Effects of small pulsed nanocurrents on cell viability in vitro and in vivo: Implications for biomedical electrodes

Abstract

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 AbstractUsing a custom-built, implantable pulse generator, we studied the effects of small pulsed currents on the viability on rat aortic-derived cells (RAOC) in vitro. The pulsed currents (0.37 A/m 2 ) underwent apoptosis within 24 h as shown by the positive staining for cleaved caspase-3 and classically apoptotic morphology. Based on these findings, we examined the effects of nanocurrents in vivo. The pulse generator was implanted subcutaneously in the rat model. The electrode|tissue interface histology revealed no difference between the active platinum surface and the neighboring control surface, however we found a large difference between electrodes that were functional during the entire experiment and non-active electrodes. These non-active electrodes showed an increase in impedance at higher frequencies 21 days post-implantation, whereas working electrodes retained their impedance value for the entire experiment. These results indicate that applied currents can reduce the impedance of implanted electrodes.

Biological Evaluation of the Effect of Galvanic Coupling Intrabody Communication on Human Skin Fibroblast Cells

“…The cells for each experiment group were subjected to IBC signals by a pair of electrodes. The electrodes were sterilized with 75% ethanol and irradiated for 30 min with UV light before each experiment [20]. To ensure the consistency of the initial cells number, the subcultured cells were collected and divided into experimental group and the control group averagely.…”