Study on Pulse Electric Field Exposure Effect on HeLa Cells For Wound Healing Application

This study investigated the effect of pulse electric field (PEF) exposure on cervical cancer cells (HeLa cells) in an in-vitro wound repair model. The study mainly focused on the healing time of HeLa cell line wound model. During the experiments HeLa cells were maintained at 37°C in a modified Chamlide EC magnetic chamber where they were exposed to high electric fields. A Nikon inverted microscope (Ti-series) with Metamorph® time lapse software were used to monitor, image and capture photomicrographs and videos of the cells. The tests carried out during this study revealed that pulse electric field enhanced the migration of HeLa cells. Cells exposed to PEF (1kV/cm, 100μs, and single pulse) healed the wound in ~2 hours (from initial wound gap of 54.53μm ± 0.55SD to 0.66μm ± 0.61SD). On the other hand, non-PEF (control) healed the wound in ~10 hours (from initial wound gap of 56.33μm ± 0.57SD to 0.46μm ± 0.45SD). It was therefore found that the healing rate with PEF is ~five times faster than non-PEF group. It is believed that PEF usage on diseased biological cells would enable a novel method for assisting drug free wound repair systems and many other potential biomedical engineering applications such as treatment of neurological disorders including Alzheimers and Parkinsons.