The effect of plasma applied to mulungu (Erythrina velutina) seeds was studied to verify its influence on the germination, water absorption, wettability and structure of the seeds. The plasma jet used in this study was produced by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in a helium gas flow of 0.03 L/s at a distance of 13 mm for 60 s. The plasma treatment significantly affected the seed germination rate, which was approximately 5% higher than that of the untreated group. Micropyle and hilum contributed a greater proportion to uptake. When sealed in the hilar or micropyle regions the amount of water absorbed into the seed decreased approximately 75% compared to the unsealed seed. This difference suggests that these two regions together act cooperatively in the water absorption. However, when plasma treated seed was blocked in the micropyle region, water absorption was higher higher than in seeds blocked hilum. This difference suggests that the plasma treatment changed the wettability of the hilum more effectively than it changed the micropyle. These results indicate that plasma can significantly change the hydrophilicity, water absorption and percentage of seed germination in E. velutina.

The use of a CPP-ACP paste mixed to carbamide/hydrogen peroxides can decrease adverse side-effects from tooth bleaching on an enamel surface.

The use of CPP-ACP was able to prevent negative changes in roughness and hardness of bovine enamel when associated to hydrogen peroxide, and might be applied before/after the bleaching protocol.

A 12.4 kDa laminarin (LM) composed of β(1→3)-glucan with β(1→6)-branches was extracted from brown seaweed Lobophora variegata and modified via carboxylation using dielectric barrier discharge (LMC), conjugation with gallic acid (LMG), and sulfation (LMS). Analyses of the chemical composition of LMC, LMG, and LMS yielded 11.7% carboxyl groups, 1.5% gallic acid, and 1.4% sulfate content, respectively. Antioxidant activities of native and modified laminarins were assessed using six different in vitro methods. Sulfation stopped the antioxidant activities of LM. On the other hand, carboxylation improved cooper chelation (1.2 times). LMG was found to be a more efficient antioxidant agent than LM in terms of copper chelation (1.3 times), reducing power (1.3 times), and total antioxidant capacity (80 times). Gallic acid conjugation was further confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy analyses. LMG also did not induce cell death or affect the cell cycle of Madin–Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. On the contrary, LMG protected MDCK cells from H2O2-induced oxidative damage. Taken together, these results show that LMG has the potent antioxidant capacity, and, therefore, potential applications in pharmacological and functional food products.

Electrical discharges in liquids are currently used to synthesize nanoparticles. The plasma-liquid interaction is complex, where parameters such as electric field, ion charges and other species present are important. In order to understand the mechanism of crystallization, mother liquor (saturated solution of NaCl, MgCl 2 and KCl) was used to study the effectiveness and selectivity of the crystallization caused by the application of plasma. Discharge was applied with the solution at room temperature or during cooling. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and chemical analysis was used to evaluate the structure and composition effects on crystal structure and composition. It was observed that the discharge induces selectively crystallization, and when compared to crystals obtained conventionally by cooling, were smaller and more uniform. We therefore confirm that plasma in liquid can also be used to selectively crystallize materials in atmospheric pressure, where the sizes of the crystals must be dependent on the parameters used.