Plasma medicine is a field of research that focuses on the sterilization of bacteria, wounds and cancer treatment, tissue regeneration and other biomedical applications using plasma. Dielectric barrier discharge microplasma was used for biomedical applications such as sterilization of bacteria and skin treatment for transdermal drug delivery. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of using microplasma for improving blood coagulation parameters. Blood samples collected from one dog and one cat were treated with microplasma, and the blood coagulation effect of this treatment was compared with the effect achieved by treating the blood with air flow only. The microplasma electrodes were energized using a negative pulse voltage power supply and environmental air was used as discharge gas. The microplasma treatment produced clear coagulation effects that increased proportionally with treatment time, discharge voltage and frequency. In contrast, the treatment with air flow only had no coagulation effects after the same treatment time as for the microplasma treatment. The observed blood coagulation effects induced by microplasma treatment could be attributed to the reactive oxygen and nitrogen species generated by microplasma. The blood sample subjected to microplasma treatment had a slight temperature increase (≈4 °C) confirming the nonthermal operation. In conclusion, this study shows promising results that suggest the potential of using microplasma treatment as a tool for improving blood coagulation parameters. Furthermore, microplasma’s suitability for portability and integration indicates the potential for developing a compact microplasma device tailored for use by first responders in cases of bleeding.

Alkylating agents such as cyclophosphamide (CPA) are commonly used in cytotoxic or immunosuppressive therapies for different types of diseases. One of the main secondary effects of such therapy is the reduction in follicular reserve, targeting the primordial follicles. The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidant and protective effects of Plantago sempervirens extract on the follicular pool. The experiment was performed on Wistar female rats, for 21 days. They were divided into five groups according to the treatment they received (Control, CPA (200 mg/kg BW), P. sempervirens extract in three different doses—25/50/100 dw/mL ethanol extract (5 mL/kg BW)). The investigations regarded enzymatic and non-enzymatic nitro-oxidative stress, hormone levels (FSH and estrogen), TEM sections of the ovaries, and oestrus cycle monitorization. CPA strongly increased the oxidative stress (TOS—32.8 mmol H₂O₂/L; NO—68.60 μmol/L; OSI—6.82), alongside a depletion of FSH and a blockage of the oestrus cycle in the metestrus phase. The follicular pool was strongly depleted during CPA exposure, but FSH concentration and the TEM images of the cells revealed a significant improvement after treatment, as the dose increases (P3). Therefore, these findings reveal that P. sempervirens therapy could have a potential protective effect against CPA-induced acute damages in the ovaries, as well as maintaining a functional oestrus cycle.

Plasma medicine is a field of research that focuses on the sterilization of bacteria, wounds and cancer treatment, tissue regeneration and other biomedical applications using plasma. Dielectric barrier discharge microplasma was used for biomedical applications such as sterilization of bacteria and skin treatment for transdermal drug delivery. In this research we have investigated the feasibility of microplasma use for blood coagulation. Blood from a dog and a cat was treated with microplasma and after the treatment the blood coagulation effect was observed. By comparison, the blood treated only with air flow did not coagulate after the same treatment time as for microplasma treatment. Microplasma electrodes were energized using a negative pulse voltage power supply and environmental air was used as discharge gas. An increase in the blood coagulation effect was observed with the increase of treatment time, discharge voltage and frequency. The blood coagulation process is attributed to the reactive oxygen and nitrogen species generated by microplasma. This research showed promising results that suggest the potential of using microplasma treatment as a tool for blood coagulation. Furthermore, the microplasma's suitability for portability and integration indicates the potential for developing a compact device tailored for use by first responders.