Non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasma sources and processes
In this field, AIP group activities deal with the design and production of NTP sources and their characterization, aimed at garnering a fundamental understanding of plasma physical-chemical aspects and at the optimization of assisted processes; moreover, the IAP group is interested in the scale-up and scale-down of NTP sources and in material characterization for the evaluation of the effectiveness of plasma-assisted processes.
Among the processes investigated are: surface modification (cleaning, activation, grafting, biocompatibilization) of polymers, metals and nanostructured materials, plasma-assisted polymerization, conservation and recovery of cultural heritage materials, pollutants abatement, nanoadditives dispersion and material modification in liquid environment.
To support these activities, the laboratory is equipped with several non-thermal (DBD, Plasma Jet, Plasma Needle, Plasma Gun, Corona, jet-to-jet coupled, Coplanar Discharge) plasma sources, many types of commercial or self-developed high voltage power supplies (DC, HF, Micro-pulsed, Nano-pulsed) and diagnostic tools (oscilloscopes, iCCD, HSCs, OES with PMT, FTIR, Contact Angle, PH meter, BET analyser and Glove Box for nanoparticle characterization and handling, SEM equipped with EDS for element analysis, fluorescence microscope); the group also possess biological laboratories fully equipped for the study of plasma treatment of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells and has access AFM, Raman Spectrometer and conductivity meter.
n this field, AIP group activities deal with the development and optimization of NTP sources for pathogen decontamination and therapeutic applications. The extraordinary plasma potential is here connected to the various active agents produced and their controllability, which grant to the technology the versatility required by biological applications. In particular, the AIP group is investigating the decontamination of biological materials, industrial products, liquids and gas flows and relies on a proprietary biological laboratory (class 2) for the evaluation of plasma sources decontamination efficacy. Therapeutic applications under study are in the fields of odonto-stomatology, oncology and dermatology, with specific attention for cytotoxicity aspects and in collaboration with various groups from the medical and biological area.
