Generation Of Reactive Species By Plasma Needle In Different Liquids

Abstract

Plasma activated media (PAM) is produced by exposing liquids to cold atmospheric plasmas [1,2]. PAM has gained increasing attention due to its capacity to kill cancer cells as effectively as direct treatment of cells in culture by cold plasmas.

In previous works [3] we could show the selectivity of an atmospheric pressure plasma needle on osteosarcoma cell lines versus healthy bone cells. The cytotoxicity of the direct plasma treatment on cells was comparable to treatment with PAM, wherein in this case the liquid selected was cell culture medium.

The rationale beyond employing PAM lies in being able to avoid the effects of electrical field, or UV/VIS radiation present in plasmas, and its biological effects seem to lay in the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) generated in the aqueous state. The concentration of ROS and RNS in the PAM is directly related to its effectiveness in killing cancer cells. It is our interest to evaluate the different parameters influencing the generation of ROS and RNS.

In this work different liquid media (different cell culture media, aqueous solutions such as water or ringer’s saline, etc.) are compared, and the production of ROS and RNS is quantified in different conditions (volume of liquid, treatment times, distance to the nozzle). The stability of the mentioned species is evaluated with time.

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Figure 1. Production of H₂O₂ and NO₂^- by APPJ treatment on different cell culture medium (a) McCoy and (b) AdvDMEM.