论文和技术资料

The subject of the interactions between electromagnetic (EM) fields and living cells is a strong issue for several decades [1]. Large number of works have been done to study the EM field penetration and inner induced currents in living microorganisms. Relevant information to be collected deals with level and frequency of the EM signal that may affect the development of the considered cells. The former because non-thermal effects are nowadays suspected to exist, altering cell's metabolism, the latter because it is well known that the spectral response of the living cell impedance exhibits some dispersion in relation with cell membrane behavior and shield effects [2].

In the battle against pathogenic microorganisms, the use of physical means is in fact a modern approach to the inhibition of bacterial growth. The use of electric current was first proven to be effective in the removal of biofilms in water. This method was reported more than 50 years ago [3], with many subsequent reports [4 - 6]. Most articles on the subject focus on improving the effectiveness of antibiotics against microbes by the application of direct currents of low amplitudes. Several mechanisms have been proposed for the inhibition [7 - 10].