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Dissociated effect and Chemosensitive enhancement of tumor spheroids influenced by an electric field in a microdevice

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Abstract

The use of electric field for cancer therapy has been proposed for a novel non-invasive cancer therapeutic approach that provides better quality of life for patients. However, argument of the efficacy hampers the therapeutic development for various cancer diseases. More scientific evidences are necessary to be addressed by basic research. The current in vitro cell culture study reports the responses of tumor spheroids after the application of an alternating electric field. Human hepatocarchinoma cells suspended in soft hydrogel were cultured in a cell culture device embedded with stimulating electrodes. Tumor spheroids gradually formed and alternating electric field was then applied during the culture course. Investigation of cell viability and cell cycle were conducted to optimize the treatment conditions. The results showed that the electric potential of 1.0 Vpp and frequency of 130 kHz was the minimal effective conditions for inhibiting tumor spheroids. Importantly, dissociation of tumor spheroids was observed after the treatment. The effectiveness of chemotherapeutic agents was shown to be enhanced while the electric filed was simultaneously applied to the tumor spheroids. These results provided solid foundation for developing the effective therapeutic strategies.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Ms. Sandy Huang for her technical support. This work was supported by Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan (Project no. CMRPD2H0021 and BMRPC05).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. PhD Program in Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan

    Chun-Hao Huang

  2. Graduate Institute of Medical Mechatronics, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan

    Kin Fong Lei

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan

    Kin Fong Lei

  4. Department of Radiation Oncology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan

    Kin Fong Lei & Ngan-Ming Tsang

  5. Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan

    Ngan-Ming Tsang

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  1. Chun-Hao Huang
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  2. Kin Fong Lei
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Correspondence to Kin Fong Lei or Ngan-Ming Tsang.

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Huang, CH., Lei, K.F. & Tsang, NM. Dissociated effect and Chemosensitive enhancement of tumor spheroids influenced by an electric field in a microdevice. Biomed Microdevices 20, 70 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10544-018-0316-2

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