Mitochondrial membrane permeabilization with nanosecond electric pulses

Ultra-short, high-field electric pulses permeabilize plasma and intracellular membranes. We report here nanosecond pulse-induced permeabilization of mitochondrial membranes in living cells. Using four independent methods based on fluorescent dyes — JC-1, rhodamine 123, tetramethyl rhodamine ethyl ester, and cobalt-quenched calcein — we show that as few as five, 4 ns, 10 MV/m pulses delivered at 1 kHz cause an increase of the inner mitochondrial membrane permeability and an associated loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. The most likely interpretation of these results is a pulse-induced permeabilization of the inner mitochondrial membrane.