Cold Plasmas for Biofilm Control: Opportunities and Challenges.

Bacterial biofilm infections account for a major proportion of chronic and medical device associated infections in humans, yet our ability to control them is compromised by their inherent tolerance to antimicrobial agents. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) represents a promising therapeutic option. CAP treatment of microbial biofilms represents the convergence of two complex phenomena: the production of a chemically diverse mixture of reactive species and intermediates, and their interaction with a heterogeneous 3D interface created by the biofilm extracellular polymeric matrix. Therefore, understanding these interactions and physiological responses to CAP exposure are central to effective management of infectious biofilms. We review the unique opportunities and challenges for translating CAP to the management of biofilms.

Cold Atmospheric Plasmas: A Novel and Promising Way to Treat Neurological Diseases.

Cold atmospheric plasmas (CAPs) can enhance neural cell differentiation into neurons both in vitro and in vivo, which is of great interest for medical treatment of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease and traumatic injuries of the central nervous system. CAPs represent a promising method for future neurological disease therapy.

Frugal Biotech Applications of Low-Temperature Plasma.

Gas discharge low-temperature air plasma can be utilized for a variety of applications, including biomedical, at low cost. We term these applications 'frugal plasma' - an example of frugal innovation. We demonstrate how simple, robust, low-cost frugal plasma devices can be used to safely disinfect instruments, surfaces, and water.

Plasmas for Treating Cancer: Opportunities for Adaptive and Self-Adaptive Approaches.

Plasma is an ionized gas that is typically formed under high-temperature laboratory conditions. Recent progress in atmospheric plasmas has led to cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) devices with ion temperatures close to room temperature. The unique chemical and physical properties of CAP have led to its use in various biomedical applications including cancer therapy. CAP exhibits a spontaneous transition from a spatially homogeneous state to a modifiable pattern that is subject to self-organization. In this Opinion article, we discuss some new applications for plasma in cancer therapy based on plasma self-organization, which enables adaptive features in plasma-based therapeutic systems.

Tracking the Penetration of Plasma Reactive Species in Tissue Models.

Electrically generated cold atmospheric plasma is being intensively researched for novel applications in biology and medicine. Significant attention is being given to reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), initially generated upon plasma-air interactions, and subsequently delivered to biological systems. Effects of plasma exposure are observed to millimeter depths within tissue. However, the exact nature of the initial plasma-tissue interactions remains unknown, including RONS speciation and delivery depth, or how plasma-derived RONS intervene in biological processes. Herein, we focus on current research using tissue and cell models to learn more about the plasma delivery of RONS into biological environments. We argue that this research is vital in underpinning the knowledge required to realize the full potential of plasma in biology and medicine.

Modeling of Plasmas for Biomedicine.

Studies in plasma medicine, which are currently actively expanding, are of multidisciplinary character, involving physical, chemical and biological processes. Rapid progress has been achieved in this field due to synergy between experimental and theoretical/computational methods. Joint use of diagnostic tools and computations gives a better understanding of mechanisms of interaction of plasma with bio-objects. This review focuses on recent achievements in modeling of plasma for biomedical applications. Various computational approaches used in these studies are described. We discuss some results of simulations that concern the production of reactive species by plasma and their delivery to bio-objects, and we consider the effect of electroporation at direct contact of cold plasma with cells.

Plasma-induced selectivity in bone cancer cells death.

BACKGROUND: Current therapies for bone cancers - either primary or metastatic - are difficult to implement and unfortunately not completely effective. An alternative therapy could be found in cold plasmas generated at atmospheric pressure which have already demonstrated selective anti-tumor action in a number of carcinomas and in more relatively rare brain tumors. However, its effects on bone cancer are still unknown. METHODS: Herein, we employed an atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) to validate its selectivity towards osteosarcoma cell line vs. osteoblasts & human mesenchymal stem cells. RESULTS: Cytotoxicity following direct interaction of APPJ with cells is comparable to indirect interaction when only liquid medium is treated and subsequently added to the cells, especially on the long-term (72h of cell culture). Moreover, following contact of the APPJ treated medium with cells, delayed effects are observed which lead to 100% bone cancer cell death through apoptosis (decreased cell viability with incubation time in contact with APPJ treated medium from 24h to 72h), while healthy cells remain fully viable and unaffected by the treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The high efficiency of the indirect treatment indicates that an important role is played by the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) in the gaseous plasma stage and then transmitted to the liquid phase, which overall lead to lethal and selective action towards osteosarcoma cells. These findings open new pathways for treatment of metastatic bone disease with a minimally invasive approach.

Nanotized Curcumin and Miltefosine, a Potential Combination for Treatment of Experimental Visceral Leishmaniasis.

Leishmaniasis chemotherapy remains very challenging due to high cost of the drug and its associated toxicity and drug resistance, which develops over a period of time. Combination therapies (CT) are now in use to treat many diseases, such as cancer and malaria, since it is more effective and affordable than monotherapy. CT are believed to represent a new explorable strategy for leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease caused by the obligate intracellular parasite Leishmania In the present study, we investigated the effect of a combination of a traditional Indian medicine (ayurveda), a natural product curcumin and miltefosine, the only oral drug for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) using a Leishmania donovani-hamster model. We developed an oral nanoparticle-based formulation of curcumin. Nanoformulation of curcumin alone exhibited significant leishmanicidal activity both in vitro and in vivo In combination with miltefosine, it exhibited a synergistic effect on both promastigotes and amastigotes under in vitro conditions. The combination of these two agents also demonstrated increased in vivo leishmanicidal activity accompanied by increased production of toxic reactive oxygen/nitrogen metabolites and enhanced phagocytic activity. The combination also exhibited increased lymphocyte proliferation. The present study thus establishes the possible use of nanocurcumin as an adjunct to antileishmanial chemotherapy.

Role of nitric oxide in the radiation-induced bystander effect.

Cells that are not irradiated but are affected by "stress signal factors" released from irradiated cells are called bystander cells. These cells, as well as directly irradiated ones, express DNA damage-related proteins and display excess DNA damage, chromosome aberrations, mutations, and malignant transformation. This phenomenon has been studied widely in the past 20 years, since its first description by Nagasawa and Little in 1992, and is known as the radiation-induced bystander effect (RIBE). Several factors have been identified as playing a role in the bystander response. This review will focus on one of them, nitric oxide (NO), and its role in the stimulation and propagation of RIBE. The hydrophobic properties of NO, which permit its diffusion through the cytoplasm and plasma membranes, allow this signaling molecule to easily spread from irradiated cells to bystander cells without the involvement of gap junction intercellular communication. NO produced in irradiated tissues mediates cellular regulation through posttranslational modification of a number of regulatory proteins. The best studied of these modifications are S-nitrosylation (reversible oxidation of cysteine) and tyrosine nitration. These modifications can up- or down-regulate the functions of many proteins modulating different NO-dependent effects. These NO-dependent effects include the stimulation of genomic instability (GI) and the accumulation of DNA errors in bystander cells without direct DNA damage.

Cell death induced by ozone and various non-thermal plasmas: therapeutic perspectives and limitations.

Non-thermal plasma has been recognized as a promising tool across a vast variety of biomedical applications, with the potential to create novel therapeutic methods. However, the understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind non-thermal plasma cellular effects remains a significant challenge. In this study, we show how two types of different non-thermal plasmas induce cell death in mammalian cell cultures via the formation of multiple intracellular reactive oxygen/nitrogen species. Our results showed a discrepancy in the superoxide accumulation and lysosomal activity in response to air and helium plasma, suggesting that triggered signalling cascades might be grossly different between different plasmas. In addition, the effects of ozone, a considerable component of non-thermal plasma, have been simultaneously evaluated and have revealed much faster and higher cytotoxic effects. Our findings offer novel insight into plasma-induced cellular responses, and provide a basis for better controlled biomedical applications.