The ongoing search for better antibacterial wound care dressings has led to the design and fabrication of advanced functional nanomaterials. Taking advantage of electrospinning and cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), free-standing nanofibrous scaffolds are promising for use in novel biomedical applications. Random and aligned polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/polyacrylic acid (PAA) nanofiber scaffolds are fabricated by electrospinning and treated with CAP. In this study, we investigate the effects of CAP treatment on alignment, hydrophilicity, antibacterial activity, and biocompatibility in determining the surface properties of the nanofibrous scaffolds. The results of vibrational polarization spectroscopy analysis indicate that CAP treatment changes the degree of alignment of the nanofibers. Furthermore, both random and aligned CAP-treated nanofibrous scaffolds show significant antibacterial activity against the E. coli strain. The results of an in vitro scratch assay reveal that CAP treatment of PVA/PAA nanofibers has no toxic effect.@en

Surgical site infections have a remarkable impact on morbidity, extended hospitalization and mortality. Sutures strongly contribute to development of surgical site infections as they are considered foreign material in the human body. Sutures serve as excellent surfaces for microbial adherence and subsequent colonization, biofilm formation and infection on the site of a surgery. Various antimicrobial sutures have been developed to prevent suture-mediated surgical site infection. However, depending on the site of surgery, antimicrobial sutures may remain ineffective, and antimicrobial agents on them might have drawbacks. Plasma, defined as the fourth state of matter, composed of ionized gas, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, free radical and neutrals, draws attention for the control and prevention of hospital-acquired infections due to its excellent antimicrobial activities. In the present study, the efficacy of non-thermal atmospheric plasma treatment for prevention of surgical site infections was investigated. First, contaminated poly (glycolic-co-lactic acid), polyglycolic acid, polydioxanone and poly (glycolic acid-co-caprolactone) sutures were treated with non-thermal atmospheric plasma to eradicate contaminating bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Moreover, sutures were pre-treated with non-thermal atmospheric plasma and then exposed to S. aureus and E. coli. Our results revealed that non-thermal atmospheric plasma treatment effectively eradicates contaminating bacteria on sutures, and non-thermal atmospheric plasma pre-treatment effectively prevents bacterial colonization on sutures without altering their mechanical properties. Chemical characterization of sutures was performed with FT-IR and XPS and results showed that non-thermal atmospheric plasma treatment substantially increased the hydrophilicity of sutures which might be the primary mechanism for the prevention of bacterial colonization. In conclusion, plasma-treated sutures could be considered as novel alternative materials for the control and prevention of surgical site infections.@en

INTRODUCTION: Barrier membranes are used to create an empty space in the bone defects and to stabilize the blood clot to prevent soft tissue migration. Materials used as barriers should be characterized by some physico-chemical properties to improve biocompatibility, tissue integration, void formation ability and clinical use. The application of atmospheric cold plasma(ACP), which has been shown to increase surface energy and wettability in various materials intended to work, angularly examines and correlates the cellular uptake, protein adsorption and wettability on the surface of the titanium mesh. METHODS: Mesh with dimensions of 1x1 cm and a diameter of 1.6 mm with a thickness of 0.3 mm was treated with air barrier plasma obtained by using a specially produced microsensor pulsed plasma power source. While there is no application in the control group, the mills in the study group were subjected to ACP application with microgeneration plasma generator for 90 seconds. The contact angle measurements were made using a goniometer. RESULTS: The best result in the wettability evaluation was found to be measured in 90 seconds time. There was no statistically significant difference between the amount of protein in samples removed from the incubator after 6 hours of incubation period (p>0.05). There is a statistically significant difference between the groups in the 24-hour time frame (p<0.05). No significant difference was found on day 1 in cell viability (p>0.05) and expression, but a significant difference was found on days 3 and 5 (p<0.05). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Recently, argon atmospheric pressure plasma has been reported to increase cell diffusion and wettability in titanium discs. In terms of wettability, in accordance with other studies, our work also resulted in the ACP application increasing the wettability and decreasing the contact angle. Long-term effects on cell adhesion and proliferation are seen. Consequently, there is a need for further experimental and clinical studies of the subject. @en

The aim of this study was to investigate the synergistic effect of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) treatment and RGD peptide coating for enhancing cellular attachment and proliferation over titanium (Ti) surfaces. The surface structure of CAP-treated and RGD peptide-coated Ti discs were characterized by contact angle goniometer and atomic force microscopy. The effect of such surface modification on human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) adhesion and proliferation was assessed by cell proliferation and DNA content assays. Besides, hMSCs’ adhesion and morphology on surface modified Ti discs were observed via fluorescent and scanning electron microscopy. RGD peptide coating following CAP treatment significantly enhanced cellular adhesion and proliferation among untreated, CAP-treated and RGD peptide-coated Ti discs. The treatment of Ti surfaces with CAP may contribute to improved RGD peptide coating, which enables increased cellular integrations with the Ti surfaces.@en

Besides the material type, surface characteristics of titanium based dental implants also affect the treatment success and time. Atmospheric Cold Plasma (ACP) treatment and RGD peptide conjugation methods are applied to titanium implants for shortening the osseointegration time by increasing the surface hydrophilicty and cell adhesion rate. However the comparative effect of these two implant surface modification techniques has yet to be investgated. In the scope of this study, efficacy of the ACP treatment and RGD peptide conjugation methods has been evaluated by determining adhesion and proliferation of rat bone marrow mesencymal stem cells (MSC) on the surface of modified implants. It was shown that comparing the usage of two individual surface modifications, RGD peptid conjugation after ASP treatment of the implant surface had significantly higher MSC adhesion and proliferation.@en