Dielectric Properties of the Human Red Blood Cell
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MEDICAL AND BIOLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES OF THE HUMAN RED BLOOD CELL V. M. Generalov,1 A. S. Safatov,1 M. V. Kruchinina,2 A. A. Gromov,2 G. A. Buryak,1 K. V. Generalov,1 and V. N. Kruchinin3
UDC 53.083.98
The dielectric properties of the erythrocyte were studied. Experimental methods and results of measuring the dielectric properties of individual human erythrocyte are presented. The method is theoretically justified. It is found that values of the complex permittivity of the erythrocyte, electrical capacitance, dielectric loss tangent remain almost constant despite significant changes in conductivity and the content of NaCl in the cell suspension. These values reflect the stability of the studied parameters of erythrocytes under conditions of changes within a wide range of the environment in which the cells are located. Complex cell permittivity and cell dielectric loss tangent are promising parameters for objective diagnostics of human diseases. The introduction of measurements of cell permittivity and cell dielectric loss tangent into medical practice will likely allow us to characterize the process of individual cell self-regulation in more detail. Keywords: erythrocyte, dielectric constant, electrical capacitance, dielectric loss tangent, dielectrophoresis.
Introduction. One of the fundamental functions of a cell, acquired in the course of evolution, is continuous adaptation to external conditions [1–3]. The cell is sensitive to changes in external conditions. In response to the effects of viruses, bacteria and ionic strength of the cell suspension, the water-salt balance, transmembrane potential, morphology, and other properties of the cell change [4–9]. The most important property of a set of cells is their heterogeneity. Cells differ in many parameters under the same conditions, for example, in the distribution of erythrocytes along the radius, volume [10]. The loss of adaptation of cells to external conditions, the lack of heterogeneity in the cell population leads to the termination of their existence [1]. The cell has a dielectric constant, which depends on a set of physical and chemical properties (conductivity, density, viscosity, isotropy, state of aggregation, temperature) of complexly structured membranes, cytoplasm, endoplasmic reticulum, polarization of free and bound ions, proteins, etc. [2, 6, 10, 12]. If a cell loses its physical and biological essence, for example, in the case of rupture of the membrane with subsequent diffusion of intracellular contents into the external environment, the dielectric constant, as an indicator of a single whole cell, loses its meaning. The dielectric properties of a substance and their dispersion in a wide frequency range are used in fundamental research, in the development of practical technologies, devices, structures, etc. [13]. However, most biological research evaluates the dielectric constant of tissues or cell suspensions. The reason for this approach is the micrometer size of the cell. This circumstance determines the engineering diff
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