The Irritation Potential of Nonthermal Atmospheric Pressure Plasma in the HET‐CAM

Abstract

Abstract To determine a reliable test and validate the use of nonthermal atmospheric pressure plasma on wounds, we selected the Hen's Egg Test–chorioallantoic membrane (HET‐CAM) as an alternative method to the Draize rabbit test to determine the irritation potential of plasma. Irritations of varying intensities provoked by using a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) and an HF Plasma Jet corresponded to treatment frequencies and exposure times. Pulsed plasma led to the mildest irritations. Depending on the intensity of the irritations, the effects were partially or completely reversible. In the latter case, it may be assumed that this plasma mode can be applied to living tissue without harm. To conclude, the HET‐CAM is suitable for screening plasma sources and parameters for the medical applications of plasma. magnified image