An experimental system for controlled exposure of biological samples to electrostatic discharges.

An experimental system for controlled exposure of biological samples to electrostatic discharges. Bioelectrochemistry. 2013 Sep 10;94C:79-86 Authors: Marjanovič I, Kotnik T Abstract Electrostatic discharges occur naturally as lightning strokes, and artificially in light sources and in materials processing. When an electrostatic discharge interacts with living matter, the basic physical effects can be accompanied by biophysical and biochemical phenomena, including cell excitation, electroporation, and electrofusion. To study these phenomena, we developed an experimental system that provides easy sample insertion and removal, protection from airborne particles, observability during the experiment, accurate discharge origin positioning, discharge delivery into the sample either through an electric arc with adjustable air gap width or through direct contact, and reliable electrical insulation where required. We tested the system by assessing irreversible electroporation of Escherichia coli bacteria (15mm discharge arc, 100A peak current, 0.1μs zero-to-peak time, 0.2μs peak-to-halving time), and gene electrotransfer into CHO cells (7mm discharge arc, 14A peak current, 0.5μs zero-to-peak time, 1.0μs peak-to-halving time). Exposures to natural lightning stroke can also be studied with this system, as due to radial current dissipation, the conditions achieved by a stroke at a particular distance from its entry are also achieved by an artificial d...
Source: Bioelectrochemistry - Category: Biochemistry Authors: Tags: Bioelectrochemistry Source Type: research