Investigating the Nature of Electromagnetic Emissions from the Cold Atmospheric Plasma Discharge Tube and Biological Effects on U87-MG Glioblastoma Cells in vitro
Open Access DepositedCold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is a room temperature ionized gas currently used in a multitude of commercial applications ranging from PFAS water decontamination and sterilization of fresh produce to thin film deposition and semiconductor processing. Emerging healthcare applications including wound healing, tumor ablation, elimination of viruses and multi-drug resistant microbes, and immune cell activation have been demonstrated in the last three decades, ushering in an era of rapid growth in the field of plasma medicine. CAP has distinct applications in oncology as a novel, selective cancer treatment, causing cell death in numerous cancerous cell types including melanoma, ovarian cancer, and glioblastoma, without significantly damaging healthy cells. The role of CAP generated reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) in driving oxidative stress and apoptotic cell death in cancer cells has been well established, but the role of the physical factors of CAP (electromagnetic (EM) radiation in UV, optical, and RF spectral ranges, acoustic waves, and heat) remain an open question. The following doctoral dissertation investigates the nature of EM emissions from contained CAP devices, such as the discharge tube (DT), and the subsequent biological effects when the EM emissions are investigated in isolation from the plasma chemistry. Our results demonstrate the ability to noninvasively induce apoptotic cell death and oxidative stress in U87-MG glioblastoma cells for at least 72 hours after a single treatment, and that the effective spatial range of this treatment can be increased with the addition of an external reflecting electrode to direct the EM emissions. To adapt the DT for future clinical trials on non-invasive DT treatment of glioblastoma, a helmet style platform was developed and tested for treating biological samples with multiple DTs simultaneously. A gas flow system was also added to the DT for adjusting internal gas composition in the nDT-A to enable tunability of the DT for optimizing operating conditions. These findings and new concepts for non-invasive treatment of glioblastoma with CAP devices such as the DT provide promising new directions for oncology research and cancer therapeutics to improve therapeutic outcomes and patient’s quality of life.
- All rights reserved
Notice to Authors
If you are the author of this work and you have any questions about the information on this page, please use the Contact form to get in touch with us.
| Thumbnail | Title | Date Uploaded | Visibility | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Horkowitz_gwu_0075A_17298.pdf | 2025-04-16 | Open Access |
|