Electrophoresis

The therapeutic substance is applied to the electrode pads and, under the influence of an electric field, enters the body through the skin (in therapy, neurology, traumatology, etc.) or mucous membranes (in dentistry, ENT, gynecology, etc.) and directly affects physiological and pathological processes at the injection site. Electric current also has a neuro-reflex and humoral effect.

The advantages of therapeutic electrophoresis:

• the introduction of small, but sufficiently effective doses of the active substance;
• the accumulation of substances and the creation of a depot, prolonged action;
• introduction in the most chemically active form - in the form of ions ;
• the possibility of creating a high local concentration of the active substance without saturating it with lymph, blood and other body fluids;
• the possibility of introducing the substance directly into the foci of inflammation blocked as a result of a violation of local microcirculation;
• the therapeutic substance is not destroyed, such as when administered per os ;
• weak electric current favorably affects the reactivity and immunobiological status of tissues.

Contraindications for electrophoresis: acute purulent inflammatory diseases, heart failure II — III degree, stage III hypertension, fever, severe bronchial asthma , dermatitis or violation of the integrity of the skin at the electrode sites, malignant neoplasms. Contraindications for the therapeutic substance are taken into account. The substances used in electrophoresis, according to the method of administration, are divided into:

• negatively charged, introduced from the negative pole - the cathode (bromides, iodides, nicotinic acid and others);
• positively charged, introduced from the positive pole - the anode (metal ions - magnesium , potassium , calcium );
• introduced both from the anode and from the cathode (humisole, bischofite and others).

The advantage of bischofite is in bipolar administration, since the effect is exerted both by positively and negatively charged ions. When prescribing therapeutic electrophoresis by a family doctor, when referring to the medical rehabilitation department, it is advisable to indicate: diagnosis, method name (electrophoresis), the desired therapeutic substance and its exposure zones. Physiotherapist determines the polarity, amperage, duration in minutes, the frequency of procedures.

In biochemistry and molecular biology, electrophoresis is used to separate macromolecules - proteins and nucleic acids (as well as their fragments). There are many varieties of this method (see the article Protein electrophoresis ). This method is widely used for separating mixtures of biomolecules into fractions or individual substances and is used in biochemistry, molecular biology, clinical diagnostics, population biology (to study genetic variation), etc.

Galvanophoresis - the introduction of ions of substances (for example: drugs) into an electrically conductive medium through the application of electromotive force (EMF). In dentistry , galvanophoresis is a special method for long-term disinfection of the root canal system.

The difference from electrophoresis - to create an EMF, not stationary current sources are used, but small-sized mobile devices. Such devices may, for example, be installed in a tooth for a patient for several days or weeks. Over a long period, the galvanic cell ensures the passage of a weak electric current (in several microamps) through the tissues into which the delivery of certain substances is planned.

Electrophoresis is a procedure that is performed in a medical office. With galvanophoresis, the patient is outside the hospital.

Galvanophoresis is carried out using special devices installed in the root canals of the teeth. The devices can be made in the form of a pin or other design of metals that make up the galvanic pair.

Galvanophoresis devices create an emf in the environment of the root canals, which is previously adjusted to the desired values ​​by the concentration of certain ions by introducing special preparations (for example, copper-calcium hydroxide) into the root canals. Under the influence of electric fields created by galvanic pins (devices for galvanophoresis), copper-calcium hydroxide (MMC) migrates into microchannels and dentinal tubes, causing proteolysis of the microbial bodies and the remnants of the cellular structures of the diseased tooth. MMC attaches sulfur to the copper ion, taking it away from the amino acids of proteins located in the structures of tooth tissues.

Unlike the common method of depophoresis, galvanophoresis does not require the use of expensive devices, does not cause pain in the process of its application and creates an antimicrobial environment in the tooth tissues for a long time.

In the USSR and in the modern Russian Federation, "Potok-1" devices are widely used for electrophoresis.

• DNA electrophoresis
• Protein Electrophoresis
• Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
• Phonophoresis
• Ionophoresis
• Electroosmosis
• Electronic paper
• Isotachophoresis
• Capillary electrophoresis
• Immunoelectrophoresis
• Isoelectric focusing