Ultrawideband Radio Frequency (RF) Enhanced Electroporation for Chemotherapy

摘要

Experimental results are presented for a research program in which high voltage, short-pulsed, ultrawideband electric fields have been demonstrated to enhance the effects of chemotherapy upon killing of Jurkat (cancer) cells. Electric fields of about 100kV/cm have been shown to enhance the killing of Jurkat cells by up to a factor of 1,000 over a low dose of the drug bleomycin. Enhancement of chemotherapy was also found at lower electric fields of 50 kV/cm and higher electric fields up to 200 kV/cm. The cellular mechanism by which the electric fields enhance cell death occurs appears to be independent of caspase activation and hence does not involve classical apoptosis. Rather, the lack of caspase involvement in the UWB mediated cell killing is consistent with 'pseuodapoptosis' observed previously with high concentrations of bleomycin. Earlier experiments explored the effects of narrowband RF on conventional electroporation. Addition of radio frequency modulation to a standard electroporation pulse (without drugs) was found to increase the overall yield of live, electroporated cells by improving the survivability.