The indole nucleus is an important element of many natural and synthetic molecules with significant biological activity. This review covers some of the relevant and recent achievements in the biological, chemical and pharmacological activity of important indole derivatives in the areas of drug discovery and analysis.

The 2022 Roadmap is the next update in the series of Plasma Roadmaps published by Journal of Physics D with the intent to identify important outstanding challenges in the field of low-temperature plasma (LTP) physics and technology. The format of the Roadmap is the same as the previous Roadmaps representing the visions of 41 leading experts representing 21 countries and five continents in the various sub-fields of LTP science and technology. In recognition of the evolution in the field, several new topics have been introduced or given more prominence. These new topics and emphasis highlight increased interests in plasma-enabled additive manufacturing, soft materials, electrification of chemical conversions, plasma propulsion, extreme plasma regimes, plasmas in hypersonics, data-driven plasma science and technology and the contribution of LTP to combat COVID-19. In the last few decades, LTP science and technology has made a tremendously positive impact on our society. It is our hope that this roadmap will help continue this excellent track record over the next 5–10 years.

Through this work, we have elucidated the mechanism of hydroxyl radicals (OH^•) generation and its life time measurements in biosolution. We observed that plasma-initiated ultraviolet (UV) photolysis were responsible for the continues generation of OH^• species, that resulted in OH^• to be major reactive species (RS) in the solution. The density and lifetime of OH^• species acted inversely proportional to each other with increasing depth inside the solution. The cause of increased lifetime of OH^• inside the solution is predicted using theoretical and semiempirical calculations. Further, to predict the mechanism of conversion of hydroxide ion (OH⁻) to OH^• or H₂O₂ (hydrogen peroxide) and electron, we determined the current inside the solution of different pH. Additionally, we have investigated the critical criterion for OH^• interaction on cancer cell inducing apoptosis under effective OH^• exposure time. These studies are innovative in the field of plasma chemistry and medicine.

Non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma has been proposed as a new tool for various biological and medical applications. Plasma in close proximity to cell culture media or water creates reactive oxygen and nitrogen species containing solutions known as plasma-activated media (PAM) or plasma-activated water (PAW) – the latter even displays acidification. These plasma-treated solutions remain stable for several days with respect to the storage temperature. Recently, PAM and PAW have been widely studied for many biomedical applications. Here, we reviewed promising reports demonstrating plasma-liquid interaction chemistry and the application of PAM or PAW as an anti-cancer, anti-metastatic, antimicrobial, regenerative medicine for blood coagulation and even as a dental treatment agent. We also discuss the role of PAM on cancer initiation cells (spheroids or cancer stem cells), on the epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), and when used for metastasis inhibition considering its anticancer effects. The roles of PAW in controlling plant disease, seed decontamination, seed germination and plant growth are also considered in this review. Finally, we emphasize the future prospects of PAM, PAW or plasma-activated solutions in biomedical applications with a discussion of the mechanisms and the stability and safety issues in relation to humans.

We propose multi-band metamaterial absorbers at microwave frequencies. The design, the analysis, the fabrication, and the measurement of the absorbers working in multiple bands are presented. The numerical simulations and the experiments in the microwave anechoic chamber were performed. The metamaterial absorbers consist of an delicate arrangement of donut-shape resonators with different sizes and a metallic background plane, separated by a dielectric. The near-perfect absorptions of dual, triple and quad peaks are persistent with polarization independence, and the effect of angle of incidence for both TE and TM modes was also elucidated. It was also found that the multiple-reflection theory was not suitable for explaining the absorption mechanism of our investigated structures. The results of this study are promising for the practical applications.