Nanosecond electroperturbation-mammalian cell sensitivity and bacterial spore resistance

Ultra-short, high-field electric pulses induce apoptosis in Jurkat T lymphoblasts but have little effect on rat glioma C6 cells even at much higher doses. Germination of Bacillus atrophaeus spores is unaffected even by exposure to millions of nanosecond, megavolt-per-meter pulses. Despite the many fundamental similarities among biological systems at the cellular level, and the well-defined physical and electrical parameters of nanoelectropulse delivery systems, a wide variety of responses to stimuli in this new bioelectromagnetic regime must be anticipated. Future studies can utilize these differences to uncover the underlying mechanisms and to exploit the relative resistances and sensitivities among cell and tissue types for the expansion of fundamental knowledge of cell biology and for practical applications in therapeutics and bioengineering.