Clinical applications of high-intensity pulsed electric fields have proven useful in ablating solid tumors. However, novel ideas for the development of an effective tumor ablation device are urgently needed. Here, we studied cellular effects of the nanosecond exponential pulse, which is generated by a capacitor-discharging circuit and delivered via a transmission line. Pulses of peak voltage boosted by transmission line oscillation possess high capability to induce swelling and to cause loss of viability in cells. The appropriate parameter of the pulse was selected to investigate the ultrastructural changes in swollen cells, which present smoothened plasma membrane, loss of microvilli, and lowered cytoplasm electron density. We propose the equivalent force field hypothesis to understand the mechanism underlying cell swelling induced by pulsing. Wrinkles on the plasma membrane might indicate recovery from cell swelling, and this was verified by co-culture of pulsed PKH26-Cells with sham-treated PKH67-Cells. We concluded that the ultrastructural changes, such as irregular pores formed on the plasma membrane, were mainly induced by the effect of electric pulse applied on the charged molecules in the membrane.

中文翻译：

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纳秒持续时间的指数脉冲通过传输线传递引起的肝癌细胞的超微结构变化。

高强度脉冲电场的临床应用已被证明可用于消融实体瘤。然而，迫切需要用于开发有效的肿瘤消融装置的新颖思想。在这里，我们研究了纳秒指数脉冲的细胞效应，该效应由电容器放电电路产生并通过传输线传递。由于传输线振荡而产生的峰值电压脉冲具有引起膨胀和引起细胞活力丧失的高能力。选择适当的脉冲参数以研究溶胀细胞的超微结构变化，这些变化表现出质膜平滑，微绒毛丧失和细胞质电子密度降低。我们提出等效力场假设，以了解脉冲诱导的细胞肿胀的潜在机制。质膜上的皱纹可能表明已从细胞肿胀中恢复过来，这通过脉冲培养的PKH26细胞与经假处理的PKH67细胞的共培养得到了证实。我们得出的结论是，超微结构变化（例如质膜上形成的不规则孔）主要是由施加在膜中带电分子上的电脉冲的作用引起的。