New experiments using atmospheric pressure plasma have found large application in treatment of living cells or tissues, wound healing, cancerous cell apoptosis, blood coagulation on wounds, bone tissue modification, sterilization and decontamination. In this study an atmospheric pressure plasma jet generated using a cylindrical dielectric-barrier discharge was applied for treatment of burned wounds on Wistar rats' skin. The low temperature plasma jet works in helium and is driven by high voltage pulses. Oxygen and nitrogen based impurities are identified in the jet by emission spectroscopy. This paper analyses the natural epithelization of the rats' skin wounds and two methods of assisted epithelization, a classical one using polyurethane wound dressing and a new one using daily atmospheric pressure plasma treatment of wounds. Systemic and local medical data, such as haematological, biochemical and histological parameters, were monitored during entire period of study. Increased oxidative stress was observed for plasma treated wound. This result can be related to the presence in the plasma volume of active species, such as O and OH radicals. Both methods, wound dressing and plasma-assisted epithelization, provided positive medical results related to the recovery process of burned wounds. The dynamics of the skin regeneration process was modified: the epidermis re-epitelization was accelerated, while the recovery of superficial dermis was slowed down.

Atmospheric pressure DC-driven self-pulsing transient spark (TS) discharge operated in air and pulse-driven dielectric barrier discharge plasma jet (PJ) operated in helium in contact with water solutions were used for inducing chemical effects in water solutions, and the treatment of bacteria (Escherichia coli), mammalian cells (Vero line normal cells, HeLa line cancerous cells), deoxyribonucleic acid (dsDNA), and protein (bovine serum albumin). Two different methods of water solution supply were used in the TS: water electrode system and water spray system. The effects of both TS systems and the PJ were compared, as well as a direct exposure of the solution to the discharge with an indirect exposure to the discharge activated gas flow. The chemical analysis of water solutions was performed by using colorimetric methods of UV-VIS absorption spectrophotometry. The bactericidal effects of the discharges on bacteria were evaluated by standard microbiological plate count method. Viability, apoptosis and cell cycle were assessed in normal and cancerous cells. Viability of cells was evaluated by trypan blue exclusion test, apoptosis by Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide assay, and cell cycle progression by propidium iodide/RNase test. The effect of the discharges on deoxyribonucleic acid and protein were evaluated by fluorescence and UV absorption spectroscopy. The results of bacterial and mammalian cell viability, apoptosis, and cell cycle clearly show that cold plasma can inactivate bacteria and selectively target cancerous cells, which is very important for possible future development of new plasma therapeutic strategies in biomedicine. The authors found that all investigated bio-effects were stronger with the air TS discharge than with the He PJ, even in indirect exposure.

Atmospheric pressure plasma jets (APPJs) can be generated in capillary tubes flowing with pure helium and with admixtures of oxygen into the pure helium. The jet exiting the tube can be used for a variety of applications through surface interaction. In this study, a two-dimensional axi-symmetric model has been developed to provide insight into the evolution of capillary helium plasma jets with and without oxygen admixtures and their interaction with a dielectric surface placed normal to the jet axis. The model considers the gas mixing of helium and ambient air and the analytical chemistry between helium, nitrogen and oxygen species. Experiments were performed in conditions similar to those of the simulations in order to get qualitative agreement between them. The numerical and experimental results show that the evolution of the helium plasma jet is strongly affected by the introduction of oxygen admixtures. In particular, it was observed that the addition of oxygen admixtures in the helium gas promotes plasma bullet propagation on the axis of symmetry of the tube (in contrast to off-axis propagation for the pure helium plasma jet). On the other hand, the presence of the dielectric surface (a slab placed in front of the tube exit) forces the plasma bullet to spread radially. Furthermore, the plasma bullet speed decreases when the helium plasma jet is operated in the presence of oxygen admixtures. The numerical results also showed that He/O ₂ plasma jets induced much higher electric fields on the dielectric surface in comparison to the pure helium plasma jet.

The atmospheric pressure plasma jet is studied as potential plasma source for medical applications in direct contact with living tissues. Plasma bullets are generated in the region of the high voltage electrode and propagate towards the tissue surface. The presence of a localized plasma structure on tissues, played here by a human fingertip, is experimentally revealed. It was found that this plasma structure is sustained by a current flowing through the tissue, with the magnitude dependent on the distance from the discharge tube. The characteristic time span of the plasma at the interface is up to $20\hspace{0.17em}\mu s$ and the diameter up to 5 mm. These parameters were studied using the two independent techniques: ultra-fast imaging and photomultiplier measurements. Generation of supplementary reactive species at the interface, the NO molecules, was proved by optical emission spectroscopy.