Cold physical plasma decreases the viability of lung adenocarcinoma cells

Abstract

The high mortality rate that accompanies cancer spurs the search for new methods that can be used to treat malignant neoplasms. In addition to chemotherapy, electrophysical techniques for tumor treatment appear rather promising. The results of in vitro exposure of A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cells to cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) are hereby presented. A gas-discharge device that generates a sequence of streamers propagating along a stream of inert gas in the ambient air was used. In the zone where the plasma jet came into contact with the target object, there were high-intensity electric fields and high plasma concentrations, while the gas temperature changed by less than a degree. In this study, we compared the cytotoxic effect of CAP in helium and argon. Direct irradiation of cells by CAP with U = 4.2 kV for 30-120 s was shown to reduce cell viability by 25%. Variation of the amplitude of the AC voltage in the plasma device in argon within a range of 3.8-5.6 kV did not significantly alter the cell death rate. Further optimization of the modes of CAP generation in gas-discharge devices with various geometries for the treatment of a tumor cell and animal tumor models can underlie the development of antitumor plasma medicine.