Correlation between impulse magnitude and inhibition of cell proliferation in alternating electric fields therapy

This study was designed to investigate the correlation between the impulse by dielectrophoretic force applied inside a dividing cell during alternating electric fields therapy and the inhibition of cell proliferation. Distributions of the electric field and dielectrophoretic force inside a dividing cell were calculated using the finite element method of COMSOL Multiphysics. Based on the results, the average magnitude of the impulse by the dielectrophoretic force applied to the cleavage furrow inside a dividing cell placed in various directions was calculated as a function of electric field intensity at an extracellular reference point. The simulation results showed that the average magnitude of the impulse to the cleavage furrow inside a dividing cell ranged from 1.51 × 10−9 to 1.49 × 10−7 N s when tumor treating fields with an intensity ranging from 0.1 to 1 V/cm is applied at an extracellular reference point for 6 h. To verify the relationships between the impulse by the dielectrophoretic force and the inhibition of cell proliferation, the survival fractions of the four cancer cell lines were determined as a function of intensity and time duration of the electric field. The correlation between the magnitude and application time of the electric field and the survival fractions of the four cell lines showed similar trends in vitro. These results suggest that both the dielectrophoretic force and the time required for the force to act are proportionally related to the inhibitory effect on dividing cells, enabling this impulse to be used as a reference to quantify the inhibition of cell proliferation.