The Laser as a Potential Tool for Cell Research

Freshly prepared hemoglobin solutions were successively irradiated up to five times with 1 MW (monochromatic wavelength) of green (530 mμ) laser power. Oxygenated hemoglobin showed no detectable change, but the spectral absorption of reduced hemoglobin showed a shift toward the characteristic curve for the oxygenated form. Intact human erythrocytes exposed to a power density of 110 MW/cm2 of green laser radiation showed no appreciable change in diameter or mass, but they became transparent to a wavelength range from 400 to 600 mμ. A similar power density from a ruby laser failed to produce this bleaching effect. This response in the erythrocyte demonstrates a principle which suggests the laser as a tool for cell research: specific molecular components within a cell may be selectively altered by laser irradiation when an appropriate wavelength and a suitable power density are applied.