Combining Nanotechnology and Gas Plasma as an Emerging Platform for Cancer Therapy: Mechanism and Therapeutic Implication

Abstract

Nanomedicine and plasma medicine are innovative and multidisciplinary research fields aiming to employ nanotechnology and gas plasma to improve health-related treatments. Especially cancer treatment has been in the focus of both approaches because clinical response rates with traditional methods that remain improvable for many types of tumor entities. Here, we discuss the recent progress of nanotechnology and gas plasma independently as well as in the concomitant modality of nanoplasma as multimodal platforms with unique capabilities for addressing various therapeutic issues in oncological research. The main features, delivery vehicles, and nexus between reactivity and therapeutic outcomes of nanoparticles and the processes, efficacy, and mechanisms of gas plasma are examined. Especially that the unique feature of gas plasma technology, the local and temporally controlled deposition of a plethora of reactive oxygen, and nitrogen species released simultaneously might be a suitable additive treatment to the use of systemic nanotechnology therapy approaches. Finally, we focus on the convergence of plasma and nanotechnology to provide a suitable strategy that may lead to the required therapeutic outcomes.

Cold air plasma improving rheumatoid arthritis via mitochondrial apoptosis pathway

“…16 CAP induces cytotoxic reaction in many cell lines by regulating the intracellular ROS levels. 17 In this respect, CAP effectively modifies glycated GPx, increases the enzymatic activity, and reduces oxidative stress in diabetic mice. 18 In addition, CAP is used to induce apoptosis in glioblastoma, cervical cancer, and breast cancer cells.…”

“…Although the reactions between plasma and cells are still not well understood, ROS representing oxygen‐containing free radicals in cells including superoxide radical (O 2 •−), hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), hydroxyl radical (OH•), peroxynitrite (ONOO−), nitric oxide (NO), and so on in the plasma are considered to be important factors affecting the functions of living cells 16 . CAP induces cytotoxic reaction in many cell lines by regulating the intracellular ROS levels 17 . In this respect, CAP effectively modifies glycated GPx, increases the enzymatic activity, and reduces oxidative stress in diabetic mice 18 .…”

Medical Gas Plasma Technology Combines with Antimelanoma Therapies and Promotes Immune‐Checkpoint Therapy Responses

“…[ 51 ] Moreover, the combination with radiotherapy [ 52 ] and nanoparticles have improved responses in vitro and in vivo. [ 53 , 54 , 55 ] However, this is the first study systematically investigating the synergistic effects of combined gas‐plasma treatment to identify eligible therapeutic targets for clinical application in dermato‐oncology.…”

Therapeutic Effects of Cold Atmospheric Plasma on Solid Tumor

“…Currently, 3D models of TME components (such as spheroids, organoids, scaffolds, tumor-on-a-chip and 3D bioprinted tumors) can be used to simulate solid tumors in vitro and thereby determine the effect of CAP on solid tumors. In addition, the combination of plasma and nanoparticles (NPs) is a positive research direction (165). NPs have shown great potential for local binding with the RONS produced by CAP (166), and CAP enhances NP delivery and increases RONS levels in target tissue (167)(168)(169).…”