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Plasma treated water (PTW), produced by atmospheric-pressure plasma treatment of water, usually contains various reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS). This study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of different types of PTW on seed germination, seedling growth and microbial sterilization during the germinated mung bean processing. Results showed that air-PTW possessed outstanding abilities in improving seed germination and seedling growth with a germination index of 95.50% and a vigor index of 1146.64, and in microbial decontamination. The physicochemical properties of the PTW were analyzed to better understand the PTW stressed germination. Some physiological parameters like the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and phytohormone (indole acetic acid (IAA) and abscisic acid (ABA)) during germination were also evaluated. This study suggested that air-PTW treatment could indeed provide a green and effective mean of stimulating seed germination and plant growth, and thus accelerate the growth cycle. Industrial relevance Increasing the production of food by using both economical and environmentally friendly means has been deemed as an urgent matter to sustain the food demand of rapidly growing world population. The results of this study suggest that PTW presents a great opportunity to address this need by increasing seedling growth and viability. PTW treatment is an environment-friendly and low-cost mean of stimulating seed germination and plant growth, which possesses the potential of scale up or industrial applications in relevant fields.

The interactions between plasma-generated excited particles and water play an integral role in sustainable degradation of pharmaceutical compounds, improving aerobic respiration of activated sludge, and efficient removal of microorganisms from water, and are fundamental to the intentional transfer of reactivity from plasmas to biological solutions for such medical applications as cancer treatment and wound healing. The physical and chemical mechanisms that govern this transfer of reactivity are complex, and include concomitant generation and consumption of species in the gas and liquid phases, and at the interface. As such, it is challenging to predict the quantities of biologically-active radicals and molecules in liquid phase from gas phase measurements alone. Rapid and accurate quantification of reactive species, such as OH radicals and H2O2 molecules within the liquid phase and their link to specific biological effects is therefore critical for medical applications of plasma-activated solutions. Using a simple, low-cost method for trapping and stabilization of OH radicals by means of salicylic acid, this work seeks to provide further insights into the physics and chemistry of generation of OH radicals within the liquid phase, and integrate these findings with decontamination outcomes for four commonly used processing gases.

A stable and homogeneous well-aligned air microplasma device for application at atmospheric pressure is designed and its electrical and optical characteristics are investigated. Current-voltage measurements and intensified charge coupled device (ICCD) images show that the well-aligned air microplasma device is able to generate a large-area and homogeneous discharge at the applied voltages ranging from 12 kV to 14 kV, with a repetition frequency of 5 kHz, which is attributed to the diffusion effect of plasma on dielectric surface. Moreover, this well-aligned microplasma device may result in the uniform and large-area surface modification of heat-sensitive PET polymers without damage, such as optimization in hydrophobicity and biocompatibility. In the biomedical field, the utility of this well-aligned microplasma device is further testified. It proves to be very efficient for the large-area and uniform inactivation of E. coli cells with a density of 10 3 /cm 2 on LB agar plate culture medium, and inactivation efficiency can reach up to 99 for 2-min treatment.

A self-made microplasma jet array device is used to treat deoxyadenosine (dA) and adenosine (Ado) solutions to avoid the effect of air on genetic materials. Results show that Ado is easily converted into dA through deoxidation reaction. In addition, dA solution is treated with different microplasma arrays (i.e., atmospheric-pressure Ar, N2, air, and O2) for comparative analysis. The dA molecule is relatively stable within the Ar plasma for 3 min treatment time. This molecule can be modified into different structures with N2, air, and O2 microplasma arrays. The results obtained in this study provide references for the application of plasma in biology and the effect of oxygen-containing free radicals in biological plasma. As an immediate and latest area of research focus, atmospheric microplasma has wide applications in the biomedical field. However, effects of plasma on ribonucleoside in DNA are less studied and reported. A self-made microplasma jet array device is used to treat basic blocks of DNA, and online ion-pair reversed-phase liquid chromatography (IP-RPLC) with electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) is used to detect the reaction process. Results show oxidative damage to DNA is a complex process, influenced by charge transport and reactions that are controlled by a combination of enthalpic, entropic, steric, and compositional factors.