On the basis of previous work on the electrical properties of hemolyzed red cells, it might be supposed that the variation of the capacity with frequency at low frequencies is an indication of membrane permeability. To test this, rabbit red cells were subjected to treatment with lecithin, tannic acid, glucose, saponin, amboceptor, and colloidal silicic acid, each in sub-lytic doses. No change in any of the electrical properties of any of the suspensions could be detected. The result may mean that the form of the frequency variation is an extremely insensitive measure of permeability and other membrane changes, and capable only of disclosing the very great changes associated with hemolysis, or it may mean that the change in the frequency variation at low frequencies has nothing to do with permeability.

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Copyright, 1936, by The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research
1936
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