Behavior of cells in rotating electric fields with account to surface charges and cell structures.

The behavior of a single biological cell in a rotating electric field is investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The torque acting on the cell is calculated. The dependence of the torque on electric cell properties (the dielectric constants, the conductivities, and the surface charges of the cell components) and the field frequency is discussed. The dependence of the rotation velocity on the field frequency shows a typical resonance behavior. It is discussed in which manner the single rotation extrema are related to the different homogeneous cell compartments (cytoplasm, cell membrane, and cell wall). It is shown that the cell surface charge shifts the resonance frequency and influences the absolute value of rotation velocity.