POTENTIAL DISTRIBUTION FOR A SPHEROIDAL CELL HAVING A CONDUCTIVE MEMBRANE IN AN ELECTRIC-FIELD

When a cell is situated in a uniform electric field, the field is modi fied due to the relatively low conductance of the cell membrane compar ed to that of the surrounding fluids, In certain cases, such as in the estimation of internal and external electrokinetic forces, one requir es a means of estimating the magnitude of the electric field inside an d outside the cell, Most treatments consider the case when the membran e has zero conductivity, or the case of only a spherical cell. We solv e Laplace's equation for the electric potential distribution inside an d outside a cell having a prolate spheroidal shape and having a membra ne with a finite, nonzero conductivity.