| AVS 64th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Plasma Processing for Biomedical Applications Focus Topic | Monday Sessions |
| Session PB+BI+PS-MoA |
| Session: | Plasma Agriculture & Processing of Biomaterials |
| Presenter: | Katharina Stapelmann, North Carolina State University |
| Authors: | K. Stapelmann, North Carolina State University K. Wende, INP Greifswald, Germany B. Offerhaus, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany C. Verlackt, University of Antwerp, Belgium C. Klinkhammer, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany F. Kogelheide, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany M. Havenith, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany A. Bogaerts, University of Antwerp, Belgium P. Awakowicz, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany J-W. Lackmann, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Cold technical plasmas (CAPs) are under investigation in various fields of industry and medicine. First clinical trials using CAPs for wound healing show promising results. Preliminary results in other fields of plasma medicine, such as cancer treatment, offer promising findings as well. However, the interactions of technical plasmas with biological samples on a molecular level are only partly understood. CAPs generate complex chemical cocktails, having an impact on various biological structures [1]. The impact can vary betweeen different sources, e.g. by employing a DBD in air or a noble gas driven jet. A better understanding of the chemical reactions occuring would allow to tune and adapt plasmas for specific tasks. One prevalent impact of plasma on biological targets has been the chemical modification of thiol groups, which carry out various important tasks in the human body, such as cell signaling and protein structure formation. As thiols are involved in many regulatory and functional processes in tissues, an in-depth understanding of the impact of plasma treatment on thiols is highly relevant for a safe application of plasmas in medicine.
In order to get insight into these interactions, various thiol-containing model substrates, such as the amino acid cysteine and larger target substrates, were investigated with different plasma sources [2,3]. By using a standard target substrate, the impact of various plasma sources can be compared not by means of a physical characterization but by their chemical impact. Stepwise increase of sample complexity allows monitoring how thiols are affected by plasma treatment in an ever more complex environment. The combination of experimental evidence and MD simulations permit a comprehensive overview of chemical processes induced by plasma treatment. This combined approach allows a more throughout investigation of modifications on a molecular level and helps to understand fundamental plasma chemistry processes. Furthermore, knowledge about the substrate chemistry enables the use of test substrates as bio-probes for the investigation of plasma chemistry in other industrial fields [4].
[ 1] Lackmann J-W and Bandow J E 2014 Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 98 6205-13
[ 2] Kogelheide F et al 2016 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.49 084004
[ 3] Lackmann J-W et al. 2015 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 48 494003
[ 4] Offerhaus B et al. 2017, accepted in Plasma Process Polym.