Reattachment and Apoptosis After Plasma-Needle Treatment of Cultured Cells

Nonthermal plasmas can be used to locally influence cell adhesion: cells can be removed from their surroundings without causing necrosis. In fact, cells remain alive and can reattach within hours. This phenomenon may, in the future, be used for microsurgical procedures. Another method to remove cells is to induce apoptosis or programmed cell death. This type of cell death is preferred above necrosis, which may cause inflammation reactions. When the detached cells are allowed to reattach and grow, it is important to know their condition. Therefore, long-term effects of plasma-needle treatment were assessed, with special focus on reattachment and apoptosis. The cells were treated using a plasma needle. This device generates a small (1-mm diameter) plasma at atmospheric pressure. To avoid any heat effects, it is important that the plasma temperature is at or below physiological temperature. This is the case for the plasma needle.