Non-Equilibrium Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Promoting Apoptotic Behavior in Melanoma Skin Cancer Cells

Summary form only given. Initiation of programmed cell death, or apoptosis, is an important issue in cancer treatment as cancer cells frequently have acquired the ability to block apoptosis and thus are more resistant to chemotherapeutic drugs. Targeted and perhaps selective initiation of apoptosis in cancerous tissue is desirable for many reasons, ranging from the enhancement of or aid to current medical methods to problems currently lacking a solution, i.e. lung cancer. Inactivation (killing) of human Melanoma skin cancer cell lines in vitro by Floating Electrode Dielectric Barrier Discharge (FE-DBD) plasma was tested.