Electrostatic interaction of microcapsules with guinea-pig polymorphonuclear leucocytes.

Electrostatic interaction of microcapsules with guinea-pig polymorphonuclear leucocytes was investigated at different ionic strengths of the medium through measurements of the degree of phagocytosis by the cells of microcapsules. At any ionic strength, the interaction exhibited a maximum when the surface potential of microcapsules was equal to that of the leucocytes to make phagocytosis of microcapsules by the cells minimum. The experimental findings were analyzed by a novel model for the electrostatic interaction between ion-penetrable membranes. In this analysis, it was assumed that the leucocytes have an area (or areas) which permits cations to partition much more into the membrane than anions on their surface to reduce the electric potential of the area.