Implementation:
- successful project implementation and candidate recruitment (2024), with all eight PhD positions occupied by fall 2024 at five different consortium members (GREMI Orleans, University of Antwerpen, University of Eindhoven, University Medicine Rostock, INP Greifswald)
- delivery of five identical laboratory-level cold plasma devices (MultiJet) to the consortium members by the GREMI Orleans (fall 2024), ensuring comparable and reproducible experiments in the plasmACT project
Research:
- physico-chemical characteristics of the MultiJet device determined, including temperature and electrical field profile, discharge morphology, and reactive species generation
- two different computational models (0D and 2D fluid model) were established to predict the behaviour and formation of reactive species of the discharge, facilitating the design of biomedical experiments and allowing mechanistic understanding
- membrane poration models show increased permeability, supported by a computational model on skin permittivity for reactive oxygen species, comparing healthy skin and AK lesion skin
- MultiJet device passed OECD Test 487 (Test for mutagenicity) – no mutagenicity detected
- in vitro models using three different cell lines (normal, cancerous, AK phenotype) revealed an impact of the MultiJet on:
a) Cellular lipid profiles, showing stress response signals (abundance changes in various lipid classes)
b) Cellular protein expression pattern, e.g. induction of several anti-oxidant defence pathways
c) Cell origin-dependent decrease in viability (cancerous > AK phenotype >> normal), accompanied by a corresponding increase in free intracellular reactive oxygen species
d) Cell origin-dependent secretion of immunomodulatory cytokines, with strong signals for immune cell recruiting from cancerous and AK phenotype cell models, contributing to increased phagocytosis
e) Secretion of damage-associated molecular pattern release by diseased skin cells, indicative for immunogenic cell death induction
- in vivo rodent model study of ultraviolet light exposure-induced AK successfully established
In progress/future work:
- elucidate lipid and protein oxidation, supported by advanced computational models predicting kinetic rates
- elucidating the crosstalk between lipid and protein oxidation
- above state-of-the-art computational homology model on protein-protein crosstalk after MultiJet exposure, contributing to molecular-level understanding of in vivo biomedical effects
- in-depth analysis of immunomodulatory effects of the MultiJet using co-culture and ex vivo models
- exploitation of an in vivo AK rodent model (sample collection for subsequent consortium-wide multi-omics analysis in progress)
- further promotion of MultiJet device to comply with medical product guidelines, including electrical safety and patient impact
education, dissemination, outreach:
- annual kick-off/status seminars bringing together all doctoral candidates (DCs), Principal Investigators, and industry partners
- successful implementation of bi-annual dedicated schools and seminars with high-profile scientific and soft-skill lectures for plasmACT PhD students (open to adjacent audience/students)
- visibility of the project and selected achievements in the web (
https://plasmact.eu/(öffnet in neuem Fenster)) and on social media (LinkedIn: plasmACT, Instagram @plasmact_eu) managed by the doctoral candidates
- successful participation of all doctoral candidates in at least one international workshop or conference (oral/poster presentation), including GDR HappyBio Paris 2024, ADF Berlin 2025, PlasTHER meeting Barcelona 2025
- two DC first-author publications in high-ranked peer-reviewed journals, and further eight manuscripts in preparation
