Abstract
Living cells are observed to be the source of rapidly oscillating electric fields. These can be detected under the microscope by watching their accumulation of highly polarizable particles as compared to their behavior with relatively unpolarized particles, e.g. BaTiO3 vs. BaSO4, or NaNbO3 vs. SiO2. The ac fields produced by the cells are divergent. This can evoke dielectrophoretic motion of tiny test particles about them, a process called “micro-dielectrophoresis”. The microdielectrophoretic effect of yeast cells is observed to peak during the mitotic phase. This indicates that the electric fields are associated with cell division.
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Pohl, H.A., Braden, T., Robinson, S. et al. Life cycle alterations of the micro-dielectrophoretic effects of cells. J Biol Phys 9, 133–154 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01988247
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01988247