2D plasmon excitation and nonthermal effects of microwaves on biological membranes

There are several experimental reports that have demonstrated a remarkable increase in conduction of ions along the interface between water and a polar-lipid monolayer as contrasted with that in a bulk-water phase. A simple model was developed for the collective ionic modes of a charged spherical membrane that takes the increase into account. Starting from the hydrodynamic equations for surface ions inside and outside a cell, the dispersion relation for intrinsic cellular electrical oscillations was obtained. Properties were calculated for surface-plasmon modes as well as for a resonant response of a charged membrane bilayer to microwave pumping.