The lethal electric field thresholds for three typical cerebral cells, including a malignant glioblastoma cell line and two cell lines from the healthy blood-brain barrier , treated by irreversible electroporation or high-frequency irreversible electroporation protocols were investigated in an in vitro three-dimensional cell model. A conventional IRE protocol and three novel H-FIRE protocols were used to treat the cerebral cells in both 3D single-cell and two-cell models.
Based on EIS, a numerical electrothermal model of electroporation was built for the determination of the LEF threshold with different protocols and temperature monitoring. Cell viability was assessed by fluorescence staining 6 h after the treatment. The results showed no thermal lethal effect on cells when these protocols were used. The LEF threshold for GBM cells was significantly lower than that of the healthy BBB cells.