title: Plasma membrane voltage changes during nanosecond pulsed electric field exposure.
abstract: The change in the membrane potential of Jurkat cells in response to nanosecond pulsed electric fields was studied for pulses with a duration of 60 ns and maximum field strengths of approximately 100 kV/cm (100 V/cell diameter). Membranes of Jurkat cells were stained with a fast voltage-sensitive dye, ANNINE-6, which has a subnanosecond voltage response time. A temporal resolution of 5 ns was achieved by the excitation of this dye with a tunable laser pulse. The laser pulse was synchronized with the applied electric field to record images at times before, during, and after exposure. When exposing the Jurkat cells to a pulse, the voltage across the membrane at the anodic pole of the cell reached values of 1.6 V after 15 ns, almost twice the voltage level generally required for electroporation. Voltages across the membrane on the side facing the cathode reached values of only 0.6 V in the same time period, indicating a strong asymmetry in conduction mechanisms in the membranes of the two opposite cell hemispheres. This small voltage drop of 0.6-1.6 V across the plasma membrane demonstrates that nearly the entire imposed electric field of 10 V/mum penetrates into the interior of the cell and every organelle.
authors.affiliation: Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, IHM, D-76344, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Frey
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: R O
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: P F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Blackmore
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Joshi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nuccitelli
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Beebe
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Schoenbach
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Kolb
mesh_terms: D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D018274:Electroporation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D019169:Jurkat Cells; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D011829:Radiation Dosage