A hybrid numerical method to compute erythrocyte TMP in low-frequency electric fields

Area of Science:

• Computational biology
• Biophysics
• Electroporation

Background:

• Understanding the behavior of erythrocytes in electric fields is crucial for electroporation applications.
• Accurate computation of transmembrane potential (TMP) is essential for predicting cell membrane responses.
• Existing methods may face challenges with complex geometries or computational efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel hybrid computational method coupling the finite element method (FEM) and boundary element method (BEM).
• To compute the TMP of an erythrocyte in a low-frequency electric field with high accuracy.
• To validate the method against experimental data for membrane electric breakdown and guide further research.

Main Methods:

• A hybrid FEM-BEM approach was developed to model the erythrocyte and its surrounding environment.
• The method leverages the homogeneous characteristics of intracellular and extracellular regions.
• A refined 3-D mesh was used around the erythrocyte membrane, optimizing computational resources.

Main Results:

• Numerical simulations demonstrated the accuracy of the hybrid FEM-BEM method for spherical cells.
• The computed electric field threshold for erythrocyte membrane breakdown closely matched experimental findings.
• The method successfully identified locations of maximum induced TMP on the erythrocyte membrane under various electric fields.

Conclusions:

• The hybrid FEM-BEM method provides an accurate and efficient tool for computing erythrocyte TMP in electric fields.
• This computational approach can guide experimental studies on electroporation and cell membrane physics.
• The method has potential for broader applications in simulating biological cell responses to electrical stimuli.