In vivo analysis of THz wave irradiation induced acute inflammatory response in skin by laser-scanning confocal microscopy.
Hwang Y, Ahn J, Mun J, Bae S, Jeong YU, Vinokurov NA, Kim P. · 2014
View Original AbstractTHz radiation triggered massive skin inflammation in 30 minutes without heating, proving EMF causes non-thermal biological effects.
Plain English Summary
Researchers exposed mouse ear skin to terahertz (THz) radiation at 2.7 THz frequency for 30 minutes and monitored the immune response using advanced microscopy. They found that THz exposure triggered a massive inflammatory response, with immune cells called neutrophils flooding into the exposed skin area within 6 hours. Importantly, this inflammatory reaction occurred without any detectable heating of the skin, suggesting the radiation caused biological effects through non-thermal mechanisms.
Why This Matters
This study provides compelling evidence that terahertz radiation can trigger significant biological responses in living tissue without causing measurable heating. The massive neutrophil infiltration observed represents a clear inflammatory response that could have implications for tissue health and healing. While THz frequencies aren't commonly encountered in everyday consumer devices, they're increasingly used in airport security scanners and emerging medical imaging applications. The research demonstrates that even relatively brief exposures can provoke substantial immune system activation through non-thermal pathways. This adds to the growing body of evidence showing that EMF bioeffects extend far beyond simple tissue heating, challenging the adequacy of current safety standards that focus primarily on thermal effects.
Exposure Details
- Power Density
- 260 µW/m²
- Source/Device
- 2.7 THz, 3Hz repetition
- Exposure Duration
- 30 minutes
Exposure Context
This study used 260 µW/m² for radio frequency:
- 26,000Mx above the Building Biology guideline of 0.1 μW/m²
- 433.3Mx above the BioInitiative Report recommendation of 0.0006 μW/cm²
Building Biology guidelines are practitioner-based limits from real-world assessments. BioInitiative Report recommendations are based on peer-reviewed science. Check Your Exposure to compare your own measurements.
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
In this study, an acute inflammatory response caused by pulsed THz wave irradiation on the skin of a live mouse was analyzed at the cellular level using intravital laser-scanning confocal microscopy.
Pulsed THz wave (2.7 THz, 4 μs pulsewidth, 61.4 μJ per pulse, 3Hz repetition), generated using compa...
In contrast to in vitro analysis using cultured cells at similar power levels of CW THz wave irradia...
Show BibTeX
@article{y_2014_in_vivo_analysis_of_1039,
author = {Hwang Y and Ahn J and Mun J and Bae S and Jeong YU and Vinokurov NA and Kim P.},
title = {In vivo analysis of THz wave irradiation induced acute inflammatory response in skin by laser-scanning confocal microscopy.},
year = {2014},
url = {https://www.osapublishing.org/oe/fulltext.cfm?uri=oe-22-10-11465&id=284390},
}