Effects of 1.5 GHz electromagnetic exposure on large unilamellar vesicle (LUV) model membranes
Abstract
The increasing use of high-frequency electromagnetic systems raises important questions regarding their potential biological effects and the relative contribution of thermal and non-thermal interaction mechanisms. We investigated the effects of exposure to 1.5 GHz electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on model lipid membranes using Large Unilamellar Vesicles (LUV). Vesicle suspensions were exposed to pulsed EMFs under fractionated protocols (3, 6, or 13 shots) or uninterrupted pulsed exposures of matched duration. Membrane responses were assessed by ³¹ P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), dynamic light scattering (DLS), temperature and pH measurements. DLS showed no significant changes in vesicle size distribution, while pH remained stable across conditions. NMR changes were detected only after the 13-shots protocol, including a reduced chemical shift difference (Δδ) and broadening of the external phosphate resonance. Peak integrals remained unchanged, with no detectable loss of phosphate signal. Temperature monitoring revealed protocol-dependent heating, with the largest increase during uninterrupted 1 h exposure. However, no significant NMR changes occurred under this condition, whereas NMR changes occurred after the 13-shots protocol without measurable heating. Thus, the spectroscopic changes were not simply related to the measured temperature increase. Overall, 1.5 GHz EMF exposure was associated with limited, protocol-dependent spectroscopic changes without major alterations in vesicle stability.
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BibTeX
@article{vecchio2026effects,
title = {{Effects of 1.5 GHz electromagnetic exposure on large unilamellar vesicle (LUV) model membranes}},
author = {Flavia Del Vecchio and Nicolas Jolly and Suzanne De Araujo and Noah Trullard and Vick Debouzy and Marco Valente and Rachid Jaoui and Franck Ballestra and Jean-Claude Debouzy},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-73326-9},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-73326-9},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Effects of 1.5 GHz electromagnetic exposure on large unilamellar vesicle (LUV) model membranes
AU - Flavia Del Vecchio
AU - Nicolas Jolly
AU - Suzanne De Araujo
AU - Noah Trullard
AU - Vick Debouzy
AU - Marco Valente
AU - Rachid Jaoui
AU - Franck Ballestra
AU - Jean-Claude Debouzy
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-73326-9
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-73326-9
AB - The increasing use of high-frequency electromagnetic systems raises important questions regarding their potential biological effects and the relative contribution of thermal and non-thermal interaction mechanisms. We investigated the effects of exposure to 1.5 GHz electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on model lipid membranes using Large Unilamellar Vesicles (LUV). Vesicle suspensions were exposed to pulsed EMFs under fractionated protocols (3, 6, or 13 shots) or uninterrupted pulsed exposures of matched duration. Membrane responses were assessed by ³¹ P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), dynamic light scattering (DLS), temperature and pH measurements. DLS showed no significant changes in vesicle size distribution, while pH remained stable across conditions. NMR changes were detected only after the 13-shots protocol, including a reduced chemical shift difference (Δδ) and broadening of the external phosphate resonance. Peak integrals remained unchanged, with no detectable loss of phosphate signal. Temperature monitoring revealed protocol-dependent heating, with the largest increase during uninterrupted 1 h exposure. However, no significant NMR changes occurred under this condition, whereas NMR changes occurred after the 13-shots protocol without measurable heating. Thus, the spectroscopic changes were not simply related to the measured temperature increase. Overall, 1.5 GHz EMF exposure was associated with limited, protocol-dependent spectroscopic changes without major alterations in vesicle stability.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -