[Ultraminiature electrochemical and photoelectric current sources and their possible use for controlled induction of immune system activity and in other medical applications].

ABSTRACT

The possibility of producing microparticles (10-1000 nm) suitable for the introduction into biological cells and tissues and producing the electrical field and electrical currents around them due to electrochemical and photoelectric processes is discussed. A number of phenomena related to antitumor immunity are discussed, and several hypotheses to explain them are invoked. Among them is the hypothesis that the antitumor activity of the immune system may be associated with some agents that are phagocytized by the cells of the macrophage series and promote their activation. Presumably, cell activation is triggered by the damage to phagosomes caused by the phagocytized agent. It is suggested to use for cell activation an artificial agent consisting of the above-mentioned electrically active microscopic particles. For example, it may consist of microscopic particles of semiconductor with zones of n- and p-type conductivity. Such particles act as microscopic photoelectric cells when exposed to optical radiation, they generate a potential difference, which causes disruption and damage of phagosome membranes and results in the activation of immune cells.