Conductivity spectra of cellular systems in pulsed electric fields: Electro-compression disintegration and thermal instability effects

A method based on electrophysiological properties is proposed for calculation of conductivity spectrum for cellular systems which may be used for studying disintegration of cellular materials in pulsed electric fields (PEFs). For modeling the cellular complex conductivity, an electrical element, called “bi-layer element”, is defined. Impedance networks are established by setting system parameters randomly. The conductivity–frequency curves, calculated by this method, behaved reasonably and a correlation for the system conductivity at high frequencies is proposed. The conductivity variation due to electro-compression and thermal instability is also investigated.

Research highlights▶ Increasing the average membrane factor raises the sample conductivity at low frequencies. ▶ High voltages are required for electroporation when the membrane factors are big. ▶ The temperature dependency of the electro-compression is strong for high fields.