Activation of the Normal Human Skin Cells by a Portable Dielectric Barrier Discharge-Based Reaction-Discharge System of a Defined Gas Temperature

Skin injury leading to chronic wounds is of high interest due to the increasing number of patients suffering from this symptom. Proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis are key factors in the wound healing processes. For that reason, controlled promotion of these processes is required. In this work, we present the portable helium-dielectric barrier discharge (He-DBD)-based reaction-discharge system of controlled gas temperature for biological activities. To make this He-DBD-based reaction-discharge system safe for biological purposes, a multivariate optimization of the operating parameters was performed. To evaluate the effect of the He-DBD operating parameters on the rotational gas temperature T_rot(OH), a design of experiment followed by a Response Surface Methodology was applied. Based on the suggested statistical model, the optimal operating conditions under which the T_rot(OH) is less than 37 °C (310 K) were estimated. Then, the resulted model was validated in order to confirm its accuracy. After estimation the optical operating conditions of He-DBD operation, the spectroscopic characteristic of the He-DBD-based reaction-discharge system in relevance to the several optical temperatures in addition to electron number density has been carried out. Additionally, the qualitative and quantitative analyses of the reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species were performed in order to investigate of reactions and processes running in the He-DBD-gaseous phase and in the He-DBD-treated liquid. Next, the developed portable He-DBD-based reaction-discharge system, working under the optimal operating conditions, was used to stimulate the wound healing process. It was found that a 30 s He-DBD treatment significantly increased the proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis of keratinocytes (HaCaT) and fibroblasts (MSU-1.1) cell lines, as well as human skin microvascular endothelial cells (HSkMEC.2). Hence, the application of the cold atmospheric pressure plasma generated in this He-DBD-based reaction-discharge system might be an alternative therapy for patient suffering from chronic wounds.