Simulations of Voltage Transients Across Intracellular Mitochondrial Membranes Due to Nanosecond Electrical Pulses

Simulations to quantify the induction of transmembrane potentials across the mitochondrial membranes have been carried out, taking account of their irregular shape. Our results demonstrate that short (60 ns), high-intensity pulses have the capacity to create membrane potentials, while longer 600-ns pulses are not as effective. Also, the plasma membrane effects are always greater than those at the mitochondria, and that poration at the inner mitochondrial membrane is more difficult than at the outer mitochondrial membrane. In the shorter pulse range, geometric dependence is very pronounced, and so short pulses could be very effective in highly irregular shaped cells, such as neurons. Finally, bioeffects due to the longer 600-ns pulses as seen experimentally, is likely due to other (secondary) effects such as calcium inflow from the porated plasma membrane at the mitochondrial sites.