Constructal thermodynamics combined with infrared experiments to evaluate temperature differences in cells.

Umberto Lucia,Gianpiero Gervino,Giulia Grisolia,Antonio Ponzetto,Francesca Silvagno,Bartolomeo Montrucchio,Giuseppe Grazzini,Carlotta Castagnoli,Romano Borchiellini

doi:10.1038/srep11587

Abstract

The aim of this work was to evaluate differences in energy flows between normal and immortalized cells when these distinct biological systems are exposed to environmental stimulation. These differences were considered using a constructal thermodynamic approach, and were subsequently verified experimentally. The application of constructal law to cell analysis led to the conclusion that temperature differences between cells with distinct behaviour can be amplified by interaction between cells and external fields. Experimental validation of the principle was carried out on two cellular models exposed to electromagnetic fields. By infrared thermography we were able to assess small changes in heat dissipation measured as a variation in cell internal energy. The experimental data thus obtained are in agreement with the theoretical calculation, because they show a different thermal dispersion pattern when normal and immortalized cells are exposed to electromagnetic fields. By using two methods that support and validate each other, we have demonstrated that the cell/environment interaction can be exploited to enhance cell behavior differences, in particular heat dissipation. We propose infrared thermography as a technique effective in discriminating distinct patterns of thermal dispersion and therefore able to distinguish a normal phenotype from a transformed one.

Highlights

The internal temperature affects both the cell chemical reactions and heat and matter diffusion through the cell membrane[8]
Temperature variations on nanometre scales represents an essential topic of metrological innovation and technological development in many areas of biological, physical and chemical research and technology, with particular focus on temperature-induced control of gene expression and tumour metabolism in order to develop cell-selective treatments of diseases[15,16,17,18,19]
We consider that cells are open and complex systems, and, as such, they can be analysed using the quantitative description of irreversibility by introducing the constructal approach to cell analysis and developing the quantitative calculation by using the concept of entropy generation[14,20,21,22,23,24,25], defined as[33]:

Summary

Introduction

The internal temperature affects both the cell chemical reactions and heat and matter diffusion through the cell membrane[8]. A variety of methods are available to measure body temperature, new techniques are required to compare the temperature variation related to the normal or deviant behaviour of cells systems. In order to compare the normal and altered behaviour of cells it is necessary to develop new techniques that allow information to be obtained with the scope of understanding the specific properties of distinct biological patterns. Cell structure is related to its function and life is sustained by trapping and converting energy Cells can perform this function by metabolic pathways, which are sequences of enzyme-catalysed reactions. Such pathways are strictly regulated, and this is essential to the existence of life because cells become disorganized and die without adequate control of metabolism This regulation represents an efficient use of energy[14]

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