Experimental and Numerical Studies of Molecular Uptake Dynamics in HL-60 Cells Induced by Pulsed Electric Fields

Experimental and numerical studies have been conducted to investigate molecular uptake by HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cells induced by pulsed electric fields (PEFs). In experiments, we examined the internalization of a fluorescent marker, propidum iodide (PI), in HL-60 cells after exposure to 40 mus PEFs of variable amplitudes under fluorescence microscopy. General trends in PEF-induced intracellular molecular internalization as a function of time were observed and categorized. Two types of uptake response were identified: a gradual, low-level uptake that starts almost immediately after the PEF but persists for hundreds of seconds, and a rapid, high-level uptake that can be delayed by hundreds of seconds after the PEF. Presently, we are conducting quantitative measurements of PI uptake in order to establish the relationship between electric-field dosimetry and fluorophore uptake.