Effect of controlled electromagnetic radiation on the growth of cells in tissue culture

Abstract

Various mammalian and bacterial cell lines were exposed to microwave radiation at a wavelength of 12 cm, a frequency of 2.45 × 10 9 cps, and a current at 120 mA under strictly controlled temperature conditions. Microwave radiation appeared to have a specific “nonthermal” inhibitory effect on the growth of mammalian cells. The various cell lines showed different sensitivities to exposure. L60T cells were susceptible to microwave exposure only during the M and G1 phases of the cell cycle. It was possible to markedly suppress the growth of asynchronous populations of L60T cells by exposing them to microwave energy at four successive 4-hr intervals, as culture progressively entered the M and G1 phases of the cell cycle.