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EFFECTS OF HIGH-FREQUENCY ELECTRIC FIELDS ON THE LIVING CELL I. BEHAVIOUR OF HUMAN ERYTHROCYTES IN HIGH-FREQUENCY ELECTRIC FIELDS AND ITS RELATION TO THEIR AGE

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A. A. FUREDI, I. OHAD · 1964

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High-frequency electric fields physically deform human blood cells, with older cells showing different responses than young cells.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Scientists exposed human red blood cells to high-frequency electric fields and found that young cells stretched and rotated, while older cells formed chains instead. This 1964 study showed that high-frequency electric fields can physically alter red blood cells in measurable ways, with the response depending on cell age.

Why This Matters

This 1964 study describes how human red blood cells behave in a high-frequency electric field (a 120 megacycles/sec oscillator, applied for 1-5 seconds) while suspended in sucrose solution under a phase microscope. Young cells showed a reversible elongation accompanied by rotation, while old cells formed chains oriented in the direction of the field. In hypotonic solution, more than 90% of the top (young) fraction but less than 10% of the bottom (old) fraction exhibited rotation and elongation. The authors suggest the difference may be due to decreasing lipid content during aging, which increases the dielectric constant of the cell while its charge density decreases.

Figures from the Original Paper

Diagrams extracted from the original research document.

diagramPage 2 - Figure 1: Tube with separated erythrocytes. Top layer, young erythrocytes; middle layer, albumin solution; bottom, old erythrocytes.
p. 2 of the original PDF
diagramPage 3 - Fig. 2: Schematic drawing of the amoeba-like rotation of erythrocytes suspended in isotonic sucrose solution when an electric field is applied.
p. 3 of the original PDF
diagramPage 4 - AI-described figure: Schematic representation showing the effect of an electric field on young erythrocytes in hypotonic medium at different time points (t0, t1, t2).
p. 4 of the original PDF
diagramPage 5 - Fig. 6b: Influence of field on erythrocytes separated into old and young fractions, a: top fraction (young); b: bottom fraction (old).
p. 5 of the original PDF
diagramPage 6 - Schematic drawing of distortion of electric field by particles and the resulting stresses.
p. 6 of the original PDF
Cite This Study
A. A. FUREDI, I. OHAD (1964). EFFECTS OF HIGH-FREQUENCY ELECTRIC FIELDS ON THE LIVING CELL I. BEHAVIOUR OF HUMAN ERYTHROCYTES IN HIGH-FREQUENCY ELECTRIC FIELDS AND ITS RELATION TO THEIR AGE.
Show BibTeX
@article{effects_of_high_frequency_electric_fields_on_the_living_cell_i_behaviour_of_huma_g6686,
  author = {A. A. FUREDI and I. OHAD},
  title = {EFFECTS OF HIGH-FREQUENCY ELECTRIC FIELDS ON THE LIVING CELL I. BEHAVIOUR OF HUMAN ERYTHROCYTES IN HIGH-FREQUENCY ELECTRIC FIELDS AND ITS RELATION TO THEIR AGE},
  year = {1964},
  
  
}
No DOI on file for this study.

Quick Questions About This Study

Yes, this study showed that high-frequency electric fields cause human red blood cells to elongate and rotate. The elongation was reversible.
Old red blood cells formed chains oriented in the direction of the field instead of elongating and rotating. The authors suggest as a possible explanation that decreasing lipid content during aging increases the dielectric constant of the cell while its charge density decreases, so older cells become less sensitive to the field.
Yes, the researchers improved the method of separating young from old erythrocytes according to their specific gravity. They also describe the difference in behavior of young and old cells in the electric field, combined with photomicrography, as a possible way to count the two cell types.
The rotation results from two combined effects: polarization of the red blood cell itself and distortion of the applied electric field by the cell's fixed structural charges. This interaction creates forces that cause the observable spinning motion.
No, the elongation of the red blood cells was reversible, and the cells returned to their natural form when the field was turned off. Cells kept elongated for 5-15 seconds in hypotonic solution broke up into small spherical vesicles, and prolonged application of the field caused excessive heat formation.