Influence of atmospheric pressure plasma on the melanogenesis in melanoma cells

Melanin is a black pigment, responsible for hair and skin color. In order to find the melanin stimulatory technique which prove useful for a gray and a white hair-preventive agent or tanning agent, we developed atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) and tested for tyrosinase activity and melanin production in melanoma (B16F10) cells in vitro. We found plasma dose dependent increase in melanin production. To explore the contributing mechanism in melanin synthesis, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and MAP kinase signaling pathways were studied. Furthermore, the development of plasma technology for melanin synthesis and planning for in-vivo future studies will be discussed.