Abstract

Electroporation induced membrane permeability changes at the ionic level

Author(s): Sadasivam Pachamuthu, Zubin A Zaheer, Bhuvaneshwari Sampath, Dharani Muralidharan, Rajaprabu Ramachandran and Kavitha Sankaranarayanan

Background/Aim: Electrochemotherapy is an innovative method for the localized treatment of cutaneous and subcutaneous metastatic cancers. The aim of the study is to assess the changes at the plasma membrane and its recovery time by monitoring the regulated passage of ions through specific ion channels as measured by electrophysiology.

Materials and Methods: Electroporation and patch clamp techniques were used to study the effects of electric pulses on the cell membrane.

Results and Discussion: While there is an exclusion of large macromolecules like Trypan Blue in just 10 minutes after electroporation, the cell membrane however still permits non-specific passage of ions across the membrane upto and even after 30 minutes after electroporation.

Conclusion: Cell death in reversible electroporation could be due to signaling events which act within and upto 24 hours after the pulse is delivered and not due to cell death instantaneously

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