Gas plasmas and plasma modified materials in medicine

Abstract

The applications of gas plasma and plasma modified materials in the emerging fields of medicine such as dentistry, drug delivery, and tissue engineering are reviewed. Plasma sterilization of both living and nonliving objects is safe, fast and efficient; for example plasma sterilization of medical equipment quickly removes microorganisms with no damage to the tiny delicate parts of the equipment and in dentistry it offers a non-toxic, painless bacterial inactivation of tissues from a dental cavity. Devices that generate plasma inside the root canal of a tooth give better killing efficiency against bacteria without causing any harm to the surrounding tissues. Plasma modified materials fulfill the requirements for bioactivity in medicine; for example, the inclusion of antimicrobial agents (metal nano particles, antimicrobial peptides, enzymes, etc.) in plasma modified materials (polymeric, metallic, etc.) alters them to produce superior antibacterial biomedical devices with a longer active life. Thin polymer films or coating on surfaces with different plasma processes improves the adherence, controlled loading and release of drug molecules. Surface functionalization by plasma treatment stimulates cell adhesion, cell growth and the spread of tissue development. Plasma applications are already contributing significantly to the changing face of medicine and future trends are discussed in this paper.

Dielectric Barrier Discharge Atmospheric Cold Plasma for Inactivation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms

“…aeruginosa is considered a model microorganism for biofilm research due to its excellent ability to form biofilm. 36 Because bacteria in older biofilms are more resistant to antimicrobial treatments, 37,38 only biofilms grown for 48 h were utilized to present a realistic challenge to the ACP treatment. The effect of ACP treatment on P. aeruginosa biofilms was investigated utilizing widely accepted plate-count and XTT assays.…”

Plasma Science and Technology - Progress in Physical States and Chemical Reactions

“…Non-thermal plasma technology is known as an excellent tool for surface engineering and a valid alternative for wet-chemistry-based surface engineering [14,15,45,46]. It has been extensively used for surface decontamination/etching and surface treatment/activation on the one hand and the grafting/deposition of thin films with unique properties on the other hand.…”

The Fracture of Plasma-Treated Polyurethane Surface under Fatigue Loading

“…Considerable applied studies are focused on the plasma modification of products with complex three-dimensional shape [2] and/or small size. One of the most important areas of research is the effect of plasma treatment on the biomedical characteristics of materials (antibacterial properties, thrombogenesis, biocompatibility, friction, drug transport) [3].…”