Aachen PK 2003 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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P: Plasmaphysik

P 6: Dusty Plasmas

P 6.3: Vortrag

Dienstag, 18. März 2003, 12:10–12:30, FO2

Plasma needle treatment of cultured cells — •Ingrid Kieft, Eva Stoffels, Veronique Caubet-Hilloutou, Jos Broers, Frans Ramaekers, and Dick Slaaf — Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, PO Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands

In this work we investigate the possibility of applying a small plasma source directly on living tissues, the final goal being controlled cell treatment in fine surgery. For this purpose a novel non-thermal atmospheric plasma source (plasma needle) has been developed and tested. At the end of a metal pin plasma appears as a glow of 1 mm size. The RF source operates in helium mixtures with air. To study the effects of the plasma on cells we have chosen Chinese hamster ovarian cells (CHO-K1) as a model system. When these fibroblasts are exposed to the plasma, instantaneous detachment of cells from the surface and loss of cell-cell interaction are observed. Cell viability is assayed using propidium iodide (PI) and cell tracker green (CTG) fluorescent staining in combination with a confocal laser scanning microscope (LSM). Cells that are detached during plasma exposure remain alive. When the cells receive a low dose of plasma treatment, they reattach to the surface and to each other within a few hours. Use of higher doses (high plasma power, long exposure time) results in membrane blebbing and even cell death. The influence of the plasma is restricted to sub-millimetre areas, while no reaction in surrounding cells is observed. Due to its extreme precision and refinement, plasma treatment may become a novel, minimum invasive surgical technique.