Cryoelectrolysis - electrolytic processes in a frozen physiological saline medium

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1 Clinica Santa Elena, Malaga, Spain
2 Hippocrates D.O.O, Divaca, Slovenia
3 Department of Bioengineering and Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkley, California, United States of America
DOI
10.7287/peerj.preprints.2474v1
Published
Accepted
Subject Areas
Bioengineering, Biophysics, Oncology, Surgery and Surgical Specialties
Keywords
cryoelectrolysis, cryosurgery, electrolysis, electrolytic ablation, freezing, electro-osmosis, iontophoresis, cancer ablation, focal therapy ablation, minimally invasive surgery
Copyright
© 2016 Lugnani et al.
Licence
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ Preprints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
Cite this article
Lugnani F, Macchioro M, Rubinsky B. 2016. Cryoelectrolysis - electrolytic processes in a frozen physiological saline medium. PeerJ Preprints 4:e2474v1

Abstract

Background: Cryoelectrolysis is a new minimally invasive tissue ablation surgical technique that combines the processes of electrolysis and solid/liquid phase transformation (freezing).

Method: Performing a typical cryoelectrolytic ablation protocol in a tissue simulant made of physiological saline gel with a pH dye, we observed several new physical and electrochemical phenomena of relevance to tissue ablation.

Results: We found that electrolysis can occur simultaneously with phase transformation, at high subzero freezing temperatures, above the eutectic temperature of the frozen salt solution. Another interesting finding is that electro-osmotic flows affect the process of cryoelectrolysis at the anode and cathode, in different ways.

Discussion: The observations are consistent with a mechanism involving ionic movement through the concentrated saline solution channels between ice crystals, at subfreezing temperatures above the eutectic. The findings in this paper may become the scientific basis for designing future cryoelectrolytic ablation surgery protocols.

Author Comment

This is a submission to PeerJ for review.

Supplemental Information

Table of diameters tension current with graphs

DOI: 10.7287/peerj.preprints.2474v1/supp-1