Effects of pulsed electromagnetic fields on breast cancer cell line MCF 7 using absorption spectroscopy

• Main Authors: Alcantara, Dominic Z., Soliman, Ian Jerry S., Pobre, Romeric F., Naguib, Raouf N. G.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2017
• Subjects: Breast—Cancer; Electromagnetic fields; Mutation (Biology); Spectrum analysis; Physics
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/2382; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/faculty_research/article/3381/type/native/viewcontent
• Institution: De La Salle University

We present an analysis of the effects of pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) with 3.3 MHz carrier frequency and modulated by audio resonant frequencies on the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line in vitro using absorption spectroscopy. This involves a fluorescence dye called PrestoBlue™ Cell Viability Reagent and a spectrophotometry to test the viability of MCF-7 breast cancer cells under different PEMF treatment conditions in terms of the cell absorption valueS. The DNA molecule of the MCF-7 breast cancer cells has an electric dipole property that renders it sensitive and reactive to applied electromagnetic fieldS. Resonant frequencies derived from four genes mutated in MCF-7 breast cancer cells [rapamycin-insensitive companion of mammalian target of rapamycin (RICTOR), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPARG), Nijmegen breakage syndrome 1 (NBN) and checkpoint kinase 2 (CHEK2)] were applied in generating square pulsed electromagnetic waveS. Effects were monitored through measurement of absorption of the samples with PrestoBlue™, and the significance of the treatment was determined using the t-test. There was a significant effect on MCF-7 cells after treatment with PEMF at the resonant frequencies of the following genes for specific durations of exposure: RICTOR for 10 min, PPARG for 10 min, NBN for 15 min, and CHEK2 for 5 min.