ABSTRACT
Objective To study changes of dielectric properties of gastrocnemius caused by simulated weightlessness.Methods Male Sprague-Dawley rats tail suspended for 10 wk were observed together with its normal control.AC impedance of isolated gastrocnemius was measured with an impedance analyzer(Agilent 4294A).Effects of simulated weightlessness on electric properties of cells in isolated rat sural muscle were also observed by analyzing the dielectric numerical characters of the dielectric spectra,the Cole-Cole plots,spectrum of loss factor and loss tangent,as well as spectrum of conductivity imaginary part.Results It was found that simulated weightlessness could induce certain changes:both relative permittivity at low frequency ?L and relative permittivity increment ??,as well as conductivity at high frequency ?h and conductivity increment ?? were all reduced.The first characteristic frequency fC1 decreased,while the second characteristic frequency fC2 increased.Peak of loss factor,peak of loss tangent and the maximum of conductivity imaginary part were also reduced.Conclusion Changes of dielectric property of gastrocnemius induced by simulated weightlessness can be observed effectively by frequency domain impedance technique.