Review articles: Combined magnetic and pulsed laser fields produce synergistic acceleration of cellular electron transfer

We have studied the acceleration of cellular electron transfer by the combined magnetic and pulsed laser field at high peak power, but very low average intensity. To monitor the acceleration of electron transfer, the reduction of 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl piperidine-N-oxyl (TEMPO) was followed using the EPR technique. It was shown that the electromagnetic field alone, or the magnetic field alone, produced no reduction of the TEMPO EPR signal. Only a combination between a laser of very low average intensity, but high peak power and a low-intensity magnetic field, reduced the TEMPO signal. The experiment was performed in a medium containing 10⁷ Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria per cc. It was verified that at high average intensity the obtained reduction of the TEMPO by electromagnetic radiation was unaffected by the addition of a magnetic field. A possible mechanism underlying the photo-magnetic synergy is proposed.