Non linear ionic fluxes in an electrically exposed cell

In this paper the problem of non-thermal interaction of a low-frequency, low-amplitude electric field with a non-linear cell membrane is considered. The main result of biological interest is that, when the applied time-varying, zero mean electric field is spatially non-uniform, the pattern of the rectified current density looks like the one observed experimentally in the single-cell early developmental stage of the egg of the seaweed Fucus. It is therefore possible that an external field, applied for a very long time, can start developmental processes by mimicking the natural ionic current pattern.