New Plasma Device for Selective Generation of Dinitrogen Pentoxide from Air and Its Applications

Atmospheric-pressure plasmas (APPs) have been of great interest and have been widely applied. In particular, air APP devices, working only with air and electricity, can potentially allow for ubiquitous supply of reactive species, which can be used widely. Recently, we developed a new air APP device, enabling to supply reactive species (e.g., N₂O₅, O₃, NO_x, …) with fine control and good reproducibility. Specifically, its ability to generate high density (up to 300 ppm) N₂O₅ with high selectivity is quite unique and could accelerate scientific and industrial N₂O₅ applications, which has not been used widely due to its ordinary synthesis methods requiring multiple hazardous raw materials (requiring handling with much care). N₂O₅ is well known as a powerful oxidizing and nitrating agent and can potentially be bioactive. However, there are no previous studies using N₂O₅ for bioapplications. This air APP device can partially convert air molecules into N₂O₅ and can easily spray on biological targets. Thus, we have explored the effects of N₂O₅ exposure on various biological samples (e.g., bacteria, virus, cultured cells, plants). Based on the experimental results, we will show a scheme of selective N₂O₅ generation from air and future perspectives for bioapplications using N₂O₅.