Effect of microwave radiation on permeability of liposomes. Evidence against non-thermal leakage

The effect of 2.45 GHz microwave radiation on the permeability of unilamellar phosphatidylcholine liposomes has been studied. Leakage of 5(6)-carboxyfluorescein from the liposomes was measured using spectrofluorimetry after exposure to either microwaves or thermal heating for 5–20 min intervals. The exposure temperature, 37.6 ± 0.5°C, was well above the phase transition temperature of the lipid membrane. The microwave exposure did not result in any non-thermal increase in permeability above that produced by thermal heating. This study refutes the results reported by Saalman et al. [1] in which an increased liposome permeability due to microwave exposure was reported. The refined analysis in the present study shows that this increased liposome permeability was not a non-thermal microwave effect.