Electrochemotherapy Using Doxorubicin and Nanosecond Electric Field Pulses: A Pilot in Vivo Study

Molecules. 2020 Oct 9;25(20):4601. doi: 10.3390/molecules25204601.

Abstract

Pulsed electric field (PEF) is frequently used for intertumoral drug delivery resulting in a well-known anticancer treatment-electrochemotherapy. However, electrochemotherapy is associated with microsecond range of electrical pulses, while nanosecond range electrochemotherapy is almost non-existent. In this work, we analyzed the feasibility of nanosecond range pulse bursts for successful doxorubicin-based electrochemotherapy in vivo. The conventional microsecond (1.4 kV/cm × 100 µs × 8) procedure was compared to the nanosecond (3.5 kV/cm × 800 ns × 250) non-thermal PEF-based treatment. As a model, Sp2/0 tumors were developed. Additionally, basic current and voltage measurements were performed to detect the characteristic conductivity-dependent patterns and to serve as an indicator of successful tumor permeabilization both in the nano and microsecond pulse range. It was shown that nano-electrochemotherapy can be the logical evolution of the currently established European Standard Operating Procedures for Electrochemotherapy (ESOPE) protocols, offering better energy control and equivalent treatment efficacy.

Keywords: drugs; electrochemotherapy; electroporation; tumors.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Doxorubicin / chemistry*
  • Electrochemotherapy / methods*
  • Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field
  • Electroporation / methods
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C

Substances

  • Doxorubicin