Invited Paper PB+BI+PC+PS-WeA3
Stimulus Control on Organisms Using Pulsed Power Technology

Wednesday, October 24, 2018, 3:00 pm, Room 104A

Pulsed power is instantaneous ultra-high power with high energy density (10⁵-10⁷J/m³). By controlling and utilizing it in a narrow space and an instantaneous time, phenomena and reactions that are not attained by conventional and ordinary methods can be achieved. For instance: electromagnetic field, discharge plasma, shockwaves, intense light emission, etc. By selecting or combining some of these physical phenomena, it is able to control the degree of output performance. Bioelectrics refers to the use of pulsed power, powerful pulsed electric or magnetic field for extremely short periods of time, non-thermal plasmas in gases or liquids and shock waves, in order to give novel physical stresses to biological cells, tissues and/or organisms as well as bacteria. Bioelectrics is an interdisciplinary academic field over physics, chemistry, biology, medical science, agriculture, environmental, mechanical and electrical engineering, and is expected to open up new science and technology.

By controlling the degree of electrical stimulations using pulsed power, it is possible to either inactivate biological targets or keep them alive and activate their functions. Examples of inactivation are given as: sterilization of liquids, treatment of algae and marine harmful organisms, growth inhibition of plants. On the other hand, more delicate stress control enables the activation of living organisms such as transcriptional activation of genes, substance transduction into cells, growth enhancement of plants. Both direct and indirect stimuli are useful. Here, aerial, liquidus and edaphic environmental control are examples of the indirect stimulus.