Abstract-We propose to analyze the aperture and ITO layer presence of a modified transverse electromagnetic (TEM) cell. This TEM cell can be used to study the potential effects of microwave electromagnetic fields on biological cells. This modified delivery device allows real-time observation of biological cells during exposure. Microscopic observation is achieved through an aperture in the lower wall of the TEM cell that is sealed with a 700-nm film of the transparent conducting material Indium tin oxide (ITO). To determine the device efficiency, numerical and experimental electromagnetic dosimetry was conducted. For assessing the effect of the aperture on the specific absorption rate (SAR) in the exposed sample, a plastic Petri dish containing cell culture medium, full-wave 3-D electromagnetic simulations and temperature measurements were performed. For 1-W input power, the SAR values obtained at 1.8 GHz in the sample exposed in the TEM cell with the sealed or non-sealed aperture of 20-mm diameter were 1.1 W/kg and 23.6 W/kg, respectively. An excellent homogeneity of the SAR distribution was achieved when the aperture was sealed with the ITO layer. The performance of the delivery system was confirmed by microwave exposure and simultaneous observation of living cells.

In this paper, delivery devices for nanosecond pulsed electric field exposure of biological samples in direct contact with electrodes or isolated are presented and characterized. They are based on a modified electroporation cuvette and two transverse electromagnetic cells (TEM cells). The devices were used to apply pulses with high intensity (4.5 kV) and short durations (3 and 13 ns). The delivery devices were electromagnetically characterized in the frequency and time domains. Field intensities of around 5, 0.5, and 12 MV m were obtained by numerical simulations of the biological sample positioned in the three delivery devices. Two delivery systems had a homogenous electric field spatial distribution, and one was adapted to permit a highly localized exposure in the vicinity of a needle. Experimental biological investigations were carried out at different field intensities for five cancer cell lines. The results using flow cytometry showed that cells kept polarized mitochondrial membrane but lost plasma membrane integrity following a dose-response trend after exposure to different electric field intensities. Certain cell types (U87, MCF7) showed higher sensitivities to nsPEFs than other lines tested.

Despite the biomedical advances of the last century, many cancers including glioblastoma are still resistant to existing therapies leaving patients with poor prognoses. Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEF) are a promising technology for the treatment of cancer that have thus far been evaluated in vitro and in superficial malignancies. In this paper, we develop a tumor organoid model of glioblastoma and apply intravital multiphoton microscopy to assess their response to nsPEFs. We demonstrate for the first time that a single 10 ns, high voltage electric pulse (35–45 kV/cm), collapses the perfusion of neovasculature, and also alters the diameter of capillaries and larger vessels in normal tissue. These results contribute to the fundamental understanding of nsPEF effects in complex tissue environments, and confirm the potential of nsPEFs to disrupt the microenvironment of solid tumors such as glioblastoma.

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