Nanosecond-pulsed plasma jet in air and air/helium mixtures: Plasma properties and anticancer effect

Abstract

Nanosecond-pulse power has the characteristics of quickly increasing applied power, short pulse width, and considerably high-energy electrons. In this study, we investigated the different air/helium mixture ratios of nanosecond-pulsed-power-driven plasma jet discharge characteristics and the physicochemical properties of the gaseous and aqueous phases. Results showed that the length and luminescence intensity of the plasma increased with decreasing air ratio. Notably, there is a maximum inflection point in N2O5 of Fourier transform infrared spectrometry detection and concentration of H2O2 at 70% air ratio. Furthermore, we used drug-resistant ovarian cancer cells (A2780/ADR) as a model to detect the anticancer effect, with the results indicating that 70% air ratio is the best condition to inhibit cell growth and induce cell apoptosis. Our research indicates that the air discharge driven by a nanosecond-pulse power supply has potential application in an ovarian cancer drug-resistant tumor cell therapy.