Inactivation of bone marrow cultures and K562 leukaemic cell line by Mössbauer effect

Bone marrow cells collected from normal donors and from patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and cultures of the K562 leukaemic cell line, were investigated after treatment with hematin and low-energy gamma rays from a 57Co Mössbauer source. Different degrees of growth inhibition were observed for bone marrow cultures and for the leukaemic cell line K562. Exposure to light irradiation during sample treatments was also investigated. The results seem promising and it is author's belief that cell inactivation by Mössbauer effect could have future applications in the field of tumor pathology as an alternative to or in the support of conventional radiotherapy.