Magnetic field effects on near-infrared optical properties of cytochrome oxidase

This paper reports the possible effects of intense magnetic fields on the near-infrared optical properties of cytochrome oxidase. Optical measurements performed on both cytochrome aa3 suspension and in vivo showed changes in optical absorbance at 690-830 nm under magnetic field exposure. Magnetic fields of up to 14 T generated by a superconducting current were able to change the oxidation of the oxidized cytochrome aa3 periodically depending on the density of the magnetic flux. Measurements with a cooled CCD system revealed that the absorbance at 830 nm was slightly increased by a magnetic field of 8 T. We performed an animal experiment on the head of a living rabbit, and obtained results showing the enhancement of cytochrome aa3 oxidation in the mitochondria of cells under the magnetic fields. The effects of magnetic fields on the paramagnetic behavior of oxygen, electron transfer in cytochromes, and cell membrane conformation in mitochondria may play a role in increasing the sensitivity to NIR light for detecting cyto-ox oxidation, which is one of the primary indicators of cellular activity.