Changes in enamel after bleaching pre-treatment with non-thermal atmospheric plasma

Research of nonthermal atmospheric plasma (NTAP) for dental applications has been increasing in recent years. This paper presents a literature review of potential use of NTAP for treatment of surfaces of dental materials and hard dental tissues. The aim of NTAP interaction with dental materials and tissues is surface modification for stable and durable material-to-material or material-to-tissue bonds. Reactive particles in NTAP and various mixtures of gasses increase hydrophilicity of material surface, which is known to be hydrophobic in implants, ceramics or dental composites, with or without roughness changes. Adhesion of cells to implant surface was shown to improve after NTAP treatment, thereby promoting successful osseointegration. Bonding ceramic materials to the prepared surfaces of teeth or fiber/metal posts was shown to improve after NTAP treatment. Hard dental tissues achieve primarily micromechanical bonds with composite materials using dental adhesives. Increased organic content in the form of collagen fibrils and residual water pose a problem for achieving adequate and long-term adhesive-dentin bonds. This problem has not been solved with current adhesive application protocols. It was recently shown that application of NTAP improves the hydrophilicity of dentin surface and changes its polarity, which can contribute to better distribution of adhesive resin and deeper penetration into the hybrid layer. Previous studies pointed to similar or better initial adhesive bonds with dentin. However, adhesive-dentin bonds are subject to degradation in the long-term also after NTAP treatment suggesting the need for further optimization of NTAP for application on dentin.

The use of nonthermal atmospheric plasma (NTP) in the biomedical field has recently expanded into cell death induction in cancer, infection prevention, inflammation treatment, and wound-healing enhancement. NTP has been demonstrated to enhance skin and muscle regeneration, but its effects on tissue regeneration, following deep tissue or muscle damage, remains underinvestigated. In this study, we determined the effects of NTP on muscle differentiation and the mechanisms of NTP's contribution to differentiation and regeneration. NTP treatment enhanced cell differentiation in primary normal human skeletal muscle myoblast cells and increased the relative expression of mRNA levels of MyoD which is one of the earliest markers of myogenic commitment, and myogenin, which are important transcription factors required for myogenic differentiation. Furthermore, NTP treatment induced increases in the levels of myosin heavy chain, a differentiated muscle-specific protein, and in myotube formation of myoblasts. We observed that signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) activation induced by NTP treatment affects the myogenic differentiation. In addition, STAT3 phosphorylation was also enhanced by NTP treatment in injured animal muscle. These findings indicate that NTP could enhance musculoskeletal differentiation by acting as an external stimulus for myoblast differentiation, suggesting its treatment potential in promoting regeneration of damaged muscle.-Park, J. K., Kim, Y. S., Kang, S. U., Lee, Y. S., Won, H.-R., Kim, C.-H. Nonthermal atmospheric plasma enhances myoblast differentiation by eliciting STAT3 phosphorylation.

The bleaching efficacy of common bleaching agents and deionized water treated with non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma in the pulp chamber for nonvital tooth bleaching was evaluated. A total of 120 extracted human maxillary first incisors were stained using human blood. Teeth were randomly divided into eight groups (n = 15). In the first four groups, teeth were bleached using 35% hydrogen peroxide gel, 37% carbamide peroxide gel, 2:1 (w/v) sodium perborate paste, and deionized water for 30 min. In the remaining groups, bleaching agents were treated with non-thermal atmospheric plasma for 5 min inside the pulp chamber. Overall color changes (∆E) were determined using Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage Lab Colour System. The plasma-assisted tooth bleaching has not increased tooth temperature beyond 37°C. Bleaching efficacies of bleaching agents were significantly improved when treated with non-thermal atmospheric plasma compared to their application (P < 0.05). A remarkable bleaching effect was obtained when bleaching agents were substituted with water and when treated with non-thermal atmospheric plasma. Non-thermal atmospheric plasma treatment could be a novel tool for activation of bleaching agents in the pulp chamber for nonvital tooth bleaching procedure. Moreover, water could be used as a novel bleaching agent when treated with the non-thermal atmospheric plasma to eliminate possible risks which might arise from peroxide-containing agents.

Antifungal effect of non-thermal atmospheric plasma and its application for control of postharvest Fusarium oxysporum decay of paprika

Use of non-thermal atmospheric plasma (NTAP) brush on immobilization of dimethylaminohexadecyl methacrylate (DMAHDM) onto dentin bonding substrate, and resulting antibacterial activity against Streptococcus mutans were investigated. A bonding substrate with several-micron-demineralized layer was created from human dentin. DMAHDM was applied onto the demineralized layer with or without plasma exposure. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were employed to verify immobilization/grafting of DMAHDM onto the substrate. Antibacterial activity of the resulting substrate was assessed by using colony-forming unit (CFU) and confocal scanning laser microscopy. Effects of saliva pellicle treatment and aging process on the above substrate were also evaluated. The SEM/FTIR results demonstrated that NTAP could induce DMAHDM immobilization onto dentin substrate, which was further verified via quantitative FTIR analysis. Comparing with non-plasma-treated, the plasmatreated substrate, with CFU 4 log lower, exhibited much stronger inhibitory effects, which were minimally affected by saliva or aging. The DMAHDM-immobilized dentin substrate showed effective and sustained antibacterial characteristics.

Chapter Five - Application of non-thermal atmospheric plasma processing in the food industry

Effective use of nonthermal atmospheric plasma (NTAP) to strengthen adhesive-dentin interfacial bonding while disinfecting with chlorhexidine (CHX). NTAP application at different time intervals on the dentinal shear bond strength (SBS) after pretreatment with 2% CHX as a cavity disinfectant. The design of the study was an in vitro study. Forty permanent mandibular teeth were collected (n = 40) and the occlusal surfaces were flattened. For, all the specimens 37% phosphoric acid etching was done followed by pretreatment with 2% CHX as cavity disinfectant for 5 s. According to the surface treatment, divided into four groups of n = 10. Group I (Control): No NTAP pretreatment was done. Group II: NTAP pretreatment done for 15 s. Group III: NTAP pretreatment done for 30 s. Group IV: NTAP pretreatment done for 45 s. Later, all the specimens were treated with a bonding agent, incremental build-up of composite resin on the dentin surface was done and evaluation of SBS was done. Analyzed using One-way analysis of variance with a post hoc Tukey's test (P < 0.05). Two percent CHX pretreatment as cavity disinfectant followed by NTAP application for 30 s (Group III) exhibited greater values compared to the control group (Group I). Two percent CHX pretreatment as cavity disinfectant followed by NTAP pretreatment for 30 s was found to exhibit better bond strength values compared to 15 s as well as 45 s.

This study investigated the effect of application of non-thermal atmospheric plasma (NTAP) on the topography and composition of the dentin surface, as well as the microtensile bond strength (μTBS) of a universal adhesive to NTAP-treated dentin. Exposed flat dentin surfaces from human third molars were either treated with NTAP for 10 and 30s or untreated (control). The dentin-surface topography and chemical composition were characterized by atomic force microscopy (n=3) and Raman confocal spectroscopy (n=5), respectively. The μTBS (n=8) of Scotchbond Universal to dentin was determined after storage for 24h and 1yr, either by direct water exposure or under simulated pulpal pressure. In-situ zymography was used to evaluate the influence of NTAP on the dentin-enzymatic activity. Non-thermal atmospheric plasma produced no remarkable topographical or chemical alterations at the dentin surface; only the amount of phosphate decreased following 10s of treatment with NTAP. After 1yr of direct water exposure, the μTBS of NTAP-treated specimens did not differ statistically significantly from that of untreated controls, whereas simulated pulpal pressure-aging resulted in a significantly higher μTBS for NTAP-treated dentin. The dentin-enzymatic activity appeared to be treatment-dependent, but the untreated controls showed more intense fluorescence within the hybrid layer. Scotchbond Universal maintained its μTBS strength after 1yr of direct water exposure and simulated pulpal pressure, although remarkable statistical differences between treatments were observed depending on the aging condition.

Cancer therapy using non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma is a big challenge in plasma medicine. Reactive species generated from plasma are key factors for treating cancer cells, and thus, non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma with high electron density has been developed and applied for cancer treatment. Various cancer cell lines have been treated with plasma, and non-thermal atmospheric plasma clearly has anti-tumor effects. Recent innovative studies suggest that plasma can both directly and indirectly affect cells and tissues, and this observation has widened the range of applications. Thus, cancer therapy using non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma is promising. Animal experiments and understanding the mode of action are essential for clinical application in the future. A new academic field that combines plasma science, the biology of free radicals, and systems biology will be established.

The aim is to evaluate the effect of violet light (VL) and nonthermal atmospheric plasma (NTAP) combined with or without 35% hydrogen peroxide (HP) and 37% carbamide peroxide (CP). Bovine crowns were divided into (n = 10) VL, VL/HP, VL/CP, NTAP, NTAP/HP, NTAP/CP, HP, CP, and C (control) groups. Color and whiteness change (CIELAB-Δ Eab, CIEDE2000-Δ E00 , whiteness index-ΔWID ), color parameters (ΔL, Δa, and Δb), and intrapulpal concentration (μL/mL) of HP were assessed by spectrophotometry. Scanning electron microscopy evaluated the morphology of enamel surface. Data were analyzed by two-way analysis of variance and Tukey (Δ Eab , ΔE00 , ΔWID , ΔL, and μL/mL) and Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests (Δ a and Δ b, α = 5%). VL increased ΔEab and ΔWID of CP (P < .05). VL and NTAP alone resulted in perceptible color and whiteness change, but lower than those in the gel-treated groups (P < .05). Activation modes increased ΔL compared with that of C, but only VL enhanced Δb when applied alone or combined with CP. VL and NTAP did not increase HP diffusion (P > .05) or cause alterations in enamel morphology. However, HP and CP promoted topographical changes. VL and NTAP changed color to a lesser extent than bleaching gels. VL produced supplementary effectiveness only for CP (ΔEab and ΔWID ), without increasing HP diffusion or changing enamel morphology. Although violet LED light and nonthermal atmospheric plasma (NTAP) promoted in vitro perceptible bleaching without compromising enamel morphology, bleaching gels (hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide) were more effective than VL or NTAP. VL or NTAP did not increase intrapulpal diffusion of peroxide.

In recent years, the application of non-thermal atmospheric plasma to pesticide residue treatment has attracted widespread attention, among which the analysis of degradation products is one of the key factors restricting the application of this technology in practice. Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is an ideal way to treat pesticides residues. In this paper, an experimental device of DBD is designed, and the electrical diagnosis and optical diagnosis of the device were made. The results of electrical diagnosis show that DBD discharge is resistance-capacitance discharge. The optical diagnosis results show that the discharge mode of the device is filament discharge, and the reactive oxygen components in the plasma produced are mainly $\cdot$OH and O. Based on the diagnosis of reactive oxygen species in plasma, molecular dynamics simulation of the reaction between reactive oxygen species and avermectin (AVM) was carried out using Material Studio. The simulation results show that O and $\cdot$OH destroy AVM molecules through hydrogen abstraction reaction and adsorption reaction, resulting in the breaking of C-O bond and the formation of C=O, C=C bond. When O acts alone, AVM would be degraded into two different products. When $\cdot$OH acted alone, AVM would be degraded into two different products. When O and $\cdot$OH react with avermectins together, AVM will be degraded into five different products.

The accumulation and differentiation of adipocytes contribute to the development of obesity and metabolic diseases. It is well-known that interactions of transcription factors such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), CCAAT/enhancer binding protein α (C/EBPα), and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress are required for adipogenesis. Recently, use of nonthermal atmospheric plasma (NTP) is expanding from the biomedical field into various other fields. In this study, we investigated whether nonthermal plasma-treated solution (NTS) has an inhibitory effect on adipogenesis and elucidated its mechanisms. Our results demonstrated that NTS significantly inhibited pre-adipocyte differentiation into adipocytes based on Oil Red O staining and triglyceride accumulation. Moreover, NTS treatment suppressed the mRNA and protein expression levels of key adipogenic transcription factors, and adipocyte-specific genes. NTS also down-regulated endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins. Consistent with in vitro studies, an animal study using a mouse model of diet-induced obesity showed that NTS treatment reduced body weight and fat, ER stress/UPR, triglyceride, and adipogenic marker level without altering food intake. These findings indicate that NTS inhibits adipogenic differentiation, and provide a mechanistic explanation of the inhibitory effect of NTS on adipogenesis. Taken together, our results suggest that NTS might be useful to treat obesity and obesity-related diseases.

Analyzing atmospheric plasma's potential for diesel soil remediation: Insightful mechanisms

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the changes in dental enamel (morphology, elemental composition, microhardness, and roughness) after applying hydrogen peroxide in conjunction with a nonthermal plasma to bleach the teeth. Extracted human teeth were randomly placed in six groups. Two control groups (one group with no bleaching agent and no plasma treatment of the teeth and another one with only hydrogen peroxide as the bleaching agent) and four plasma groups (receiving hydrogen peroxide of varying concentrations 6%, 15%, 25%, and 35%, in conjunction with a plasma treatment) were prepared. The surface morphology before and after treatment was assessed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the change in the elemental composition was analyzed by an energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy system. A total of 36 extracted teeth were used to evaluate the change in enamel microhardness and surface roughness. The use of hydrogen peroxide as a bleaching agent, even in the absence of plasma exposure, causes various etching patterns that are attributable to demineralization during the treatment process. These patterns are more pronounced as the hydrogen peroxide concentration increases. The surface roughness tests confirmed the findings from the SEM analysis. We only found minor essentially insignificant changes in the elemental composition of the enamel and in the surface microhardness as a result of the treatment using hydrogen peroxide and a cold plasma. The use of a cold plasma in conjunction with hydrogen peroxide of varying concentrations in tooth bleaching causes minor changes in the tooth enamel changes that are comparable to those resulting from the standard treatment using 35 % hydrogen peroxide gel without a plasma.

Background:Tooth whitening procedures such as bleaching and microabrasion alters the enamel surface and thus reduce the composites’ bond strength. Hence, various surface treatments were introduced to overcome this problem.Aim:To assess the effect of nonthermal atmospheric plasma (NTAP), grape seed extract (GSE) and bromelain on the shear bond strength (SBS) of the composite after bleaching and microabrasion.Materials and Methods:Eighty extracted maxillary anterior teeth were distributed into two groups. Group 1: bleaching and Group 2: Microabrasion and further subdivided into four subgroups (n = 10) based on the form of surface treatment employed. Group A: no surface treatment, Group B: bromelain, Group C: GSE, Group D: NTAP. Composite resin was bonded to the labial surface and placed in artificial saliva for 24 h. SBS testing was done for all the samples.Statistical Analysis:Analysis was performed using two-way analysis of variance and post hoc Tukey's test with P < 0.05 considered statistically significant.Results:Group 1D revealed the highest bond strength (35.4 Mpa) and Group 1A showed the least bond strength values (15.7 Mpa). Among the bleaching groups, significant difference was observed between all the subgroups except Group 1A and 1B (P = 0.972). In microabrasion group, significant difference was observed between Group 2A and 2D (P = 0.0001), Group 2B and 2D (P = 0.0010), and Group 2C and 2D (P = 0.0001).Conclusions:Following bleaching, NTAP application and GSE significantly improved the SBS of composite resin. Application of NTAP to microabraded surfaces increased the bond strength of composite resin.