Innovative Medical Plasma Therapy as a Promising Approach for Accelerating Acute Wound Healing

Acute wounds require a rapid and effective healing process to prevent complications and prolonged tissue damage. Recently, medical plasma technology has been increasingly investigated as a non-invasive approach to accelerate wound healing through modulation of the wound microenvironment. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of contact and non-contact medical plasma (NCPA) therapy on acute wound healing using macroscopic and histopathological assessments. Argon gas with a purity of 99.995% was used as the carrier gas to generate the plasma jet at a flow rate of 1 standard liter per minute (slm). A total of 32 male Balb/c mice weighing 30-35 g were used in this study. A 4-mm diameter wound was created on the dorsal area of each mouse. The experiment was divided into four treatment groups: K (acute wounds without plasma therapy), CPA (contact plasma at a 5 mm distance), NCPA (at a 20 mm distance), and CP-NCPA (a combination of contact and NCPA). Wound healing progression was evaluated macroscopically by analyzing changes in the wound area ratio during the healing period relative to the initial wound area, while microscopic evaluation focused on re-epithelialization through histopathological examination. The results demonstrated that NCPA therapy administered from day 0 after wound induction (D0) to D7 resulted in a more rapid reduction in wound area ratio compared with the control group. Furthermore, during the period from D8 to D14, the NCPA group consistently exhibited the lowest wound area curve accompanied by a significant increase in re-epithelialization. These findings indicate that NCPA irradiation effectively accelerates wound contraction and enhances epithelial regeneration during the proliferative to remodeling phases. In conclusion, NCPA therapy effectively reduces wound area and consistently enhances re-epithelialization, and therefore is recommended as a promising non-invasive approach for accelerating acute wound management.