Biological, Medical, and Agricultural Applications of Plasmas I

Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has emerged as a transformative tool in medicine, with applications ranging from selective cancer cell inactivation to the acceleration of wound healing. The therapeutic effects of CAP are largely mediated by reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS), whose precise composition and concentration must be tightly controlled for safe and effective treatment. However, in many current systems, human handling introduces variability that compromises treatment reproducibility and limit accurate estimation of introduction of reactive species onto a treated surface.

This study addresses the need for standardization in plasma-based therapies by implementing a modified computer numerical control (CNC) plasma treatment platform to automate and precisely control exposure parameters. By removing human variability, this system enables reproducible treatment conditions across multiple experimental sessions. To better understand the chemistry at the point of application, preliminary diagnostics were performed using fiber-enhanced spontaneous Raman backscattering.

Our preliminary results suggest that reactive species profiles can be accurately defined along with the plasma plume with minimal invasiveness. Furthermore, the use of hollow core fiber allows for significant enhanced signalling effects due to its ability to increase the interaction length between the probing light source and the gas sample. As such, this work lays the groundwork for developing standardized plasma treatment protocols supported by real-time diagnostics. Ongoing and future studies will focus on integrating more advanced optical techniques and correlating plasma chemistry with biological effects to further improve the reliability and effectiveness of plasma-based medical interventions.

Funding acknowledgement

The authors acknowledge the financial support from the FRQNT and NSERC (RGPIN-06820)