Electrochemical Reactions in Pulsed Electric Fields Treatment

AbstractGlioblastoma is a highly aggressive brain tumor, very invasive and thus difficult to eradicate with standard oncology therapies. Bioelectric treatments based on pulsed electric fields have proven to be a successful method to treat cancerous tissues. However, they rely on stiff electrodes, which cause acute and chronic injuries, especially in soft tissues like the brain. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of delivering pulsed electric fields with flexible electronics using an in ovo vascularized tumor model. We show with fluorescence widefield and multiphoton microscopy that pulsed electric fields induce vasoconstriction of blood vessels and evoke calcium signals in vascularized glioblastoma spheroids stably expressing a genetically encoded fluorescence reporter. Simulations of the electric field delivery are compared with the measured influence of electric field effects on cell membrane integrity in exposed tumor cells. Our results confirm the feasibility of flexible electronics as a means of delivering intense pulsed electric fields to tumors in an intravital 3D vascularized model of human glioblastoma.

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Peculiarities of Neurostimulation by Intense Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields: How to Avoid Firing in Peripheral Nerve Fibers

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22137051 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (13) ◽

pp. 7051

Author(s):

Vitalii Kim ◽

Emily Gudvangen ◽

Oleg Kondratiev ◽

Luis Redondo ◽

Shu Xiao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Side Effects ◽

Electric Fields ◽

Pulsed Electric Fields ◽

Opposite Polarity ◽

Nerve Fibers ◽

High Rate ◽

Excitation Threshold ◽

Compound Action Potentials ◽

Supramaximal Stimulation ◽

The Impact

Intense pulsed electric fields (PEF) are a novel modality for the efficient and targeted ablation of tumors by electroporation. The major adverse side effects of PEF therapies are strong involuntary muscle contractions and pain. Nanosecond-range PEF (nsPEF) are less efficient at neurostimulation and can be employed to minimize such side effects. We quantified the impact of the electrode configuration, PEF strength (up to 20 kV/cm), repetition rate (up to 3 MHz), bi- and triphasic pulse shapes, and pulse duration (down to 10 ns) on eliciting compound action potentials (CAPs) in nerve fibers. The excitation thresholds for single unipolar but not bipolar stimuli followed the classic strength–duration dependence. The addition of the opposite polarity phase for nsPEF increased the excitation threshold, with symmetrical bipolar nsPEF being the least efficient. Stimulation by nsPEF bursts decreased the excitation threshold as a power function above a critical duty cycle of 0.1%. The threshold reduction was much weaker for symmetrical bipolar nsPEF. Supramaximal stimulation by high-rate nsPEF bursts elicited only a single CAP as long as the burst duration did not exceed the nerve refractory period. Such brief bursts of bipolar nsPEF could be the best choice to minimize neuromuscular stimulation in ablation therapies.

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An investigation on pulsed electric fields technology using new treatment chamber design

Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies ◽

10.1016/j.ifset.2006.11.001 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 205-212 ◽

Cited By ~ 54

Author(s):

Sally R. Alkhafaji ◽

Mohammed Farid

Keyword(s):

Electric Fields ◽

Pulsed Electric Fields ◽

Chamber Design ◽

New Treatment

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Hydrate formation under static and pulsed electric fields

Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering ◽

10.1016/j.jngse.2020.103232 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 77 ◽

pp. 103232

Author(s):

Hassan Pahlavanzadeh ◽

Sima Hejazi ◽

Mehrdad Manteghian

Keyword(s):

Electric Fields ◽

Hydrate Formation ◽

Pulsed Electric Fields

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Pulsed Electric Fields to Improve the Use of Non-Saccharomyces Starters in Red Wines

Foods ◽

10.3390/foods10071472 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. 1472

Author(s):

Cristian Vaquero ◽

Iris Loira ◽

Javier Raso ◽

Ignacio Álvarez ◽

Carlota Delso ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Electric Fields ◽

Pulsed Electric Fields ◽

The Other ◽

Red Wines ◽

Torulaspora Delbrueckii ◽

Wild Yeast ◽

Wild Yeasts ◽

Natural Foods ◽

Saccharomyces Yeasts ◽

Lachancea Thermotolerans

New nonthermal technologies, including pulsed electric fields (PEF), open a new way to generate more natural foods while respecting their organoleptic qualities. PEF can reduce wild yeasts to improve the implantation of other yeasts and generate more desired metabolites. Two PEF treatments were applied; one with an intensity of 5 kV/cm was applied continuously to the must for further colour extraction, and a second treatment only to the must (without skins) after a 24-hour maceration of 17.5 kV/cm intensity, reducing its wild yeast load by up to 2 log CFU/mL, thus comparing the implantation and fermentation of inoculated non-Saccharomyces yeasts. In general, those treated with PEF preserved more total esters and formed more anthocyanins, including vitisin A, due to better implantation of the inoculated yeasts. It should be noted that the yeast Lachancea thermotolerans that had received PEF treatment produced four-fold more lactic acid (3.62 ± 0.84 g/L) than the control of the same yeast, and Hanseniaspora vineae with PEF produced almost three-fold more 2-phenylethyl acetate than the rest. On the other hand, 3-ethoxy-1-propanol was not observed at the end of the fermentation with a Torulaspora delbrueckii (Td) control but in the Td PEF, it was observed (3.17 ± 0.58 mg/L).

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Antimicrobial Activity of L-Lysine and Poly-L-Lysine with Pulsed Electric Fields

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11062708 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 2708

Author(s):

Jurgita Švedienė ◽

Vitalij Novickij ◽

Rokas Žalnėravičius ◽

Vita Raudonienė ◽

Svetlana Markovskaja ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Electric Fields ◽

Pulsed Electric Fields ◽

Antimicrobial Treatment ◽

Treatment Development ◽

E Coli ◽

Yeast Fungi ◽

New Treatment ◽

First Time ◽

Resistant Microorganism ◽

Susceptibility Patterns

For the first time, the possibility to use L-lysine (Lys) and poly-L-lysine (PLL) as additives with pulsed electric fields (PEF) for antimicrobial treatment is reported. The antimicrobial efficacy of Lys and PLL for Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Trichophyton rubrum and Candida albicans was determined. Inactivation of microorganisms was also studied by combining Lys and PLL with PEF of 15 and 30 kV/cm. For PEF treatment, pulses of 0.5, 1, 10 or 100 μs were applied in a sequence of 10 to 5000 at 1 kHz frequency. The obtained results showed that 100 μs pulses were the most effective in combination with Lys and PLL for all microorganisms. Equivalent energy PEF bursts with a shorter duration of the pulse were less effective independently on PEF amplitude. Additionally, various treatment susceptibility patterns of microorganisms were determined and reported. In this study, the Gram-negative E. coli was the most treatment-resistant microorganism. Nevertheless, inactivation rates exceeding 2 log viability reduction were achieved for all analyzed yeast, fungi, and bacteria. This methodology could be used for drug-resistant microorganism’s new treatment development.

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