Joint ViSE and BME Seminar: Technological Developments for the Identification and Treatment of Cancer Using Electric Fields, SC 5326, Thursday January 22th, 12:15. Refreshments provided.
Title: Technological Developments for the Identification and Treatment of Cancer Using Electric Fields
Speaker: Michael Sano, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Stanford University, Department of Radiation Physics
Day: Thursday, January 22nd, 2015
Time: 12:15-1:10 pm
Place: Stevenson Center 5326
Abstract: The exposure of biological systems to electric fields results in a number of phenomena which are useful in biomedical applications. In particular, the propensity for cells to become polarized in response to an external field can be exploited to manipulate cells in ways which are unachievable using mechanical or chemical means. Non-uniform electric fields induce an independent translational force, dielectrophoresis, which is caused by differences in polarization between the cell and the suspending media. DEP is a unique force in which the direction and magnitude can readily be changed by adjusting the frequency domain parameters of the applied field. Through studying the DEP response of cells over a wide frequency spectrum, we can determine the electrical properties of the cell membrane, cytoplasm, and nucleus. We have found that these properties change as cells progress from benign to metastatic and that these differences can be used to develop microsystems for early cancer detection and may be useful in the development of targeted cancer therapies.
Transport of charged molecules across the cell membrane results in a transmembrane potential when cells are in their native state. When cells are polarized as result of exposure to an external field, this potential increases and a significant quantity of energy is dissipated across the cell membrane. At a critical threshold, hydrophobic nanoscale pores begin to form in the cell membrane. This transient electroporation phenomena has traditionally been used to increase the transport of large molecules or DNA into cells. Under extreme conditions, cells are unable to recover from the pore formation process, resulting in cell death. Integrated nanosecond pulse irreversible electroporation (INSPIRE) is a new cancer therapy which uses bursts of high intensity electric fields to destroy solid tumors using this pore formation phenomena. Dr. Sano will discuss the development of this technology platform from concept through phase I/II pre-clinical trials.