title: Case for applying subnanosecond high-intensity, electrical pulses to biological cells.
abstract: In this paper, model analysis into the time-dependent transmembrane potential at the outer cell membrane is presented, for applied high-intensity electric pulses having durations in the nanosecond range or smaller. It is argued that the frequency-dependent dielectric response of cell membranes could be used to advantage for stronger bioeffects by employing shorter pulses. Our model calculations predict faster transmembrane voltages and larger electroporation densities for a given external energy with pulse durations in the subnanosecond regime. This temporal regime would be used, for example, in the electrotherapy of mixed cell ensembles having different dielectric response properties.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529-0246, USA. rjoshi@odu.edu
authors.forename: Ravindra P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Joshi
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000502:physiology; D018274:Electroporation / Q000379:methods*; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D008954:Models, Biological; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D016062:Porosity