Biological effects of narrow band pulsed electric fields

Abstract

This paper describes the process of narrow band pulsed electric fields (NPEFs) and its effect on mammalian cells. The NPEF consists of a pulse modulated sinusoidal wave (PMSW), which allows delivery of well-defined electric fields in terms of frequency, field strength and deposition energy to the biological systems. 100 mus long sinusoidal electric fields with a frequency of 0.02, 2 or 50 MHz and field strengths of up to 2 kV/cm are applied to CHO cells with variation in the DNA density in the cells investigated by means of Acridine Orange assay. The experiments indicate that 50 MHz fields cause DNA degradation without cell membrane defects, while 0.02 MHz fields lead to an increase in membrane permeability which is similar to the effect known as electroporation. The intermediate frequency of 2 MHz influences both the membrane and DNA. It is demonstrated that the MHz range narrowband electric fields with the amplitude level of 1 kV/cm cause intracellular effects in mammalian cells.