Combining Electrolysis and Electroporation for Tissue Ablation

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Abstract

Electrolysis and electroporation technologies have been utilized to provide several valuable nonthermal tissue ablation modalities. The synergistic combination of electroporation and electrolysis (SEE) has produced a new method of tissue ablation that has distinct advantages over electrolysis or electroporation alone. Electrolysis uses a low-magnitude direct electric current to create chemical species at the electrode-tissue interface which then diffuse through the tissue, resulting in extreme pH changes and cell death. Electroporation, on the other hand, is used to create permeabilizations in the cell membrane that can be used to induce cell death by several different mechanisms: through electrochemotherapy, cytotoxic drugs are introduced to the cell interior, and irreversible electroporation results in cell death by loss of cell homeostasis. When electrolysis is combined with electroporation, a new mode of tissue ablation is achieved that results in a very effective method of cell death. This mechanism of action is likely due to the ability of the electrolytic products to penetrate the cell membrane through the permeabilizations created by electroporation. Here, fundamental principles of electrolysis and electroporation are presented, the mechanism of ablation by SEE is discussed, and different types of SEE protocols are examined with respect to their effect on the tissue. This chapter hopes to serve as a foundation and starting point for further research into this ablation modality as well as for the development of new types of SEE protocols that may be used to address specific clinical needs.

Keywords

Synergistic combination of electroporation and electrolysis Electroporation Reversible electroporation Irreversible electroporation Electrolytic ablation Tissue ablation 
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Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of EngineeringQuinnipiac UniversityHamdenUSA

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