Effects of Pulse Width and Electrical Energy of Low‐Voltage Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields on Mitochondria in Cancer Cells

Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) have recently shown promise as a cancer therapy. Although nsPEF‐induced apoptotic responses have been observed, the stress on individual cell components has not been quantified. Therefore, the authors built a cell equivalent circuit, including mitochondria, to quantitatively calculate the voltage, electric field, and electrical energy applied to the cell components in the frequency domain. Additionally, pulse width and electrical energy changed in mitochondrial membrane potential over time. The results indicated that the change of pulsed voltage switched the cell stimulation pathway, resulting in different mitochondrial membrane potentials over time. The frequency response analysis confirmed that the potential on mitochondrial membranes increased under shorter pulse width conditions. This suggested that the frequency analysis provided in this paper is useful for relating the site of cellular stimulation to induce physiological effects.