Abstract

The picosecond orientational dynamics of intracellular water was measured by dielectric spectroscopy, with the aim of revealing the effects of cryoprotective agents (CPAs) on biological cells. As a first step, Jurkat cells (human T lymphocyte cells) suspended in aqueous sucrose solutions of different concentrations ranging from 0.3 M (isotonic) to 0.9 M (hypertonic) were examined at 25 °C with a frequency range up to 43.5 GHz. The Bruggeman-Hanai equation was employed to obtain a cellular dielectric spectrum without extracellular contributions from the measured complex permittivity of the cell suspensions. By analyzing the γ process around 1010 Hz based on the Debye relaxation function, two types of water (bulk-like water and hydration water with slower molecular dynamics) were observed. An increase in the fraction of intracellular slower water was observed in the dehydrated cells which had a highly concentrated environment of biomolecules.

Full Text
Published version (Free)

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