Recently, cold atmospheric pressure plasmas (CAPs) have provided many new opportunities in dermatology by providing a multimodal action of reactive agents (RA). This review critically examines the generation, transport, and physical effects induced by CAPs in dermatologic treatments. We introduce the most suitable plasma sources, which provide a multitude of physical effects on the skin without any electric or thermal shocks. The mechanisms of generation and transport of the key reactive species are introduced and examined from the viewpoint of their applications in dermatology. Special attention is paid to study the “plasmaporation” effect, which enables RA penetration through healthy and damaged skin. Plausible physical mechanisms involved in the CAP treatment of some of the most common skin diseases are analyzed.

The “third-generation” cooking oil based drug, named plasma activated oil (PAO), is produced in cheap olive oil by a single-step, room temperature, energy-efficient, and environment-friendly dry plasma-enabled process. The streamer-surface discharge generates abundant energetic species, atomic oxygen at the plasma–oil interface. The otherwise challenging dissociation of CC double bonds by energetic species and oxidation by the plasma generated atomic oxygen is the key mechanism to produce the H2O2 active species and carboxylic acid in the PAO. It is shown that the peroxide value and acid value of PAO are 7.5 times and 57% higher than those of the traditional ozonated oil, respectively. Different from plasma activated water whose shelf life was less than 1 week, PAO could be stored at room temperature for at least 3 months, and a shelf life of up to 1 year is expected. We further reveal that the PAO can not only sterilize the wound, but also promote more release of growth factor such as VEGF and CD34; therefore, the wound healing of PAO is 28.5% faster than that of the control group.

Abstract. Artificial rain is explored as a remedy for climate change caused farmland drought and bushfires. Increasing the ion density in the open air is an efficient way to generate charged nuclei from atmospheric aerosols and induce precipitation or eliminate fog. Here we report on the development of a large commercial-installation-scale atmospheric ion generator based on corona plasma discharges, experimental monitoring, and numerical modeling of the parameters and range of the atmospheric ions, as well as the application of the generated ions to produce charged aerosols and induce precipitation at the scale of a large cloud chamber. The coverage area of the ions generated by the large corona discharge installation with the 7.2 km long wire electrode and applied voltage of −90 kV is studied under prevailing weather conditions including wind direction and speed. By synergizing over 300 000 localized corona discharge points, we demonstrate a substantial decrease in the decay of ions compared to a single corona discharge point in the open air, leading to large-scale (30 m ×23 m ×90 m) ion coverage. Once aerosols combine with the generated ions, charged nuclei are produced. Higher wind speed has led to larger areas covered by the plasma-generated ions. The cloud chamber experiments (relative humidity 130±10  %) suggest that charged aerosols generated by ions with a density of ∼104 cm−3 can accelerate the settlement of moisture by 38 %. These results are promising for the development of large-scale installations for the effective localized control of atmospheric phenomena.

The plasma enhanced oil based drug, named plasma activated radix arnebiae oil (PARAO) is produced in the radix arnebiae oil (RAO) by a single-step, room temperature, energy-efficient and environment-friendly dry plasma-enabled process. The streamer-surface discharge generates abundant energetic species, atomic oxygen at the plasma-oil interface. The dissociation of C  =  C double bond by energetic species and oxidization by the atomic oxygen is the main mechanism to produce reactive H2O2 and carboxylic acid species in the PARAO, while the decreasing of shikonin caused by plasma is very limited. The highly reactive PARAO can not only kill the common bacterium (MRSA and P. aeruginosa) on burn wound efficiently, but also suppress inflammation, stimulate re-epithelialization, and reduce scar formation. Therefore, the PARAO treatment realizes 11.3% faster second degree burn wound healing than the RAO treatment.