Electroporation for Medical Use in Drug and Gene Electrotransfer

Using electric pulses to manipulate cell membranes started in a community of physicists, actually with contributions from three different continents. The idea that dielectric breakdown of membranes could be used in medicine gained new life with the groundbreaking paper of Neumann et al. in 1982 [1], showing that DNA could be transferred to eukaryotic cells in a custom-built electroporation chamber. Eventually other researchers started to work with a short-circuited gel electrophoresis system in order to obtain electrical discharge which could be used. 

As is known to molecular biologists, DNA electrotransfer to bacteria is a standard method, and a small pulse generator is everyday equipment in most laboratories. However, whereas the molecular biologist would not hesitate to let billions of bacteria succumb to side effects of high-field electroporation, this view is of course not shared by those working with mammalian cells-and doctors working in the clinic would have safety as the major priority [2]. 

In order to work with mammalian cells, pulse parameters need to be much better controlled, and this is efficiently done with a square wave electroporator [3]. Here, the pulse amplitude and duration may be individually controlled, allowing a much better adaptability to the target cells or tissues as well as to the molecule that is to be transferred. Another important stage of the development has been the availabihty of square wave pulse generators designed and approved for chnical use. 

Alongside this technological development, important studies have been performed, enabling a much more detailed understanding of how cells and tissues respond to electric fields [4-6], and how the technologies may most optimally be used to transfer molecules or ablate tumor tissue [7-10]. This chapter is devoted to the medical applications of electroporation-based technologies, including how we may understand their scientific basis and exploitation. 

Advances in Electrochemical Science and Engineering. Edited by Richard C. Alkire, Dieter M. Kolb, and (acek Lipkowski 

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