Low Temperature Plasma for the Treatment of Epithelial Cancer Cells

Biomedical applications of low temperature plasmas (LTP) may lead to a paradigm shift in treating various diseases by conducting fundamental research on the effects of LTP on cells, tissues, organisms (plants, insects, and microorganisms). This is a rapidly growing interdisciplinary research field that involves engineering, physics, life sciences, and chemistry to find novel solutions for urgent medical needs. Effects of different LTP sources have shown the anti-tumor properties of plasma exposure; however, there are still many unknowns about the interaction of plasma with eukaryotic cells which must be elucidated in order to evaluate the practical potential of plasma in cancer treatment. Plasma, the fourth state of matter, is composed of electrons, ions, reactive molecules (radicals and non-radicals), excited species, radiation, and heat. A sufficient dose (time) of plasma exposure can induce death in cancer cells. The plasma pencil is employed to study the anti-tumor properties of this treatment on epithelial cells. The plasma pencil has been previously used for the inactivation of bacteria, destroying amyloid fibrils, and the killing of various cancer cells. Bladder cancer is the 9th leading cause of cancer. In this dissertation, human urinary bladder tissue with the squamous cell carcinoma disease (SCaBER cells) is treated with LTP utilizing two different approaches: direct plasma exposure and Plasma Activated Media (PAM) as an advancement to the treatment. PAM is produced by exposing a liquid cell culture medium to the plasma pencil. Direct LTP treatment of cancer cells indicates a dose-dependent killing effect at post-treatment times. Similarly, PAM treatment shows an anti-cancer effect by inducing substantial cell death. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) have an important role in the biomedical effects of LTP treatment. This study demonstrates the capability of the plasma pencil to transport ROS/RNS into cell culture media leading to their activation. The effectiveness of ...