Production of simplex RNS and ROS by nanosecond pulse N₂/O₂ plasma jets with homogeneous shielding gas for inducing myeloma cell apoptosis

In this paper, atmospheric pressure N₂/O₂ plasma jets with homogeneous shielding gas excited by nanosecond pulse are obtained to generate simplex reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and reactive oxygen species (ROS), respectively, for the purpose of studying the simplex RNS and ROS to induce the myeloma cell apoptosis with the same discharge power. The results reveal that the cell death rate by the N₂ plasma jet with N₂ shielding gas is about two times that of the O₂ plasma jet with O₂ shielding gas for the equivalent treatment time. By diagnosing the reactive species of ONOO^-, H₂O₂, OH and in medium, our findings suggest the cell death rate after plasma jets treatment has a positive correlation with the concentration of ONOO^-. Therefore, the ONOO^- in medium is thought to play an important role in the process of inducing myeloma cell apoptosis.