Contact Irreversible Electroporation of Cells and Tissues under the Control of the Electric Field and Temperature

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26249021
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Thermal engineering
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Takamatsu Hiroshi 九州大学, 工学研究院, 教授 (20179550)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 藏田 耕作 九州大学, 工学研究院, 准教授 (00368870) ; Wang Haidong 九州大学, 工学研究院, 助教 (30729405) ; 福永 鷹信 九州大学, 工学研究院, 技術職員 (60591196)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): SUMIMOTO Hideki 九州大学, 大学院医学研究院, 教授 (30179303) ; OYA Yusuke 琉球大学, 大学院医学研究科, 教授 (30240964)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 不可逆エレクトロポレーション / 低侵襲治療 / 温度計測 / デバイス開発

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aimed to develop contact irreversible electroporation for treatment of superficial tumors by using electric pulses at extremely reduced voltages. We first developed a method to measure the temperature rise associated with considerably short electric pulses. We also showed that transient temperature rise during electroporation could be estimated by numerical analysis. Protein denaturation due to the excess electric pulses was detectable by using Raman spectroscopic measurement. We then fabricated comb-shaped miniature contact electrodes with the size and geometry optimized by numerical analysis. The electroporation with the electrode successfully necrotized the cells at the surface of a tissue phantom. Furthermore, the depth of the necrotized tissue was controllable by selecting the pulse parameters. We also confirmed that the use of adjuvants could reduce the magnitude of the electric field required for the treatment by up to 30%.

Free Research Field

熱工学