Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 24, 2026
08:23
Finite Element Modelling of a Cellular Electric Microenvironment
Published on: May 18, 2021
4.1K
In Situ Quantification of Bacterial Surface Charge at the Single-Cell Level for Modeling Transport under Electric
Shuai Wang1, Feiyang Mo1, Feifei Liu1
1School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States.
Environmental Science & Technology
|March 23, 2026
Summary
Locally enhanced electric field treatment (LEEFT) requires understanding individual cell surface charge. A new platform reveals significant charge variation, crucial for optimizing bacterial inactivation via electric fields.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Microbiology
- Electrochemistry
Background:
- Locally enhanced electric field treatment (LEEFT) inactivates bacteria by exploiting charge-dependent transport.
- Effective bacterial inactivation necessitates resolving surface-charge heterogeneity, not just population-averaged zeta potentials.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a high-throughput single-cell tracking platform for quantifying effective surface charge at the individual-cell level.
- To investigate the impact of medium chemistry and bacterial growth phase on surface charge distribution.
Main Methods:
- High-throughput single-cell tracking microscopy.
- Measurement of effective surface charge distribution under electric fields.
- Analysis of charge heterogeneity spanning nearly 2 orders of magnitude.
Main Results:
- Revealed significant heterogeneity in effective surface charge (-1.0 × 10-18 to -1.8 × 10-16 C) at pH 5.8.
- Demonstrated that least charged cells migrate an order of magnitude slower than highly charged cells.
- Showed that medium pH alters overall charge, while growth phase modulates charge distribution width.
Conclusions:
- The developed platform accurately resolves single-cell effective surface charge under electric fields.
- Distribution-resolved parameters are essential for accurate transport modeling in LEEFT systems.
- Findings enable rational optimization of electric-field-based bacterial treatment strategies.
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