Non-thermal Atmospheric Plasma (NTAP) is a cutting-edge technology which has gained much attention during the last decade in the food-processing sector as a promising technology for food preservation and maintenance of food safety, with minimal impact on the quality attributes of foods, thanks to its effectiveness in microbial inactivation, including of pathogens, spoilage fungi and bacterial spores, simple design, ease of use, cost-effective operation, short treatment times, lack of toxic effects, and significant reduction of water consumption. This review article provides a general overview of the principles of operation and applications of NTAP in the agri-food sector. In particular, the numerous studies carried out in the last decade aimed at deciphering the influence of different environmental factors and processing parameters on the microbial inactivation attained are discussed. In addition, this review also considers some important studies aimed at elucidating the complex mechanism of microbial inactivation by NTAP. Finally, other potential applications of NTAP in the agri-food sector, apart from food decontamination, are briefly described, and some limitations for the immediate industrial implementation of NTAP are discussed (e.g., impact on the nutritional and sensory quality of treated foods; knowledge on the plasma components and reactive species responsible for the antimicrobial activity; possible toxicity of some of the chemical species generated; scale-up by designing fit-for-purpose equipment).

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Polyoxymethylene (POM), an excellent engineering material, shows drawbacks as a three‐dimensional (3D) printing material: (a) difficulties in the adhesion of the first‐printed layer and (b) thermal contractions during printing. In this study, an atmospheric pressure air plasma treatment is applied on a polycarbonate (PC)‐printing base. The effect of the plasma treatment parameters is studied. Chemical and morphological tests are conducted. Results shows that, in general, as the plasma exposure rises, so does the degree of oxidation of the PC surface and the adhesion of POM. However, care must be taken as thermal residual stresses may reduce adhesion. Finally, an increase in adhesion of up to 45% is achieved.