Engineering Commons^™

Electroporation By Subnanosecond Pulses, Iurii Semenov, Shu Xiao, Andrei G. Pakhomov

Bioelectrics Publications

Electropermeabilization of cell membranes by micro- and nanosecond-duration stimuli has been studied extensively, whereas effects of picosecond electric pulses (psEP) remain essentially unexplored. We utilized whole-cell patch clamp and Di-8-ANEPPS voltage-sensitive dye measurements to characterize plasma membrane effects of 500 ps stimuli in rat hippocampal neurons (RHN), NG108, and CHO cells. Even a single 500-ps pulse at 190kV/cm increased membrane conductance and depolarized cells. These effects were augmented by applying brief psEP bursts (5–125 pulses), whereas the rate of pulse delivery (8Hz–1kHz) played little role. psEP-treated cells displayed large inward current at negative membrane potentials but modest or no conductance …