# WEB-027 — Nanoparticle uptake by red blood cells after 18 GHz exposure

Why this matters
A change in membrane transport is a biological response worth understanding. This experiment tested that response in red blood cells, with matched heating controls.

Id: WEB-027

Author: Nguyen et al.

Full Authors: The Hong Phong Nguyen; Vy T H Pham; Vladimir Baulin; Rodney J Croft; Russell J Crawford; Elena P Ivanova

Year: 2017

Title: The effect of a high frequency electromagnetic field in the microwave range on red blood cells

Journal: Scientific reports

Citation: The Hong Phong Nguyen; Vy T H Pham; Vladimir Baulin; Rodney J Croft; Russell J Crawford; Elena P Ivanova. The effect of a high frequency electromagnetic field in the microwave range on red blood cells. Scientific reports. 2017. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-11288-9.

Doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-11288-9

Pmid: 28883444

Topic: Membrane permeability; 18 GHz cellular experiments

Verification Group: Original text reviewed

Record Role: Original text reviewed

Featured: False

Exposure: 18 GHz; three consecutive exposures at approximately 3 kW/kg SAR each; protocols reaching 33 or 37°C.

Design: Isolated rabbit red blood cells; microscopy confirmation of silica-nanosphere uptake; untreated and Peltier-heated controls.

Finding: 23.5 nm nanospheres entered about 96% of counted cells; 46.3 nm uptake was about 46% at 33°C and 58% at 37°C.

Statistics: See reported finding and original tables; effect sizes not independently recalculated.

Boundary: Viability retained; heating controls did not reproduce uptake, but local thermal effects were not excluded. Very high-intensity laboratory work; not a satellite exposure or demonstrated disease outcome.

Related: Swinburne programme with WEB-026; separate cell model, not an independent replication. Later related records: WEB-037. These are different experiments, not necessarily independent replication.

Protection Question: Which exposure conditions and biological models reproduce this response, and what would establish its relevance to health?

Access: Original methods/results sections reviewed; no independent raw-data or supplement audit.

Locator: Original results/methods sections

Notice: Linked notice fields in retrieved Europe PMC/PubMed records checked 21 October 2026; no correction or retraction surfaced there. Publisher-history and forward-citation screening are not exhaustive.

Funding: Funding statement not extracted in this source check; see the original publication.

Conflicts: Competing Interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Source Url: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-11288-9

Retrieval Links: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-11288-9 | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28883444/ | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5589725/

Verification Date: 2026-10-21

Discovery Id: EML-SAT-005

Technology Tracks: satellite

Technology Connection: Microwave laboratory research at an adjacent or overlapping frequency; not a Starlink or satellite-system exposure.

Publication Type: Original journal research

Study Setting: Cells / isolated tissue

Browse Categories: cells