Development and characterization of a Plasma Gun source for biomedical applications

Cold Atmospheric pressure Plasma (CAP) devices are gaining great interest for their potentials in medical applications, ranging from the inactivation of microbial load to the induction of apoptosis in malignant cells. Therefore, the dissertation was focused on the development of a prototype CAP medical devices, based on Plasma Gun configuration, evaluating its performances in endodontic and oncology fields. Regarding dental applications, a biological investigation of the antibacterial efficacy of Plasma Gun source was carried out on realistic root canal models in collaborations with a group of dental practitioners. Furthermore, the CAP-derived enhancement of adhesion performances of tooth restoration was evaluated along the whole length of ex-vivo root canals. Concerning cancer applications, the CAP-induced apoptosis in Jurkat cells was tested and studied by means of cyto-toxicological analyses. This study represents the first step of a national research project aiming at evaluating the selectively induction of apoptosis in leukemia cell models. Finally, great effort was addressed to the study of optical spectroscopy techniques for the characterization and control of plasma processes: in particular, the poisoning effect of ozone, a molecule extremely relevant for biomedical applications, was investigated through the analysis of O3 and NOx kinetics.