• International Journal of Oral Biology
• /
• v.39 no.4
• /
• pp.187-192
• /
• 2014

Nonthermal atmospheric pressure plasma has attracted great interest for biomedical applications. The plasma consists of charged particles, radicals, and a strong electric field as the fourth state of matter. This study evaluated the change in the surface roughness after tooth bleaching by plasma in combination with a low concentration (15%) of carbamide peroxide, specifically whether the application of plasma produced detriments, such as demineralization and structural change, with the goal of efficient and safe tooth bleaching. After being combined with plasma and 15% carbamide peroxide, the hydroxyapatite surface was significantly smoother with a low roughness average value. Tooth bleaching with 15% carbamide peroxide alone produced an irregular surface and increased the surface roughness with high roughness average value. Tooth bleaching with plasma resulted in no significant variations in hydroxyapatite in terms of change in surface roughness and surface topography. The application of tooth bleaching with plasma is not deleterious to dental hard tissue, implicating it as a safe tooth bleaching technique.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.100-106
• /
• 2015

Plasma properties of dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) at atmospheric pressure were measured and characterized using optical emission spectroscopy. Optical emissions were measured from argon, nitrogen, or air discharges generated at 5-9 kV using 20 kHz power supply. Emissions from nitrogen molecules were markedly measured, irrespective of discharge gases. The intensity of emission peaks was increased with applied voltage and electrode gap. The short wavelength peaks (315.9 nm and 337.1 nm) measured at the middle of DBDs were significantly increased with applied voltage. The optical emission from DBDs decreased with the addition of oxygen gas, which was especially significant in argon discharge. Emission from oxygen molecules cannot be measured from air discharge and argon discharge with 4.8% oxygen. The emission intensity at 337.1 nm and 357.7 nm related with nitrogen molecule was sensitively changed with electrode types and discharge voltages. However, the pattern of argon emission spectrum was nearly the same, irrespective of electrode type, oxygen content, and discharge voltage.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.188-192
• /
• 2004

The main aim of this study was to investigate the sterilization effects of microwave-induced argon plasma at atmospheric pressure on paper materials contaminated with fungi. Plasma-treated filter papers showed no evidence to an unaided eye of burning or paper discoloration due to the plasma treatment. All fungi were perfectly sterilized in less than 1 sec, regardless of strains. These results indicate that this sterilization method for paper materials is easy to use, requires significantly less time than other traditional methods and different plasma sterilization methods, and is also nontoxic.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.477-485
• /
• 2017

Novel, effective methods to control and prevent spoilage and contamination by pathogenic microorganisms in meat and meat products are in constant demand. Non-thermal pasteurization is an ideal method for the preservation of meat and meat products because it does not use heat during the pasteurization process. Atmospheric pressure cold plasma (APCP) is a new technology for the non-thermal pasteurization of meat and meat products. Several recent studies have shown that APCP treatment reduces the number of pathogenic microorganisms in meat and meat products. Furthermore, APCP treatment can be used to generate nitrite, which is an essential component of the curing process. Here, we introduce the effectiveness of APCP treatment as a pasteurization method and/or curing process for use in the meat and meat product processing industry.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
• /
• v.3 no.4
• /
• pp.87-92
• /
• 2012

In this study, we explored a new approach for generating ions of organics and biomolecules using contactless atmospheric pressure ionization (C-API). That is, a tapered capillary (~20 cm) was connected to a syringe, which was coupled to a syringe pump for providing a given flow rate to introduce sample solution to the proximity of a mass spectrometer. The gas phase ions derived from analytes were readily formed in the capillary outlet, which was very close to the mass spectrometer (~1 mm). No external electric connection was applied on the capillary emitter. This setup is very simple, but it can function as an ion source. This approach can be readily used for the analysis of small molecules such as amino acids and large molecules such as peptides and proteins. The limit of the detection of this approach was estimated to be ~10 pM when using bradykinin as the sample. Thus, we believe that this approach should be very useful for being used as an alternative ion source because of its low cost, high sensitivity, simplicity, and ease of operation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2013.02a
• /
• pp.494-494
• /
• 2013

Atmospheric pressure non-thermal plasma of the needle-typed interaction with aqueous solutions has received increasing attention for their biomedical applications [1]. In this context, surface discharges at bio-solutions were investigated experimentally. We have generated the non-thermal plasma jet bombarding the bio-solution surface by using an Ar gas flow and investigated the emission lines by OES (optical emission spectroscopy) [2]. Moreover, The non-thermal plasma interaction with bio-solutions has received increasing attention for their biomedical applications. So we researched, the OH radical density of various biological solutions in the surface by non-thermal plasma were investigated by Ar gases. The OH radical density of DI water; deionized water, DMEM Dulbecco's modified eagle medium, and PBS; 1x phosphate buffered saline by non-thermal plasma jet. It is noted that the OH radical density of DI water and DMEM are measured to be about $4.33{\times}1016cm-3$ and $2.18{\times}1016cm-3$, respectively, under Ar gas flow 250 sccm (standard cubic centimeter per minute) in this experiment. The OH radical density of buffer solution such as PBS has also been investigated and measured to be value of about $2.18{\times}1016cm-3$ by the ultraviolet optical absorption spectroscopy.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2013.02a
• /
• pp.582-582
• /
• 2013

Oxide TFT (thin film transistor) active channel layer에 대한 저온 열처리 공정은 투명하고 flexibility을 기반으로하는 display 산업과 AMOLED (active matrix organic light emitting diode) 분야 등 다양한 분야에서 필요로 하는 기술로서 많은 연구가 이루어지고 있다. 과거 active layer는 ALD (atomic layer deposition), CVD (chemical vapor deposition), pulse laser deposition, radio frequency-dc (RF-dc) magnetron sputtering 등과 같은 고가의 진공 장비를 이용하여 증착 되어져 왔으나 현재에는 진공 장비 없이 spin-coating 후 열처리 하는 저가의 공정이 주로 연구되어 지고 있다. Flexible 기판들은 일반적인 OTFT (oxide thin films Transistor)에 적용되는 열처리 온도로 공정 진행시 열에 의한 기판의 손상이 발생한다. Flexible substrate의 열에 의한 기판 손상을 막기 위해 저온 열처리 공정이 연구되고 있지만 기존 열처리와 비교하여 소자의 특성 저하가 동반 되었다. 본 연구에서는 Si 기판위에 SiO2 (100)를 절연층으로 증착하고 그 위에 IZO (indium zinc oxide) solution을 spin-coating 한뒤 $250^{\circ}C$ 이하의 온도에서 열처리하였다. 저온 공정으로 인하여 소자의 특성 저하가 동반 되었으므로 소자의 저하된 특성 복원하고자 post-treatment로 고가의 진공장비가 필요 없고 roll-to roll system 적용이 수월한 remote-type의 APP (atmospheric pressure plasma) 처리를 하였다. Post-treatment로 APP를 이용하여 $250^{\circ}C$ 이하에서 소자에 적용 가능한 on/off ratio를 얻을 수 있었다.

• Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.44 no.3
• /
• pp.269-275
• /
• 2006

Atmospheric-pressure cold plasma (APCP) using helium/oxygen was developed and tested as a suitable sterilization method in a clinical environment. The sterilizing effect of this method is not due to UV light, which is known to be the major sterilization factor of APCP, but instead results from the action of reactive oxygen radicals. Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae deposited on a nitrocellulose filter membrane or Bacillus subtilis spores deposited on polypropylene plates were exposed to helium/oxygen plasma generated with AC input power at 10 kHz, 6 kV. After Plasma treatment, nitrocellulose filter membranes were overlaid on fresh solid media and CFUs were counted after incubation overnight. D-values were 18 sec for E. coli, 19 sec for S. aureus, 1 min 55 sec for S. cerevisiae, and 14 min for B. subtilis spores. D-values of bacteria and yeast were dependent on the initial inoculation concentration, while the D-value of B. subtilis spores showed no correlation. When treated cells were observed with a scanning electron microscope, E. coli was more heavily damaged than S. aureus, S. cevevisiae exhibited peeling, and B. subtilis spores exhibited shrunken morphology. Results showed that APCP using helium/oxygen has many advantages as a sterilization method, especially in a clinical environment with conditions such as stable temperature, unlimited sample size, and no harmful gas production.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
• /
• v.44 no.2
• /
• pp.50-54
• /
• 2011

Hydrophobic a-C:F film was coated on polycarbonate film with $CF_4$, $C_2F_6$ and HFC ($C_2F_4H_2$) gas in helium discharge generated by 5~100 kHz AC power supply at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. The highest water contact angle of the a-C:F film formed with $He/C_2F_6$ mixed gas is $155^{\circ}$. X-ray photoelectron spectrum showed that there was 40% of C-$CF_3$ bond at the surface of the super hydrophobic film. The contact angle and deposition rate were decreased with increasing substrate temperature. The contact angle was generally increased with the surface roughness of the film. The contact angle was high when the surface microstructure of the film was fine and sharp at the similar roughness and chemical composition of the surface.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
• /
• v.39 no.8
• /
• pp.12-16
• /
• 2002

It is confirmed that the ITO(Indium Tin Oxide) thin films can be etched by low-temperature plasma at atmospheric pressure. The etching happened deepest at a hydrogen flow rate of 4 sccm, and the etch rate was 120 /min. The etching speed corresponded to the H$\alpha$* emission intensity The etching mechanism of the ITO thin films is as follows; thin films were reduced by H$\alpha$*, and the metal compound residues were detached from the substrate by reacting on the CH* The etching was started after etching time of initial 50 sec and above the threshold temperature of 145$^{\circ}C$. The activation energy of 0.16 eV(3.75 Kcal/mole) was obtained from the Arrehenius plots.