Diabetic wounds, notably foot ulcers, are among the many most severe issues confronted by sufferers with diabetes. These continual wounds typically fail to heal correctly as a result of a mix of poor blood stream, persistent irritation, and an infection. The results could be extreme, starting from lack of mobility to amputations, they usually place a considerable burden on healthcare techniques worldwide. In opposition to this backdrop, researchers have been searching for new therapies that may speed up wound therapeutic and enhance sufferers’ high quality of life.
Led by Dr. Nevena Puac on the College of Belgrade, a crew of researchers demonstrated how plasma-activated water can improve wound therapeutic in diabetic rats. They confirmed the therapeutic potential of water after plasma therapy, which may present a extra accessible possibility for sufferers. Their work is printed within the Worldwide Journal of Molecular Sciences.
The analysis confirmed that plasma-activated water (PAW) therapy considerably improved wound closure in diabetic rats in comparison with untreated animals. Inside the first days of therapeutic, wounds handled with plasma-activated water displayed sooner restoration and more healthy tissue improvement. Notably, plasma-activated water didn’t change blood sugar ranges, that means the noticed advantages have been particular to the therapeutic course of itself. In keeping with Dr. Puac and colleagues, “PAW improved wound therapeutic in diabetic rats and primarily affected the inflammatory section of wound therapeutic”.
One of many central findings was that plasma-activated water diminished extreme irritation, a key impediment in diabetic wound restore. Tissue evaluation revealed fewer inflammatory cells in plasma-activated water handled wounds, together with decrease exercise of enzymes linked to immune cells akin to neutrophils, that are the primary line of protection in opposition to an infection, and macrophages, that are cells that clear particles and coordinate therapeutic. These modifications introduced the therapeutic course of in diabetic rats nearer to that seen in wholesome controls. Dr. Puac defined, “Utility of PAW decreased the variety of inflammatory cells, myeloperoxidase myeloperoxidase and N-acetyl-b-D-glycosaminidase exercise, and the expression of proinflammatory genes in diabetic rats”.
Past irritation management, the therapy additionally enhanced tissue reworking. Collagen, a structural protein important for wound closure and energy, was deposited in larger quantities—roughly a tenth extra—after plasma-activated water remedy. Importantly, this enchancment was not as a result of elevated collagen gene expression however fairly to a positive stability between enzymes that break down tissue and people who protect the wound construction. This means plasma-activated water helps stabilize the wound setting, enabling extra environment friendly therapeutic.
Dr. Puac and her colleagues additionally make clear how plasma-activated water influences molecular pathways. Ranges of key inflammatory genes akin to interleukin-1 beta, a molecule that indicators irritation, interleukin-6, one other key regulator of the immune response, and tumor necrosis issue, a protein that promotes irritation, have been considerably decrease in handled wounds. On the identical time, the damaging enzyme matrix metalloproteinase-9, which breaks down connective tissue, was diminished, bettering the stability between it and its pure inhibitor. This delicate shift seemingly explains why extra collagen was preserved and built-in into therapeutic tissue. Dr. Puac and the crew concluded that plasma-activated water works by way of a twin mechanism: an early burst of irritation to clear particles, adopted by a fast calming impact that enables wounds to progress to the proliferative section, when new tissue varieties, and the reworking section, when the wound construction strengthens.
In abstract, the outcomes counsel that plasma-activated water may supply a sensible and efficient new remedy for diabetic wounds. Not like chilly atmospheric plasma units, that are cumbersome and require specialised gear, plasma-activated water could be saved and simply utilized as a liquid spray, making it extra accessible for scientific use. Dr. Puac and her colleagues emphasised that whereas additional research and scientific trials are essential, their findings lay the groundwork for creating improved methods to deal with continual wounds in diabetic sufferers.
Journal Reference
Rajic J., Grdovic N., Markovic A., Skoro N., Dinic S., Uskokovic A., Arambasic Jovanovic J., Djordevic M., Saric A., Vidakovic M., Puac N., Mihailovic M. “Plasma-Activated Water Enhance Wound Therapeutic in Diabetic Rats by Influencing the Inflammatory and Remodelling Part.” Worldwide Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2025; 26(3):1265. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26031265
Concerning the Authors
Dr. Nevena Puač is a principal analysis fellow on the Institute of Physics Belgrade working within the low temperature plasma physics subject – low and atmospheric strain plasmas, skilled in quite a few diagnostics strategies and utility of plasmas in biology, medication and agriculture. She obtained her PhD on the College of Belgrade with part of the thesis accomplished on the Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisbon, Portugal. She was a PI of nationwide technological mission (TD 23016, Ministry of Schooling, Science and Technological Growth, 2008-2010), multidisciplinary mission (III41011, Ministry of Schooling, Science and Technological Growth, 2011-2019) and PI at a number of bilateral initiatives. At present she is the Motion Chair and coordinator of the multidisciplinary COST Motion, PlAgri-CA19110, “Plasma Agriculture for sensible and sustainable agriculture” and was a pacesetter of Marie Sklodowska Curie ITN mission (Nowelties 812880) on the Institute of Physics. She has printed greater than 80 articles in worldwide journals and publications. Her h-index is 32 with greater than 3000 citations. Many of the extremely cited papers that she has printed are within the subject of plasma purposes in biology and medication. Till now she has supervised a number of PhD and Grasp and Diploma theses. She was co-chair and organizer of a number of conferences and workshops.
Dr. Nikola Skoro, principal analysis fellow, works on the Institute of Physics, College of Belgrade within the Centre for non-equilibrium processes. His analysis matters belong to the sphere of chilly plasma diagnostics (spatially and temporally resolved plasma optical emission spectroscopy and ICCD imaging; energy measurements) and purposes of plasma in therapies of polymers and textiles in low-pressure plasmas and coverings of biomedical and liquid samples utilizing atmospheric strain plasmas – water decontamination and activation, therapy of medium and cells. He labored as a principal investigator in a proof-of-concept mission and several other initiatives of bilateral cooperation, and a piece bundle chief at multidisciplinary mission APPerTAin-BIOM (no. 7739780) financed by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia. He was a Marie Curie fellow and took part in a number of worldwide and nationwide initiatives as activity chief. He has printed greater than 30 articles in worldwide journals, his h-index is 14 with greater than 350 citations. Many of the extremely cited papers that he printed belong to the sphere of plasma purposes in biology, medication and for therapy of liquid targets. He has given greater than 15 invited lectures at famend worldwide conferences.
Andjelija Markovic, Analysis Assistant, employed on the Institute of Physics, working inside the Heart for Non-Equilibrium Processes. Her scientific analysis subject focuses on low-temperature plasmas involved with liquids. Throughout her doctoral research, she has performed a variety of diagnostics of plasma jets involved with liquid techniques, together with energy measurements, optical emission spectroscopy (OES), and ICCD imaging. She can be engaged within the utility of plasma for liquid therapies (plasma-activated water, plasma-activated medium), that are additional utilized in medication and agriculture.
In her earlier analysis on plasma system purposes, she participated within the improvement and acquisition of mental property protections, akin to patents, which offer recognition and potential monetary advantages for the inventors and their affiliated establishments. She was a mission chief inside a SEED Analysis Grant below the SAIGE Mission.
She has printed two papers in worldwide journals belong to the appliance of plasma-activated liquids in medication and has participated in quite a few conferences and scientific faculties.
