Fig 1.
Plasma source kINPen09 (INP, Greifswald, Germany) (left) and plasma source PS-MWM (IOM, Leipzig, Germany) (right).
Table 1.
Experimental setup.
Fig 2.
Xe flashlight with a power supply (Voltcraft Conrad Electronic, Wollerau, Switzerland) was used as UV source. Left: Visible UV emission at the end of the distance spacer (arrow). Right: Comparison of the UV spectrum of the kINPen09 (bold line spectrum) and the UV source (fine continuous spectrum).
Fig 3.
Treatment of the right cheek of a narcotized mouse.
Fig 4.
Mean weight differences (95% CI) of mice broken down by observation period, treatment and treatment duration (N = 178). Weight decreased one day after treatment and weight increased one week after treatment. Mice receiving PS-MWM showed the highest weight loss and lowest weight gain. However, significant differences were only found after one day between mice receiving PS-MWM and mice without treatment (p = .013) as well mice receiving UV for 48 seconds (p = .002). The treatment duration had no impact on weight development.
Table 2.
Overview of mucosal alterations.
Fig 5.
Histological examinations of plasma treated groups.
A, C, E: Cheek mucosa with ulceration and inflammation in the stroma (arrows) one day after the treatment with CAP (A kINPen09 10s, C kINPen09 6x10s, E PS-MWM 10s). B, D, F: Cheek mucosa one week after the CAP treatment (B kINPen09 10s, D kINPen09 6x10s, E PS-MWM 10s) with reepithelialization and remnants of granulation tissue (arrow heads). (A-F: HE, original magnification 200-fold).
Fig 6.
Histological examinations of control groups.
A, B: Cheek mucosa of the untreated animals 1d (A) and 1 week (B) after the beginning of the experiments in the experimental groups. Mice cheek mucosa shows in contrast to human cheek mucosa slight keratinization. C, E: Cheek mucosa 1 day after UV-treatment with no alterations of the mucosa (C 8 s, E 48 s). D, F: Unaltered cheek mucosa one week after the UV-treatment (D 8 s, F 48 s). (A-F: HE, original magnification 200-fold).