Cold atmospheric helium plasma jets were fabricated and utilized for plasma–cell interactions. The effect of operating parameters and jet design on the generation of specific reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) within cells and cellular response were investigated. It was found that plasma treatment induced the overproduction of RONS in various cancer cell lines selectively. The plasma under a relatively low applied voltage induced the detachment of cells, a reduction in cell viability and apoptosis, while the plasma under higher applied voltage led to cellular necrosis in our case. To determine whether plasma-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation occurs through interfering with mitochondria-related cellular response, we examined the plasma effects on ROS generation in both parental A549 cells and A549 ρ⁰ cells. It was observed that cancer cells were more susceptible to plasma-induced RONS (especially nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂⁻) radicals) than normal cells and consequently, plasma induced apoptotic cell responses mainly in cancer cells.

The atmospheric pressure helium plasma jet driven by pulsed dc voltage was utilized to treat human lung cancer cells in vitro. The properties of plasma plume were adjusted by the injection type and flow rate of additive oxygen gas in atmospheric pressure helium plasma jet. The plasma characteristics such as plume length, electric current and optical emission spectra (OES) were measured at different flow rates of additive oxygen to helium. The plasma plume length and total current decreased with an increase in the additive oxygen flow rate. The electron excitation temperature estimated by the Boltzmann plot from several excited helium emission lines increased slightly with the additive oxygen flow. The oxygen atom density in the gas phase estimated by actinometry utilizing argon was observed to increase with the additive oxygen flow. The concentration of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) measured by fluorescence assay was found to be not exactly proportional to that of extracellular ROS (measured by OES), but both correlated considerably. It was also observed that the expression levels of p53 and the phospho-p53 were enhanced in the presence of additive oxygen flow compared with those from the pure helium plasma treatment.

Bacterial inactivation experiment was performed using atmospheric pressure microplasma jets driven by radio-frequency wave of 13.56 MHz and by low frequency wave of several kilohertz. With addition of a ground ring electrode, the discharge current, the optical emission intensities from reactive radicals, and the sterilization efficiency were enhanced significantly. When oxygen gas was added to helium at the flow rate of 5 SCCM, the sterilization efficiency was enhanced. From the survival curve of Escherichia coli, the primary role in the inactivation was played by reactive species with minor aid from heat, UV photons, charged particles, and electric fields.

In this work, an atmospheric pressure plasma jet was fabricated and studied for plasma–liquid interactions. The plasma jet consists of a quartz-covered pin electrode and outer quartz tube with a tapered nozzle. Using the current–voltage (I-V) and optical emission characteristics of the plasma jet, the plasma density and the speed of the plume were investigated. The optical emission spectra clearly indicated the excited NO, O, OH, N₂, and N₂⁺ in the plasma plumes. Then the plasma jets were applied to the deionized water. We investigated the effects of the operating parameters such as applied voltage, pulse frequency, and gas flow rate on the generation of reactive species in the gas and liquid phases. The densities of reactive species including OH radicals were obtained at the plasma–liquid surface and inside the plasma-treated liquids using ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy and chemical probe method. The nitrite concentration was detected by Griess assay. The data are very suggestive that there is a strong correlation among the production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) in the plasmas and liquids.

An atmospheric pressure plasma jet array source driven by a pulsed bipolar voltage of several tens of kilohertz was characterized and utilized for cancer cell treatment. Electrical and optical emission characteristics of plasma jet array were obtained as functions of the applied voltage, gas flow rate, and pulse frequency, and the optimal operating parameters were obtained. The emission intensities from reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) in a gas phase, such as OH, NO, H, and O, were measured by optical emission spectroscopy. In the plasma-liquid interaction experiment, the OH concentration was measured using the TA solution. The nitrite concentration in the plasma treated media (DW, HBSS, and DMEM) was measured using Griess reaction assay. Human skin cancer cells injected with plasma treated liquid were observed for changes in cell viability using the MTS assay. The results demonstrate that the plasma jet array source can be a good candidate for delivering RONS to liquid for plasma activated medium (PAM).