Cited by 318Electromagnetic Fields and Biological EffectsMicrobial Inactivation MethodsElectrical and Electromagnetic Research

Theoretical evaluation of voltage inducement on internal membranes of biological cells exposed to electric fields

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Kotnik, Tadej, Miklavčič, Damijan·2006·Biophysical Journal

Abstract

Several reports have recently been published on effects of very short and intense electric pulses on cellular organelles; in a number of cases, the cell plasma membrane appeared to be affected less than certain organelle membranes, whereas with longer and less intense pulses the opposite is the case. The effects are the consequence of the voltages induced on the membranes, and in this article we investigate the conditions under which the induced voltage on an organelle membrane could exceed its counterpart on the cell membrane. This would provide a possible explanation of the observed effects of very short pulses. Frequency-domain analysis yields an insight into the dependence of the voltage inducement on the electric and geometric parameters characterizing the cell and its vicinity. We show that at sufficiently high field frequencies, for a range of parameter values the voltage induced on the organelle membrane can indeed exceed the voltage induced on the cell membrane. Particularly, this can occur if the organelle interior is electrically more conductive than the cytosol, or if the organelle membrane has a lower dielectric permittivity than the cell membrane, and we discuss the plausibility of these conditions. Time-domain analysis is then used to determine the courses of the voltage induced on the membranes by pulses with risetimes and durations in the nanosecond range. The particularly high resting voltage in mitochondria, to which the induced voltage superimposes, could contribute to the explanation why these organelles are the primary target of many observed effects.

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Crossref · 10.1529/biophysj.105.070771

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  • As the frequency of the field increases, the high membrane field gain diminishes, allowing for higher field intensities to penetrate into the cell.

    “as the frequency of the field increases, the high membrane field gain diminishes, allowing for higher field intensities to penetrate into the cell.”

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Authors
Kotnik, T., & Miklavčič, D.
Affiliations
University of Ljubljana (SI)
Corresponding author
Kotnik, Tadej
Venue
Biophysical Journal
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2006-01
Volume
90
Issue
2
Pages
480-491
ISSN
0006-3495 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2106955112
Cited by
318
References
68
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 26 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 17
FWCI
4.26
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Biophysical Journal (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biophysics › Electromagnetic Fields and Biological Effects
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biotechnology › Microbial Inactivation Methods
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics › Electrical and Electromagnetic Research
Keywords
electric field effects on cells, organelle membranes, nanosecond pulses, frequency domain analysis, time-domain analysis, membrane conductivity
MeSH terms
Animals, Biological Transport, Active, Biophysics, Cell Membrane, Cell Membrane Permeability, Cytosol, Electric Conductivity, Electromagnetic Fields, Intracellular Membranes, Membrane Fluidity, Membrane Lipids, Membrane Potentials, Models, Theoretical, Time Factors

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