Evaluation of the inhibiting effects from exposure to microwaves on the respiratory activity of yeast cells or on enzyme activity.

Microwaves are used in medical applications, so their eventual toxicity effects must be carefully evaluated. An integral toxicity test, based on the monitoring of the respiratory activity of yeast cells, is proposed to evaluate the damage from microwave exposure. Different exposure times and microwave powers were considered. On supposing that the damages occur at enzymatic levels, the inhibiting effects of microwave exposure on two enzymes (glucose oxidase (GOD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD)), assumed like models as present in the human organism, was evaluated.

Adjuvant effects of a crystalline silica on IgE and IgG1 antibody production in mice and their prevention by the macrophage stabilizer poly-2-vinylpyridine N-oxide.

A crystalline silica (standard quartz DQ12 with particle size less than 5 microns) is able to stimulate in Balb/c mice the production of IgE and IgG1 antibody to a single 1-microgram dose of ovalbumin. The adjuvant effects of silica on both IgE and IgG1 antibody production are prevented by pretreatment of animals with poly-2-vinylpyridine N-oxide, a polymer that protects macrophages from the well-documented toxic effects of silica. These results indicate that adjuvanticity of silica is, at least partly, correlated to the damage induced on macrophages.