, in order to link [...] Read more.
Non-thermal plasma technology is increasingly being applied in the plant biology field. Despite the variety of beneficial effects of plasma-activated water (PAW) on plants, information about the mechanisms of PAW sensing by plants is still limited. In this study, in order to link PAW perception to the positive downstream responses of plants, transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings expressing the Ca2+-sensitive photoprotein aequorin in the cytosol were challenged with water activated by low-power non-thermal plasma generated by a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) source. PAW sensing by plants resulted in the occurrence of cytosolic Ca2+ signals, whose kinetic parameters were found to strictly depend on the operational conditions of the plasma device and thus on the corresponding mixture of chemical species contained in the PAW. In particular, we highlighted the effect on the intracellular Ca2+ signals of low doses of DBD-PAW chemicals and also presented the effects of consecutive plant treatments. The results were discussed in terms of the possibility of using PAW-triggered Ca2+ signatures as benchmarks to accurately modulate the chemical composition of PAW in order to induce environmental stress resilience in plants, thus paving the way for further applications in agriculture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-Thermal Plasma Interactions with Different Living Systems 2.0)
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21 pages, 7513 KiB  
Article
The Influence of Glow and Afterglow Cold Plasma Treatment on Biochemistry, Morphology, and Physiology of Wheat Seeds
by Pia Starič, Jure Mravlje, Miran Mozetič, Rok Zaplotnik, Barbara Šetina Batič, Ita Junkar and Katarina Vogel Mikuš
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(13), 7369; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23137369 - 1 Jul 2022
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 2679
Abstract
Cold plasma (CP) technology is a technique used to change chemical and morphological characteristics of the surface of various materials. It is a newly emerging technology in agriculture used for seed treatment with the potential of improving seed germination and yield of crops. [...] Read more.
Cold plasma (CP) technology is a technique used to change chemical and morphological characteristics of the surface of various materials. It is a newly emerging technology in agriculture used for seed treatment with the potential of improving seed germination and yield of crops. Wheat seeds were treated with glow (direct) or afterglow (indirect) low-pressure radio-frequency oxygen plasma. Chemical characteristics of the seed surface were evaluated by XPS and FTIR analysis, changes in the morphology of the seed pericarp were analysed by SEM and AFM, and physiological characteristics of the seedlings were determined by germination tests, growth studies, and the evaluation of α-amylase activity. Changes in seed wettability were also studied, mainly in correlation with functionalization of the seed surface and oxidation of lipid molecules. Only prolonged direct CP treatment resulted in altered morphology of the seed pericarp and increased its roughness. The degree of functionalization is more evident in direct compared to indirect CP treatment. CP treatment slowed the germination of seedlings, decreased the activity of α-amylase in seeds after imbibition, and affected the root system of seedlings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-Thermal Plasma Interactions with Different Living Systems 2.0)
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13 pages, 988 KiB  
Article
The Strong Enhancement of Electron-Impact Ionization Processes in Dense Plasma by Transient Spatial Localization
by Jiaolong Zeng, Chen Ye, Pengfei Liu, Cheng Gao, Yongjun Li and Jianmin Yuan
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(11), 6033; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23116033 - 27 May 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1955
Abstract
Recent experiments have observed much higher electron–ion collisional ionization cross sections and rates in dense plasmas than predicted by the current standard atomic collision theory, including the plasma screening effect. We suggest that the use of (distorted) plane waves for incident and scattered [...] Read more.
Recent experiments have observed much higher electron–ion collisional ionization cross sections and rates in dense plasmas than predicted by the current standard atomic collision theory, including the plasma screening effect. We suggest that the use of (distorted) plane waves for incident and scattered electrons is not adequate to describe the dissipation that occurs during the ionization event. Random collisions with free electrons and ions in plasma cause electron matter waves to lose their phase, which results in the partial decoherence of incident and scattered electrons. Such a plasma-induced transient spatial localization of the continuum electron states significantly modifies the wave functions of continuum electrons, resulting in a strong enhancement of the electron–ion collisional ionization of ions in plasma compared to isolated ions. Here, we develop a theoretical formulation to calculate the differential and integral cross sections by incorporating the effects of plasma screening and transient spatial localization. The approach is then used to investigate the electron-impact ionization of ions in solid-density magnesium plasma, yielding results that are consistent with experiments. In dense plasma, the correlation of continuum electron energies is modified, and the integral cross sections and rates increase considerably. For the ionization of Mg9+e+1s22s2S1s21S+2e, the ionization cross sections increase several-fold, and the rates increase by one order of magnitude. Our findings provide new insight into collisional ionization and three-body recombination and may aid investigations of the transport properties and nonequilibrium evolution of dense plasma. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-Thermal Plasma Interactions with Different Living Systems 2.0)
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15 pages, 4306 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Gap Distance between a Pin and Water Surface on the Inactivation of Escherichia coli Using a Pin-to-Water Plasma
by Junghyun Lim, Eun Jeong Hong, Seong Bong Kim and Seungmin Ryu
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(10), 5423; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23105423 - 12 May 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1970
Abstract
Atmospheric plasmas have been applied for the inactivation of microorganisms. Industrials demand to investigate the relation of the key reactive species induced by plasmas and the operating parameters including boundary conditions in order to control plasma treatment processes. In this study, we investigated [...] Read more.
Atmospheric plasmas have been applied for the inactivation of microorganisms. Industrials demand to investigate the relation of the key reactive species induced by plasmas and the operating parameters including boundary conditions in order to control plasma treatment processes. In this study, we investigated the effect of gap distance between a pin-electrode and water surface on inactivation efficacy. When the gap distance decreased from 5 mm to 1 mm, the reduction of Escherichia coli (E. coli) was increased to more than 4 log CFU/mL. The reactive oxygen species measured optically and spectrophotometrically were influenced by gap distance. The results from electron spin resonance (ESR) analysis showed that the pin-to-water plasma generated hydroxyl radical (OH•) and singlet oxygen (1O2) in the water and superoxide radical (O2•) served as a precursor of OH•. The inactivation of E. coli was significantly alleviated by sodium azide (1O2 scavenger), indicating that 1O2 contributes the most to bacterial inactivation. These findings provide a potentially effective strategy for bacterial inactivation using a pin-to-water plasma. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Non-Thermal Plasma Interactions with Different Living Systems 2.0)
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