Aachen PK 2003 – scientific programme
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PV: Plenarvorträge
PV VI
PV VI: Plenary Talk
Wednesday, March 19, 2003, 09:00–09:45, FO1
Nanosecond Electrical Pulses Open a Gateway into Biological Cells — •Karl H. Schoenbach1, Ravindra P. Joshi1, E. Stephen Buescher2, and Stephen J. Beebe2 — 1Old Dominion University — 2Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia, USA
An electrical model for biological cells predicts that for pulses with durations shorter than the charging time of the outer membrane there is an increasing probability for electric field interactions with intracellular structures. Experimental studies on mammalian cells with electric field pulses of up to 300 kV/cm amplitude, and with duration as short as 10 ns have confirmed this hypothesis. The observed cell specific effects range from abrupt rises in intracellular free calcium levels and temporary functional inactivation of biological cells to the induction of apoptosis, a programmed cell death. A possible application of ultrashort pulse effects is apoptosis induction in tumor cells. First experiments have shown that tumor growth can be reduced by pulsed electric field application.