Towards predicting intracellular radiofrequency radiation effects

Abstract

Towards predicting intracellular radiofrequency radiation effects Nielsen C, Hui R, Lui WY, Solov'yov IA. Towards predicting intracellular radiofrequency radiation effects. PLoS One. 2019 Mar 14;14(3):e0213286. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213286. Abstract Recent experiments have reported an effect of weak radiofrequency magnetic fields in the MHz-range on the concentrations of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in living cells. Since the energy that could possibly be deposited by the radiation is orders of magnitude smaller than the energy of molecular thermal motion, it was suggested that the effect was caused by the interaction of RF magnetic fields with transient radical pairs within the cells, affecting the ROS formation rates through the radical pair mechanism. It is, however, at present not entirely clear how to predict RF magnetic field effects at certain field frequency and intensity in nanoscale biomolecular systems. We suggest a possible recipe for interpreting the radiofrequency effects in cells by presenting a general workflow for calculation of the reactive perturbations inside a cell as a function of RF magnetic field strength and frequency. To justify the workflow, we discuss the effects of radiofrequency magnetic fields on generic spin systems to particularly illustrate how the reactive radicals could be affected by specific parameters of the experiment. We finally argue that the suggested workflow can be used to predict effects of radiofrequency magnetic fields on radical pairs in biological cells, which is specially important for wireless recharging technologies where one has to know of any harmful effects that exposure to such radiation might cause. Open access paper: journals.plos.org

AI evidence extraction

Main findings

The paper proposes a general workflow/"recipe" to calculate reactive perturbations inside a cell as a function of RF magnetic field strength and frequency, motivated by reports that weak MHz-range RF magnetic fields can affect ROS via interactions with transient radical pairs. It argues the workflow could be used to predict RF magnetic-field effects on radical pairs in biological cells, with relevance to assessing potential harmful effects (e.g., wireless recharging technologies).

Outcomes measured

• reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentrations
• ROS formation rates
• radical pair reactions (radical pair mechanism)
• effects of RF magnetic field strength and frequency on reactive perturbations inside cells

Limitations

• Abstract does not report new experimental results or quantitative effect estimates.
• Specific exposure parameters (exact frequencies, intensities, durations) are not provided in the abstract.
• Population/model details and any validation against experimental data are not described in the abstract.

Suggested hubs

• wireless-charging (0.6)
  Mentions relevance to wireless recharging technologies and need to know harmful effects.

{
    "study_type": "other",
    "exposure": {
        "band": "RF",
        "source": null,
        "frequency_mhz": null,
        "sar_wkg": null,
        "duration": null
    },
    "population": "living cells (intracellular/radical pairs; generic spin systems discussed)",
    "sample_size": null,
    "outcomes": [
        "reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentrations",
        "ROS formation rates",
        "radical pair reactions (radical pair mechanism)",
        "effects of RF magnetic field strength and frequency on reactive perturbations inside cells"
    ],
    "main_findings": "The paper proposes a general workflow/\"recipe\" to calculate reactive perturbations inside a cell as a function of RF magnetic field strength and frequency, motivated by reports that weak MHz-range RF magnetic fields can affect ROS via interactions with transient radical pairs. It argues the workflow could be used to predict RF magnetic-field effects on radical pairs in biological cells, with relevance to assessing potential harmful effects (e.g., wireless recharging technologies).",
    "effect_direction": "unclear",
    "limitations": [
        "Abstract does not report new experimental results or quantitative effect estimates.",
        "Specific exposure parameters (exact frequencies, intensities, durations) are not provided in the abstract.",
        "Population/model details and any validation against experimental data are not described in the abstract."
    ],
    "evidence_strength": "insufficient",
    "confidence": 0.7399999999999999911182158029987476766109466552734375,
    "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
    "keywords": [
        "radiofrequency magnetic fields",
        "MHz-range",
        "reactive oxygen species",
        "ROS",
        "radical pair mechanism",
        "spin systems",
        "intracellular effects",
        "wireless recharging"
    ],
    "suggested_hubs": [
        {
            "slug": "wireless-charging",
            "weight": 0.59999999999999997779553950749686919152736663818359375,
            "reason": "Mentions relevance to wireless recharging technologies and need to know harmful effects."
        }
    ]
}

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