Abstract

In the 1990s, atmospheric pressure nonthermal plasmas started to gain popularity due to their potential in many applications, including biology and medicine. Stable glow-like plasmas with gas temperatures close to room temperature, operating in air at atmospheric pressure are made possible because of the development of advanced power supplies and clever geometrical manipulations of the plasma devices. A new research direction revolved around utilizing these atmospheric pressure nonthermal plasma sources for medicine, biomedicine and dentistry has been adopted by many interdisciplinary groups throughout the world. In this talk, some recent developments in the area of atmospheric pressure cold plasmas as well as some exciting new applications (e.g. plasma fungi treatment, root canal therapy and waterborne bacteria and bacterial endospore inactivation) and potential challenges will be presented. The talk will also briefly touch on plasma treatment of fruit and vegetable slices in light of recent developments in plasma food processing.

Speaker Biography

Dr. Wei-Dong Zhu is currently an Associate Professor of Physics in the Department of Applied Science and Technology at Saint Peter’s University and the Director of the Center for Microplasma Science and Technology (CMST). Dr. Zhu earned his B.S. in Physics/Education and M.E. in Material Science and Engineering from Soochow University in Suzhou China in 1998 and 2001, respectively and his Ph. D. in Physics from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ in 2005. Dr. Zhu has co-authored more than 40 peer-reviewed journal papers and two book chapters, and holds two U.S. patents. Dr. Zhu’s research interests include: Fundamental studies of atmospheric pressure non-thermal plasmas and their applications in biology, biomedicine, dentistry and environment, air pressure plasma devices, excimer light sources, and self-organized pattern formation in DC noble gas discharges.