| AVS 62nd International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Plasma Science and Technology | Tuesday Sessions |
| Session PS+BI+SM-TuM |
| Session: | Plasmas for Medicine and Biological Applications |
| Presenter: | Jennifer Granick, University of Minnesota |
| Authors: | J.L. Granick, University of Minnesota V.S.S.K. Kondeti, University of Minnesota A. Truong, University of Minnesota R.C. Hunter, University of Minnesota P.J. Bruggeman, University of Minnesota |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Two percent of the US population suffers from chronic non-healing wounds, often complicated by antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, and the staggering cost of wound care exceeds $50 billion per year. Of increasing concern are multi-drug resistant bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. Within wounds, these bacteria adopt a biofilm-like state, and become notoriously recalcitrant to conventional antibiotic therapies. Currently approved products for the treatment of chronic wounds have not proven to be a panacea due to the complex nature of wound healing.
The ideal therapy for chronic, infected wounds would be non-painful, bactericidal without risk of resistance, able to break-up biofilms and enhance wound healing. Recently, there has been interest in the use of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) technology for the treatment of infections and non-healing wounds. The technology could potentially fulfill the requirements of an ideal wound healing therapy. CAP devices producing ionized gas have been developed that can operate in ambient air and that are safe to touch without any pain sensation. CAP generates a complex mixture of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) that are able to kill bacteria, while stimulating host cell growth. CAP has the potential to combine antiseptic and wound healing capabilities in a single treatment procedure and could eliminate the risk of cytotoxicity present in many current treatment methodologies for infected wounds.
The effects of CAP on bacteria and mammalian keratinocytes and fibroblast cells have been evaluated in vitro. Our prototype argon CAP device produces antibacterial effects on planktonic bacterial cultures of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa at a maximal treatment duration of 20 ml/min at conditions that do not impact cell viability of fibroblasts and keratinocytes in vitro. We have also recently demonstrated that CAP is effective in reducing the viability of P. aeruginosa biofilms grown in vitro. When grown on the surfaces of PVC microtitre plates for 48 h, argon-air derived CAP treatment of established biofilms showed a 95% reduction in cell viability, as determined by resazurin fluorescence, relative to untreated controls, when treated at a dose of 30min/ml, which is similar to the treatment time equivalent of mammalian cell treatment.
As part of the early investigations of the use of CAP treatment as a viable therapy for chronic-infected wounds, the presentation will focus on bacterial biofilm reduction by CAP treatment in vitro as well as in a mouse skin wound model. The effects on mouse host cells will be examined.