Dr. Katharina Stapelmann

Non-thermal atmospheric-pressure plasmas, such as the employed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) can be used therapeutically in various biomedical and clinical applications. Improving the wound healing process of chronic wounds by DBD treatment could already be shown in clinical trials. However, the interaction between DBDs and biological tissue is poorly understood. Several chemically-active species are generated in plasma discharges, especially when ignited in ambient air such as the used DBD. Among these, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) play an important role. Biological tissue, which is exposed to plasma, responds to this highly reactive mixture of chemically-active species. To fully understand the interaction mechanisms and to avoid adverse health effects for the patient the exact amount of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, as well as UV dose has to be known. Therefore, the investigation of the chemical processes within the discharge and the resulting modifications of tissue models are necessary to gain better insight into the biomedical mechanism. DBD treatment induces changes in different skin components, such as keratin and lanolin. Keratin is of interest because it is the main component of human hair and nails and lanolin represents the human sebum. The impact of plasma on skin components as well as the role of nitric oxide related effects on human skin will be presented.