Plasma Medicine: A Brief Introduction

Abstract

This mini review is to introduce the readers of Plasma to the field of plasma medicine. This is a multidisciplinary field of research at the intersection of physics, engineering, biology and medicine. Plasma medicine is only about two decades old, but the research community active in this emerging field has grown tremendously in the last few years. Today, research is being conducted on a number of applications including wound healing and cancer treatment. Although a lot of knowledge has been created and our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms that play important roles in the interaction between low temperature plasma and biological cells and tissues has greatly expanded, much remains to be done to get a thorough and detailed picture of all the physical and biochemical processes that enter into play.

Non‐thermal atmospheric plasma treatment of onychomycosis in an in vitro human nail model

“…The plasma environment responsible for treatment efficacy includes pulsed electric field (which couples strongly through the nail plate), induced current through the tissue, and some moderate local heating. The plasma also generates active chemical species that interact with treated surfaces and generate solvated long‐lived reactive species in the liquid . There is evidence that reactive nitrogen species penetrate through tissues which is important for the treatment of onychomycosis where the dose must be delivered through the nail plate.…”

“…The plasma also generates active chemical species that interact with treated surfaces and generate solvated long-lived reactive species in the liquid. 11 There is evidence that reactive nitrogen species penetrate through tissues [12][13][14] which is important for the treatment of onychomycosis where the dose must be delivered through the nail plate.…”

Cold Atmospheric Plasma: A Powerful Tool for Modern Medicine

“…Moreover, it cannot be hypothetically excluded that CAP application does not have some minimal negative effects at the molecular level. All these findings and possibilities are subject to ongoing analysis, but current results suggest that the unproven adverse effects are outweighed by CAP's many benefits [3,4,12]. Finally, it is likely that more possibilities and greater benefits for CAP use in clinical practice will be demonstrated in the future, because most CAP studies have just taken place in the last 15 years [3,4,12].…”

“…All these findings and possibilities are subject to ongoing analysis, but current results suggest that the unproven adverse effects are outweighed by CAP's many benefits [3,4,12]. Finally, it is likely that more possibilities and greater benefits for CAP use in clinical practice will be demonstrated in the future, because most CAP studies have just taken place in the last 15 years [3,4,12]. While CAP can be employed in aesthetic procedures [30][31][32], herein we summarise CAP use in more serious medical conditions.…”

“…The antimicrobial effect of CAP was demonstrated in the 1990s and this led to its use in medicine [12]. The initial 2007 clinical trial used the plasma device in facial rejuvenation procedures [40].…”