Basic Study of Blood Coagulation by Microplasma

Plasma medicine is a field of research that focuses on the sterilization of bacteria, wounds and cancer treatment, tissue regeneration and other biomedical applications using plasma. Dielectric barrier discharge microplasma was used for biomedical applications such as sterilization of bacteria and skin treatment for transdermal drug delivery. In this research we have investigated the feasibility of microplasma use for blood coagulation. Blood from a dog and a cat was treated with microplasma and after the treatment the blood coagulation effect was observed. By comparison, the blood treated only with air flow did not coagulate after the same treatment time as for microplasma treatment. Microplasma electrodes were energized using a negative pulse voltage power supply and environmental air was used as discharge gas. An increase in the blood coagulation effect was observed with the increase of treatment time, discharge voltage and frequency. The blood coagulation process is attributed to the reactive oxygen and nitrogen species generated by microplasma. This research showed promising results that suggest the potential of using microplasma treatment as a tool for blood coagulation. Furthermore, the microplasma's suitability for portability and integration indicates the potential for developing a compact device tailored for use by first responders.