Scott DeClemente

Bio: Scott DeClemente is an academic researcher from Old Dominion University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Gene delivery & Gene electrotransfer. The author has co-authored 3 publications.

Electroporation and Electrochemotherapy in Gynecological and Breast Cancer Treatment

Abstract: Gynecological carcinomas affect an increasing number of women and are associated with poor prognosis. The gold standard treatment plan is mainly based on surgical resection and subsequent chemotherapy with cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil, anthracyclines, or taxanes. Unfortunately, this treatment is becoming less effective and is associated with many side effects that negatively affect patients’ physical and mental well-being. Electroporation based on tumor exposure to electric pulses enables reduction in cytotoxic drugs dose while increasing their effectiveness. EP-based treatment methods have received more and more interest in recent years and are the subject of a large number of scientific studies. Some of them show promising therapeutic potential without using any cytotoxic drugs or molecules already present in the human body (e.g., calcium electroporation). This literature review aims to present the fundamental mechanisms responsible for the course of EP-based therapies and the current state of knowledge in the field of their application in the treatment of gynecological neoplasms.

Influence of DNA characteristics on cell membrane damage stimulated by electrical short-circuiting via a low-conductive aqueous droplet in dielectric oil

Abstract: We investigated gene electrotransfer using electrical short-circuiting via a cell suspension droplet in dielectric oil. An aqueous droplet of a few microliters placed between a pair of electrodes can be deformed by an intense DC electric field depending on the electric field intensity. When a droplet containing suspended cells and plasmid DNA elongates during deformation and connects the electrodes, the resulting short circuit can cause successful gene electrotransfection into various mammalian cells. We also investigated the influence of the electroporation medium on membrane permeabilization and the mechanisms of gene electrotransfection using short-circuiting via an aqueous droplet. One aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the conductivity of electroporation medium on gene electrotransfer stimulated by short-circuiting. It was found that low-conductivity medium with plasmid DNA resulted in a significant decrease in cell viability compared to the high-conductivity medium with plasmid DNA. Therefore, we demonstrated the influence of exogenous DNA on membrane damage stimulated by droplet electroporation using a low-conductivity medium. Thus, electrical stimulation with the combination of plasmid DNA and the low-conductivity medium resulted in tremendous membrane damage. Linearized plasmid DNA stimulated more significant membrane damage than circular DNA. However, the size of linear DNA did not influence the efflux of small intracellular molecules.

Improving cell and gene therapy safety and performance using next-generation Nanoplasmid vectors

Abstract: The cell and gene therapy industry has employed the same plasmid technology for decades in vaccination, cell and gene therapy, and as a raw material in viral vector and RNA production. While canonical plasmids contain antibiotic resistance markers in bacterial backbones greater than 2,000 base pairs, smaller backbones increase expression level and durability and reduce the cell-transfection-associated toxicity and transgene silencing that can occur with canonical plasmids. Therefore, the small backbone and antibiotic-free selection method of Nanoplasmid vectors have proven to be a transformative replacement in a wide variety of applications, offering a greater safety profile and efficiency than traditional plasmids. This review provides an overview of the Nanoplasmid technology and highlights its specific benefits for various applications with examples from recent publications.