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Radio-frequency bioeffects at the membrane level: Separation of thermal and athermal contributions in the characeae

The Journal of Membrane Biology volume 61, pages 39–54 (1981)Cite this article

Summary

Single cells ofChara braunii andNitella flexilis were placed in a microstrip exposure apparatus and subjected to isolated bursts of radiofrequency irradiation. Their electrical responses were observed both extra- and intracellularly and found to be in accordance with theoretical predictions. In particular, the cell membrane displays rectifier-like behavior up to a cutoff near 10 MHz; this cutoff implies for the principal current carriers a transit time through the membrane of roughly 50 nsec and a mobility within the membrane approximately onefifth that of potassium in free solution. An electrical response of purely thermal origin was also detected; it was separated from the athermal rectifier response on the basis of rise time and frequency dependence. This is believed to be the first instance in which (i) a biological effect of radio-frequency radiation has had its thermal and athermal components clearly separated and (ii) a primary effect of ion transit time through the membrane has been directly detected.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical Engineering, Washington University, 63130, Saint Louis, Missouri

    William F. Pickard & Yousri H. Barsoum

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  1. William F. Pickard
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  2. Yousri H. Barsoum
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Pickard, W.F., Barsoum, Y.H. Radio-frequency bioeffects at the membrane level: Separation of thermal and athermal contributions in the characeae. J. Membrain Biol. 61, 39–54 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01870751

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01870751

Key words

  • Characeae
  • electrogensis
  • ion flux
  • radiofrequency bioeffects
  • rectification
  • transit time