Novel system of two perpendicular coils to generate magnetic fields of extremely low frequencies for in vitro application to tumor cells

M. F. GUERRA; L. MAKINISTIAN; S. DI GENARO; J.ELIÇABE

Merlo, San Luis

Congreso; XXXV Reunión Anual de la Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo; 2017

Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo

The possibility of using extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MFs) as therapeutic agents for cancer has received increasing attention during the last years.The general approach for in vitro studies is to expose cancer cells to different ELF-MFs configurations (intensity, frequency, waveforms, etc.), to found the best condition that reduces cell viability compared to untreated cells used as controls. It is usual in the literature to test only one configuration per experiment. We present here, for the first time, the use of a novel system of coils that screens 96 different field conditions in a single experiment. The coils generate inhomogeneous fields that span throughout a 96-well plate exposing each well to a different field configuration. In the present study, we aimed to measure the spatial distribution of these inhomogeneous fields, and to test their in vitro anti-tumoral effect on the B16 melanoma cell line. We found good agreement between theoretical predictions and the field distribution of our system measured with a tri-axial gaussmeter. TheB16 melanoma cells were exposed to two different ranges of intensities of ELF-MFs, which were modulated according to the forward Thomas-EMF pattern. The time exposure was 6 h/day for 2 days. Then, the cellular viability was measured by MTT assay. In our experimental conditions, stronger ELF-MFs decreased the cellular viability of the melanoma cells. This result agrees with other reports that used one configuration per experiment. We conclude that our system is appropriate to conduct a fast screening of the effects of different ELF-MFs on cellular cultures.