Study on time-frequency characteristics of cellular transmenbrane potentials based on equivalent circuit model

An equivalent circuit model of spherical biological cell subjected to pulsed electric field (PEF) is introduced, on the basis of multilayer dielectric model and complex-domain analysis. The transfer functions of inner and outer membranes are also presented. By introducing the time-domain solutions of transmembrane potentials induced by PEF, the relationship between electric field parameters and transmembrane potentials is discussed. It is found that different duration can result in different selective effect on inner and outer membranes. Frequency-domain analysis shows that inner and outer membranes exhibit band-pass and low-pass filter characteristic in response to PEF, respectively. Both the time-domain and frequency-domain analyses show that the circuit model agrees well with the dielectric model and can give preliminary explanation for bioelectric effects induced by PEF, such as electroporation and intracellular electromanipulation. The circuit model, which is not computationally demanding but useful, provides a technique complementing other numerical and analytical methods for application of PEF in tumor treatment.