Figure 4.
Frequency dependence of EFinduced in the cell cytoplasm and the culture medium (a) and the cell membrane at the apex and substrate side (b). The response to the applied electric field can be divided into three regions. In region I, the electric field is induced in the cell membrane and is excluded from the cytoplasm and culture medium. In region II, EFinduced in the cell membrane increases at the cell apex up to the maximum value (Emax ∼ 12 × 105 V m−1) and starts to penetrate into the cytoplasm and culture medium, while it does not change significantly at the cell membrane facing the substrate. In region III, the magnitudes of EFinduced at the cell apex and the substrate side both decrease and eventually reach the same plateau, while EFinduced in the cytoplasm and culture medium both increase and also reach plateau values at high frequencies.