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External Electric Field-Induced Transmembrane Potentials in Biological Systems

Features, Effects, and Optical Monitoring

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Electroporation and Electrofusion in Cell Biology

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Abstract

In living systems, a high level of organizational heterogeneity forms the structural basis for a wide variety of functions (energy transduction, ion and metabolite transport, excitability, development) and their regulation. At a fundamental level, practically all events and interactions involved are ultimately electrical in nature, due to the ubiquity of charges and the suitability for processing of electrical signals, as well as to evolutionary reasons. Most phenomena of interest involve biological membranes, shown to be highly specialized molecular assemblies and not mere proteolipid barriers between the inside and outside media. As a consequence, the electrical properties of membranes have been extensively investigated.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut, 06032, USA

    Daniel L. Farkas

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  1. Daniel L. Farkas
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, FRG

    Eberhard Neumann

  2. American Red Cross, Rockville, Maryland, USA

    Arthur E. Sowers

  3. Science Applications International Corporation, McLean, Virginia, USA

    Carol A. Jordan

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© 1989 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Farkas, D.L. (1989). External Electric Field-Induced Transmembrane Potentials in Biological Systems. In: Neumann, E., Sowers, A.E., Jordan, C.A. (eds) Electroporation and Electrofusion in Cell Biology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2528-2_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2528-2_27

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-2530-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-2528-2

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