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Dependence of the electrical breakdown voltage on the charging time inValonia utricularis

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Summary

Charge-pulse experiments were performed on giant algal cells ofValonia utricularis. For a charging time of 420 μsec the breakdown voltage is about 750 mV (18°C), a value that is in close agreement with earlier results obtained with current pulses (Coster & Zimmermann, 1975;J. Membrane Biol. 22:73). If the membrane is charged to the breakdown voltage in a shorter time, the breakdown voltage is found to be a function of the duration of the charge pulses. Whereas towards smaller pulse lengths down to 10 μsec only a small, but significant, increase in the breakdown voltage is observed (1.1 V at 10 μsec pulse length and 18°C), a strong increase in the breakdown voltage is found for even shorter charging times. For a pulse length of 800 nsec the breakdown voltage has a value of about 2.4 V (18°C) and a plateau seems to be reached for a pulse duration of 500 nsec. The influence of temperature on the breakdown voltage as observed for short charging times is very similar to that reported earlier for current pulses of 500 μsec duration. For charge pulses of 1 to 2 μsec duration the breakdown voltage decreases from 3.6 V at 3°C to 1.6 V at 25°C by more than a factor of two.

Voltage relaxation studies in the low-field range suggest that the time constants of the two membranes arranged in series, tonoplast and plasmalemma, are similar. From this, it is suggested that both membranes show electrical breakdown, whereby the breakdown voltage of a single membrane is probably half the value of the total breakdown voltage. Its dependence on pulse length is therefore considered to be an intrinsic property of one single membrane. The strong dependence of the breakdown voltage on the charging time of the membrane further supports the interpretation of the breakdown phenomenon on the basis of the electro-mechanical model proposed earlier. In this model it is assumed that the electrical and mechanical compressive forces are counter balanced by elastic restoring forces within the membrane. However, towards very short pulses (less than 800 nsec), where a plateau seems to be reached, other processes may be generated by the application of the electric field. We discuss whether one of these processes is the ion movement through the membranes induced by a high electric field (Born energy).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Arbeitsgruppe für Membranforschung am Institut für Medizin, Kernforschungsanlage Jülich, D-5170, Jülich, West Germany

    U. Zimmermann & R. Benz

  2. Fakultät für Biologie, Universität Konstanz, D-7750, Konstanz, West Germany

    U. Zimmermann & R. Benz

Authors
  1. U. Zimmermann
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  2. R. Benz
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Zimmermann, U., Benz, R. Dependence of the electrical breakdown voltage on the charging time inValonia utricularis . J. Membrain Biol. 53, 33–43 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01871170

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01871170

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