Dr. Munir Laroussi, ODU
Interaction of Cold Plasmas with Biological Cells:
Can Plasma Play a Role in Modern Medicine?

Aberdeen Barn, Virginia Beach

6:30 PM 16 April 2009

Please send inquiries and RSVP to on on line at www.acteva.com.

In the last two decades, non-equilibrium, low temperature, atmospheric pressure plasmas have gained acceptance as an attractive technological solution in industrial applications such as the surface modification of polymers. This is because of the ability of non-equilibrium plasmas to achieve enhanced gas phase chemistry without the need for elevated gas temperatures. In these plasmas the chemistry is driven by the energetic electrons, while the heavy particles remain at low energy. This low temperature feature of non-equilibrium plasmas makes them a very attractive technology in applications requiring medium preservation and where surface chemistry is desired but without damage to the bulk of the material under treatment. Biomedical applications are amongst these.

Preliminary research is showing promising possibilities to use low temperature plasmas in medical applications such as wound healing, tissue engineering, surface modification of biocompatible materials, and the sterilization of reusable heat-sensitive medical instruments. However, before any of these exciting possibilities become reality, an in-depth understanding of the effects of plasma on the cellular and sub-cellular levels has to be achieved.

In this lecture, a review of the knowledge that has been gained during the last few years will be presented. First an overview of research efforts on the inactivation of bacterial cells will be presented. This includes the evaluation of the inactivation kinetics and the roles played by the various plasma agents (such as UV photons and free radicals) in the inactivation process. The second part of this lecture deals with plasma sublethal effects on both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Application to wound healing will be particularly highlighted.

Biographical Sketch: Dr. Mounir Laroussi received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in June 1988. After a Post-Doc and few years of teaching, he joined the Microwave & Plasma Laboratory of the University of Tennessee as a Research Assistant Professor from 1995 to1998. He then joined the Applied Research Center of Old Dominion University (ODU) in 1998 as research scientist. From 2002 until 2007 he held an Associate Professor position at ODU's Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. Since January 2007 Dr. Laroussi became the Director of ODU's Laser & Plasma Engineering Institute (LPEI) and in 2008 he was promoted to Full Professor at the ECE Department, ODU.

Dr. Laroussi's research interests are in the Physical Electronics area and particularly in the physics and applications of nonequilibrium gaseous discharges including the biomedical applications of nonthermal plasmas. He has more than 100 publications in journals and conference proceedings, and holds 4 patents. He served as an elected member of the Administrative Committee (2002-2005) and the Plasma Science and Applications Executive Committee (2005-2007) of the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Science Society (NPSS). He has also served as a Guest Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, as session organizer at the International Conference on Plasma Science for many years, and as a Guest Editor of "Plasma Processes and Polymers�." Dr. Laroussi was the recipient of the 1996 Advanced Technology Award, from the Inventors Clubs of America, the recipient of the IEEE Millennium Medal Award, 2000, the recipient of the Excellence in Research Award from the Batten College of Engineering and Technology, Old Dominion University, May 2005, the recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Old Dominion University, June 2006, and the recipient of the Excellence in Innovation Award from the Hampton Road Technology Council, May 2006. In January 2008 Dr. Laroussi was named as an IEEE-NPSS Distinguished Lecturer, and in November 2008 he was elevated to the rank of IEEE Fellow.