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Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) therapy has been proven to effectively inhibit the growth of subcutaneous tumors. However, there is no research to explain how plasma‐induced anticancer effects can be transmitted to cancer cells through normal cells. Here, we monitored the effects of plasma‐irradiated HaCaT cells on nonirradiated A375 and HaCaT cells in terms of cell viability and intracellular reactive oxygen species levels in vitro. The experimental results indicated that plasma irradiation may induce plasma‐irradiated HaCaT cells to release soluble factors into the cell culture medium, thereby selectively killing nonirradiated A375 cells. The plasma‐generated short‐lived species play a crucial role in the release of soluble factors. Our research showed that plasma‐induced anticancer effects can be transmitted to deep nonirradiated cancer cells through plasma‐irradiated normal cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cold atmospheric plasma has selective anticancer effects, while limited penetration depth and lifetime of reactive species restrict its usage. Herein, we adopt saline and hydrogel as carriers of plasma‐induced reactive species, and link reactive species accumulation, attenuation, storage, and slow‐release to anticancer effects of plasma‐activated media. Results reveal that plasma‐activated hydrogel (PAH) has a sustained anticancer effect and prolongs the storage duration of reactive species, thus causing more intracellular oxidative species accumulation and inducing melanoma cell apoptosis with reactive species continuously released to cell medium. In contrast, plasma‐activated saline has an attenuated anticancer effect with decline in reactive species. Therefore, PAH serves as a useful reactive species carrier and has potential for further anticancer research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an alternative disinfection technology, air plasma is limited to achieve wider application due to its restricted disinfection level and hazardous by‐products including O3 and NOx. In this work, a time‐sharing synergy strategy is proposed, where NO and NO2 are first generated by a dielectric barrier discharge reactor in NOx mode, and then the discharge is switched into O3 mode by increasing flowrate, thus producing large amounts of high‐valence NOx for efficient disinfection in sealed space. The disinfection effect of time‐sharing synergy is about 2 logs higher than using single O3 or NOx mode with the same discharge power. The concentration of high‐valence NOx is highly correlated with disinfection effect. Finally, all disinfection ingredients are removed after 2‐min gas‐washing and heating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral diseases stemming from oral pathogenic bacteria pose a significant global health concern, and current methods for managing these pathogens have limitations. Plasma‐activated water (PAW), containing various reactive species, emerges as a promising disinfectant with impressive inactivation capabilities. In this study, PAW prepared by mixed‐mode plasma‐activated gases was applied to inactivate oral pathogenic bacteria, including Streptococcus mutans and Porphyromonas gingivalis. The PAW could reduce more than 6.1‐log10 planktonic bacteria and 4.1‐log10 bacteria within biofilm, respectively, and PAW treatment of planktonic bacteria effectively inhibited biofilm formation. Compared to chlorhexidine, PAW exhibited superior inactivation effects in both planktonic bacteria and biofilm. This study presented a potent strategy for bacteria eradication to reduce the incidence of oral diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cold‐chain transport is a crucial cross‐regional transmission pathway for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and other microorganisms. In this study, the mode‐combination method is adopted for sterilization in a 1.138 m3 freezer by mixing effluent gases of NOx and O3 mode air discharges. The mixed gas can effectively inactivate Staphylococcus aureus in 10 mm ice within 3 h, which significantly surpasses O3 gas. Moreover, the inactivation effect of the mixed gas can penetrate deep into ice, contrasting with the surface effect of O3 gas. This disparity is linked to the difference in penetration depth of strong oxidizing long‐lived reactive species. This study validates the sterilization efficacy of cold atmospheric plasma in practical cold‐chain environment, critical for curbing infectious disease transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shortening the duration of the viral shedding of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) is critical to controlling viral transmission, alleviating the burden on the healthcare system, and ultimately mitigating the impact of the pandemic. This randomized, single‐blind, placebo‐controlled clinical trial aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of gargling with plasma‐activated water (PAW) on prolonged viral shedding in patients infected with SARS‐CoV‐2 Delta and Omicron variants. Sixty‐two subjects, aged 18–80 years and infected with SARS‐CoV‐2, were recruited at two coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19)‐designated hospitals in Shaanxi from January to March 2022. Primary outcomes included cumulative conversion rates, incidence of adverse reactions, and biosafety parameters. Results suggested that PAW gargling treatment might contribute to reducing the duration of SARS‐CoV‐2 Delta and Omicron variant infections and alleviating symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma‐based technology has been widely applied in the biomedicine, agriculture, and environmental fields. In this study, a new application mode, namely plasma‐activated nebulized mist (PANM) was proposed. The saline was nebulized by the plasma‐activated air to form a mist, and the inactivation effects on Pseudomonas aeruginosa were analyzed based on the simulated respiratory tract. The PANM through the simulated trachea with different lengths or diameters, and the branched once or twice simulated respiratory tract exhibited effective inactivation effects. The PANM through the combined simulated trachea and pig trachea could also inactivate the bacteria on the inner wall of the pig trachea. This study supplied a potent alternative to antibiotics for the treatment of respiratory tract infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cold atmospheric plasma, a promising technology for cancer therapy, can simultaneously induce electrochemistry, which has been widely demonstrated to be effective against cancer. Herein, the anticancer effects of direct current plasma jets and electrochemical circuit are comparatively studied with similar topological structures and average currents. The cell inactivation patterns formed by plasma and electrochemical treatment (EChT) are disparate, and the inactivation is mainly caused by the emission of charged species, helium flow, in situ OH radical production, or local alkalization. The culture medium treated by EChT exerted no sustained anticancer effect, whereas the medium treated by plasma could maintain a strong effect due to the production of more reactive species, suggesting that the electrochemistry does not dominate the plasma inactivation of cancer cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a form of cold atmospheric plasma application, plasma‐treated solutions have shown promise in tumor therapy. Especially for the treatment of intracavitary tumors, plasma‐treated solutions combined with traditional perfusion therapy have strong application potential. Here, we assessed the antitumor effects of the plasma‐treated medium combined with hyperthermia on three‐dimensional bladder tumor spheroids in vitro. We found that the combined treatment of plasma‐treated medium and hyperthermia (43°C) presented better antitumor effects than a single treatment. Further research showed that synchronous hyperthermia can promote the penetration of plasma‐generated reactive oxygen species from the plasma‐treated medium into cancer cells. Our results suggest that hyperthermic perfusion therapy using plasma‐treated solutions may serve as a novel and valuable therapeutic strategy for bladder cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

B Outside Front Cover b : Electrochemical treatment (EChT), an effective therapy for tumors, is also one of the physicochemical processes coupled in plasma treatment. Further details can be found in the article by Dingxin Liu, Zifeng Wang, Zeyu Chen, Dehui Xu, Min Chen, Jinkun Chen, Mengying Zhu, Hao Zhang, Xiaohua Wang, Michael G. Kong, and Mingzhe Rong (e2100087). It is found that the electrochemical process plays an important role in the immediate anticancer effect during the plasma treatment, but it contributes little on the sustained anticancer effect after the plasma treatment. [Extracted from the article]

ABSTRACT Cold atmospheric plasma‐activated hydrogel (PAH) exhibits excellent loading and slow‐release capacity for plasma‐generated reactive species. In this study, plasma‐activated pluronic F127 hydrogel (PAH‐PF127) was obtained using surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD), and the anticancer effects of PAH‐F127 synergies with the clinical drug paclitaxel (PTX) were investigated. The results indicated that PAH‐PF127 could load plasma‐generated long‐lived reactive species efficiently, and in vitro research revealed that PAH‐PF127 exerts significant anticancer effects by inducing intracellular oxidative stress, and synergies with 50 μg/mL (low‐dose) PTX could easily replace 200 μg/mL (high‐dose) PTX alone. These results suggested that PAH‐PF127 has the potential to address the toxic side effects of high‐dose drugs and expand the application of plasma technology in anticancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]