Atmospheric pressure discharge filaments and microplasmas: Physics, chemistry and diagnostics

TL;DR: In this paper, the most important mechanisms of generation and transport of the key species in the plasmas of atmospheric-pressure plasma jets and other non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasms are introduced and examined from the viewpoint of their applications in plasma hygiene and medicine and other relevant fields.

TL;DR: A review of the existing literature on DBDs can be found in this article, where the main part is devoted to the progress on the investigation of different aspects of breakdown and plasma formation with the focus on single filaments or microdischarges.

TL;DR: In this paper, a detailed analysis of the gas temperature determination from rotational spectra is performed, and a large range of conditions for which non-equilibrium occurs are identified.

Abstract: Plasma medicine means the direct application of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) on or in the human body for therapeutic purposes. Further, the field interacts strongly with results gained for biological decontamination. Experimental research as well as first practical application is realized using two basic principles of CAP sources: dielectric barrier discharges (DBD) and atmospheric pressure plasma jets (APPJ). Originating from the fundamental insights that the biological effects of CAP are most probably caused by changes of the liquid environment of cells, and are dominated by reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS, RNS), basic mechanisms of biological plasma activity are identified. It was demonstrated that there is no increased risk of cold plasma application and, above all, there are no indications for genotoxic effects. The most important biological effects of cold atmospheric pressure plasma were identified: (1) inactivation of a broad spectrum of microorganisms including multidrug resistant ones; (2) stimulation of cell proliferation and tissue regeneration with lower plasma treatment intensity (treatment time); (3) inactivation of cells by initialization of programmed cell death (apoptosis) with higher plasma treatment intensity (treatment time). In recent years, the main focus of clinical applications was in the field of wound healing and treatment of infective skin diseases. First CAP sources are CE-certified as medical devices now which is the main precondition to start the introduction of plasma medicine into clinical reality. Plasma application in dentistry and, above all, CAP use for cancer treatment are becoming more and more important research fields in plasma medicine. A further in-depth knowledge of control and adaptation of plasma parameters and plasma geometries is needed to obtain suitable and reliable plasma sources for the different therapeutic indications and to open up new fields of medical application.

TL;DR: The rapid diffusion of nitric oxide between cells allows it to locally integrate the responses of blood vessels to turbulence, modulate synaptic plasticity in neurons, and control the oscillatory behavior of neuronal networks.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an overview of the history of electric discharge physics and its application in the field of gas discharging in the presence of longitudinal gradients of charge density.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the history, discharge physics, and plasma chemistry of dielectric-barrier discharges and their applications and discuss the applications of these discharges.

TL;DR: SpectSpectral Line Broadening by Plasmas as discussed by the authors provides a theoretical overview of the spectral line broadening mechanism and its application in the field of plasma spectroscopy, with a focus on spectral lines.