Abstract
High power radiofrequencies may transiently or permanently disrupt the functioning of electronic devices, but their effect on living systems remains unknown. With the aim to evaluate the safety and biological effects of narrow-band and wide-band high-power electromagnetic (HPEM) waves, we studied their effects upon exposure of healthy and tumor-bearing mice. In field experiments, the exposure to 1.5 GHz narrow-band electromagnetic fields with the incident amplitude peak value level in the range of 40 kV/m and 150 MHz wide-band electric fields with the amplitude peak value in the range of 200 kV/m, did not alter healthy and tumor-bearing animals’ growth, nor it had any impact on cutaneous murine tumors’ growth. While we did not observe any noticeable behavioral changes in mice during the exposure to narrow-band signals when wide-band HPEM signals were applied, mice could behave in a similar way as they respond to loud noise signals: namely, if a mouse was exploring the cage prior to signal application, it returned to companion mates when wide-band HPEM signals were applied. Moreover, the effect of wide-band signals was assessed on normal blood vessels permeability in real-time in dorsal-chamber-bearing mice exposed in a pilot study using wide-band signal applicators. Our pilot study conducted within the applicator and performed at the laboratory scale suggests that the exposure to wide-band signals with the amplitude of 47.5 kV/m does not result in increased vessel permeability.
Highlights
Electromagnetic environments, such as the ones generated by high-power microwaves and high-power radiofrequencies, might be used to disrupt the functioning of electronic devices transiently or permanently
Among evaluated high-power electromagnetic signals, we have previously reported that wide-band induced no detectable temperature increase in exposed samples [7]
We evaluated the effect of wide-band and narrowband high-power electromagnetic (HPEM) signals on normal dermal fibroblasts and cancer cells (HCT-116) spheroids, where we assessed cells growth, plasma membrane integrity, induction of apoptosis, ATP
Summary
Electromagnetic environments, such as the ones generated by high-power microwaves and high-power radiofrequencies, might be used to disrupt the functioning of electronic devices transiently or permanently. As electromagnetic fields are implicated in a series of biochemical processes [1,2], exposure to external electromagnetic fields, and namely the high power electromagnetic (HPEM) fields [3], could have an impact on certain physiological functions. The occurrence of short- and long-term non-thermal effects, including a potential cell membrane permeabilization, increased carcinogenesis, or increased vascular permeability, is still poorly addressed and controversial. In this context, we have previously evaluated the effects of high-power electromagnetic signals on different biological models of increasing complexity [6,7]. We used giant unilamellar vesicles, which are the simplest model, mimicking the cell membrane; normal cells (fibroblasts, isolated from a healthy skin biopsy) as well as cancer cells (human colon carcinoma HCT-116 cell line) [6]; and multicellular spheroids made of fibroblasts or cancer cells [7], which are a model mimicking small avascular tumors [8]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
