By combined use of traditional Chinese acupuncture Fe needle electrode and in vivo electrochemistry, we achieved in vivo H2 generation in tumors in a controllable manner and exploited it for effective and green therapy of tumors for the first time. The cathodic acupuncture electrodes working under an applied voltage of ∼3 V (with minimal damage to the living body) undergo effective electrochemical reactions in the acidic tumor area that produce sufficient H2 locally to cause cancer cells to burst and die. Due to puncture positioning, the acidic tumor microenvironment and gas diffusion effect, the developed H2 generation electrochemotherapy (H2-ECT) strategy enables precise and large-scale tumor therapy, as demonstrated by in vivo treatment of diseased mice (glioma and breast cancers). Such green H2-ECT is simple, highly efficient and minimally invasive, requiring no expensive medical equipment or nano materials and medication, and is therefore very promising for potential clinical applications.
通过结合传统中医针灸Fe针电极与体内电化学技术，我们首次实现了肿瘤内可控的氢气原位生成，并将其用于高效、绿色的肿瘤治疗。在约3V工作电压下（对生物体损伤极小），阴极针灸电极能在酸性肿瘤区域发生高效电化学反应，局部产生足量氢气致使癌细胞破裂死亡。基于针刺定位、酸性肿瘤微环境及气体扩散效应的协同作用，所开发的产氢电化学疗法（H2-ECT）可实现精准大范围的肿瘤治疗，这在胶质瘤与乳腺癌模型小鼠的体内实验中已得到验证。这种绿色H2-ECT方案操作简便、高效微创，无需昂贵医疗设备或纳米材料与药物，具有显著的临床转化潜力。
A green, efficient and precise hydrogen therapy of cancer based on in vivo electrochemistry
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家