Collaborative Research: Atmospheric Pressure Plasma-Biomaterial Interactions - Bridging Understanding Of APP Sources To Rational Modification Of Biomolecules

来自马里兰州大学帕克分校和加州大学伯克利分校的研究人员计划研究大气压等离子体（APP）源，用于修饰选定的模型生物分子，并建立一个科学框架，用于开发大气压等离子体在生物技术和等离子体医学（或生物医学）中的应用。非平衡大气压等离子体是反应性化学物质的强大来源，可以产生深远的生物效应，但来源复杂，了解甚少，难以设计和控制。我们对使用这种大气压等离子体源的等离子体-生物材料相互作用的性质的了解尤其不足。这项工作结合了等离子体源表征/模拟，等离子体表面（组织）处理/原位表面表征与生物测定方法，以及各种表征方法，包括固态和溶液大分子的磁共振表征。 该项目的更广泛影响超出了建立可用于描述和控制APP源与生物目标相互作用的基线方法。作为一种使能技术，本工作中揭示的方法和概念可以广泛应用于生物环境必须得到良好控制的各种应用中，例如食品和药品包装的消毒，生物系统，细胞和组织的修饰，包括等离子体医学领域。本项目研究的原理也适用于APP在有机材料表面功能化方面的所有应用，如聚合物。该项目的第一个目标是从根本上了解两种有代表性的APP设备中产生的活性物质的通量如何依赖于源类型、操作参数和使用相关化学的环境条件。第二个目的是将选择的生物分子暴露于来自这些APP来源的良好控制的物质，以诱导生物分子的原子修饰。生物分子特性（化学、形态学等）的变化沿着生物功能的改变将使用一系列互补方法来表征。此外，生物功能的改变将与综合材料/表面表征的结果相关，以提供潜在的化学和生物机制。第三个目标是科学地了解水如何调节APP-生物分子相互作用以影响其生物功能。这包括当水存在于通过APP源的气流中、环境（湿度）中或作为液体存在于生物分子表面上时，APP物质通量、生物分子的化学/形态变化以及它们对生物测定的生物响应的差异的建立。第四个目标是实验验证目前的计算工作模拟原子尺度的修改特定的模型生物分子的活性物种产生的APP来源。这将是基于调查生物分子的反应性等离子体物种与这些生物分子的相互作用的原子尺度模拟已经发表，或目前正在进行中。

Researchers from University of Maryland, College Park, and University of California, Berkeley, plan to investigate atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) sources for modification of selected model biomolecules and to establish a scientific framework for development of atmospheric pressure plasma applications in biotechnology and plasma medicine (or biomedicine). Non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasmas are powerful sources for reactive chemical species that can have profound biological effects, but the sources are complex, poorly understood, and are difficult to design and control. Our knowledge of the nature of the plasma-biomaterial interaction using such atmospheric pressure plasma sources is especially inadequate. This work combines plasma source characterization/simulations, plasma-surface (tissue) treatments/in-situ surface characterization with biological assay methodologies, and various characterization approaches, including magnetic resonance characterization of solid state and solution macromolecules. The broader impacts of this project go beyond the establishment of baseline methodologies that can be used to characterize and control interactions of APP sources with biological targets. As an enabling technology, approaches and concepts unveiled in this work can be broadly applied in diverse applications where the biological environment must be well-controlled, e.g. disinfection of packaging for food and medicines, modification of biological systems, cells and tissue, including the field of plasma medicine. The principles under study in this project are also relevant to all applications of APP for surface functionalization of organic materials such as polymers.The project's first objective is to obtain a fundamental understanding of how fluxes of reactive species produced in two representative APP devices depend on source type, operating parameters and environmental conditions using relevant chemistries. The second objective is to expose selected biomolecules to well controlled species from these APP sources to induce atomistic modifications of the biomolecules. The changes in biomolecule properties (chemical, morphological etc) along with alterations in biological function will be characterized using an array of complementary methods. Furthermore, modifications in biological function will be correlated with the results of the comprehensive materials/surface characterizations to provide underlying chemical and biological mechanisms. The third objective is to obtain a scientific understanding of how water modulates APP-biomolecule interactions to affect its biological function. This includes establishment of differences in APP species fluxes, chemical/morphological changes in biomolecules, and their biological responses to bio-assays when water is present either in the gas stream passing through the APP source, the environment (humidity) or as a liquid on the surface of the biomolecule. The fourth objective is experimental validation of current computational efforts on simulating atomic-scale modifications of specific model biomolecules by reactive species produced by APP sources. This will be based on investigating biomolecules for which atomic-scale simulations of the interaction of reactive plasma species with these biomolecules have either been published, or are currently ongoing.