The Influence of Feed Gas Humidity Versus Ambient Humidity on Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet-Effluent Chemistry and Skin Cell Viability

The influence of ambient air species especially humidity is an ever-present challenge for atmospheric pressure plasma jet applications. Especially, where the plasma-induced effects are extremely sensitive to humidity, such as in the field of plasma medicine, an understanding of the influence of ambient species diffusion on plasma chemistry and on reactive component composition is crucial. In this paper, we investigate the influence of ambient humidity versus feed gas humidity on the production of reactive components by atmospheric pressure plasma jets. By the use of a shielding gas curtain, we control the surrounding atmosphere around the active effluent region of the investigated argon RF-plasma jet (kinpen) and control the gas humidity of the ambient gas. By quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy and by Fourier transformed infrared (IR) absorption spectroscopy, the effect of diffusing surrounding molecular species on the chemistry of the long-living reactive oxygen species is investigated. Mechanisms of H₂O₂ and O₃ production are studied. In this paper, we have quantified the influence that ambient species, namely, water molecules, have on the reactive species’ generation in the gas phase. It is shown that the effect of ambient humidity is important for the long-living species production, feed gas humidity, however, has the much stronger effect. Finally, with the focus of applications in plasma medicine, the cell viability of human skin cells (HaCaT keratinocytes) as a function of feed gas and ambient gas humidity is compared.