Intracellular microelectrophoresis was applied to investigate the electrokinetic properties of human buccal epithelium cell nuclei after exposure of cells to microwaves of wavelengths of 8 mm (f = 37.5 GHz) and 16 mm (f = 18.75 GHz) at a surface power density of 0.2 mW/cm(2). Irradiated or nonirradiated cells were suspended in a flat microelectrophoretic chamber and exposed to an electric field of 15 V/cm at a current flow of 0.1 mA. The cells, whose nuclei altered their intracellular location towards the anode of the externally applied electric field, were considered to have negatively charged nuclei. The percentage of cells with electrophoretically movable nuclei was determined as the value of electronegativity of cell nuclei (ENN). Microwaves induced changes of ENN during irradiation of 15-60 s. If cells of a donor had an elevated initial level of ENN, it decreased during irradiation. On the contrary, if cells of another donor had a low initial ENN level, irradiation induced ENN increase. No significant difference between the action of microwaves of wavelengths of 8 mm and 16 mm was found. However, microwave irradiation caused an increase in membrane permeability for the in vivo dye indigo Carmine in cells of all donors irrespectively of the initial levels they showed. This suggests that electrokinetic properties of nuclei in cells do not only depend on cell membrane permeability.

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