User:Semilunares/Irreversible electroporation

Irreversible Electroporation Irreversible electroporation is a subset of electroporation or electropermeabilization, whereby the properties of the cellular membrane are irreversibly altered such that the cell dies via necrosis, presumably due to altered cell homeostasis.

Electroporation or electropermeabilization is the more general term referring to the structural alteration of a cellular membrane via a pulsed electric field such that nanoscale aqueous pores are formed in the cellular membrane. If the electric field has too low of an amplitude or the applied pulse has too short of a duration, there will be no effect on the cellular membrane. If the electric field or duration are higher, then there will be reversible electroporation where short-lived nanoscale aqueous pores form in the cellular membrane, allowing for the flux of ions or other contents across the cellular membrane. If the electric field and/or duration are still higher, then these pores do not close and the resultant flux of ions and contents across the cell's membrane disrupts the cell's homeostasis and results in cell death.

Irreversible electroporation was once thought of as an undesirable effect in the application of reversible electroporation for other uses (e.g. electrogene transfer, electrochemotherapy). However, recently it has gained ground as a potential ablation technique that could augment the medical surgeon's armamentarium.