AVS 49th International Symposium
    Plasma Science Tuesday Sessions
       Session PS-TuP

Paper PS-TuP24
Surface Investigation of Bone Tissue Treated with Non-thermal Plasmas

Tuesday, November 5, 2002, 5:30 pm, Room Exhibit Hall B2

Session: Plasma Applications
Presenter: J.-C. Cigal, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
Authors: J.-C. Cigal, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
C.Y.M. Maurice, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
E. Wagenaars, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
L.J. van Ijzendoorn, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
A.H.F.M. Baede, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
R. Huiskes, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
G.M.W. Kroesen, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
Correspondent: Click to Email
In the last few years, much effort has been carried on the development of biocompatible plasma. Such technique directly derived from material surface processing could lead, in a long term, to a plasma-based cure for disease like restenosis, bone cancer, osteoporosis, or eczema. Our group recently developed a non-thermal plasma needle working at atmospheric pressure for this purpose. In order to be able to investigate the interaction between the plasma and living tissue, we used a low pressure plasma operating on a larger area. Because of its stability, bone tissue appeared to be the most suitable bio surface for this study. It is composed of a mineral network constituted of Calcium-hydroxy-apatite, combined with organic material (e.g. collagen). The samples have been exposed to an inductively coupled plasma, using different gases (Argon, Krypton, Helium, and Oxygen in mixture). The samples have been analysed by using infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry before and after treatment. This technique based on Fourier transform analysis presents the advantage of giving accurate information on the chemical composition of the surface of the tissue. Results have been compared with other techniques such as EDX, environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), and nano-indentation. We also performed some ion beam diagnostics like RBS, PIXE, ERDA, and nuclear reaction analysis. These complementary experiments allowed us to determine the elemental of the bone tissue. These parameters are strongly connected to the above mentioned diseases.