A study published in the Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine suggests that cold plasma can both promote and inhibit bone formation. Theresa A. Freeman, PhD – an associate professor in the department of orthopedic surgery at Thomas Jefferson University's Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Philadelphia – served as the study's lead author.
Here are five insights:
1. The study investigated how cold plasma affects the area surrounding cells, which is called the extracellular matrix. This matrix includes proteins that influence cell growth.
2. The researchers treated commercially available extracellular matrix with cold plasma, which was pulsed at different frequencies. This matrix was then inserted into mice, to test how it affected bone formation process.
3. When treating the area surrounding cells with microsecond-pulsed plasma, researchers found that plasma increased bone formation.
4. When treating the area surrounding cells with nanosecond-pulsed plasma, researchers found that plasma inhibited bone formation.
5. This study joins a growing body of work about cold plasma, in which scientists experiment on living animal cells to learn more about plasma's potential applications in medicine. Cold plasma was discovered about 20 years ago.