New Approaches to Cancer Treatment Being Developed in Korea

By Nathaniel D. Taylor

This article will provide an introduction to plasma and some of the work that is being done with it. Later articles will explore plasma further and explain more specific projects and research group.

Argon gas plasma discharge.
Photo Credit: Plasma Bioscience Research Center, Kwangwoon University

Throughout Korea and around the world, research labs are working to develop new treatments for cancer using electric plasma. Traditional methods of cancer treatment rely heavily on the use of pharmaceuticals as well as other invasive treatments like surgery and radiation. Plasma has the potential to selectively reduce cancer cells without additional chemicals.

What is plasma? Most people have either never heard of it, think it is blood, or have heard about plasma TVs but don’t know much more than that. If you’ve heard of a plasma TV or even those plasma globe lamp that you can buy at novelty stores then you are headed in the right direction. There are many different kinds but the main plasmas that you should be aware of are lightning and the sun.

Plasma Globe Lamp
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Plasma_lamp_touching.jpg

Plasma is ionized gas. This means that when you pass electricity through a gas, electric charges increase or decrease the number of electrons on the gas molecules. These molecules become positively or negatively charged and this is what we call an ion. This charged gas has potential to do wonderful things. Since it is so energetic, the plasma is constantly reacting with the other gases and materials that it comes in contact with. Various chemical bonds are broken and new ones are made.

When biology is treated with plasma, the reactions created chemical products which can be beneficial to the growth of cells or promote the destruction of them. The cellular effect depends on the type of cells and the type of plasma. There are many variables which can be adjusted to get the desired effect which is why this is such a hot research topic.

The secret sauce, in part, to treating cancer cells is called reactive oxygen species. Without getting into too much detail, this means molecules that are chemically reactive and contain oxygen. They have the ability to poison cancer cells but not harm healthy cells [1, 2].

This effect is being studied at research labs in South Korea. The Plasma Bioscience Research Center (PBRC) at Kwangwoon University in Seoul is using various kinds of plasma devices and different kinds of cells. One device is a helium gas plasma jet shown in the images above and below. Ionized argon gas is exposed to living cells in growth media fluid.

Argon gas plasma over cell growth media.
Photo Credit: Plasma Bioscience Research Center, Kwangwoon University

The effects are studied though various methods to measure the cell death and the chemical products which are generated. PBRC is working every day to understand the effects of plasma on living organisms and to develop future treatments for cancer and other biological problems. Please read my following articles to learn more about specific projects and the future of plasma bioscience.

References

1.         Panngom, K., et al., Differential responses of cancer cell lines to non-thermal plasma from dielectric barrier discharge. Current Applied Physics, 2013. 13, Supplement 1(0): p. S6-S11.

2.         Ja Kim, S., H. Min Joh, and T.H. Chung, Production of intracellular reactive oxygen species and change of cell viability induced by atmospheric pressure plasma in normal and cancer cells. Applied Physics Letters, 2013. 103(15): p. -.