Electroporation is a phenomenon resulting from the application of an electric field across cell membranes, where in structural defects, commonly referred to as nanopores, are formed in response to an elevated transmembrane potential. The external electric field is conventionally unipolar, and its parameters can be regulated to create reversible defects, which enhance the permeability of the plasma membrane to molecules without compromising viability, or irreversible defects that ultimately lead to cell death. Currently, both modalities are being implemented as a therapeutic means to combat cancer. In applications of reversible electroporation, favorable clinical results have been obtained when low dosages of chemotherapeutic agents or plasmid DNA are used in combination with pulsed electric fields (PEFs). Alternatively, irreversible electroporation (IRE), performed with a comparatively higher field strength, duration, or pulse number, has been recognized as a non-thermal tissue ablation modality capable of treating clinical tumors without adjuvant molecules. Electroporation-based therapies (EBTs) are gaining interest as viable alternatives to surgical resection, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and thermal ablation techniques such as radiofrequency ablation, cryoablation or high-intensity focused ultrasound. As opposed to highly-toxic chemotherapy and radiation therapy regimes, all EBTs are well-tolerated by patients due to a lack of post-procedural complications. Because the mechanism of cell death does not rely on thermal processes, outcomes are not subject to heat sink effects from blood perfusion, which can protect tumors from thermal therapies. Additionally, the treatment volume is predictable based on the electric field distribution in the tissue. Specific to IRE, there is a distinct demarcation between ablated and non-ablated tissue that is visible in real-time on multiple imaging platforms. Within the IRE ablation zone, it has been shown that extracellular matrix components are spared when parameters are chosen to avoid thermal damage. This permits treatment of surgically inoperable tumors in close proximity to major blood vessels and nerves and the rapid repopulation of healthy cells post-IRE.

Journal of Membrane Sciences and Technology is a world-wide peer-reviewed open-access journal which systematically documents several of key developments and filtration  taking place in the field of Membrane Technology all across the world.

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