Biomedical applications of plasma require its efficacy for specific purposes and equally importantly its safety. Herein the safety aspects of cold plasma created with simple atmospheric pressure plasma jet produced with helium gas and electrode discharge are evaluated in skin damage on mouse, at different duration of exposure and gas flow rates. The extent of skin damage and treatments are systematically evaluated using stereomicroscope, labelling with fluorescent dyes, histology, infrared imaging and optical emission spectroscopy. The analyses reveal early and late skin damages as a consequence of plasma treatment, and are attributed to direct and indirect effects of plasma. The results indicate that direct skin damage progresses with longer treatment time and increasing gas flow rates which reflect changes in plasma properties. With increasing flow rates, the temperature on treated skin grows and the RONS formation rises. The direct effects were plasma treatment dependent, whereas the disclosed late - secondary effects were more independent on discharge parameters and related to diffusion of RONS species. Thermal effects and skin heating are related to plasmacoupling properties and are separated from the effects of other RONS. It is demonstrated that cumulative topical treatment with helium plasma jet could lead to skin damage. The results were published in established journal from the field of biomedicine.
COBISS.SI-ID: 2633595
A specific interest of the presented research was skin cell behaviour under a non-thermal kHz plasma jet as a topical skin treatment. Our research was focused on in vitro mouse skin cell direct plasma treatment with argon as an operating gas. The research was complemented with detailed gas-phase diagnostics and liquid-phase chemical analysis of the plasma and plasma-treated medium, respectively. The obtained results showed that direct plasma jet treatment was very destructive, leading to low cell viability. The apoptosis was observed for most L929 murine fibroblasts under approximately the same conditions. This behaviour was attributed to plasma species generated from direct treatment and the types of cell lines used. Importantly, the research exposed important points that should be taken under consideration for all further research in this field: the urgent need to upgrade and standardise existing plasma treatment protocols of cell lines; to monitor gas and liquid chemistries and to standardise plasma discharge parameters.
COBISS.SI-ID: 49434883
This article was published in one of the most reputable journals in the field of plasma, where we report on a newly developed cold source of plasma based on an annular-shaped ring radiofrequency source, which can be used in various fields of biomedicine. The developed radiofrequency (RF) plasma jet is of particular importance due to its their potential for safe operation on humans and the generation of the high amount of reactive species. The designed RF plasma jet has a co-axial geometry with the possibility of aerosol introduction, where its characteristics were evaluated by electrical diagnostics, optical emission and laser scattering spectroscopy. The low gas temperature of the argon plasma jet also allows its use for the treatment of temperature-sensitive material applications, including skin treatments.
COBISS.SI-ID: 27314947
Antibacterial coating is an important strategy preventing bacterial colonization and biofilm formation. One-step synthesis of nanocapsule-containing antibacterial coatings with controlled release of Ag+ ions was achieved in the current work by aerosol-assisted atmospheric pressure plasma deposition. The experimental parameters of deposition including the discharge power, silver nitrate concentration, aerosol flow rate, continuous and pulsed mode of operation were studied in order to analyze their effects on surface morphology and chemical composition of the coating. Formation of nanocapsules embedded in the polymeric coating was observed. A core-shell structure was found for nanocapsule with silver in the core and polymer in the shell. Antibacterial coatings on polyethylene terephthalate film were studied in terms of Ag+ ion release, antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and cytotoxicity with murine fibroblasts. Two-phase release kinetics of Ag+ ions was observed as initially a short-term burst release followed by a long-term slow release. It was revealed that high antibacterial efficiency of the coatings deposited on polyethylene terephthalate films can be coupled with low cytotoxicity. These biocompatible antibacterial coatings are very promising in different fields including biological applications.
COBISS.SI-ID: 29256451
Infections with titanium implants can pose a serious problem in medicine. We have shown that by using plasma, an ionised gas stream, we can remove microbes and prevent their regrowth on the surface of titanium disks. In addition, treatment of the surface with plasma allows for better adhesion and proliferation of fibroblasts on the surface of titanium discs. An article with the described results was published in the journal of Q1 rank.
COBISS.SI-ID: 32394279