Polyoxazolines are a new promising class of polymers for biomedical applications. Antibiofouling polyoxazoline coatings can suppress bacterial colonization of medical devices, which can cause infections to patients. However, the creation of oxazoline-based films using conventional methods is difficult. This study presents a new way to produce plasma polymerized oxazoline-based films with antibiofouling properties and good biocompatibility. The films were created via plasma deposition from 2-methyl-2-oxazoline vapors in nitrogen atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge. Diverse film properties were achieved by increasing the substrate temperature at the deposition. The physical and chemical properties of plasma polymerized polyoxazoline films were studied by SEM, EDX, FTIR, AFM, depth-sensing indentation technique, and surface energy measurement. After tuning of the deposition parameters, films with a capacity to resist bacterial biofilm formation were achieved. Deposited films also promote cell viability.

Thin alumina-based ceramics are promising materials for many applications due to their excellent physical and chemical properties. An attractive and modern application is the use of such materials as dielectric barrier layers for advanced types of 'cold' electric plasma sources based on dielectric barrier discharges. In this study, we compare three alumina-based ceramics with respect to their properties for this particular application. We focus on basic electric properties mainly, e.g. permittivity and loss angle. Also, the discharge ignition voltage and quenching voltage are studied in detail because of their importance for the practical performance of dielectric barrier discharges.

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In the current work, we studied the effect of multiphasic dielectric material on coplanar dielectric barrier discharge. To enhance the application potential of standard alumina () ceramic barriers, composite materials composed of immiscible and Mg-spinel () phases were prepared and investigated. The effect on coplanar dielectric barrier discharge was studied in a broad concentration profile of the composite materials ranging from 0 to 100 vol.% in an alumina matrix. The study was mainly focused on the determination of ignition voltage as a crucial parameter for industrial applications. The minimum ignition voltage was found in the ceramic composite with 15 vol.% . We also noticed differences in plasma filament localization on the ceramic surfaces of different composites. This work also brings comprehensive investigation of the electrical and microstructural properties of this biphasic barrier material. Detailed investigation revealed that the ignition voltage was a nontrivial combination of both bulk (phase and chemical compositions) as well as surface (phase distribution, grain size, surface roughness) properties of the barrier materials.

We present a robust method of current peaks detection which can be easily applied to the atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge characterization. This method uses passive filters and is suitable for automation. The design of apparatus and challenges are discussed in detail. We present an adapted definition of ignition voltage suitable for our method and show its relevance on a large statistical sample. Finally, we show the applicability of the method for atmospheric and lower pressure discharges and estimate its limits.