Low Temperature Plasma Interaction with Biological Matter

Historical Perspective Following a few preliminary works on the inactivation of bacteria by low temperature plasma (LTP) reported in mid to late 1990’s [1]-[3] AFOSR established a small funded program aiming to evaluate the effects of plasma on biological cells. This program was managed by the Electronics and Physics Directorate of the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). This program had two main aims: 1. the investigation of the efficacy of low temperature atmospheric pressure plasma to destroy pathogenic bacteria; 2. the investigation of the possibility of these plasmas to be applied to a wound in order to disinfect it and facilitate the healing process. The initial AFOSR goals were the decontamination of tools and gear (from biological warfare agents, for example) and acquiring a technology that can be used in forward deployed field hospitals to treat wounded soldiers. The latter application is particularly important for temporarily set-up military hospitals since stocking, storing, and preserving perishable medication is a tough logistical challenge. However, by using plasma as a disinfectant these logistical problems completely disappear. Unfortunately, after this pioneering AFOSR program came to a close interest in funding this research waned and no government agency seemed to be interested in continuing or sustaining this kind of work in the United States. Nevertheless, research work continued in a few US labs and more scientific knowledge and applications were created. On the other hand, by the mid-2000s interest in this multidisciplinary field (which came to be known as “Plasma Medicine” [4]) grew sharply in Europe and Asia. Several well-funded programs were subsequently established in Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, etc. In addition, in Germany, Japan, and South Korea research centers entirely dedicated to advancing the field are in operation today. This situation has put US researchers at a severe disadvantage in a plasma application field with great scientific and economical promise and greater societal impact.