Direct Exposure of Dry Enzymes to Atmospheric Pressure Non-Equilibrium Plasmas: The Case of Tyrosinase.

ABSTRACT: The direct interaction of atmospheric pressure non-equilibrium plasmas with tyrosinase (Tyr) was investigated under typical conditions used in surface processing. Specifically, Tyr dry deposits were exposed to dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) fed with helium, helium/oxygen, and helium/ethylene mixtures, and effects on enzyme functionality were evaluated. First of all, results show that DBDs have a measurable impact on Tyr only when experiments were carried out using very low enzyme amounts. An appreciable decrease in Tyr activity was observed upon exposure to oxygen-containing DBD. Nevertheless, the combined use of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and white-light vertical scanning interferometry revealed that, in this reactive environment, Tyr deposits displayed remarkable etching resi

SUBMITTER: Lapenna A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7254212 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature