Electrical sizing of particles in suspensions. V. High electric fields

N. B. Grover, S. A. Ben Sasson, J. Naaman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

The phenomenon of dielectric breakdown is described in detail and characterized in terms of the physical parameters of electrical sizing. At electric fields above a certain threshold, different for each cell type, the cell membrane became permeable to ionic flow. For human erythrocytes this critical value was found to be 0.8 kv/cm and for chick peripheral blood lymphocytes, 1.9 kv/cm. Above these fields, when the membrane was no longer a perfect insulator, electrical size became dependent on the ratio of the resistivity of the cell interior to that of the suspending medium; this was demonstrated by using ghosts and, more strikingly, by increasing the external resistivity to the point where the cell size actually appeared inverted. The increased permeability induced by the high field caused cell swelling, which can be reversed by resuspension in isotonic sucrose. As soon as the cells were no longer under influence of the high field, they underwent rapid, temperature-dependent resealing. These results and others are interpreted as evidence of pore formation within the membrane, rendering it permeable to small solutes, such as the monovalent cautions. Cell size as determined electrically decreases very rapidly as the permeability begins to rise; this makes the method particularly sensitive to incipient increases in membrane permeability.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)302-308
Number of pages7
JournalAnalytical and Quantitative Cytology
Volume4
Issue number4
StatePublished - 1982

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