Summary of 'the effect of magnetic field on the activity of superoxide dismutase'

 

Magnetic fields are created when electrons spin. Normally electrons are paired, and if they spin in opposite directions from magnetic fields cancel out. However in free radicals the electron sometimes are unpaired or a pair electrons spin in the same direction, in this case the magnetic fields are not cancelled out. Most enzymes are not affected by these magnetic fields, however some are. This experiment is to determine the amount of effect of a magnetic field on the enzyme known as superoxide dismutase aka SOD.

 

SOD is a catalyst that catalyzes the conversion of superoxide free radicals into O2 and H2O2. This experiment was to study the influence of magnetic fields on SOD activity, to see how it would affect biological processes. They tested this by exposing SOD to EMF for various amounts of time then measuring its activity by measuring its reaction to oxygen. To conduct the experiment, the SOD enzyme was combined with Na2CO3, methionine, NBT, EDTA, PBS, dH20 and riboflavin Solution. To determine the baseline activity of SOD there was an experiment conducted without any magnetic field. One test included the SOD enzyme and one did not. During the experiment to study the effect of magnetic fields. There were four tests held; One with no exposure to EMF, and three exposed for various amounts of time (2.2 seconds, 19.8 seconds, and 33 seconds)

 

The results of the experiment demonstrated a measurable effect there was an absorbance difference between the control and EMF exposed samples. They thought the experiment was similar to what would happen in both in vivo and in vitro systems. However there was no linear increase or decrease depending on the increase of magnetic fields like they would have thought. This could have been due to the absence of a catalyst that there would have been in a living cell, as catalase would have gotten rid of the extra hydrogen peroxide produced that ended up building up in the laboratory experiment, and hydrogen peroxide is known to suppress SOD activity. I think if they were to redo the experiment they would include catalase into the media to prevent the buildup and get more accurate results.



References 

Buyukuslu, N., Celik, O., & Atak, C. (2005). The effect of magnetic field on the activity of superoxide dismutase. Journal of Cell and Molecular Biology, 57-62.

 https://www.academia.edu/6011073/The_effect_of_magnetic_field_on_the_activity_of_superoxide_dismutase 


Comments

  1. EricaSeptember 30, 2022 at 5:54 AM

    Alex, Nice work this week. In the future you should write in a way that indicates up front that the experiment was not your own and that you're writing a summary. Even including a simple "According to ___ article/author" somewhere would likely do.

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