Development of a Magnetic-field Stimulation System for Cell Cultures in situ : Simulation by Finite Element Analysis

The effects of exposure to an extremely low-frequency magnetic field (25 ㎐ 20G) on animal cells have been studied. In some reports, stimulation was performed for fixed frequency and variations in magnitude; however, animal-cell experiments have established that both parameters play an important role. The present work undertook the modeling, simulation, and development of a uniform-magnetic-field generation system with variable frequency and stimulation intensity (0-60 ㎐, 1-25G) for experimentation with cell cultures in situ. The results showed a coefficient of variation less than 1% of the magnetic-field dispersion at the working volume, which is consistent with the corresponding simulation results demonstrating a uniform magnetic field. On the other hand, long-term tests during the characterization process indicated that increments of only 0.4℃ in the working volume temperature will not be an interfering factor when experiments are carried out in in situ cell cultures.