The plasma cleaner is a system that, thanks to the application of an electrical field, allows the generation of a plasma (ionized gas capable of conducting electricity and absorbing energy from an electrical supply) starting from a neutral gas. In an inert gas, such as argon, the excited ions can bombard a surface ("sandblast") and remove a small a mount of material. In the case of an active gas, such as oxygen, ion bombardment as well as chemical reactions occur. As a result, organic compounds and residues volatilize and are removed, and the surface chemistry composition can be changed depending on the material and the power supply. The plasma technology can be used on different materials (glass, metals, plastics, textiles, ceramics) for surface cleaning and surface activation without using aggressive chemicals.

The plasma system Gambetti-Tucano is equipped with a 6 liters aluminum chamber, a vacuum pump to evacuate the chamber and two gas suppliers for gas flow control. It allows an automatic matching of the all process parameters (vacuum, gas flow, gas pressure, power and time). The system is equipped with a MHz generator (13,56 MHz) with a maximum power of 200 W that  make it flexible and useful to achieve either the cleaning or the activation of the irradiate surface. The plasma cleaner can be used to remove contaminants from a surface avoiding the use of dangerous chemicals, to promote the adhesion between two surfaces for the realization of microfluidic devices and to control surface tension making it hydrophobic or hydrophilic in order to control cell spreading and adhesion.