A new way to break down large molecules using plasmas

What is it about?

Plasma (the 'fourth state of matter' in the increasingly inaccurately named three states of matter that most people are familiar with) is like a gas, but with the added difference that the particles are 'ionised', meaning that they are charged positively or negatively, with the possibility of electrons floating around as well. We can generate so-called 'cold' or 'non-thermal' (as compared to 'hot' or 'thermal' plasma, as used in plasma torches) plasmas using very high frequency electricity. Chemicals that come into contact with these plasmas break down into small bits that we can analyse using standard analytical chemistry methods.

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Photo by Noah on Unsplash

Photo by Noah on Unsplash

Why is it important?

When using analytical chemistry techniques like mass spectrometry, large chemicals - like proteins - are a problem, since their size can make it difficult to work out what they are precisely made of. One way we can solve this is by breaking the protein up into smaller pieces, then analyse the pieces and 'put it back together' - this is like throwing a clock at a wall and working out how it works from the broken parts. In practice, researchers tend to use enzymes as 'biological scissors' to chop the protein up, but this can be very slow (commonly taking hours), requires special conditions for the enzyme to work, and usually requires trained lab personnel to run. By comparison, the plasma setup we have invented works in a matter of seconds, requires no enzymes, and can be used by virtually anyone. Additionally, the plasma allows for fragments to be created that enzymes can't, allowing for more of the protein to be understood.