Influence of plasma-treatments on the structure, superstructure, and function of membrane lipids*

Every cell, eu- or prokaryotic, has a membrane as an interface to the environment. Every substance that is applied from outside the cell has to interact with it. This includes plasma-generated reactive species in the liquid cell environment created by plasma-treatment. By the Singer and Nicolson model, proteins are embedded in a lipid bilayer. Proteins are the functional elements, lipids are the structural elements. Due to the amphiphilic nature of the lipids, they form (super-) structures in an aqueous environment. The exact superstructure is determined by a structural parameter of the lipid, its shape. Here, we show experiments on lipids by fluorophore-based liposome assays and raman spectroscopy. The results show a membrane-activity of plasma-born reactive species against lipids and lipid structures. Based on this results and literature, we propose a model for a lesion-forming mechanism in membranes of some reactive species created by plasma-treatment. It is based on a hydrophobic-hydrophilic mismatch due to lipid peroxidization induced by reactive species generated in liquids by plasma-treatment.