Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Cell and Developmental Biology Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Cell and Developmental Biology

Self-Consistent Analyses For Potential Conduction Block In Nerves By An Ultrashort High-Intensity Electric Pulse, R. P. Joshi, A. Mishra, Q. Hu, K. H. Schoenbach, A. Pakhomov Jan 2007

Self-Consistent Analyses For Potential Conduction Block In Nerves By An Ultrashort High-Intensity Electric Pulse, R. P. Joshi, A. Mishra, Q. Hu, K. H. Schoenbach, A. Pakhomov

Bioelectrics Publications

Simulation studies are presented that probe the possibility of using high-field (>100kV ∕ cm), short-duration (∼50ns) electrical pulses for nonthermal and reversible cessation of biological electrical signaling pathways. This would have obvious applications in neurophysiology, clinical research, neuromuscular stimulation therapies, and even nonlethal bioweapons development. The concept is based on the creation of a sufficiently high density of pores on the nerve membrane by an electric pulse. This modulates membrane conductance and presents an effective "electrical short" to an incident voltage wave traveling across a nerve. Net blocking of action potential propagation can then result. A continuum approach based …


Bioelectric Effects Of Intense Nanosecond Pulses, Karl H. Schoenbach, Barbara Y. Hargrave, Ravindra P. Joshi, Juergen F. Kolb, Richard Nuccitelli, Christopher J. Osgood, Andrei G. Pakhomov, Michael W. Stacey, James R. Swanson, Jody A. White, Shu Xiao, Jue Zhang, Stephen J. Beebe, Peter F. Blackmore, E. Stephen Buescher Jan 2007

Bioelectric Effects Of Intense Nanosecond Pulses, Karl H. Schoenbach, Barbara Y. Hargrave, Ravindra P. Joshi, Juergen F. Kolb, Richard Nuccitelli, Christopher J. Osgood, Andrei G. Pakhomov, Michael W. Stacey, James R. Swanson, Jody A. White, Shu Xiao, Jue Zhang, Stephen J. Beebe, Peter F. Blackmore, E. Stephen Buescher

Bioelectrics Publications

Electrical models for biological cells predict that reducing the duration of applied electrical pulses to values below the charging time of the outer cell membrane (which is on the order of 100 ns for mammalian cells) causes a strong increase in the probability of electric field interactions with intracellular structures due to displacement currents. For electric field amplitudes exceeding MV/m, such pulses are also expected to allow access to the cell interior through conduction currents flowing through the permeabilized plasma membrane. In both cases, limiting the duration of the electrical pulses to nanoseconds ensures only nonthermal interactions of the electric …