Abstract
Experimental results are described for sterilization of microorganisms by means of high-voltage pulsed discharge under water, in which the sterilization mechanism is quite different from that of the ordinary thermal method. Immobilized yeast cells did not suffer great damage after the treatment by pulsed discharges. On the contra-ry, microorganisms suspended in bulk liquid were killed to a much greater extent than the immobilized yeast cells. Under observation with a scanning electron microscope the treated yeast cells looked like a deflated ballon, perhaps the result of leakage of the cell contents (cytolysis) after irreversible damage to the cell wall or cell membrane by the applied field.
