Fig 3. Effect of non-thermal plasma treatment on mitochondria membrane potential.

The continuous exposure of cells to plasma treated PBS without it further dilution with medium results in a decay of mitochondria energization (D7, black rhombi) similarly to what was observed in the presence of protonophore (FCCP, empty circle). Decline in mitochondria energization in normal cells (B, black rhombi) was faster than in cancer cells (A, black rhombi), which are more resistant to plasma induced modulations. Samples D7_1 min_24 h (white rhombi) and D7_10 min_24 h (black circle) are the cells harvested after 24 h of incubation in the growth medium after being exposed to plasma D7 for 1 and 10 minutes. The normal cells restore their the membrane potential up to 70% within 24 h after treatment, while in the cancer cells the membrane potential remained at about 40% only (white rhombi and black circles). Data presented as mean±SEM (n = 3).