Stimulation of wound healing process through ROS/RNS signals indirectly generated by N2/Ar micro-plasma - in vitro and in vivo studies

Abstract

In this work, non-thermal N2/Ar micro-plasma was applied to fibroblast cells and second degree burn in mice to investigate the bio-safety and bio-efficiency of micro-plasma device for studying wound healing process. The chosen parameters of the device were the addition of 0.5% N2 in argon plasma and RF supplied power of 17 W and 13 W in vitro and in vivo studies, respectively. Firstly, micro-plasma was applied to fibroblast cells and the induced biological effect was studied in vitro. The result showed that cells number increased three folds for plasma exposure time of 5 or 10 sec, followed by cell culture for 48 hrs. The cell coverage rate rose 20% for the same plasma exposure time, followed by cell culture for 6 or 12 hrs. Secondly, micro-plasma was applied to the second degree burn wound mice, followed by related ex vivo and in vivo assessments. For the former, 0.5% N2/Ar micro-plasma was competent to generate ROS/RNS signals for advancing healing process by the increase of ROS/RNS concentration around the plasma-exposed wound bed. The induced effect is most probably correlated with the angiogenesis and epithelialization processes of the burn wound on mice.