PRELIMINARY MICROWAVE IRRADIATION OF WATER SOLUTIONS CHANGES THEIR CHANNEL-MODIFYING ACTIVITY

Earlier we have shown that millimetre microwaves (42.25 GHz) of non-thermal power, upon direct admittance into an experiment bath, greatly influence activation characteristics of single Ca2+-dependent K+ channels (in particular, the channel open state probability, P-0), Here we present new data showing that similar changes in P-0 arise due to the substitution of a control bath solution for a preliminary microwave irradiated one of the same composition (100 mmol/l KCl with Ca2+ added), with irradiation time being 20-30 min, Therefore, due to the exposure to the field the solution acquires some new properties that are important for the channel activity, The irradiation terminated, the solution retains a new state for at least 10-20 min (solution memory), The data suggest that the effects of the field on the channels are mediated, at least partially, by changes in the solution properties.