Cold Atmospheric Plasma: A Powerful Tool for Modern Medicine

Abstract

Cold atmospheric plasma use in clinical studies is mainly limited to the treatment of chronic wounds, but its application in a wide range of medical fields is now the goal of many analyses. It is therefore likely that its application spectrum will be expanded in the future. Cold atmospheric plasma has been shown to reduce microbial load without any known significant negative effects on healthy tissues, and this should enhance its possible application to any microbial infection site. It has also been shown to have anti-tumour effects. In addition, it acts proliferatively on stem cells and other cultivated cells, and the highly increased nitric oxide levels have a very important effect on this proliferation. Cold atmospheric plasma use may also have a beneficial effect on immunotherapy in cancer patients. Finally, it is possible that the use of plasma devices will not remain limited to surface structures, because current endeavours to develop sufficiently miniature microplasma devices could very likely lead to its application in subcutaneous and internal structures. This study summarises the available literature on cold plasma action mechanisms and analyses of its current in vivo and in vitro use, primarily in the fields of regenerative and dental medicine and oncology.

Design and Medical Effects of a Vaginal Cleaning Device Generating Plasma-Activated Water with Antimicrobial Activity on Bacterial Vaginosis

“…To overcome these problems, we provide a novel vaginal cleaning device using plasmaactivated water and ultraviolet light. Recently, plasma source generation at atmospheric pressures has been of great interest for therapeutic applications, such as in coagulation, cancer treatment, and wound healing, in terms of plasma medicine [9][10][11]. Numerous studies have demonstrated plasmatreated sterilizing effects for bacterial infections and safe food preservation [12,13].…”

Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma (CAP) as a New Tool for the Management of Vulva Cancer and Vulvar Premalignant Lesions in Gynaecological Oncology

“…Several studies have analysed different cell lines in apoptotic content. The loss of cell viability and shrinkage of tumours occurred mainly as a result of apoptotic processes, as evident from the specific morphological changes and higher activity of apoptotic cascade members [28,151,228,229].…”

“…Current trends in the establishment of CAP as a robust approach in anticancer therapy are also associated with the synergic use of plasma and nanotechnology or its application in the modulation of an immune response. The human immune system is significantly associated with cancer, and the ability of the immune system's modulation could overcome the capacity of cancer cells to suppress immune responses through several mechanisms, including cytokines, cell-based therapies, immune checkpoint blockades, and immunogenic cell death [228]. As immunotherapy has become an essential part of anticancer treatment, the CAP effect on the immune system was evaluated in several studies.…”

Anticancer Effects of Cold Atmospheric Plasma in Canine Osteosarcoma Cells

“…Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is ionized gas with high energy at relatively low temperatures. CAP generates reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can have many biological effects, including wound healing, sterilization, gene transfection, blood coagulation and cancer therapy [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Plasma medicine recently became a new area in human medicine [ 10 ] due to its mechanisms—including DNA damage, apoptosis, necrosis or autophagy by stimulating many ROS-mediated signaling pathways—leading to anticancer activity [ 11 , 12 , 13 ].…”