The Interactions between Non-thermal Atmospheric Pressure Plasma and Ex-vivo Dermal Fibroblasts

Abstract

The cold atmospheric plasma (CAPs) is the fourth state of matter, which means that it is an ionized gas, obtained at room temperature and atmospheric pressure when energy is supplied to a gas. Its composition is complex, involving chemical (gas's molecules, free radicals, ions and electrons) and physical (Ultra-violet radiation and electric field) components. It has been successfully used in the industry for the processing of materials and the recent discovery of its efficacy in sterilization of microorganisms has trigged a large quantity of research in the biomedical field. The expectations of good that the CAPs may bring to medical treatments are high and therefore this study analyzes the effects caused by cold atmospheric pressure plasma in ex-vivo dermal fibroblasts. For that, fibroblast cell culture was obtained from ex-vivo human skin and treated with different conditions of CAPs, such as treatment type (direct or indirect). This work aimed to determine if ex-vivo human fibroblasts remain viable after these treatments. For that, we counted the number of cells right after the experiments and compared it with the control, which did not receive any kind of plasma. For further results we also counted the number of viable cells 3 and 5 days after the application. The fibroblasts were treated with 85W plasma, from 30seconds up to 60seconds. Our findings show that CAPs obtained from Argon gas can be applied to in-house human fibroblasts culture directly and indirectly without altering the cells’ viability. It does not cause apoptosis in all of the cells treated nor does it exacerbate its proliferation. Further studies need to be done in order to analyze if it alters the cells’ functionality.