Airton Ramos

Theoretical and Experimental Analysis of Electroporated Membrane Conductance in Cell Suspension

An intense electric field can be applied to increase the membrane conductance G and consequently, the conductivity of cell suspension. This phenomenon is called electroporation. This mechanism is used in a wide range of medical applications, genetic engineering, and therapies. Conductivity measurements of cell suspensions were carried out during application of electric fields from 40 to 165 kV/m. Experimental results were analyzed with two electroporation models: the asymptotic electroporation model was used to estimate Gm at the beginning and at the end of electric field pulse, and the extended Kinosita electroporation model to increase Gm linearly in time. The maximum G was 1-7 × 104 S/m2, and the critical angle (when the Gm is insignificant) was 50°-65°. In addition, the sensitivity of electroporated membrane conductance to extracellular and cytoplasmatic conductivity and cell radius has been studied. This study showed that external conductivity and cell radius are important parameters affecting the pore-opening phenomenon. However, if the cell radius is larger than 7 μm in low conductivity medium, the cell dimensions are not so important.

Improved numerical approach for electrical modeling of biological cell clusters

This article presents an efficient numerical approach to simulate the process of polarization and ion conduction in membranes of biological cells subjected to intense electric fields. The proposed method uses Coulomb’s law to calculate the electric field on the surface of the cell membrane and the continuity equation for calculating the difference in electric potential between the faces of the membrane. The behavior of the membrane conductance is described by a model of electroporation proposed in literature. This method provides results that agree well with the analytical model of polarization of an isolated cell suspended in electrolytic solution and also provides results for the conductance of the membrane during electroporation of cells in concentrated suspensions that agree with experimental results already published.

Numerical sensitivity modeling for the detection of skin tumors by using tetrapolar probe.

The measurement of electrical impedance of skin using surface electrodes permits the assessment of changes in local properties of the skin and can be used in the detection of tumors. The sensitivity of this technique depends mainly on the geometry of the probe and the size of the tumor. In this article, the impedance method was used to estimate the sensitivity of a tetrapolar probe in detecting small regions of increased conductivity in a stratified model of human skin. The impedance method was used to model the potential distribution using fasorial analysis to solve the node equations of the equivalent circuit. Interpolation was applied to reduce discretization error. The skin was modeled as a three-layer structure with different conductivity and permittivity obtained from the literature. A tumor was modeled as a small volume with admittivity four times higher than the normal tissue. Sensitivity calculation was made as a function of electrode diameter and separation, tumor size, and excitation frequency. The simulations indicated that by inserting a one square millimeter tumor in the epidermis, the load impedance to the current source varies about 1% while the transfer impedance varied 8%. The sensitivity also increases nonlinearly with increasing tumor area and thickness. Additionally, it was found that the sensitivity of the transfer impedance has a maximum value when the electrodes are separated by 1.8 mm. The results show that transfer impedance measurements of the skin may detect small skin tumors with a reasonable sensitivity by using an appropriate tetrapolar probe.

Analysis and Imaging in Magnetic Induction Tomography using the Impedance Method

This article discusses the utilization of the impedance method in computation of the forward problem in magnetic induction tomography (MIT). The algorithms for the inverse problem were also developed. The new approach for solving the resulting ill-conditioned linear system of the inverse problem is proposed and the quality of images obtained is discussed based on a quality index proposed in the literature. The results show the prevalence of TAS in relation to linear correlation between the real image and obtained image. With respect to contrast TRT prevalece in relation TAS. The indices of average luminance presents similarity for the both methods. TAS prevails for smaller objects and TRT for larger objects, showing the greater robustness of TAS.

Modeling environment for numerical simulation of applied electric fields on biological cells.

The application of electric pulses in cells increases membrane permeability. This phenomenon is called electroporation. Current electroporation models do not explain all experimental findings: part of this problem is due to the limitations of numerical methods. The Equivalent Circuit Method (ECM) was developed in an attempt to solve electromagnetic problems in inhomogeneous and anisotropic media. ECM is based on modeling of the electrical transport properties of the medium by lumped circuit elements as capacitance, conductance, and current sources, representing the displacement, drift, and diffusion current, respectively. The purpose of the present study was to implement a 2-D cell Model Development Environment (MDE) of ionic transport process, local anisotropy around cell membranes, biological interfaces, and the dispersive behaviour of tissues. We present simulations of a single cell, skeletal muscle, and polygonal cell arrangement. Simulation of polygonal form indicates that the potential distribution depends on the geometrical form of cell. The results demonstrate the importance of the potential distributions in biological cells to provide strong evidences for the understanding of electroporation.

The Dynamic of Electroporation in Dilute Cell Suspension: A Numerical and Experimental Study

The electroporation is utilized in the gene therapy, DNA vaccination protocols, cancer treatment and introduce substances into cells. Nowadays, the experimental results are not completely understood and explained by a theory or mathematical model. This work proposed the compatibility between experimental and numerical results. The assymptotic model presented error less than 1%. The simulation provides information about the alteration of transmembrane potential and membrane conductance during electroporation pulse. The simulation of rest potential effect does not cause the electroporation asymmetry described experimentally.