Discharge Cold Plasma Research Articles

Chain Oxidation of Hydroquinone by Water Activated by Pulsed Hot-Plasma Radiation

The interaction of hydroquinone with water activated by hot-plasma pulsed radiation has been studied. In the reactions of hydroquinone with products accumulated in water during irradiation (nitrous and peroxynitrous acids), hydroquinone undergoes chain oxidation to benzoquinone. The mechanism of chain oxidation is analyzed. The decomposition of hydroquinone by corona discharge cold plasma (OH• radicals) was studied. Benzoquinone is not produced by the action of corona discharge; hydroquinone immediately decomposes into smaller molecules. The hydroquinone oxidation process considered can be used to create hydrogen elements based on the hydroquinone ↔ benzoquinone couple.

Quality and antioxidant activity of dandelion root infusions as affected by cold plasma pretreatment.

Ground and unground dandelion roots were subjected to dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma (DBDCP) at 40 kV for 0 (control), 10, or 20 min. Then, infusions of the pretreated dandelion roots in water were prepared, and the changes in color, total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activity, and sensory properties were investigated. The 20-min pretreatment increased the b* value, TPC, antioxidant activity, and sage odor of the ground dandelion root infusions compared with the control, whereas decreases in the TPC, antioxidant activity, and sage odor were noted in the 10-min pretreated infusions of the unground roots. DBDCP pretreatment did not affect the overall likeliness of infusions of ground and unground roots. In addition, the TPC, antioxidant activity, and overall likeliness of infusions of the ground dandelion roots were higher than those of the unground samples. In conclusion, it can be said that the DBDCP pretreatment can be utilized to improve the TPC and antioxidant activity of ground dandelion roots.

Enhancing microorganism inactivation performance through optimization of plate-to-plate dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma reactors

Atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma (CP) is an effective method for inactivating microorganism contamination. However, improving CP inactivation efficiency as affected by CP reactor parameters still remains unstudied. In this study, the effects of discharge voltage, dielectric material and dielectric thickness of CP reactor on inactivation performance were investigated, and their influence mechanisms on plasma discharge were discussed. Results indicated that efficiency was improved using the reactor parameters of a high discharge voltage (17 kV) with a centre frequency (10 kHz) and a high dielectric constant (ceramic) with a small dielectric thickness (1 mm), resulting in higher electron number density and electric field strength, producing more reactive substances for enhancing microorganism inactivation. Under the above conditions, CP treatment for 4 min inactivated 99.6% of Salmonella typhimurium and 96.1% of Listeria monocytogenes. It is hoped that this work could guide the design of commercial CP systems.

Effect of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Cold Plasma on the Bio-nanocomposite Film and its Potential to Preserve the Quality of Strawberry under Modified Atmosphere Packaging

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of cold plasma on the developed bio-nanocomposite film. A dielectric barrier discharge system was utilized to generate the cold plasma. The films were treated under three different times (5, 10 and 15 min) and the characteristics of the films were evaluated. The cold plasma treatment influence the thermal stability and crystallization of the films. Results showed that the mechanical properties (tensile strength and elongation at break), water vapor permeability, oxygen transmission rate, moisture content and water contact angle characteristics were improved up to 69%, 31%, 34%, 3% and 28%, respectively by cold plasma treatment. In consequence, the average O2 and CO2 concentration of the packed strawberries decreased from 5 and 10% to 4.2% and 5.1%, respectively after 15 days. Finally, the results revealed that the mechanical properties, chemical attributes, physical characteristics and microbial activities of the samples were affected by the treated films. As a result, cold plasma modification can be applied as an effective method to maintain and preservation of fresh fruit.

Microbubble-enhanced cold plasma activation for water decontamination: Degradation dynamics and energy yield in relation to pollutant concentration, total volume and flow rate of water

Necessity to safely dispose effluents from industrial wastewater and also water shortage has motivated the search for novel techniques in water treatment. Cold plasma technology is a green, robust, and flexible approach that can sustainably address concerns about removal of pollutants in water. In this study, hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) in a Venturi tube is combined with plasma activated water (PAW) in a continuous system to treat two common antibiotics (sulfathiazole and norfloxacin) and an azo dye (methylene blue). HC increases mass transfer of active species generated from cold plasma discharge from gas to liquid by formation and collapse of cavitation microbubbles. Effects of initial concentration, total volume of circulating water, and water flow rate are studied. Results show that operating at flow rate of 5 L/min and volume of 500 mL for 30 min, all three pollutants with initial concentration of 8 mg/L or lower can be degraded to >80 %. Energy yield and degradation kinetics of experiments are also elaborated. Thus, the setup ameliorates the hurdle of gas - liquid mass transfer. Finally, larger volume samples (2, 10, and 20 L) were treated to show the applicability of the method for more industrial scale levels. Lower concentrated samples degrade faster compared with more concentrated solutions. Besides, a direct relation is shown between water flow rate and degradation signifying the fact that at higher flow rates the amount of reactive species being able to enter the cavitation chamber are greater. The energy yield is estimated to be the highest as the higher initial concentration with short treatment time. Further studies can focus on optimization and extension of the current setup to other chemicals and other gas atmospheres.

Application of cold plasma pretreatment to improve the extraction efficiency of tanshinone compounds from Salvia subg. Perovskia root

Tanshinone, a secondary metabolite derived from the medicinal plant Salvia subg. Perovskia, possesses therapeutic properties and has the potential to serve as a viable alternative to synthetic antioxidants in food industry. The primary objective of this study was to enhance the extraction efficiency of tanshinone compounds from Salvia subg. Perovskia through the utilization of various extraction techniques, such as heat reflux, ultrasonic, and microwave-hydrodistillation (MH) applying dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma as a pretreatment. Firstly, the optimum conditions of cold plasma pretreatment, ultrasonic, and microwave methods were determined at 18 kV for 1.5 min, 600 W for 25 min, and 100 W for 60 min, respectively, based on the extracted tanshinone content. The SEM analysis revealed that CP pretreatment caused notable changes in the cell walls, characterized by perforation, cracking, and the presence of cavities. The HPLC analysis identified three major components of tanshinone, including OH-CRT, CRT, and TAH-IIA, while GC–MS spectrometry detected 13 different volatile components in the extracted solutions. In conclusion, the combination of CP pretreatment with MH emerged as the most suitable method for extracting tanshinone compounds from Salvia subg. Perovskia, owing to its effective extraction capabilities, time-saving attributes, and energy efficiency. Moreover, the kinetic of tanshinone extraction through different methods were investigated using the first-order and second-order models. The statistical analysis clearly revealed that the second-order model accurately describes the tanshinone extraction process.

An application of dielectric barrier discharge treatment to control gray mold growth on cut rose flowers

Cold atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation is an efficient method for decontaminating fruits and vegetables. The present study evaluates the effect of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) cold plasma treatment on controlling gray mold (Botrytis cinerea Pers.), a destructive pathogen of cut roses (Rosa hybrida L. cv. Samurai). The ion leakage, relative water content (RWC), proline, chlorophyll, carotenoid, anthocyanin content, and discoloration of treated rose petals were measured. Experimental observation showed significant changes in ion leakage, RWC, and chlorophyll content at 20 kV for 8 min compared to the control. The same treatment induced significant changes in the proline content of the rose petals, but no statistical difference was observed in their anthocyanin and carotenoid contents compared to the control. The results indicated that gray mold growth was entirely suppressed by plasma irradiation at 20 kV for 4, 6, and 8 min and 15 kV for 8 min. Plasma at 10 kV for 8 min and 15 kV for 6 min suppressed 90% and 70% of the gray mold growth, respectively. It is noteworthy that plasma irradiation at 20 kV for just 4 min and at 15 kV for 6 min suppressed 100 and 70% of B. cinerea growth, respectively; however, plasma irradiation did not change the quality indices of rose petals. Overall, it can be said that cold plasma treatment by DBD has the potential to increase the shelf life of cut roses by suppressing gray mold development.

Extraction yield and biological activity of phycobiliproteins from Porphyridium purpureum using atmospheric cold plasma discharge and jet systems

Phycobiliproteins (PBPs) extracted from Porphyridium purpureum (P.p) have bioactive properties and are widely used as ingredients in nutraceutical and food applications. This study investigated the use of two cold plasma systems, namely cold plasma discharge system (CPDS) and cold plasma jet system (CPJS), for the aqueous extraction of PBPs from P. p. Three types of PBPs, namely phycoerythrin (PE), phycocyanin (PC) and allophycocyanin (APC) were identified in the crude extracts obtained. The highest PBPs extraction yield (11.31 ± 1.02 mg/g DW P. p) was obtained from CPDS treated samples at 25 kV using N2 for 9 min. CPDS treatments were also shown to be more effective than CPJS treatments in increasing antioxidant activities of the PBPs crude extracts obtained. PBPs crude extracts obtained using CPDS (25 kV; 6 min; N2) had the highest DPPH (69.44 ± 0.10%) and FRAP (207.34 ± 12.96 μmol/L) antioxidant activities observed. PBPs obtained from samples treated with CPDS (25 kV; 9 min; N2) exhibited the highest cytotoxicity potential in Caco-2 human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell lines. This study demonstrates that cold plasma treatments increase the extraction yield of PBPs obtained from P. p and also enhance antioxidant and cytotoxic properties of the PBP crude extracts. However, an increase in treatment time beyond 6 min for both plasma systems was shown to reduce the level of antioxidant activity in PBPs.

Prediction of CO2 and ethylene produced in‐packaged apricot under cold plasma treatment by machine learning approach

AbstractIn this study, the fresh and in‐packaged apricots were treated with dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) cold plasma for 5, 10, and 15 min and then stored at 21°C for 12 days to simulate the shelf life of the apricot. The effects of DBD treatment on the main quality attributes of apricot such as physicochemical traits (mass loss, pH, soluble solid content, titratable acidity, and skin color), mechanical properties (Young's modulus, tangent modulus, and bioyield stress), in‐package gas composition and ethylene production were investigated during the storage time. In addition, the bruise susceptibility (BS) of control and treated samples at the microscale was evaluated by using pendulum test and scanning electron microscopy. The results of the mass loss, pH, soluble solid content, titratable acidity, skin color, and bioyield stress have been applied for input parameters of the developed artificial neural network (ANN) and support vector regression (SVR) models to predict the CO2 and ethylene production. The statistical data showed the performance of the developed ANN to predict the CO2 (R2 = 0.983, root mean square error [RMSE] = 0.486) and ethylene production (R2 = 0.933, RMSE = 5.376) was superior to SVR (CO2: R2 = 0.894, RMSE = 6.077 and ethylene: R2 = 0.759, RMSE = 14.117). These results indicated that intelligent methods are effective and robust tools for predicting the quality parameters of fresh fruits in the postharvest process.Practical ApplicationsAdvancement of technology and artificial intelligence leads to the tendency of many food industry engineers and researchers in the R&D department to use this technology to classify and predict various food industry processes. In the process of packaging products, there are challenges such as the amount of produced carbon dioxide and ethylene inside the package, which affects the shelf life of fresh agricultural products. In this research, artificial neural networks and support vector machine methods have been used to predict the two mentioned parameters. This approach can be used for the digitalization of the packaging process of agricultural and horticultural products and reduce the number of experimental activities. In addition, it is possible to improve the digitalization process by the fusion of smart sensors with machine learning methods.

Aflatoxins degradation and quality evaluation in naturally contaminated rice by dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma

In this study, dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) cold plasma was explored for degrading aflatoxins in naturally contaminated rice. Rice samples were inoculated with strains of toxigenic Aspergillus and incubated to produce various levels of aflatoxins. Cold plasma showed degradation rates of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and total aflatoxins (AFs) that were related to moisture content, oxygen content, treatment time and voltage. Generally, the treatment reduced 1.08%–55.34% of AFB1 and 4.23%–56.37% of AFs in rice under different conditions. Relative lower degradation rates can be due to low permeability of the plasma and interference from food matrix. In addition, no significant difference (P > 0.05) was found in moisture, protein, amylose and color of rice before and after treatment. However, cold plasma aggravated the fat oxidation of rice, and made its surface smoother and more porous. The results provided a theoretical basis for aflatoxins degradation from grain system using cold plasma. Industry relevanceIn this study, dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) cold plasma was applied in the degradation of aflatoxins in naturally contaminated rice, having obvious degradation effect and little quality impact. Cold plasma treatment, as a novel non-thermal processing technology, can reduce mycotoxins in food in order to fully ensure the product safety in various links, including production, storage and so on. Compared with other detoxification methods currently used in the industry, this technology can achieve similar or higher degradation effect in a shorter time. In addition, it is low-cost and will not pollute the environment or damage the sensory properties and nutritional value of products.

Production of partially hydrogenated soybean oil with low trans-fatty acids using surface dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma.

This study examined the feasibility of applying surface dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma (SDBDCP) to partially hydrogenate crude soybean oil. The oil sample was treated for 13 h using SDBDCP at 15 kV with 100% hydrogen gas under room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Fatty acid composition, iodine value, refractive index, carotenoid content, melting point, peroxide value, and free fatty acids content (FFA) were investigated during SDBDCP treatment. Analysis of fatty acid composition demonstrated an increase in the content of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids (from 41.32% to 55.3%) and a decrease in the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (from 58.62% to 40.98%), which resulted in a reduction of the iodine value to 98.49 over the treatment time. Also, the fatty acid profile indicated that the total detected level of trans-fatty acids was very low (0.79%). After a 13-h treatment, the samples showed a refractive index of 1.4637, melting point of 10°C, peroxide value of 4.1 meq/kg, and FFA content of 0.8%. In addition, the results revealed a 71% decline in the carotenoid content of the oil sample due to the saturation of their double bonds. Therefore, these findings suggest that SDBDCP can be effectively used for hydrogenation along with bleaching oil.

Non-thermal plasma actuator mechanism in interaction with fluid flow structure for aeronautical flow control

Plasma actuators generated by surface dielectric barrier discharge are developed for controlling flow in aeronautics applications. This research studies the simulation of cold plasma discharge at atmospheric pressure coupled with compressible fluid dynamics using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.4. Modeling of dielectric barrier discharge in air at high voltages is carried out in two dimensions. The development of electric field and space charge density are discussed in several cases to determine the discharge regime. Non-thermal plasma generates tangential ionic winds at the surface during corona discharge. The results are validated by the experimental results of the literature. The maximum electric wind velocity above the actuator grows linearly with the applied voltage, and simultaneously, the horizontal extension of the discharge grows with the applied voltage. The induced electrohydrodynamic force augments with the applied voltage amplitude, reaching saturation at higher voltages. Moreover, as the voltage rises, the discharge becomes filamentary, inducing a higher number of streamer pulses. Hence, the power consumption discharge increases abruptly as the voltage rises. In addition, the efficiency increases at higher voltage amplitudes and with the dielectric thickness. Our findings give a clear description of physical atmospheric plasma parameters in the surface discharge mechanism and the efficiency of the actuator plasma.

Cold Plasma Controls Nitrite Hazards by Modulating Microbial Communities in Pickled Radish

The hazard of nitrite caused by microorganisms is the main food safety problem in the pickle production. To seek a method to control the nitrite hazards of pickles by regulating microbial community without additional substances, we focused on cold plasma because Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria have different degrees of sensitivity to the sterilization of cold plasma. Using radish pickles as the experimental object, based on colony counting, dynamic monitoring of pH and nitrite, qPCR and high-throughput sequencing, it was found that when the raw material was treated with dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) cold plasma at 40 kV for 60 s, Gram-negative bacteria with the potential to produce nitrite were preferentially sterilized. Meanwhile, Gram-positive bacteria dominated by the lactic acid bacteria were retained to accelerate the acid production rate, initiate the self-degradation of nitrite in advance and significantly reduce the peak value and accumulation of nitrite during the fermentation process of pickled radish. This study preliminarily verified that DBD cold plasma can inhibit the nitrite generation and accelerate the self-degradation of nitrite by regulating the structure and abundance of microbial community in radish pickles, which provides an important reference for the control of nitrite hazards in the fermentation process of pickles without additives.

Controlled Architectures in Supported Photocatalysis: Exploring the Potential of Cold Plasma Discharge, Additive Manufacturing, and Fractal Geometry to Form Hierarchically Immobilized Ni-MOF/BiOI/AgVO3.

Herein, we explore the potential of innovative manufacturing techniques based on green chemistry principles, for the fabrication of convenient, performant, and stable supported photocatalysts to be used for water depollution. After giving some insight into the use of fractal geometry for the fabrication of tunable polymer supports for photocatalysts, we investigated the use of liquid crystal display (LCD) 3D printing to generate the fractal resin substrates to be used for the immobilization of semiconductor photocatalysts. Notably, confocal laser imaging was used as a first attempt for assessing the surface area of the fractal substrate. Immobilization methods based on cold plasma discharge (CPD) were employed to modify the surface of the polymer substrates and permanently anchor three different phases, namely, nickel-based metal-organic framework (Ni-MOF), BiOI, and AgVO3, in a hierarchical configuration. Herein, for the first time, we developed a plasma-initiated condensed in situ complexation-assisted precipitation (c-ISCAP) method that allowed 2D Ni-MOF to be synthesized directly onto the surface of a polymer substrate, in a single step. Not only this MOF coating was found to be strongly bound to the surface of the polymer substrate but also very uniform and fully functional, even when other inorganic phases were immobilized on the top of this layer. This chemical approach opens the way for the fabrication of hybrid materials with complex polymer substrates and MOF coatings that could be used in a range of possible applications, for instance as chemical sensors, electrodes, adsorbents, optical devices, etc. Our hybrid photocatalysts were tested via photodegradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye upon visible light activation, with recycling runs to assess their durability. It was found that the hierarchical heterojunction Ni-MOF/BiOI/AgVO3 showed an outstanding ability for the removal of RhB dye, owing to the activity of the Ni-MOF layer in terms of charge transfer, and also partly because of its adsorbing potential. The three photoactive phases demonstrated a strong synergistic effect through coupling. However, more importantly, our findings show that their immobilization itself, regardless of the method used, significantly modified their optoelectronic properties, hence most likely changing the overall mechanism of charge transfer in the heterojunction. The Ni-MOF phase, notably, was found to display a reduced bandgap when obtained by c-ISCAP, which contributed to enhance its activation by visible light irradiation. Finally, it was established that the fractal geometry had a significant impact on the efficiency of the supported catalysts, probably thanks to an increased immobilization ratio of photocatalyst mostly, owing to the larger surface area available.

Effect of dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma on emulsification and stability of ovalbumin

The emulsifying effects and mechanism of ovalbumin (OVA) modified by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) cold plasma were investigated in this study. Results showed that cold plasma improved the emulsifying characteristics of OVA by forming an emulsion with smaller particle size and longer stable time. The adsorption kinetics showed that the modified OVA exhibited higher capability for reducing interfacial tension compared with natural OVA, which also revealed two different stable mechanisms of plasma modified OVA during emulsifying process combining the interfacial protein concentration results. Cold plasma treatment also helped OVA to form the gel network by chemical cross-linking force, which endowed emulsion with solid property. Plasma modified OVA significantly improved the hardness, adhesion and chewiness of processed cheese. The processed cheese displayed better texture, appearance, fluidity and grease release ability than the control cheese emulsified by high sodium and high phosphorus emulsifying salts. It can be concluded that cold plasma is a good way to enhance the emulsification of OVA and obtain better cheese quality.

Facile production of low-viscosity mung bean starch through cold plasma treatment: Improvement of film formability.

Mung bean starch (MBS) has a strong potential to be used as food packages. However, preparing tough and uniform MBS films via industrial casting remains challenging due to the high viscosity of MBS slurry. Herein, MBS was modified by using dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma (CP) in an attempt to decrease its viscosity and improve the film-forming properties. Results indicated that CP with an applied power of 120W for 5min decreased the peaking viscosity of MBS slurry from 2936.5 to 466.3cP. Moreover, CP treatment simultaneously modified the crystallinity (20.2%-16.7%), amylose content (30.5%-44.3%), and short-range orders (1.04-0.85). CP also broke the protective envelope of MBS granules. Further, the film-forming properties of MBS were investigated. It was observed that CP-modified MBS film casts exhibited uniform morphology, higher tensile strength (6.6-9.6MPa), and improved thermal stability (89.0-100.8°C) compared with the untreated MBS film. The study indicates that the CP can be used as a green and facile technology to improve the properties of MBS films resulting in an efficient food packing material.

Physicochemical Properties of Plasma-Activated Water and Its Control Effects on the Quality of Strawberries

In this study, the effects of plasma-activated water (PAW), generated by dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma at the gas-liquid interface, on the quality of fresh strawberries during storage were investigated. The results showed that, with the prolongation of plasma treatment time, the pH of PAW declined dramatically and the electrical conductivity increased significantly. The active components, including NO2-, NO3-, H2O2, and O2-, accumulated gradually in PAW, whereas the concentration of O2- decreased gradually with the treatment time after 2 min. No significant changes were found in pH, firmness, color, total soluble solids, malondialdehyde, vitamin C, or antioxidant activity in the PAW-treated strawberries (p > 0.05). Furthermore, the PAW treatment delayed the quality deterioration of strawberries and extended their shelf life. Principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis showed that the PAW 2 treatment group demonstrated the best prolonged freshness effect, with the highest firmness, total soluble solids, vitamin C, and DPPH radical scavenging activity, and the lowest malondialdehyde and ∆E* values, after 4 days of storage. It was concluded that PAW showed great potential for maintaining the quality of fresh fruits and extending their shelf life.

Effects of in-package atmospheric dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma treatment on the antimicrobial efficacy of whey protein isolate-based edible films that incorporate malic acid against Salmonella in chicken breast processed meat

Effects of in-package atmospheric dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma (CP) treatment on the antimicrobial efficacy of malic acid-incorporated whey protein isolate (MA–WPI) coating and MA diffusion in MA–WPI-coated skinless chicken breast processed meat (CBPM) were evaluated. MA–WPI coating followed by CP treatment (MA–WPI + CP) inactivated Salmonella (5.6 log CFU/g) in CBPM by 1.8 log CFU/g. CP treatment increased Salmonella reduction rates in MA–WPI-coated samples during storage at 4 and 10 °C and the diffusion coefficients of MA in the coating, which was confirmed by comparing results of MA–WPI + CP-treated and MA–WPI-coated samples. CP treatment facilitates MA diffusion in the coating, thereby increasing the Salmonella inhibition efficacy of the coating. MA–WPI + CP treatment did not influence the color and lipid oxidation of CBPM during storage at 4 °C and the water vapor permeability, elongation, and elastic modulus of MA–WPI films. Industrial relevanceThrough the technological development of in-package cold plasma treatment for decontamination of food in the industrial production line, the microbiological safety of ready-to-eat foods coated with antimicrobials can be effectively increased by exposing the coated foods to cold plasma to accelerate the diffusion of the antimicrobials in the coating to the site of microbial contamination at the surface. The effect of cold plasma treatment on the antimicrobial efficacy of the antimicrobial coating is useful, especially during the initial stages when the coating is expected to exhibit highly efficacious antimicrobial function.

Antibiofilm mechanism of dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma against Pichia manshurica

Biofilm spoilage has become one of the most common concerns in fermented foods. The objective of the present study was to explore the biofilm-inhibitory effect and antibiofilm mechanism of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) cold plasma on Pichia manshurica (a species of yeast responsible for biofilm spoilage in fermented foods). After plasma treatment (80 kV, 50 Hz) for 4.5 min and 7.5 min, viable counts decreased by 2.38 and 5.11 lg CFU/mL, respectively, and the biofilm-forming rate decreased to 73% and 48% of the control group, respectively, in microbiological media. In addition, DBD caused severe morphological damage, cell membrane permeabilization and metabolic changes. A number of amino acid metabolic pathways, the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA), and the synthesis of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) were destroyed. The cell damage and changes in multiple metabolic activities led to significant inhibitory effects on Pichia manshurica and its biofilm-forming ability. Industrial relevanceThis study found that DBD can significantly inhibit the biofilm-forming ability of Pichia manshurica (a species of yeast responsible for biofilm spoilage in fermented foods) by causing severe cell damage and metabolic changes. The exploration of the biofilm inhibitory effect of DBD on Pichia manshurica and its mechanism can provide a theoretical basis for the application of DBD technology in the inhibition of biofilm spoilage in foods.

Degradation of Zearalenone by Dielectric Barrier Discharge Cold Plasma and Its Effect on Maize Quality.

In this study, a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) cold plasma was used to degrade zearalenone, and the degradation efficiency and the quality of maize were evaluated. The results showed that the zearalenone degradation rates increased with the increase in voltage and time. When it was treated at 50 KV for 120 s, the degradation percentage of the zearalenone in maize could reach 56.57%. The kinetics' analysis showed that the degradation followed a first-order reaction. The crude fiber of the maize reduced after the cold plasma treatment. In addition, cold plasma treatment did not significantly change the crude protein content, but slightly changed the fatty acid and color. The changes in maize quality are generally acceptable. DBD cold plasma may be a promising approach to reducing zearalenone in maize.