Nonthermal atmospheric plasma has been studied for its many biomedical effects, such as tooth bleaching, wound healing, and coagulation. In this study, the effects of dentinal tubules occlusion were investigated using fluoride-carboxymethyl cellulose (F-CMC) gel, nano-sized hydroxyapatite (n-HA), and nonthermal atmospheric plasma. Human dentin specimens were divided to 5 groups (group C, HA, HAF, HAP, and HAFP). Group HA was treated with n-HA, group HAF was treated with n-HA after a F-CMC gel application, group HAP was treated with n-HA after a plasma treatment and group HAFP was treated with n-HA after a plasma and F-CMC gel treatment. The occlusion of dentinal tubules was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), which shows Ca/P ratio. In the EDS results, a higher Ca/P ratio was shown in the groups including n-HA than in the control group. The specimens of group HAP and HAFP had a higher Ca/P ratio in retentivity. In the SEM results, there was not a significant difference in the amount of times applied. Therefore, this study suggests F-CMC gel and n-HA treatment using nonthermal atmospheric plasma will be a new treatment method for decreasing hypersensitivity.

This study was undertaken to achieve a high bleaching efficacy with plasma, through longer application and reparative bleaching processes, by different shade evaluation methods. Extracted human teeth were divided into 6 groups (n=10). All teeth were treated in pairs. Low concentration of 15% carbamide peroxide (CP) was applied, with and without plasma, for 10, 20, and 30-min tooth bleaching, respectively. The bleaching procedure was repeated once daily for four days. The teeth were maintained in a moist environment provided by artificial saliva. The Vitapan Classical shade guide and Commission Internationale de L’Eclairage (CIELAB) color system were collectively used to measure the bleaching efficacy. Color evaluation was statistically analyzed using Student t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) complemented by Tukey’s test. Combining the plasma with 15% CP showed significantly greater color changes compared to bleaching without plasma (p<0.05). A high bleaching efficacy with plasma is proportional to the repetitive application and the treatment time. A 30-min application with plasma provided the best bleaching. Repetitive bleaching showed lower probability of color relapse of the bleached tooth. The color change by shade guide correlated with the changes in CIELAB color system. A value of 1 color change units (CCU) conversion factor for overall color change (ΔE) values comparisons was 3.724 values. The two measuring methods provide a more accurate correspondence of color change. The repetitive and longer application for tooth bleaching, combined with plasma, has a strong bleaching effect and produces whiter teeth.

Nonthermal atmospheric pressure plasma has attracted great interest for biomedical applications. The plasma consists of charged particles, radicals, and a strong electric field as the fourth state of matter. This study evaluated the change in the surface roughness after tooth bleaching by plasma in combination with a low concentration (15%) of carbamide peroxide, specifically whether the application of plasma produced detriments, such as demineralization and structural change, with the goal of efficient and safe tooth bleaching. After being combined with plasma and 15% carbamide peroxide, the hydroxyapatite surface was significantly smoother with a low roughness average value. Tooth bleaching with 15% carbamide peroxide alone produced an irregular surface and increased the surface roughness with high roughness average value. Tooth bleaching with plasma resulted in no significant variations in hydroxyapatite in terms of change in surface roughness and surface topography. The application of tooth bleaching with plasma is not deleterious to dental hard tissue, implicating it as a safe tooth bleaching technique.

This study was performed to obtain high conversion efficiency of C7H8 using non-thermal plasma and metal-supported catalyst. Adsorption-desorption characteristics of toluene was performed using 4A type (Zeolite) filled in a concentration reactor. Through this test, it was found that the concentration reactor has 0.020 g/g of adsorption capacity (at ambient temperature and pressure) and 3,600 ppm of desorption property at 150℃ (with in 20 min). In case of developed catalyst, toluene decomposition rate of Pd-AO (Pd coated catalyst) was better than Pd/Cu-AO and Pd/Ag-AO (Pd/Ag composite metal catalyst). Developed non-thermal plasma system was obtained flame amplification effect using injection process of desorbed tolune, and 98% of removal efficiency.

A ventilation system comprising a dielectric barrier discharger and UV‐TiO2 photocatalyst filters was designed and tested for simultaneous removal of gaseous and particulate contaminants in a test chamber. The DBD was used as the 1st stage of ESP for particle charging and gas decomposition. Charged particles were collected in the 2nd stage of ESP by an applied DC electric field. The UV‐TiO2 photocatalyst filters were used for decomposing gaseous species including O3 which was inherently produced by the DBD. Particle removal efficiencies based on mass and number were approximately 83.0% and 88.8%, respectively, after the ventilation system was operating for 5 hours. HCHO removal efficiency was approximately 100% for 1∼5ppm of upstream concentration condition. TVOC removal efficiency was 99.0% and 99.6% for 1 ppm and 5 ppm of upstream concentration conditions, respectively.