Electroporation or electropermeabilization occurs when cells are exposed to sufficiently high-pulsed electric fields. This phenomenon is now an important technique to facilitate the transmembrane transport of molecules, however, the role of the electrode material and associated electrochemical events remain unclear. Here, it is shown that electrical stimulation with PEDOT:PSS-coated electrodes strongly reduces irreversible electrochemical reactions that otherwise lead to changes in pH and the generation of reactive oxygen species. Coated electrodes exhibit a slightly higher threshold for cell stimulation, however, little electropermeabilization is observed at voltages that greatly exceed the threshold for uncoated electrodes. The findings indicate that electrically induced, extracellular chemical changes represent an important mechanism in the cellular electropermeabilization response. Moreover, PEDOT:PSS-coated electrodes separate the delivery of electric pulses from chemical changes, which paves the way for future experiments that could lead to a better understanding of underlying mechanisms.

中文翻译：

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PEDOT：PSS 涂层刺激电极减弱不可逆电化学事件并减少细胞电透化

当细胞暴露于足够高的脉冲电场时会发生电穿孔或电透化。这种现象现在是促进分子跨膜传输的重要技术，但是，电极材料的作用和相关的电化学事件仍不清楚。在这里，表明用 PEDOT:PSS 涂层电极进行电刺激可以大大减少不可逆的电化学反应，否则会导致 pH 值变化和活性氧的产生。涂层电极对细胞刺激表现出略高的阈值，但是，在大大超过未涂层电极阈值的电压下几乎观察不到电透化。研究结果表明，电诱导，细胞外化学变化是细胞电透反应的重要机制。此外，PEDOT:PSS 涂层电极将电脉冲的传递与化学变化分开，这为未来的实验铺平了道路，可以更好地了解潜在机制。