A Dielectric Study on Human Blood and Plasma

The paper reports electrical properties of human blood and plasma of belonging to different physiological and environmental conditions. Dielectric parameters such as dielectric constant, dielectric loss and electrical conductivity of human blood and plasma of groups A, B, AB and O are measured at the frequency of 1kHz using digital LCZ meter. It is found that the values of dielectric constant, dielectric loss and electrical conductivity are high in plasma, low in 90% packed erythrocytes and hemolysed blood, and in between in whole blood irrespective of blood group but these dielectric parameters are more or less same in 90% packed red blood cells (RBC) and hemolysed blood. Groupwise differences in dielectric parameters in the case of plasma are not evident, but could be found in whole blood, hemolysed blood and 90% packed RBC. The study reveals that the significant variation in dielectric parameters could be attributed to the cellular concentration and also due to the presence of erythrocyte membrane, which separates the cell interior (hemoglobin) and cell exterior (plasma). Hence, it is the cell membrane, which characterizes the electrical properties of the most biologically important tissue – the blood.