377 research outputs found
Plasma-inspired biomaterials
The first questions which arise when one looks at the title of this special issue are what are plasma-inspired biomaterials, and what is this Special Issue of Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics (JPhysD) all about? Peculiar as it may seem, from a philosophical point of view 'inspiration' is something that influences by idea or is a good idea that connects two at first glance opposite things—plasma and biomaterials. On the one hand, plasma as a discharge state of the gas is considered nowadays as a cutting edge tool which can manipulate objects at the atomic or molecular scale (figure 1). On the other hand, biomaterials are substances that are engineered to possess certain properties which can control the interactions with components of living systems, inducing favourable response from the biological entities, and as such can direct the course of a therapy or diagnostic procedure [1]. In this respect, plasmas can be used to initiating even more favourable or selective responses, making the biomaterials even more suitable for their interaction biological entitiesPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft
Recent advances in the treatment of bone cancer with plasma-conditioned liquids
Postprint (published version
Lessons learnt with plasma-treated liquid therapies for bone cancer: opportunities for plasma medicine
Postprint (published version
White paper on the future of plasma science and technology in plastics and textiles
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: “Uros, C., Walsh, J., Cernák, M., Labay, C., Canal, J.M., Canal, C. (2019) White paper on the future of plasma science and technology in plastics and textiles. Plasma processes and polymers, 16 1 which has been published in final form at [doi: 10.1002/ppap.201700228]. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving."This white paper considers the future of plasma science and technology related to the manufacturing and modifications of plastics and textiles, summarizing existing efforts and the current state‐of‐art for major topics related to plasma processing techniques. It draws on the frontier of plasma technologies in order to see beyond and identify the grand challenges which we face in the following 5–10 years. To progress and move the frontier forward, the paper highlights the major enabling technologies and topics related to the design of surfaces, coatings and materials with non‐equilibrium plasmas. The aim is to progress the field of plastics and textile production using advanced plasma processing as the key enabling technology which is environmentally friendly, cost efficient, and offers high‐speed processingPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft
Regulating the antibiotic drug release from ß-tricalcium phosphate ceramics by atmospheric plasma surface engineering
Calcium phosphate (CaP) ceramics are of interest in bone substitution due to their good biocompatibility and bioresorbability. Currently certain CaPs in the market are loaded with antibiotics in order to prevent infections but further control is needed over antibiotic release patterns. Cold plasmas have emerged as a useful means of modifying the interactions with drugs through surface modification of polymer materials. In this work we explore the possibility of using atmospheric pressure plasmas as a tool for the surface modification of these CaP materials with newly populated bonds and charges, with views on enabling higher loading and controlled drug release. Herein the surface modification of ß-tricalcium phosphate ceramics is investigated using an atmospheric pressure helium plasma jet as a tool for tuning the controlled release of the antibiotic doxycycline hyclate, employed as a drug model. The surface chemistry is tailored mainly by plasma jet surface interaction with an increasing O/C ratio without changes in the topography as well as by build-up of surface charges. With this surface tailoring it is demonstrated that the atmospheric plasma jet is a new promising tool that leads to the design of a control for drug release from bioceramic matrices.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft
Satisfacción de usuarios de programas de tratamiento de drogodependencias. Validación de un modelo de evaluación
Modulation of release kinetics by plasma polymerization of ampicillin-loaded ß-TCP ceramics
Beta-tricalcium phosphate (ß-TCP) bioceramics are employed in bone repair surgery. Their local implantation in bone defects puts them in the limelight as potential materials for local drug delivery. However, obtaining suitable release patterns fitting the required therapeutics is a challenge. Here, plasma polymerization of ampicillin-loaded ß-TCP is studied for the design of a novel antibiotic delivery system. Polyethylene glycol-like (PEG-like) coating of ß-TCP by low pressure plasma polymerization was performed using diglyme as precursor, and nanometric PEG-like layers were obtained by simple and double plasma polymerization processes. A significant increase in hydrophobicity, and the presence of plasma polymer was visible on the surface by SEM and quantified by XPS. As a main consequence of the plasma polymerisation, the release kinetics were successfully modified, avoiding burst release, and slowing down the initial rate of release leading to a 4.5¿h delay in reaching the same antibiotic release percentage, whilst conservation of the activity of the antibiotic was simultaneously maintained. Thus, plasma polymerisation on the surface of bioceramics may be a good strategy to design controlled drug delivery matrices for local bone therapiesPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft
Estudio de las propiedades superficiales y del post-suavizado de tejidos de lana y poliamida 6 tratados con plasma
La lana es una fibra natural que aunque posee propiedades de confort apreciadas por el consumidor, presenta el inconveniente de encoger durante el lavado en medio acuoso. En una época en que la tendencia en el cuidado de las prendas es el "easy-care" (cuidado fácil), es imperativo que cualquier producto textil sea lavable a máquina. Por ello se han desarrollado numerosos tratamientos para prevenir el encogimiento de las prendas de lana. Sin embargo, la estricta legislación ambiental de los países occidentales hace necesaria la utilización de tecnologías más limpias como, por ejemplo, el plasma de baja temperatura. Diversos factores han limitado la implementación a nivel industrial del plasma para tratamientos textiles, y en concreto en tratamientos de lana, entre ellos el elevado coste inicial de la maquinaria de plasma para aplicaciones textiles. Por otra parte se ha constatado que el plasma empeora el tacto de los tejidos de lana, aumentando su aspereza, lo que ha sido también un inconveniente de este proceso. Estudios preliminares mostraron que, a pesar de que un suavizado convencional conseguía mejorar el tacto de los tejidos de lana tratados con plasma, ello revertía en elevados valores de encogimiento. Es por tanto el mecanismo implicado en tal fenómeno, un punto clave a resolver para llegar a diseñar tejidos de lana inencogibles y suaves dentro de parámetros respetuosos con el medio ambiente. Por otra parte, estudios previos revelaron que, aunque en los tratamientos de plasma de radiofrecuencia (en el reactor empleado en este estudio) se trabaja a bajas presiones, los gases utilizados en la generación del plasma se encuentran contaminados con vapor de agua procedente de la degasificación de los tejidos de lana. Para evitar tal contaminación es de interés profundizar en los efectos de los tratamientos con plasma de vapor de agua. Hasta el momento, se han atribuido los efectos beneficiosos del plasma en fibras textiles a las numerosas especies en él presentes, como iones, electrones, átomos, radicales neutros, moléculas excitadas y radiación ultravioleta. Sin embargo, un mejor conocimiento de las especies realmente implicadas en los cambios de superficie producidos por el plasma podría ser clave para el diseño de nuevos procesos optimizados (que pudieran, potencialmente reducir los elevados costes de la maquinaria de plasma para aplicaciones textiles).La importancia de la poliamida 6 dentro de las fibras sintéticas, el hecho de que se utilice en combinación con la lana en gran número de productos textiles, así como el hecho de que compartan, en su estructura química los enlaces peptídicos (amida), aviva el interés de conocer los efectos del plasma en esta fibra química. Por todo ello, la presente Tesis Doctoral profundiza en el estudio de los tratamientos de lana con plasma como alternativa ecológica a los tratamientos de resistencia al encogimiento industriales. Se estudian principalmente las modificaciones superficiales producidas por el plasma en las fibras de lana y las variaciones en el encogimiento de los tejidos. Asimismo se analizan los efectos del plasma en poliamida 6, en concreto en sus propiedades superficiales, microestructura y propiedades tintóreas. Se han identificado las principales especies responsables de los efectos del plasma fibras y tejidos de lana y poliamida 6. Por primera vez se han realizado tratamientos de tejidos de lana y poliamida 6 en la post-descarga del plasma, mostrando la eficiencia de este tratamiento en la modificación superficial de las fibras y en la mejora de la resistencia al encogimiento de tejidos de lana. El estudio detallado del tratamiento con plasma de tejidos de lana y lambswool previamente teñidos revela la compatibilidad de estos procesos. Estudios previos mostraron que el plasma empeoraba el tacto de los tejidos, y por ello se ha estudiado la modificación del tacto de los tejidos tratados con plasma. La aplicación de suavizantes convencionales tipo amina cuaternaria en tejidos tratados con plasma produce tejidos con elevados valores de encogimiento, por lo que se estudia la aplicación de suavizantes de polisiloxanos funcionales. Los resultados obtenidos apuntan a una posible relación entre la resistencia al encogimiento y la hidrofilia de los tejidos de lana tratados con plasma y post-suavizados. Ello se confirma mediante la incorporación de cadenas hidrocarbonadas de distinta longitud a tejidos de lana tratados con plasma
Can we remove tattoos with non-thermal atmospheric plasma?
Current methods for tattoo removal are long, costly and have drawbacks such as scarring among others. Looking for alternatives, here we assess the feasibility of non-thermal plasma (NTP) as a standalone method for the removal of tattoos. We report the results of atmospheric pressure plasma jet treatment of real tattoo inks suspensions in water and in gelatin (liquid or as a solid film), selected as a model of skin. Analysis of the residual color and the temperature effect in all the samples after plasma treatment reveals significant differences between water and the skin model. Kinetic considerations and the extension of our results to more realistic scenarios allow us to conclude that NTP cannot compete with the current laser technology in a real application.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
Special issue: Plasma Medicine - part I
Peer ReviewedObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::3 - Salut i BenestarPostprint (published version
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