Abstract
We report on the electrical and optical characterization of the Plasma Coagulation Controller (PCC) device, a low temperature atmospheric plasma source for biomedical applications. This device, designed for the study of plasma-induced blood coagulation, has been developed to operate flexibly in several operational conditions, since it is possible to vary the applied voltage V p and the pulse repetition rate f in a quite wide range ( V p range: 2–12 kV, f range: 1–40 kHz). Emission spectroscopy measurements were conducted by varying the line of sight along the axis of helium and neon plasma plumes. The increase of the Reactive Oxygen and Nitrogen Species (RONS) has been observed, as one moves from inside the gas pipe to the outside, as a consequence of the gas mixture with the surrounding air. Furthermore, high-speed photographs of the plasma jet were taken, showing that the plasma is not uniformly distributed in a continuous volumetric region, the plasma being concentrated in localized structures called Pulsed Atmospheric-pressure Plasma Streams (PAPS). The propagation velocities of these objects have been examined, noting that they are not related to the propagation of ion sound waves. Rather, we provide indications that the streamer propagation speed is proportional to the electron drift velocity.
Highlights
Plasma medicine is an emerging discipline that involves the use of atmospheric pressure cold plasmas for biomedical uses [1]
Plasma Coagulation Controller (PCC) is a plasma source based on the concept of the Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) [22], which consists of producing the plasma between electrodes isolated by means of dielectric materials
It was observed that the nitrogen contribution to the emission spectra increased along the plume, as could be expected as a consequence of diffusive mixing of ambient gas
Summary
Plasma medicine is an emerging discipline that involves the use of atmospheric pressure cold plasmas for biomedical uses [1]. The characterization of the atmospheric cold plasmas used by the various research groups operating in the plasma medicine field is required, in order to study their peculiar aspects, to understand their similarities and differences, and to provide an interpretation of such mechanisms. Collaboration between researchers, such as physicists, biologists, physicians, chemists, and engineers, operating in different fields of science, is needed In this contribution, the characterization of the PCC source, designed to induce blood coagulation, is presented by describing electrical and optical measurements. It should be emphasized that, given that the mechanisms inducing accelerated blood coagulation are not yet completely clear, it is important to know the physical and chemical properties of the plasmas used for experimental biological tests. The PCC source produces localized structures, associated with plasma streamers propagating at high speed (several tens of km/s). The analysis conducted hear confirms that the propagation speed of such streamers is proportional to the electron drift velocity
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