A Comparative Study on the Viability of Normal and Cancerous Cells upon Irradiation with a Steady Beam of THz Rays

Larysa Kovalevska,Olexandr Golenkov,Yelyzaveta Kulahina,Elena Kashuba,Todd Callender,Fedir Sizov

doi:10.3390/life12030376

Abstract

Terahertz (THz) electromagnetic radiation is commonly used in astronomy, security screening, imaging, and biomedicine, among other applications. Such approach has raised the question of the influence of THz irradiation on biological objects, especially the human body. However, the results obtained to date are quite controversial. Therefore, we performed a comparative study on the viability of normal cells and cancer cells upon irradiation with a steady beam of THz rays. We used human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and cancer cell lines. Primary human mononuclear blood cells (monocytes, and B-, and T-cells) showed an increased death rate, determined by cell counting and fluorescence microscopy, upon 0.14 THz irradiation. The effect of THz radiation was different among malignant cells of B- and T-cell origin (Ramos and Jurkat cells) and epithelial cancer cells (MCF7 and LNCaP). This was demonstrated by cell counting and by the alamarBlue assay. In conclusion, THz radiation can result in the death of human primary and malignant cells. However, the mechanism of this phenomenon is largely unknown. Hence, more work should be done to shed some light on the mechanism of action of THz irradiation in living organisms to enhance technologic developments.

Highlights

It is accepted that, considering the wavelength, the IR region is situated between 0.75 and 30 μm, corresponding to the range of radiation frequencies (ν) of 400–10 THz, while the THz region is located in the range of 30 μm–3 mm, with ν = 0.1–10 THz [1]
The THz region corresponds to a transition area between far IR and microwaves (λ > 3 mm)
THz radiation has drawn much attention due to its applications in astronomy, security screening, imaging, biomedicine, among others. Such broad application has raised the question of the influence of THz irradiation on biological objects, especially on the hu-man body

Summary

Introduction

Modern technologies based on the use of infrared (IR) radiation and, terahertz (THz) electromagnetic waves are widely applied in biomedical sciences and continue to undergo a rapid development. The THz region corresponds to a transition area between far IR and microwaves (λ > 3 mm). THz radiation has drawn much attention due to its applications in astronomy, security screening, imaging, biomedicine, among others. Such broad application has raised the question of the influence of THz irradiation on biological objects, especially on the hu-man body. This question has been addressed using various model systems both, in vitro and in vivo.

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