Effect of defibrillation pulses of different shapes on biomembranes: experimental study

We studied the effects of high-voltage single, double unipolar, and double bipolar electric pulses of exponential or sine shape on erythrocyte membranes. Either single or double (mono- or bipolar) pulses were used. All pulses electroporated the membranes, and the electroporation threshold did not depend on the pulse shape. Two successive pulses decreased erythrocyte number in a nonadditive way. Similar to defibrillation of the whole heart, the effect of two bipolar pulses on erythrocytes was more pronounced than the effect of two unipolar pulses.