Bioelectrochemistry Of Cells And Tissues

Bioelectrochemistry: Principles and Practice provides a comprehensive compilation of all the physicochemical aspects of the different biochemical and physiological processes. The role of electric and magnetic fields in biological systems forms the focus of this second volume in the Bioelectrochemistry series. The most prominent use of electric fields is found in some fish. These species generate fields of different strengths and patterns serving either as weapons, or for the purpose of location and communication. Electrical phenomena involved in signal transduction are discussed by means of two examples, namely excitation-contraction coupling in muscles and light transduction in photoreceptors. Also examined is the role of electrical potential differences in energy metabolism and its control. Temporal and spatial changes of the potential difference across the membranes of nerve cells are carefully evaluated, since they are the basis of the spreading and processing of information in the nervous system. The dielectric properties of cells and their responses to electric fields, such as electrophoresis and electrorotation, are dealt with in detail. Finally, the effects of magnetic fields on living systems and of low-frequency electromagnetic fields on cell metabolism are also considered. Further volumes will be added to the series, which is intended as a set of source books for graduate and postgraduate students as well as research workers at all levels in bioelectrochemistry.

Bioenergetics, the topic of volume 5 of this Series, is concerned with the energetics, the kinetics, and the mechanisms of energy conversion in biological systems. This phenomenon can be investigated on diffe rent levels of complexity. On a global level the role of biological pro cesses for the steady state of our enviroment is considered. At the physiological level, the relation between energy input and the physiolo gical state of an organism is of interest, while at the cellular level the biochemical pathways for degradation and synthesis of all relevant substrates is investigated. At present the majority of bioenergetic stu dies pertain to the molecular level. The processes in a cell are cataly zed by a large number of proteins called enzymes. The enzymes in volved in energy transduction can be considered as molecular ma chines which transform energy from one form into another, or transfer energy from one process to another. Living systems operate far from equilibrium and are open in the ther modynamic sense, i. e. they exchange energy and matter with the sur roundings. Chapter 1 presents the principles of non equilibrium thermo dynamics applied to biological systems. About 0. 05% of the energy from the sunlight which reaches the surface of the earth is used by plants and algae as well as some bacteria to synthesize organic com pounds, and thus supplies all organisms with the energy necessary for life.

Bioelectrochemistry: Fundamentals, Experimental Techniques and Application, covers the fundamental aspects of the chemistry, physics and biology which underlie this subject area. It describes some of the different experimental techniques that can be used to study bioelectrochemical problems and it describes various applications of biolelectrochemisty including amperometric biosensors, immunoassays, electrochemistry of DNA, biofuel cells, whole cell biosensors, in vivo applications and bioelectrosynthesis. By bringing together these different aspects, this work provides a unique source of information in this area, approaching the subject from a cross-disciplinary viewpoint.

Complex liquids constitute a basic element in modern materials science; their significant features include self-assembly, mesoscale structures, complex dynamics, unusual phases and enormous sensitivity to perturbations. Understanding their nature and properties are a great challenge to modern materials science that demands novel approaches. This book focuses on nonlinear dielectric phenomena, particularly on nonlinear dielectric spectroscopy (NDS), which may be considered a possible successor to broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS). NDS phenomena directly coupled to mesoscale heterogeneity fluctuations, so information obtained in this way is basically complementary to BDS tests. The book also discusses the application of NDS in a set of complex liquid systems: glassy liquids, liquid crystals, liquids with critical point phenomena, and bio-relevant liquids. The complementary application of NDS and BDS may allow the discovery of universal patterns for the whole category of complex liquids. Written by specialists in the field of nonlinear dielectric studies, theoreticians and experimentalists, ranging from solid state physics to biophysics, the book is organized so that it can serve as a basic textbook for a non-experienced reader.

Bioelectrochemistry is a fast growing field linking together electrochemistry, biochemistry, medicinal chemistry and analytical chemistry. The current book outlines the recent progress in the area and the applications in biological materials design and bioenergy, covering in particular biosensors, bioelectronic devices, biofuel cells, biodegradable batteries and biomolecule-based computing.

Reporting new results, this book covers the subject of biological effects of EMF in its entirety. Experimental verification of the theoretical results is given when at all possible, and the book is expected to open new areas of research, providing material for university course creation.

Non-thermal irreversible electroporation is a new minimally invasive surgical p- cedure with unique molecular selectivity attributes – in fact it may be considered the first clinical molecular surgery procedure. Non-thermal irreversible electro- ration is a molecular selective mode of cell ablation that employs brief electrical fields to produce nanoscale defects in the cell membrane, which can lead to cell death, without an effect on any of the other tissue molecules. The electrical fields can be produced through contact by insertion of electrode needles around the undesirable tissue and non-invasively by electromagnetic induction. This new - dition to the medical armamentarium requires the active involvement and is of interest to clinical physicians, medical researchers, mechanical engineers, che- cal engineers, electrical engineers, instrumentation designers, medical companies and many other fields and disciplines that were never exposed in their training to irreversible electroporation or to a similar concept. This edited book is designed to be a comprehensive introduction to the field of irreversible electroporation to those that were not exposed or trained in the field before and can also serve as a reference manual. Irreversible electroporation is broad and interdisciplinary. Therefore, we have made an attempt to cover every one of the various aspects of the field from an introductory basic level to state of the art.