The sustained and effective anticancer effect of plasma-activated hydrogel on melanoma cells

Cold atmospheric plasma has selective anticancer effects, while limited penetration depth and lifetime of reactive species restrict its usage. Herein, we adopt saline and hydrogel as carriers of plasma-induced reactive species, and link reactive species accumulation, attenuation, storage, and slow-release to anticancer effects of plasma-activated media. Results reveal that plasma-activated hydrogel (PAH) has a sustained anticancer effect and prolongs the storage duration of reactive species, thus causing more intracellular oxidative species accumulation and inducing melanoma cell apoptosis with reactive species continuously released to cell medium. In contrast, plasma-activated saline has an attenuated anticancer effect with decline in reactive species. Therefore, PAH serves as a useful reactive species carrier and has potential for further anticancer research.