INQUIMAE   12526
INSTITUTO DE QUIMICA, FISICA DE LOS MATERIALES, MEDIOAMBIENTE Y ENERGIA
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Ion transport in tumors under electrochemical treatment: In vivo, in vitro and in silico modeling
Autor/es:
L. COLOMBO; G. GONZÁLEZ; G. MARSHALL; F.V.MOLINA; A. SOBA; C. SUAREZ; P. TURJANSKI
Revista:
BIOELECTROCHEMISTRY AND BIOENERGETICS
Editorial:
Elsevier
Referencias:
Año: 2007 vol. 71 p. 223 - 232
ISSN:
0302-4598
Resumen:
The electrochemical treatment of cancer (EChT) consists in the passage of a direct electric current through two or more electrodes inserted locally in the tumor tissue. The extreme pH changes induced have been proposed as the main tumor destruction mechanism. Here, we study ion transport during EChT through a combined modeling methodology: in vivo modeling with BALB/c mice bearing a subcutaneous tumor, in vitro modeling with agar and collagen gels, and in silico modeling using the one-dimensional Nernst–Planck and Poisson equations for ion transport in a four-ion electrolyte. This combined modeling approach reveals that, under EChT modeling, an initial condition with almost neutral pH evolves between electrodes into extreme cathodic alkaline and anodic acidic fronts moving towards each other, leaving the possible existence of a biological pH region between them; towards the periphery, the pH decays to its neutral values. pH front tracking unveils a time scaling close to t1/2, signature of a diffusion-controlled process. These results could have significant implications in EChT optimal operative conditions and dose planning, in particular, in the way in which the evolving EChT pH region covers the active cancer cells spherical casket.