{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T01:36:32Z","timestamp":1760146592196,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"22","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,20]],"date-time":"2024-11-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1732060800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"S\u00e3o Paulo State Research Foundation (FAPESP)","award":["2019\/05856-7","2020\/09481-5","2021\/02680-5","2023\/02436-2","310608\/2021-0"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2019\/05856-7","2020\/09481-5","2021\/02680-5","2023\/02436-2","310608\/2021-0"]}]},{"name":"National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq)","award":["2019\/05856-7","2020\/09481-5","2021\/02680-5","2023\/02436-2","310608\/2021-0"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2019\/05856-7","2020\/09481-5","2021\/02680-5","2023\/02436-2","310608\/2021-0"]}]},{"name":"Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education (CAPES)","award":["2019\/05856-7","2020\/09481-5","2021\/02680-5","2023\/02436-2","310608\/2021-0"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2019\/05856-7","2020\/09481-5","2021\/02680-5","2023\/02436-2","310608\/2021-0"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Polymers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Tracheal stenosis (i.e., the abnormal narrowing of the trachea) can occur due to a variety of inflammatory and infectious processes as well as due to therapeutic procedures undertaken by the patient. The most common cause of tracheal obstruction in patients has been prolonged intubation. Depending on the extent of the stenosis and its exact location, the surgical insertion of a tracheal stent is the only option for addressing this issue. The Montgomery T-tube implant is a valuable tracheal stent made from medical-grade silicone that provides a functional airway while supporting the tracheal mucosa. However, its performance is subject to gradual deterioration due to biofilm colonization of the stent\u2019s inner wall, which may explain the discomfort claimed by many patients and clinical failures. Recently, cold atmospheric plasmas (CAPs) have emerged as an alternative technology to many conventional medical procedures, such as wound healing, skin treatment, decontamination of medical devices, etc. Here, we report on plasma-induced surface modification of the inner wall of a T-tube implant, considering future biomedical applications. To generate the plasma, we employed a cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet in gas helium, which was directly inserted into the T-tube implant. To assess the treatment uniformity, the degree of surface modification and its extension along the stent\u2019s inner wall was analyzed using different process parameters.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/polym16223223","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,20]],"date-time":"2024-11-20T10:37:35Z","timestamp":1732099055000},"page":"3223","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Plasma Surface Modification of the Inner Wall of Montgomery\u2019s Tracheal Implant (T-Tube)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9821-8088","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Konstantin G.","family":"Kostov","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Plasma and Applications, Department of Physics, School of Engineering and Sciences, S\u00e3o Paulo State University (UNESP), Guaratinguet\u00e1 12516-410, SP, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ananias A.","family":"Barbosa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Plasma and Applications, Department of Physics, School of Engineering and Sciences, S\u00e3o Paulo State University (UNESP), Guaratinguet\u00e1 12516-410, SP, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8641-9894","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fellype","family":"do Nascimento","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Plasma and Applications, Department of Physics, School of Engineering and Sciences, S\u00e3o Paulo State University (UNESP), Guaratinguet\u00e1 12516-410, SP, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Paulo F. G.","family":"Cardoso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Thoracic Surgery Research Laboratory (LIM61), Division of Thoracic Surgery, Instituto do Cora\u00e7\u00e3o, Hospital das Cl\u00ednicas HCFMUSP, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de S\u00e3o Paulo, S\u00e3o Paulo 01246-903, SP, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5054-2284","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ana C. P. L.","family":"Almeida","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Plasma and Applications, Department of Physics, School of Engineering and Sciences, S\u00e3o Paulo State University (UNESP), Guaratinguet\u00e1 12516-410, SP, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0814-4319","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antje","family":"Quade","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science & Technology\u2014INP, 17489 Greifswald, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3271-2048","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Daniel","family":"Legendre","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Adib Jatene Foundation\u2014FAJ, S\u00e3o Paulo 04014-002, SP, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9266-0668","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luiz R. O.","family":"Hein","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Materials Images, Department of Material and Technology, School of Engineering and Sciences, S\u00e3o Paulo State University (UNESP), Guaratinguet\u00e1 12516-410, SP, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0271-9142","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Diego M.","family":"Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"S\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 dos Campos Institute of Science and Technology (ICT), S\u00e3o Paulo State University (UNESP), S\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 dos Campos 12245-000, SP, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2416-2173","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cristiane Y.","family":"Koga-Ito","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"S\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 dos Campos Institute of Science and Technology (ICT), S\u00e3o Paulo State University (UNESP), S\u00e3o Jos\u00e9 dos Campos 12245-000, SP, Brazil"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1000","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.321.7267.1000","article-title":"Lesson of the week: Tracheal stenosis after intubation","volume":"321","author":"Spitlle","year":"2000","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"72","DOI":"10.1016\/j.arbr.2020.11.006","article-title":"Montgomery T-Tube in the treatment of tracheal stenosis: Experience of a respiratory endoscopy unit and review of the literature","volume":"57","author":"Iribarnegaray","year":"2021","journal-title":"Arq. 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