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 field with subcellular structures. This intracellular access allows the manipulation of cell functions. Experimental studies, in which human cells were exposed to pulsed electric fields of up to 30 MV/m amplitude with durations as short as 3 ns, have confirmed this hypothesis and have shown that it is possible to selectively alter the behavior and/or survival of cells. Observed nanosecond pulsed effects at moderate electric fields include intracellular release of calcium and enhanced gene expression, which could have long term implications on cell behavior and function. At increased electric fields, the application of nanosecond pulses induces a type of programmed cell death, apoptosis, in biological cells. Cell survival studies with 10 ns pulses have shown that the viability of the cells scales inversely with the electrical energy density, which is similar to the "dose" effect caused by ionizing radiation. On the other hand, there is experimental evidence that, for pulses of varying durations, the onset of a range of observed biological effects is determined by the electrical charge that is transferred to the cell membrane during pulsing. This leads to a similarity law for nanosecond pulse effects, with the product of electric field intensity, pulse duration, and the square root of the number of pulses as the similarity parameter. The similarity law allows one not only to predict cell viability based on pulse parameters, but has also been shown to be applicable for inducing platelet aggregation, an effect which is triggered by internal calcium release. Applications for nanosecond pulse effects cover a wide range: from a rather simple use as preventing biofouling in cooling water systems, to advanced medical applications, such as gene therapy and tumor treatment. Results of this continuing research are leading to the development of wound healing and skin cancer treatments, which are discussed in some detail.

The barrier function of plasma membrane in nsPEF-exposed mammalian cells was examined using whole-cell patch-clamp techniques. A specialized setup for nsPEF exposure of individual cells in culture was developed and characterized for artifact-free compatibility with the patch-clamp method. For the first time, our study provides experimental evidence that even a single 60-ns pulse at 12 kV/cm can cause a profound and long-lasting (minutes) reduction of the cell membrane resistance (R(m)), accompanied by the loss of the membrane potential. R(m) measured in GH3, PC-12, and Jurkat cells (but not in HeLa cells) in 80-120 s after nsPEF exposure was decreased about threefold, and its gradual recovery could take 15 min. Multiple pulses enhanced permeabilization, for example, R(m) in GH3 cells fell about 10-fold after a train of five pulses. Within studied limits, permeabilization did not depend on the presence of Ca(2+), Mg(2+), K(+), Cs(+), Cd(2+), EGTA, tetraethylammonium, or 4-aminopyridine in the pipette or bath solutions. Our results supported theoretical model predictions of plasma membrane poration by nsPEF. However, the extended decrease in R(m), assumed to be related to the life span of the pores, and different nsPEF sensitivity of individual cell lines have yet to be explained. The phenomenon of long-lived membrane permeabilization provides new insights on the nature of nsPEF-opened conductance pores and on molecular mechanisms that underlie nsPEF bioeffects.

Experimental results on the inception and propagation of streamers in water generated under the application of high electric fields are reviewed. Characteristic parameters, such as breakdown voltage, polarity of the applied voltage, propagation velocities and other phenomenological features, are compared with similar phenomena in other dielectric liquids and in gases. Consequently, parameters that are expected to influence the development of streamers in water are discussed with respect to the analogous well-established models and theories for the related mechanisms in gases. Most of the data support the notion that an initial low-density nucleation site or gas-filled bubble assists the initiation of a streamer. Details of this theory are laid out explaining the observed differences in the breakdown originating from the anode versus the cathode locations. The mechanisms can also be applied to streamer propagation, although some observations cannot be satisfactorily explained.

Intense nanosecond-duration electric pulses (nsEP) open stable nanopores in cell plasma membrane, followed by cell volume changesdue to water uptake or expulsion, as regulated by the osmolality balance of pore-impermeable solutes inside and outside the cell. The size of pores opened by 50, 60-ns EP (10 Hz, ~13 kV/cm) and 5, 600-ns EP (1 Hz, ~6 kV/cm) in GH3 cells was estimated by isoosmotic replacement of bath NaCl with (polyethylene glycols and sugars. Such replacement reduced cell swelling and/or turned it into a transient or sustained shrinking, depending on the availability of pores permeable to the test solute. Unexpectedly, solute substitutions showed that for the same integral area of pores opened by 60- and 600-ns treatments (as indicated by cell volume changes), the pore sizes were similar. However, the 600-ns exposure triggered significantly higher cell uptake of propidium. We concluded that 600-ns EP opened a greater number of larger (propidium-permeable pores), but the fraction of the larger pores in the entire pore population was insufficient to contribute to cell volume changes. For both the 60- and 600-ns exposures, cell volume changes were determined by pores smaller than 0.9 nm in diameter; however, the diameter increased with increasing the nsEP intensity.

Permeabilization of cell membranous structures by nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) triggers transient rise of cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i), which determines multifarious downstream effects. Using fast ratiometric Ca2+ imaging with Fura-2, we quantified the external Ca2+ uptake, compared it with Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and analyzed the interplay of these processes. We utilized CHO cells which lack voltage-gated Ca2+ channels, so that nsPEF-induced [Ca2+]i changes could be attributed primarily to electroporation. We found that a single 60-ns pulse caused fast [Ca2+]i increase by Ca2+ influx from the outside and Ca2+ efflux from the ER, with the E-field thresholds of about 9 and 19 kV/cm, respectively. Above these thresholds, the amplitude of [Ca2+]i response increased linearly by 8–10 nM per 1 kV/cm until a critical level between 200 and 300 nM of [Ca2+]i was reached. If the critical level was reached, the nsPEF-induced Ca2+ signal was amplified up to 3,000 nM by engaging the physiological mechanism of Ca2+-induced Ca2+-release (CICR). The amplification was prevented by depleting Ca2+ from the ER store with 100 nM thapsigargin, as well as by blocking the ER inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (IP3R) with 50 μM of 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2-APB). Mobilization of [Ca2+]i by nsPEF mimicked native Ca2+ signaling, but without preceding activation of plasma membrane receptors or channels. NsPEF stimulation may serve as a unique method to activate [Ca2+]i and downstream cascades while bypassing the plasma membrane receptors.