Dielectric spectroscopy of biological cells

Abstract

In this paper, we describe some applications of dielectric spectroscopy to studies of the internal structure of biological cells, monitoring of cell growth in fermentation and imaging of biological cells. The composite cell models proposed for biological cells, including intracellular organelles, successfully simulate the dielectric behavior of lymphocytes and plant protoplasts. A new electrode-less method based on electromagnetic induction has been demonstrated to be a powerful method for the dielectric monitoring of cell growth in whisky and beer fermentation. The scanning dielectric microscope is a promising tool for dielectric imaging of biological cells.