[The effect of chlorine diffusion potential on electrophoretic mobility and erythrocyte sedimentation in diluted...

Electrophoretic activity of human erythrocytes in isotonic medium with reduced NaCl content does not depend on the outer electric field strength when pH decreases from 7.3 to 5.5. At pH approximately equal to 5.3 the measured values of electrophoretic mobility drop with decrease of the outer electric field strength starting at 600-700 V/m. Simultaneously signs of the solitary settlement of erythrocytes diluted suspensions are disturbed. Estimated values of the chlorine diffusion potential in these conditions exceed the value 70-80 mV, at which the erythrocyte membrane permeability changes. It is suggested that the observed dependency of electrophoretic mobility on the field strength is caused by ion flows through the erythrocyte membrane leading to diffusion non-equilibrium in the electrolyte layer close to the membrane.