Modern humanity wades daily through various radiations, resulting in frequent exposure and causing potentially important biological effects. Among them, the brain is the organ most sensitive to electromagnetic radiation (EMR) exposure. Despite numerous correlated studies, critical unknowns surround the different parameters used, including operational frequency, power density (i.e., energy dose), and irradiation time that could permit reproducibility and comparability between analyses. Furthermore, the interactions of EMR with biological systems and its precise mechanisms remain poorly characterized. In this review, recent approaches examining the effects of microwave radiations on the brain, specifically learning and memory capabilities, as well as the mechanisms of brain dysfunction with exposure as reported in the literature, are analyzed and interpreted to provide prospective views for future research directed at this important and novel medical technology for developing preventive and therapeutic strategies on brain degeneration caused by microwave radiation. Additionally, the interactions of microwaves with biological systems and possible mechanisms are presented in this review. Treatment with natural products and safe techniques to reduce harm to organs have become essential components of daily life, and some promising techniques to treat cancers and their radioprotective effects are summarized as well. This review can serve as a platform for researchers to understand the mechanism and interactions of microwave radiation with biological systems, the present scenario, and prospects for future studies on the effect of microwaves on the brain.

Background: Pulsed high-power microwave (HPM) has many applications and is constantly being researched to expand its uses in the future. As the number of applications grows, the biological effects and safety level of pulsed HPM become a serious issue, requiring further research.Objective: The brain is regarded as the most vulnerable organ to radiation, raising concerns about determining an acceptable level of exposure. The effect of nanosecond pulses and the mechanisms underlying HPM on the brain has not been studied. For the first time, we observed the effect of pulsed 3.5 GHz HPM on brain normal astrocytes and cancer U87 MG cells, as well as the likely mechanisms involved.Methods: To generate 3.5 GHz HPM, an axial virtual cathode oscillator was constructed on pulsed power generator “Chundoong”. The cells were directly exposed to HPM (10, 25, 40, and 60) pulses (1 mJ/pulse), with each pulse delivered after 1 min of charging time to evaluate the dose dependent effects.Results: A strong electric field (∼23 kV/cm) of HPM irradiation primarily causes the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), altering cell viability, mitochondrial activity, and cell death rates in U87 and astrocytes at certain dosages. The ROS generation in response to HPM exposure was primarily responsible for DNA damage and p53 activation. The hazardous dosage of 60 pulses is acknowledged as having damaging effects on brain normal cells. Interestingly, the particular 25 pulses exhibited therapeutic effects on U87 cells via p53, Bax, and Caspase-3 activation.Conclusion: HPM pulses induced apoptosis-related events such as ROS burst and increased oxidative DNA damage at higher dosages in normal cells and specific 25 pulses in cancer U87. These findings are useful to understand the physiological mechanisms driving HPM-induced cell death, as well as the safety threshold range for HPM exposure on normal cells and therapeutic effects on cancer U87. As HPM technology advances, we believe this study is timely and will benefit humanity and future research.

Recent advances in atmospheric plasmas have led to the formation of nonthermal plasma (NTP). In recent decades, a number of novel plasma diagnostic approaches have been implemented and reported in order to better understand the physics of NTP. The use of NTP is a novel approach to producing reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. Plasma technology has many applications, including electrical device microfabrication, biomedicine, dentistry, agriculture, ozone generation, chemical synthesis, surface treatment, coating, and disease therapy. Furthermore, NTP is thought to be a successful strategy for the degradation of hazardous pollutants in the environment, making it a future hope. Recent studies showed that various operating parameters affect the yield of NTP-based technology. Especially, the presence of a catalyst, properly placed in an NTP reactor, leads to a significant increase in process performance as compared to NTP alone. Scientists have looked at using NTP in conjunction with catalysts to remove various sorts of pollutants from the environment. In this context, review articles are crucial due to the prevalence of NTP-based applications and ongoing developments. This review will describe recent advancements in NTP-based biomedical applications, bacterial inactivation, food preservation and storage, and environmental catalytic formulations. This review could be useful in providing a platform for advancements in biological applications and environmental protection through the use of NTP technology.

Non-thermal biocompatible plasma (NBP) was considered as an efficient tool in tissue engineering to modify the surface of biomaterials. Three-dimensional chitosan scaffolds have been extensively used in different ways because it holds some remarkable properties, including biodegradability and biocompatibility. In this study, we evaluated the osteogenic potential of NBP-treated chitosan scaffolds using two different plasma sources: a dielectric barrier discharge (NBP-DBD) and a soft jet (NBP-J). The surface modification of the scaffold was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy. For osteogenic differentiation of cells, proliferation and differentiation were tested by using bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMSCs). We observed that cell viability using NBP-DBD and NBP-J treated chitosan scaffolds yielded significant improvements in cell viability and differentiation. The results obtained with MTT and live/dead assays showed that NBP-modified scaffold increases cell metabolic by MTT assay and live/dead assay. It also observed that the NBP treatment is more effective at 5 min with DBD and was selected for further investigations. Enhanced osteogenic differentiation was observed using NBP-treated scaffolds, as reflected by increased alkaline phosphatase activity. Our findings showed that NBP is an innovative and beneficial tool for modifying chitosan scaffolds to increase their activity, making them suitable as biocompatible materials and for bone tissue engineering.

Optimizing the therapeutic range of nonthermal atmospheric pressure plasma (NTAPP) for biomedical applications is an active research topic. For the first time, we examined the effect of plasma on-times in this study while keeping the duty ratio and treatment time fixed. We have evaluated the electrical, optical, and soft jet properties for two different duty ratios of 10% and 36%, using the plasma on-times of 25, 50, 75, and 100 ms. Furthermore, the influence of plasma on-time on reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) levels in plasma treated medium (PTM) was also investigated. Following treatment, the characteristics of (DMEM media) and PTM (pH, EC, and ORP) were also examined. While EC and ORP rose by raising plasma on-time, pH remained unchanged. Finally, the PTM was used to observe the cell viability and ATP levels in U87-MG brain cancer cells. We found it interesting that, by increasing the plasma on-time, the levels of ROS/RNS dramatically increased in PTM and significantly affected the viability and ATP levels of the U87-MG cell line. The results of this study provide a significant indication of advancement by introducing the optimization of plasma on-time to increase the efficacy of the soft plasma jet for biomedical applications.