Abstract
Pulsed electric fields are extensively utilized in clinical treatments, such as subthalamic deep brain stimulation, where electric field loading is in direct contact with brain tissue. However, the alterations in brain tissue’s mechanical properties and microstructure due to changes in electric field parameters have not received adequate attention. In this study, the mechanical properties and microstructure of the brain tissue under pulsed electric fields were focused on. Herein, a custom indentation device was equipped with a module for electric field loading. Parameters such as pulse amplitude and frequency were adjusted. The results demonstrated that following an indentation process lasting 5 s and reaching a depth of 1000 μm, and a relaxation process of 175 s, the average shear modulus of brain tissue was reduced, and viscosity decreased. At the same amplitude, high-frequency pulsed electric fields had a smaller effect on brain tissue than low-frequency ones. Furthermore, pulsed electric fields induced cell polarization and reduced the proteoglycan concentration in brain tissue. As pulse frequency increased, cell polarization diminished, and proteoglycan concentration decreased significantly. High-frequency pulsed electric fields applied to brain tissue were found to reduce impedance fluctuation amplitude. This study revealed the effect of pulsed electric fields on the mechanical properties and microstructure of ex vivo brain tissue, providing essential information to promote the advancement of brain tissue electrotherapy in clinical settings.
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Data availability
Data and materials used in this study are not publicly available due to ongoing research using the same materials, but they are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Funding
This study was funded by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (51925504), the Foundation for Innovative Research Groups of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52021003), the Instrument Combining Micro/nano-Indentation with Confocal Raman for Synchronous and Cooperative Test (52227810), and the Natural Science Foundation of Jilin Province (20200201231JC).
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YL, QZ, CZ, and HZ designed research; YL, JZ, and XZ performed research; YL and CZ contributed analytic tools; YL, ZW, CZ, and HZ wrote the paper.
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Li, Y., Zhang, Q., Zhao, J. et al. Mechanical behavior and microstructure of porcine brain tissues under pulsed electric fields. Biomech Model Mechanobiol 23, 241–254 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10237-023-01771-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10237-023-01771-w