A review of the gas and liquid phase interactions in low-temperature plasma jets used for biomedical applications

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Atmospheric pressure plasma jets generated using noble gases have been the focus of intense investigation for over 2 decades due to their unique physicochemical properties and their suitability for treating living tissues to elicit a controlled biological response. Such devices enable the generation of a non-equilibrium plasma to be spatially separated from its downstream point of application, simultaneously providing inherent safety, stability and reactivity. Underpinning key plasma mediated biological applications are the reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) created when molecular gases interact with the noble gas plasma, yielding a complex yet highly reactive chemical mixture. The interplay between the plasma physics, fluid dynamics and plasma chemistry ultimately dictates the chemical composition of the RONS arriving at a biological target. This contribution reviews recent developments in understanding of the interplay between the flowing plasma, the quiescent background and a biological target to promote the development of future plasma medical therapies.

Graphical abstract

Related collections

Most cited references 223

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Wound repair and regeneration.

Geoffrey C Gurtner, Sabine Werner, Yann Barrandon … (2008)

The repair of wounds is one of the most complex biological processes that occur during human life. After an injury, multiple biological pathways immediately become activated and are synchronized to respond. In human adults, the wound repair process commonly leads to a non-functioning mass of fibrotic tissue known as a scar. By contrast, early in gestation, injured fetal tissues can be completely recreated, without fibrosis, in a process resembling regeneration. Some organisms, however, retain the ability to regenerate tissue throughout adult life. Knowledge gained from studying such organisms might help to unlock latent regenerative pathways in humans, which would change medical practice as much as the introduction of antibiotics did in the twentieth century.