No description available.

<p>Electroporation is a biological cell's natural reaction to strong electric fields, where transient pores are created in the cell membrane. While electroporation holds promise of being a safe and effective tool for enhancing molecular delivery in numerous medical applications, it remains largely confined to preclinical research and clinical trials due to an incomplete understanding of the exact mechanisms involved. Muscle fibers are an important delivery target, but traditional theoretical studies of electroporation ignore the individual fiber geometry, making it impossible to study the unique transverse and longitudinal effects from the pulse stimulus. In these long, thin muscle fibers, the total reaction of the fiber to the electric field is due to fundamentally different effects from the constituent longitudinal and transverse components of the electric field generated by the pulse stimulus. While effects from the transverse component have been studied to some degree, the effects from the longitudinal component have not been considered. </p><p>This study develops a model of electroporation and delivery of small molecules in muscle tissue that includes effects from both the transverse and longitudinal components of the electric field. First, an asymptotic model of electric potential in an individual muscle fiber is derived that separates the full 3D boundary value problem into transverse and a longitudinal problems. The transverse and longitudinal problems each have their own respective source functions: the new "transverse activating function" and the well known longitudinal activating function (AF). This separation enhances analysis of the different effects from these two AFs and drastically reduces computational intensity. Electroporation is added to the asymptotic fiber model, and simplified two-compartment mass transport equations are derived from the full 3D conservation of mass equations to allow simulation of molecular uptake due to diffusion and the electric field. Special emphasis is placed on choosing model geometry, electrical, and pulsing parameters that are in accordance with experiments that study electroporation-mediated delivery of small molecules in the skeletal muscle of small mammals.</p><p>Simulations reveal that for fibers close to the electrodes the transverse AF dominates, but for fibers far from the electrodes the longitudinal AF enhances uptake by as much as 2000%. However, on the macroscopic tissue level, the increase in uptake from the longitudinal AF is no more than 10%, given that fibers far from the electrodes contribute so little to the total uptake in the tissue. The mechanism underlying the smaller effect from the longitudinal AF is found to be unique to the process of electroporation itself. Electroporation occurs on the short time scale of polarization via the transverse AF, drastically increases membrane conductance, and effectively precludes further creation of pores from charging of the membrane via the longitudinal AF. The exact value of enhancement in uptake from the longitudinal AF is shown to depend on pulsing, membrane, and tissue parameters. Finally, simulation results reproduce qualitative, and in some cases quantitative, behavior of uptake observed in experiments.</p><p>Overall, percent increase in total tissue uptake from the longitudinal AF is on the order of experimental variability, and this study corroborates previous theoretical models that neglect the effects from the longitudinal AF. However, previous models neglect the longitudinal AF without explanation, while the asymptotic fiber model is able to detail the mechanisms involved. Mechanisms revealed by the model offer insight into interpreting experimental results and increasing efficiency of delivery protocols. The model also rigorously derives a new transverse AF based on individual fiber geometry, which affects the spatial distribution of uptake in tissue differently than predicting uptake based on the magnitude of the electric field, as used in many published models. Results of this study are strictly valid for transport of small molecules through small non-growing pores. For gene therapy applications the model must be extended to transport of large DNA molecules through large pores, which may alter the importance of the longitudinal AF. In broader terms, the asymptotic model also provides a new, computationally efficient tool that may be used in studying the effect of transverse and longitudinal components of the field for other types of membrane dynamics in muscle and nerves.</p> / Dissertation

No description available.

Research using microalgae Chlorella vulgaris was conducted in order to determine the maximum CO2 concentration under which algae can grow, within the emission range from oil and natural gas burning plants (0-20%). After choosing the optimal CO2 percentage, pH and alkalinity were determined; and finally, an electrochemical (EC) batch reactor connected to DC current was applied to achieve algae cell annihilation, and therefore, facilitate anaerobic digestion, methane production and energy recovery. It was determined that algae can grow under 20% CO2, being 15% CO2 the most effective (pH of 6.64 and alkalinity of 617.5 mg/L CaCO3). Electroporation using an electrochemical batch reactor is effective in breaking cells membranes, which simplifies anaerobic digestion process and methane production. The parameters found effective for completely breaking the algae cell are: detention time of 1 more or less 0.5 minutes, and minimum voltage and current of 65 Volts/285 ml and 3.9 Amps/285 ml, respectively

This dissertation describes a study utilizing bioinformatics to analyze homologues of a molecular chaperone, glucose-regulated protein 78 (grp 78), also known as BiP. The selected homologous proteins originate from organisms of infinitely diverse genera. Comparisons of protein sequence yielded the first clues of a common ancestry among these proteins. Furthermore, protein molecular weights, isoelectric points, N-terminal amino acids and half-lives of a known homolog and a non-homologous protein were examined. Additionally, electroporation, a state-of-the-art plasmid insertion technique, was explored using Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a green alga, as the recipient of a parent plasmid, pSP124S. Distinctive hypertonic solutions and three separate field strengths were used in the plasmolysis of the cell wall of C. reinhardtii and subsequent electroporation, respectively. The number of transformants was tallied to evaluate which electroporation condition would yield the most transformed colonies. We had two discrete hypotheses: 1) that a structurally and functionally similar protein to glucose-regulated protein 78 exists across a wide spectrum of organisms and 2) that Chlamydomonas reinhardtii could be successfully transformed with pSP124S under certain electroporation conditions. The bioinformatics investigation revealed that analogous proteins to Human GRP 78 existed in Mus musculus (mouse), Rattus norvegicus (rat), Gallus domesticus (chicken), Gallus domesticus (chicken), Mesocricetus auratus (golden hamster), Bos taurus (cow), Xenopus laevis (frog), and Spinacia oleracea (spinach). Moreover, these homologous proteins more likely have a common evolutionary origin.

ABSTRACT 1: Abrasive treatment and subsequent electroporation of the basidiomycete Pleurotus ostreatus in a hypertonic buffer was investigated as a potential method of transforming of intact hyphæ. Mycelia, which are not capable of being transformed via electroporation due to interference by the cell wall, were abraded in an attempt to mechanically degrade the cell wall prior to electroporation. An electroporation field strength of 12,500 V/cm for 500 μs to 1.25 ms was found to be optimal based upon mortality effects. A 32 μm carborundum abrasive was initially evaluated but was quickly found to be inappropriately large so a corundum abrasive with an average size of 300 nm was focused on. Vortexing as well as low and medium power ultrasonic agitation with the corundum abrasive were investigated for their potential to cause mechanical degradation of the cell walls. Vortexing and low power sonication were found to be ineffective at causing adequate degradation while medium power sonication was found to be both ineffective and super lethal. While the possibility of mechanical abrasion facilitating transformation via electroporation remains, it is unlikely that conventional methods of agitation will be effective. ABSTRACT 2: The dose response of the basidiomycetes Pleurotus ostreatus, Agrocybe aegerita and Cordyceps millitaris to the antibiotic hygromycin B was tested on two common and one in-house solid growth media. The three species were grown on Potato dextrose agar, malt extract agar and an agar containing maltose, yeast-extract, peptone and glucose with concentrations of hygromycin B from zero to 100 μg/ml for 11 to 14 days. Micrometer measurements were used to determine the growth rate of each species on each media. Significant differences in hygromycin B tolerance for each species between the three media types were evident (p-value < .0001 by ANOVA for all). Neither the media type nor the growth rate on hygromycin B free plates were useful predictors of effective hygromycin B doses so optimization should be performed on every strain and media type used for selection.

Introdução: as verrugas ungueais são consideradas o tumor benigno que mais acomete o complexo ungueal, sendo causadas pelo papiloma vírus humano. A maioria das alternativas terapêuticas é considerada ineficaz, com altas taxas de recidiva, além do potencial risco de distrofia ungueal. A bleomicina é a opção de tratamento que apresenta bom perfil de segurança e altas taxas de cura. A eletroquimioterapia é uma técnica que combina a eletroporação com a prévia administração de uma droga citotóxica de baixa permeabilidade, aumentando assim a penetração da droga no interior das células, o que amplia a eficácia do tratamento. A bleomicina é o agente quimioterápico mais utilizado na eletroquimioterapia, por ser um excelente exemplo de droga citotóxica não permeável à membrana celular (hidrofílica). Objetivos: avaliar a eficácia da eletroquimioterapia com bleomicina intralesional no tratamento das verrugas ungueais, comparando este método, com o uso isolado da bleomicina intralesional, além de descrever os efeitos adversos relacionados com o emprego das duas técnicas. Metodologia: Ensaio clínico randomizado duplo-cego e controlado. Incluíramse 44 pacientes de ambos gêneros, com idade variando entre 18 e 60 anos, e diagnóstico clínico e histológico de verruga ungueal de quirodáctilos. O estudo foi submetido e aceito pelo comitê de ética, e todos os pacientes assinaram o Termo de Consentimento Livre e Esclarecido. Vinte e dois pacientes foram tratados apenas com bleomicina intralesional e 21 com eletroquimioterapia associada à bleomicina intralesional. Após uma única aplicação, os pacientes foram acompanhados por 180 dias. A comparação da cura entre os grupos foi avaliada pelo teste exato de Fisher para tabelas 2 x 2. O software utilizado foi o XLSTAT 2018. Resultados: dos 44 pacientes que participaram da pesquisa, um paciente do grupo da bleomicina intralesional isolada deixou o estudo antes da realização da técnica. A maioria das lesões se localizava na região periungueal (77,3%), enquanto que, os 22,7% das lesões restantes se localizaram na região subungueal. A média de idade dos pacientes foi de 37 anos para o grupo da eletroquimioterapia associada à bleomicina, e de 36 anos para o grupo da bleomicina. A maioria dos pacientes foi do gênero feminino (68%). Dos 22 pacientes finalizados para o grupo da bleomicina 11 (50,0%) apresentaram cura, enquanto que, dos 21 pacientes finalizados do grupo da eletroquimioterapia associada à bleomicina, 18 pacientes (85,7%) apresentaram cura. Foi observada associação significativa entre os pacientes com ou sem cura e os tratamentos do grupo bleomicina e do grupo eletroquimioterapia associada à bleomicina (teste exato de Fisher; p = 0,022). Nenhum dos pacientes, tanto do grupo da bleomicina, quanto do grupo da eletroquimioterapia associada à bleomicina, apresentou efeitos colaterais sistêmicos. Notou-se que os efeitos colaterais como a necrose hemorrágica e dor moderada ocorreram em maior proporção para os participantes do grupo da eletroquimioterapia associada à bleomicina, com quase 70% do total de 21 pacientes observados. Independentemente da técnica empregada, todos os participantes consideraram os efeitos adversos toleráveis. Conclusão: o uso intralesional da bleomicina associada à eletroporação (eletroquimioterapia), no tratamento das verrugas ungueais (periungueais e subungueais), apresentou cura estatisticamente superior quando comparada ao uso isolado da bleomicina intralesional. Os efeitos colaterais foram mais frequentes no grupo da eletroquimioterapia associada à bleomicina, em relação ao grupo de monoterapia com a bleomicina / Introduction: ungual warts are considered a benign tumor most commonly affecting the nail complex and caused by the human papillomavirus. Most therapeutic options are considered ineffective, with high relapse rates and a potential risk of ungual dystrophy. Bleomycin is a therapeutic option showing good safety profile, and high cure rates. Electrochemotherapy is a technique combining electroporation with the previous injection of a low permeability cytotoxic drug, which increases drug penetration into the cells, and therefore,enhances treatment efficacy. Bleomycin is the most commonly used chemotherapeutic agent in electrochemotherapy because it is an excellent example of cell-membrane non-permeable cytotoxic drug (hydrophilic). Objectives: evaluate the efficacy of electrochemotherapy plus intralesional bleomycin in the treatment of ungual warts in comparison with intralesional bleomycin alone, as well as describe the adverse effects of both techniques. Methodology: the research was a randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial. Forty-four 18-60-year-old female and male patients clinically and histologically diagnosed with ungual wart on fingers were included. The study was submitted to and accepted by the Ethics Committee, and all patients signed the Informed Consent Form. Twenty-two patients were treated with intralesional bleomycin alone and 21 with electrochemotherapy associated with intralesional bleomycin. After a single application, patients were followed for 180 days. Cure rate between groups was evaluated by using the Fisher\'s exact test for tables 2 x 2. The software used was XLSTAT 2018. Results: of the 44 included patients, 22 were randomized to the bleomycin group and 21 to the electrochemotherapy plus bleomycin group. One patient of the bleomycin group did not complete the study. Most lesions were located in the periungual region (77.3%), while the remaining 22.7% of lesions were located in the subungual region. Patient\'s mean age was 37 years for the electrochemotherapy plus bleomycin group and 36 years for the bleomycin group. Most patients were females (68%). Of 22 patients in the bleomycin group completing the study, 11 (50%) achieved the cure, while 18 (85.7%) of 21 patients completing the study in the electrochemotherapy plus bleomycin group showed cure. A significant association of patients with or without cure with the treatments received in the bleomycin group and the electrochemotherapy plus bleomycin group (Fisher\'s exact test; p = 0.022). None of the patients in either group had systemic side effects. Local side effects such as hemorrhagic necrosis and moderate pain were observed to occur in a higher proportion for electrochemotherapy plus bleomycin group, with almost 70% of total (21) patients. Regardless the technique used, all participants considered the adverse effects tolerable. Conclusion: the intralesional use of bleomycin associated with electroporation (electrochemotherapy) for the treatment of ungual warts (both periungual and subungual) showed high cure rate when compared with intralesional bleomycin alone. Side effects were more frequently seen in the electrochemotherapy plus bleomycin group than in the bleomycin monotherapy group

La manipulation des membranes des cellules en suspension ou dans des tissus au moyen d’impulsions électriques constitue un sujet de recherche majeur au cœur du bio-électromagnétisme. A ce jour les impulsions de quelques microsecondes voire millisecondes ont été principalement étudiées. Elles n’affectent que la membrane plasmique des cellules. Les impulsions nanosecondes de fort niveau de champ (de l’ordre de quelques MV/m) ouvrent la voie vers la manipulation des organelles intra-cellulaires. En outre, elles constituent un nouvel outil pour l’étude des mécanismes de la perméabilisation. Les travaux de cette thèse ont été principalement consacrés aux effets des impulsions de 10 ns sur la membrane plasmique. Des protocoles expérimentaux permettant d’appliquer de façon reproductible et contrôlée les impulsions sur des objets vivants ont été définis. Des moyens de mesure (D-dot et B-dot) adaptés aux hautes tensions et hautes fréquences ont été développés et mis en œuvre, permettant un contrôle en temps réel des impulsions délivrées.Différentes approches ont permis de mettre en évidence la perméabilisation des cellules par des impulsions de 10 ns. Ces techniques regroupent notamment le suivi de bio-impédance dans les tissus et l’internalisation de molécules cytotoxiques non perméantes dans des cellules en suspension et in vivo sur des tumeurs. Les expériences conduites ont permis de mettre en évidence la plus grande efficacité des basses fréquences de répétition dans la perméabilisation d’un tissu végétal (la pomme de terre). De plus l’influence de la conductivité du milieu extracellulaire sur le niveau de perméabilisation a été investiguée. Ces expériences ont permis de mettre en évidence l’importance de la dynamique d’établissement et de relaxation de la différence de potentiel transmembranaire dans l’efficacité de la perméabilisation.Enfin un microscope CARS (Coherent Anti-stokes Raman Scattering) plein-champ a été développé. Sa conception a été pensée en vue de l’étude des effets des impulsions ultra-courtes sur le vivant à l’échelle moléculaire. A ce jour il permet d’obtenir des images de cellules en CARS en 3 ns. / New devices for the controlled application of nanosecond electrical pulses and the detection of their effects on cells. New findings and hypotheses on the parameters controlling the electropermeabilization of biological cells.Abstract:Manipulation of the membranes of cells in suspension or in tissues with electrical pulses is a major research topic in bio-electromagnetism. Until recently the effects of pulses of a few microseconds or milliseconds have mainly been studied. Such pulses only affect the cell plasma membrane. Pulses of a few nanoseconds with high field strength (of the order of a few MV /m) might lead to intracellular organelles manipulation. In addition, they represent a new tool to study the mechanisms of permeabilization.This thesis was mainly devoted to the effects of pulses of 10 ns on the plasma membrane. Experimental protocols to apply controlled and reproducible pulses on living objects have been defined. Measurement means (D-dot and B-dot) adapted to high voltages and high frequencies have been developed and implemented thus allowing for accurate and real-time monitoring of the pulses applied on the biological samples.Different approaches have been used to highlight the permeabilization of biological cells by pulses of 10 ns. The techniques used include the monitoring of bio-impedance in tissues and the internalization of non-permeant cytotoxic molecules in cells in suspension and in vivo in tumors. The conducted experiments allowed to demonstrate the high efficiency of low repetition rates in permeabilizing potato tissue. The influence of the conductivity of the extracellular medium on the efficiency of the permeabilization was also investigated. These experiments highlighted the important role played by the dynamic of the establishment and relaxation of the transmembrane potential difference.Finally a wide-field CARS microscope (Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering) was developed. It has been designed to study the effects of ultra-short pulses on biological cells at the molecular level. It already enables to obtain images of cells in 3 ns.

L'électrochimiothérapie est un traitement anticancéreux utilisé en routine en Europe dans près de 130 centres de traitement du cancer. Le taux de réponse objective atteint 85 % pour le traitment de tumeurs cutanées et sous-cutanées et des études sont en cours afin d'appliquer ce traitement à des tumeurs profondes. Au cours de ce doctorat, les méchanismes sous-jacents à cette excellente efficacité antitumorale ont été étudiés. Dans un premier temps, l'objectif a été d'évaluer la capacité de l'électrochimiothérapie à induire la mort des cellules souches cancéreuses, considérées comme les racines du cancer. Ensuite, les mécanismes immunologiques à l'origine du développement d'une immunité antitumorale mise en place par le traitement ont été investigués. Cependant, malgré le haut taux de réponse observé, l'électrochimiothérapie reste un traitement local qui n'induit pas de réponse antitumorale à distance, sur les tumeurs non-traitées. Afin de pallier à cette absence d'activité systémique, une collaboration a été mise en place avec une entreprise innovante de biotechnologies, INVECTYS, dans le but de développer une stratégie de vaccination à ADN ciblant la télomérase et basée sur l'électrogènetransfert. Il est attendu que la combinaison de cette immunothérapie avec un traitement local par électrochimiothérapie, détruise non seulement la tumeur primaire, dont les cellules souches cancéreuses, mais également les cellules cancéreuses circulantes et les métastases. / Electrochemotherapy is an anticancer treatment used in routine in Europe in 130 cancer treatment centers. The objective response rate reaches 85 % for the treatment of cutaneous and subcutaneous tumors and studies are ongoing to spread the use of electrochemotherapy to deep-seated tumors. In the frame of this doctorate, the mechanisms underlying this excellent antitumor efficiency were investigated. First, the goal was to evaluate the ability of electrochemotherapy to induce the death of cancer stem cells, considered as the roots of cancer. Second, the immunological mechanisms responsible for the development of antitumor immune responses following the treatment were investigated. However, although a very high response rate is observed, electrochemotherapy remains a local treatment which does not induce antitumor responses in distant non-treated nodules. In order to circumvent this lack of systemic activity, a collaborative project was initiated with an innovating biotech company, INVECTYS, in order to develop a DNA vaccination strategy targeting the telomerase and based on electrogenetransfer. It is expected that the combination of this immunotherapy with a local treatment by electrochemotherapy could destroy not only the primary tumor, including cancer stem cells, but also circulating cancer cells and metastases.

Nanopartículas luminescentes de silício poroso (NPSi) foram projetadas e preparadas por métodos de corrosão eletroquímica seguidas de ultrasonicação, em substratos de silício tipo-p, dopados com boro e com resistividades que variam de 10-20 e 1-10 ômega cm em soluções eletrolíticas compostas por ácido fluorídrico (HF) em etanol absoluto (C^2H^5OH). As condições de processamento envolvem a variação da densidade de corrente \"J\" tempo de anodização \"t\" e o controle da concentração do HF. Técnicas de microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV), espectroscopia de absorção UV-Vis, espectroscopia de fluorescência, difração de raios-X e medidas de potencial zeta e tamanho de partícula foram usados para investigar as propriedades morfológicas e ópticas do material resultante. Nanopartículas com diâmetros de até 150 nm foram obtidas após filtragem através de filtros de membrana. A oxidação química em soluções de peróxido de hidrogénio e ácido sulfúrico permitiu a obtenção de Nanoparticulas com emissão de fluorescência na região verde (532 nm), vermelho (630 e 650 nm) e infravermelho próximo (862 e 980 nm) do espectro eletromagnético. A associação de NPSi com RGDfV foi estudada por espectroscopia de ressonância magnética nuclear de próton (H-RMN). Um aumento na distribuição do tamanho e a intensidade de fluorescência foi observado após a funcionalização com RGDfV. Os efeitos citotóxicos do RGDfV e NPSi foram confirmados por ensaios de viabilidade celular pelo método MTT usando células de melanoma murino B16-F10 como modelo biológico. Estudos iniciais de internalização de PcCIAI por eletroporação foram realizados para futuros estudos de transfecção de moléculas de interferência (siRNA). / Luminescent porous silicon nanoparticles (NPSi) were synthesized by electrochemical etching followed by ultra-sonication of 1-10 and 10-20 ohm.cm resistive p-type silicon wafers in electrolytic solutions composed by hydrofluoric acid (HF) in absolute ethanol (C2H5OH), by changing current density (J), etching time (t) and HF concentration. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction, dynamic ligth scattering (DLS), zetasize measurement, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy were used to investigate the morphological and optical properties of the resulting material. Nanoparticles with diameter up to 150 nm were obtained after filtered through filtration membrane. The chemical oxidation in oxidizing solutions composed by hydrogen peroxide in sulfuric acid allowed the isolation of nanoparticles with fluorescence properties as expected, with emission in green (532 nm), red (630 and 650 nm) and near infrared (862 and 980 nm) region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The association of NPSi with RGDfV was studied by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-NMR). The increase on size distribution and fluorescence intensity was observed after functionalization with RGDfV. The citotoxicity effects of RGDfV and NPSi was confirmed by MTT assays using B16-F10 melanoma murine cells, as a biological model. Initial studies of internalization PcClAl by electroporation were performed for future studies of transfection of interfering molecules (siRNA).