Effect of salt solutions on radiosensitivity of mammalian cells. II. Treatment with hypotonic solutions.

Chinese hamster (V79) cells were treated with hypotonic NaCl, NaCl-ouabain, KCl, LiCl, NH4Cl, NaNO3 or sucrose solutions and irradiated at various times during exposure to the solution. The extreme increase in the radiosensitivity of these cells, mainly characterized by changes in DO, could be attributed to increases in the cell water-content and possibly the decrease in total cell water structure. The various ions may exert their specific effects on radiosensitivity by influencing the above water-related factors.