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Applications of Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) Interactions with Biological Cells

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A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Biosciences and Bioengineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2025 | Viewed by 4751

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Luis Redondo

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Guest Editor

Unit for Innovation and Research in Engineering, Lisbon School of Engineering, UnIRE/ISEL, 1959-007 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: pulsed power technology and applications; semiconductor based pulsed power generators; pulsed electric field applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Bucur Novac

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Guest Editor

Wolfson School of MEME, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
Interests: pulsed power physics and technology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past decade, advances related to pulsed electric field (PEF) techniques have matured considerably, contributing to a broad range of applications in the medical, environmental, food, energy, and biotechnological fields.

This Special Issue will provide an excellent opportunity for sharing the latest results related to the development of technologies associated with the generation of PEFs, from pulsed power generators to treatment chambers, as well as their applications in various domains. In addition, there will also be works presented that describe PEF techniques applied for cancer treatment and tumor ablation, disinfection, decontamination, hygiene, cell and tissue stimulation, wound healing, biomass processing and biofuel generation, food safety and food preservation, agricultural crops, and farming as well as biomedical applications, together with their characteristic diagnostics and analytics.

This Special Issue of Applied Sciences, “Applications of Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) Interactions with Biological Cells”, aims to attract novel contributions covering a wide range of research and applications of the experimental techniques and effects of PEFs on biological cells.

Prof. Dr. Luis Redondo
Prof. Dr. Bucur Novac
Guest Editors

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Keywords

pulsed electric field (PEF) generation
diagnostic and analytics
PEF applications in the medical, environmental, food, energy, and biotechnological fields
experimental techniques and effects from using PEFs in biological cells

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 1643 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Challenges and Opportunities for Pilot Scaling-Up Extraction of Olive Oil Assisted by Pulsed Electric Fields: Process, Product, and Economic Evaluation

by Sara Dias, Enrique Pino-Hernández, Diogo Gonçalves, Duarte Rego, Luís Redondo and Marco Alves

Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(9), 3638; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14093638 - 25 Apr 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 821

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the impact of Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF) technology in the extraction of olive oil on a pilot scale, using the “Galega Vulgar” olive variety as raw material. The extraction assisted by PEF had a malaxation time of 30 min and was compared with the traditional process of 45 min of malaxation. The main quality parameters of olive oil and the PEF’s cost-benefit assessment were performed. The incorporation of PEF in olive oil production reduced the malaxation stage by 33% without compromising the yield or extra-virgin classification. This efficiency leads to a potential 12.3% increase in annual olive oil production, with a 12.3% and 36.8% rise in revenue and gross profit, respectively. For small-scale production, the considerable upfront investment required for PEF equipment may be a challenge in terms of return on investment. In this scenario, opting for a renting scheme is the best economic solution, especially given the seasonal nature of olive oil production. In medium- to large-scale production, the investment in PEF is a sound investment since it is possible to achieve, with an equipment cost of EUR 450,000 and a production output of 5 tons per hour, an annual ROI of 20%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) Interactions with Biological Cells)

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23 pages, 3247 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparative Analysis of Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF) and Traditional Pasteurization Techniques: Comparative Effects on Nutritional Attributes and Bacterial Viability in Milk and Whey Products

by Aivaras Šalaševičius, Dovilė Uždavinytė, Mindaugas Visockis, Paulius Ruzgys and Saulius Šatkauskas

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(22), 12127; https://doi.org/10.3390/app132212127 - 8 Nov 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1847

Abstract

With the current upsurge in the desire to foster healthy lifestyles and consume nutritious food products, the food industry has been propelled to develop novel food processing technologies. In our study, we critically evaluated the influence of pulsed electric field (PEF) processing by comparing it to conventional thermal pasteurization protocols—low temperature, long time (LTLT), high temperature, short time (HTST), and microfiltration (MF)—and its ramifications on the nutritional properties inherent in raw milk, which comprises vitamins, whey protein, amino acids, cholesterol, and fatty acids. A significant difference in β-lactoglobulin content was observed in PEF-treated liquid whey samples compared to those treated with high-temperature (HT) pasteurization, where 4.8-fold reduction with a concentration of 0.80 mg/mL was observed. Liquid whey samples treated with PEF, LTLT, HTST and MF retained β-lactoglobulin content, PEF-treated samples yielded 3.85 mg/mL, while HTST, LTLT, and MF-treated samples had β-lactoglobulin content of 3.62 mg/mL, 3.63 mg/mL, and 3.62 mg/mL compared to raw whey control (RWC) at 3.81 mg/mL. The concentrations of nutritional properties, like vitamins (A, D, E), amino acids, cholesterol, and fatty acids, remained approximately consistent across all the pasteurization methodologies. Moreover, the bacterial viability in the context of various pasteurization methodologies was scrutinized, with an absence of colonies observed in whey specimens subjected to thermal pasteurization. PEF-treated samples exhibited a substantial 1.6-log reduction in coliform colony count to less than 4 CFU/mL after curd reduction, in contrast to raw milk samples. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) Interactions with Biological Cells)

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23 pages, 2937 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Pulsed Electric Fields vs. Pectolytic Enzymes in Arinto Vinification: Effects on Yield and Oenological Parameters

by Mafalda Aguiar-Macedo, Luis M. Redondo, Marcos Teotónio Pereira and Carlos Silva

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(14), 8343; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13148343 - 19 Jul 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1382

Abstract

The increase in awareness of consumers and producers regarding the sustainable production and consumption of food commodities is motivating the emergence of new technologies to improve the efficiency of pre-established methods and reduce or supplant the usage of production factors. Thus, innovative technologies, such as the nonthermal application of pulsed electric fields (PEFs), may play a crucial role in the optimization of processes, both economically and environmentally (shrinkage of wastage, energy efficiency and decrease in the use of food additives), without compromising the quality of the final product. Thus, a comparison was made between the application of commercial-grade enzymes and PEF treatment to assess the impact on cuvée white grape must and on wine yield and quality. Oenological parameters were evaluated during alcoholic fermentation and after 3 months, with tartaric stability measured after 6 months. For this, assays resorting to 1.5 tons of Arinto grapes were separated into nine similar batches: three control, three treated with enzymes (1.5 g/100 kg) and three subjected to PEFs (1 kV/cm; 2 kJ/kg) at a rate of 4 ton/h. PEFs presented the highest increase in cuvée wine yield of 5.47%; a reduction of 19% of wine lees production was also determined. The effect of PEFs on pH, total acidity, turbidity, total phenols, color intensity, %Ye, total dry extract, volatile acidity and tartaric stability was studied and compared with control and enzymatic treatment. PEF and enzyme usage direct costs were determined; the employment of PEFs represented a direct cost of 0.12 EUR/ton, while enzyme usage was 1.80 EUR/ton. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) Interactions with Biological Cells)

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