The Influence of Maxwell Stress on the Cell Electrodeformation and Electroporation

The exposure of cells to a pulsed electric field can lead to electroporation (EP) and electrodeformation (ED). However, the ED effect rarely considered in the existing EP models. Based on the finite element simulation soft COMSOL, we investigate the distribution of Maxwell stress and its effect on cell deformation in two situations with considered pore formation or not. Our simulation reveal that the simulation result of the model considered pore formation and ED is more consistent with the experiment result. We analysis in detail the relation between the cell deformation and Maxwell stress and electric field distribution using the EP and ED coupling model in the situation when the interior conductivity is larger than the exterior one. At the beginning of the pulse, the distribution of the cell deformation and Maxwell stress is agreement. During the pulse, the Maxwell stress in z direction is one order of magnitude greater than that in r direction. The deformation is major affected by the Maxwell stress in z direction, leading to the cell deform to prolate shape, which is in good agreement with the experiment. When the pulse removed about 10 µs later, our simulation observed a rebound peak in cell deformation curve. The conclusion of this paper is of great significance for improving the efficiency of cell EP, studying the recovery of cell after EP and promoting the application of EP technology in biomedical field.