Identification of key neutral species in atmospheric‐pressure plasma for promoting proliferation of fibroblast cells

• Published in: Plasma processes and polymers 2021-04, Vol.18 (4), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Hori, Yuki, Iwata, Naoyuki, Gamaleev, Vladislav, Oh, Jun‐Seok, Murata, Tomiyasu, Hori, Masaru, Ito, Masafumi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: fibroblast cells; Fibroblasts; Mass spectrometry; nitric oxide; plasma enhancement of cell proliferation
• ISSN: 1612-8850; 1612-8869
• DOI: 10.1002/ppap.202000225

To identify the key neutral species from atmospheric‐pressure plasma for promoting the proliferation of fibroblast cells, an atmospheric‐pressure radical generator was employed. A cell viability assay showed that the proliferation of fibroblasts was significantly promoted through radical treatment, resulting in the highest promotion ratio of 24%. The densities of the neutral radicals supplied by the radical generator were measured via mass spectrometry at atmospheric pressure. To determine an effective factor for the promotion, the dose dependencies of these radicals on the promotion ratio were investigated. The promotion ratio exhibited a strong correlation only with the NO• dose. These results confirmed that NO• is a direct trigger of plasma‐enhanced cell proliferation. We elucidate the proliferation promotion of fibroblast cells using neutral radical treatment. The contribution of neutral radicals to the proliferation promotion of the fibroblast cells was quantitatively investigated using an atmospheric‐pressure radical generator and mass spectroscopy. From the results, nitric oxide (NO•) was identified as the major contributor to cell proliferation promotion.