Application of direct current electric fields to cells and tissues in vitro and modulation of wound electric field in vivo

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 1479-1489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bing Song ◽  
Yu Gu ◽  
Jin Pu ◽  
Brian Reid ◽  
Zhiqiang Zhao ◽  
...  
2002 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
pp. 319-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Rols ◽  
M. Golzio ◽  
B. Gabriel ◽  
J. Teissié

Electric field pulses are a new approach for drug and gene delivery for cancer therapy. They induce a localized structural alteration of cell membranes. The associated physical mechanisms are well explained and can be safely controlled. A position dependent modulation of the membrane potential difference is induced when an electric field is applied to a cell. Electric field pulses with an overcritical intensity evoke a local membrane alteration. A free exchange of hydrophilic low molecular weight molecules takes place across the membrane. A leakage of cytosolic metabolites and a loading of polar drugs into the cytoplasm are obtained. The fraction of the cell surface which is competent for exchange is a function of the field intensity. The level of local exchange is strongly controlled by the pulse duration and the number of successive pulses. The permeabilised state is long lived. Its lifetime is under the control of the cumulated pulse duration. Cell viability can be preserved. Gene transfer is obtained but its mechanism is not a free diffusion. Plasmids are electrophoretically accumulated against the permeabilised cell surface and form aggregates due to the field effect. After the pulses, several steps follow: translocation to the cytoplasm, traffic to the nucleus and expression. Molecular structural and metabolic changes in cells remain mostly poorly understood. Nevertheless, while most studies were established on cells in culture ( in vitro), recent experiments show that similar effects are obtained on tissue ( in vivo). Transfer remains controlled by the physical parameters of the electrical treatment.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ehsan Negahbani ◽  
Iain M. Stitt ◽  
Marshall Davey ◽  
Thien T. Doan ◽  
Moritz Dannhauer ◽  
...  

SummaryModeling studies predict that transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) entrains brain oscillations, yet direct examination has been lacking or potentially contaminated by stimulation artefact. Here we first demonstrate how the posterior parietal cortex drives primary visual cortex and thalamic LP in the alpha-band in head-fixed awake ferrets. The spike-field synchrony is maximum within alpha frequency, and more prominent for narrow-spiking neurons than broad-spiking ones. Guided by a validated model of electric field distribution, we produced electric fields comparable to those in humans and primates (< 0.5 mV/mm). We found evidence to support the model-driven predictions of how tACS entrains neural oscillations as explained by the triangular Arnold tongue pattern. In agreement with the stronger spike-field coupling of narrow-spiking cells, tACS more strongly entrained this cell population. Our findings provide the firstin vivoevidence of how tACS with electric field amplitudes used in human studies entrains neuronal oscillators.


Author(s):  
Yifan Xia ◽  
Yunfei Li ◽  
Wasem Khalid ◽  
Marom Bikson ◽  
Bingmei M. Fu

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive physical therapy to treat many psychiatric disorders and to enhance memory and cognition in healthy individuals. Our recent studies showed that tDCS with the proper dosage and duration can transiently enhance the permeability (P) of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in rat brain to various sized solutes. Based on the in vivo permeability data, a transport model for the paracellular pathway of the BBB also predicted that tDCS can transiently disrupt the endothelial glycocalyx (EG) and the tight junction between endothelial cells. To confirm these predictions and to investigate the structural mechanisms by which tDCS modulates P of the BBB, we directly quantified the EG and tight junctions of in vitro BBB models after DCS treatment. Human cerebral microvascular endothelial cells (hCMECs) and mouse brain microvascular endothelial cells (bEnd3) were cultured on the Transwell filter with 3 μm pores to generate in vitro BBBs. After confluence, 0.1–1 mA/cm2 DCS was applied for 5 and 10 min. TEER and P to dextran-70k of the in vitro BBB were measured, HS (heparan sulfate) and hyaluronic acid (HA) of EG was immuno-stained and quantified, as well as the tight junction ZO-1. We found disrupted EG and ZO-1 when P to dextran-70k was increased and TEER was decreased by the DCS. To further investigate the cellular signaling mechanism of DCS on the BBB permeability, we pretreated the in vitro BBB with a nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor, L-NMMA. L-NMMA diminished the effect of DCS on the BBB permeability by protecting the EG and reinforcing tight junctions. These in vitro results conform to the in vivo observations and confirm the model prediction that DCS can disrupt the EG and tight junction of the BBB. Nevertheless, the in vivo effects of DCS are transient which backup its safety in the clinical application. In conclusion, our current study directly elucidates the structural and signaling mechanisms by which DCS modulates the BBB permeability.


1984 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 907-912
Author(s):  
S. Javaheri ◽  
A. De Hemptinne ◽  
I. Leusen

The purpose of this study is to systematically describe the construction of pH-sensitive double-barreled microelectrodes for extracellular use. The most important advantages of these microelectrodes are as follows: the reference and the pH barrels are next to each other, and therefore the measured pH is not affected by asymmetric or slowly spreading direct current potential. The diameter of the tip of the microelectrodes is between 7 and 35 micron. These pH-sensitive microelectrodes are generally stable and Nernstian. They can be used repeatedly both in vivo and in vitro to measure tissue extracellular fluid pH. Some applications are described.


2010 ◽  
Vol 54 (8) ◽  
pp. 3212-3218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moshe Giladi ◽  
Yaara Porat ◽  
Alexandra Blatt ◽  
Esther Shmueli ◽  
Yoram Wasserman ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT High-frequency, low-intensity electric fields generated by insulated electrodes have previously been shown to inhibit bacterial growth in vitro. In the present study, we tested the effect of these antimicrobial fields (AMFields) on the development of lung infection caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in mice. We demonstrate that AMFields (10 MHz) significantly inhibit bacterial growth in vivo, both as a stand-alone treatment and in combination with ceftazidime. In addition, we show that peripheral (skin) heating of about 2°C can contribute to bacterial growth inhibition in the lungs of mice. We suggest that the combination of alternating electric fields, together with the heat produced during their application, may serve as a novel antibacterial treatment modality.


2003 ◽  
Vol 773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shalini Prasad ◽  
Mo Yang ◽  
Xuan Zhang ◽  
Yingchun Ni ◽  
Vladimir Parpura ◽  
...  

AbstractCharacterization of electrical activity of individual neurons is the fundamental step in understanding the functioning of the nervous system. Single cell electrical activity at various stages of cell development is essential to accurately determine in in-vivo conditions the position of a cell based on the procured electrical activity. Understanding memory formation and development translates to changes in the electrical activity of individual neurons. Hence, there is an enormous need to develop novel ways for isolating and positioning individual neurons over single recording sites. To this end, we used a 3x3 multiple microelectrode array system to spatially arrange neurons by applying a gradient AC field. We characterized the electric field distribution inside our test platform by using two dimensiona l finite element modeling (FEM) and determined the location of neurons over the electrode array. Dielectrophoretic AC fields were utilized to separate the neurons from the glial cells and to position the neurons over the electrodes. The neurons were obtained from 0-2-day-old rat (Sprague-Dawley) pups. The technique of using electric fields to achieve single neuron patterning has implications in neural engineering, elucidating a new and simpler method to develop and study neuronal activity as compared to conventional microelectrode array techniques.


Lab on a Chip ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prashanth Mohana Sundaram ◽  
Kaushik K. Rangharajan ◽  
Ehsan Akbari ◽  
Tanner J. Hadick ◽  
Jonathan W. Song ◽  
...  

In vitro model for blood vessel on-chip reporting on the use of direct current electric fields (DC-EFs) to regulate vascular endothelial permeability, which is important for tissue regeneration and wound healing.


2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Henkes ◽  
S. Brew ◽  
S. Felber ◽  
E. Miloslavski ◽  
G. Mogilevski ◽  
...  

Endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysms with electrolytically detachable coils is often claimed to be based on electrothrombosis, i.e. intra-aneurysmal thrombus formation through applied direct current. Despite the fact that this concept was described more than a century ago, the significance of electrothrombosis in the endovascular treatment of aneurysms remains debatable. Apart from electrothrombosis, mechanical obliteration of the aneurysmal lumen might be one of the many possible mechanisms to explain why and how detachable coils are effective in preventing aneurysms from (re-)rupture. The purpose of this experimental study was to investigate to what extent direct current comparable to that used for coil detachment would influence the adhesion of cellular and liquid blood components to the surface of electrolytically detachable platinum coils. For the in vitro study, electrolytically detachable platinum coils of various types were exposed to stagnant heparinised blood for a total of 16 h, without or with applied direct current for 30 or 90 s (1 mA, 4–6 V, coil as anode). For the in vivo study, electrolytically detachable platinum coils were exposed to flowing blood for 180 s, without or with applied direct current (2 mA, 4–6 V, coil as either anode or cathode), without anti-coagulation and after intravenous administration of 5000 U Heparin and again after the intravenous administration of 500 mg Aspisol in addition to Heparin. After exposure to blood according to these different experimental protocols, the coils were fixed in formalin solution, gold coated and examined by scanning electron microscopy. Thrombus formation on the surface of all unfibred coils was thin and highly variable both from coil to coil, and on different areas of any given coil. The application of direct current minimally enhanced thrombus formation in stagnant blood in vitro, but not in vivo. The cellular and fibrin adhesions on the coil surfaces without and with applied current did not effectively increase the diameter or volume of unfibred coils. Coils with attached nylon fibres, however, proved to be highly thrombogenic without or with application of current. In fibred coils, surface adhesions without and with applied current were voluminous enough to effectively increase the diameter of the coil, potentially important for the process of endosaccular aneurysm occlusion. Electrothrombosis plays no role in the endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysms with electrolytically detachable coils. This explains why platinum coils with non-electrolytic detachment mechanisms show a similar efficiency and recurrence rate.


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