My research outcomes paved ways to resolve few biomedical challenges by using cold plasma. Cold plasma is the fourth state of matter, plasma (ionised gas), is made up of highly excited atoms, molecules, electrons, ions, UV-Vis radiations, radical species, and neutrals. Plasma is divided into two categories: 1) hot plasma, such as the sun’s corona, and 2) cold plasma. Gaseous molecules are stimulated into energetic states and a glow discharge (cold plasma) is produced when a significant electric field (power) is applied. Any complex object’s surface characteristics can be altered by the high density of energetically preferred reactive species in the plasma. Surface tailoring/functionalization is confined to a few tens of nanometers, thus bulk attributes are preserved. Plasma surface modification is often a dependable, reproducible, and reasonably economical process that may be applied to a variety of sample configurations and applied to a wide range of materials, including metals, polymers, textiles, ceramics, and composites. My research outcomes are divided into 3 basic categories:
- Cancer therapy
- Pharmaceuticals and
- Antimicrobial surfaces.
In part A, we used pulsed plasma to synthesize and modify silver nanoparticles and bind them with biopolymer chitosan oligosaccharide and DNA (pGIPZ) to create a metallo-polymeric-nano carrier (MPNC). It was observed that our carrier containing DNA transfected (expressed) in the cancer cells. Thus, in future if we have to carry anticancer medicine, we can use this technique. This research work has provided a new way to destroy the cancer cells also known as gene therapy [1].
In part B, we have worked on two different Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) i) Ritonavir and ii) Omeprazole. Ritonavir is an anti-HIV and poorly water-soluble drug. To overcome the solubility problem, we used oxygen pulsed plasma to enhance its solubility as well as the dissolution rate. We successfully enhanced the apparent solubility rate by 5.87 folds and intrinsic dissolution rate by 1.95 folds. The methods used in this research can help enhance the solubility of drugs, thereby reducing the dosage of drugs and economic burden on patients [2]. Omeprazole is a gastric acid suppressing drug. We use this medication mostly to reduce the acidity, chest burns, acid refluxes, etc. Mostly when these drugs are taken by us, the drugs tend to degrade significantly in our upper stomach which is mostly acidic with pH 1.2. To overcome this issue ,there are expensive enteric coated drugs available in the market and are made with conventional pan coating methods due to higher usage of coating material. This research work demonstrates a successful novel method of enteric coating of drugs through pulsed plasma by using monomers of Methyl acrylic acid and Methyl methacrylate in vapor phase. This research work has a potential to deliver a new, safe, and cheaper alternative to contemporary drug surface modification methods [3].
In part C, we have synthesized an agarose-chitosan based composite scaffold and modified its surface with pulsed plasma assisted selenium deposition. The rationale behind this study was to develop a scar free wound healing material which can have enhanced antimicrobial properties and can 3D engineer the wound healing tissues within the pores of scaffold. The plasma modified scaffold exhibited significant reduction in chances of Staphylococcus Aureus and Staphylococcus Epidermidis bacterial infections in in-vitro studies as compared to the untreated ones. Animal studies showed significant improvement in the wound healing for the plasma treated scaffold as compared to the untreated ones as well as other over-the-counter ointments such as betadine. This research work demonstrated the significance of antimicrobial properties of wound healing materials for faster and efficient wound healing.
