Exposure of biological preparations to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields under low gravity.
There is interest as to whether the electromagnetic fields used in mobile radiotelephony might affect biological processes. Other weak fields such as gravity intervene in a number of physical and biological processes. Under appropriate in vitro conditions, the macroscopic self-organization of microtubules, a major cellular component, is triggered by gravity. We wished to investigate whether self-organization might also be affected by radiotelephone electromagnetic fields. Detecting a possible effect requires removing the obscuring effects triggered by gravity. A simple manner of doing this is by rotating the sample about the horizontal. However, if the external field does not also rotate with the sample, its possible effect might also be averaged down by rotation. Here, we describe an apparatus in which both the sample and an applied radiofrequency electromagnetic field (1.8 GHz) are stationary with respect to one another while undergoing horizontal rotation. The electromagnetic field profile within the apparatus has been measured and the apparatus tested by reproducing the in vitro behavior of microtubule preparations under conditions of weightlessness. Specific adsorption rates of electromagnetic energy within a sample are measured from the initial temperature rise the incident field causes. The apparatus can be readily adapted to expose samples to various other external fields and factors under conditions of weightlessness.
Direction des Sciences de la Matière, Institut Nanosciences et Cryogénie, Service de Chimie Inorganique et Biologique, Laboratoire de Résonances Magnétiques, CEA Grenoble, 17 Avenue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble, France.
Jean Francois
JF
Jacquot
Jean-Luc
JL
le Bail
Michel
M
Bardet
James
J
Tabony
D000327:Adsorption; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D006112:Gravitation; D008870:Microtubules / Q000528:radiation effects*; D011846:Radio Waves; D012399:Rotation; D013696:Temperature