School of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering

This project aims at applying pulsed electric fields to influence the behaviour of cells for therapeutical purposes, in particular wound sterilization and nerve regeneration. Although electric fields have been used in biomedical applications for centuries, the use of nanosecond pulsed electric fields is only recent and it provides opportunities for new therapeutic interventions. Two aspects enabled by pulsing the electric field are explored in this project. The first one is non-invasiveness. Pulsed electric fields can be radiated and made to penetrate into a body without the need of surgery and implants.  And secondly, pulsed electric fields are able to interact with organelles inside the cells rather than only with the cell membrane as it is the case with low frequency fields used conventionally.

• Bacterial cells exposed to nanosecond pulsed electric fields show lethal and sublethal effects
  S. Perni, P.R. Chalise, G. Shama and M.G. Kong
  Intl. J. Food Microbiol., 120, pp 311-314 (2007)
  


• Lethality Mechanisms in Escherichia coli Induced by Intense Sub-microsecond Electrical Pulses
  P.R. Chalise, S. Perni, G. Shama, B. Novac, I.R. Smith and M.G. Kong
  Appl. Phys. Lett., 89, pp 153902 (2006)