Plasma‐activated water from a dielectric barrier discharge plasma source for the selective treatment of cancer cells

In this study, cold plasma was used to prepare plasma‐activated water (PAW) from a dielectric barrier discharge plasma source, with ambient air as the plasma‐forming gas. The PAW prepared was characterized for its physicochemical parameters, some of which followed a strong linear correlation with activation time (ta). The effects of PAW addition on the cell viability of human breast cancer cells (MDA‐MB‐231) and healthy murine muscle‐derived fibroblast cells were investigated using the MTT assay. The volume of PAW added and ta of PAW showed a significant impact. The PAW prepared was selective toward killing cancer cells at specific ta. PAW retains its potency against cancer cells after 14 days of refrigerated storage. This study used plasma‐activated water (PAW) prepared using a dielectric barrier discharge plasma source, with just air as the working gas and without any pressurized flow accessories. Some of the physicochemical parameters of PAW showed a linear trend with activation time. PAW selectively kills a higher proportion of cancer cells relative to healthy cells.