Electroporation simulation of a multicellular system exposed to high-frequency 500 ns pulsed electric fields

Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) with higher repetition frequency presents potential better clinic applicability for tumor treatment. However, the biophysical mechanisms of high-frequency multi-pulse protocols are currently unclear. In this study, a multicellular model with scale of 131 × 121 μm was used to evaluate the accumulation of pore number and pore radius with increasing numbers of pulses. This multicellular system was established based on the transport lattice model combined with the Smoluchowski equation (SE) electroporation model and solved using Pspice and Matlab. The transient and spatial responses of the system under 10 unipolar high-frequency 500 ns pulses with different field intensities (3 kV/cm, 5 kV/cm and 10 kV/cm) and different frequencies (100 kHz, 500 kHz and 1 MHz) were then analyzed. The results show that with increasing numbers of pulses, the pore number remained basically the same but its value was larger when a higher intensity field was applied. The pore evolutions were similar at different field intensities. However, pulse frequency had a significant influence on the changes of pore radius. Pore radius growth effects were more obvious with higher frequency because of its shorter pulse intervals. The results presented here provide theoretical support for mechanism of tumor treatment with high-frequency nanosecond pulses.