2020
Volume 20, Number 2, pp. 68-85
On the physicochemical properties of biological systems: Cells and fluids of the central nervous system
I. Theodoridis,1 K. Hatziagapiou2 and G.I. Lambrou1,2
1 National Technical University of Athens, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, NTUA Campus, Heroon Polytechniou 9, 15780 Goudi, Athens, Greece
2 First Department of Paediatrics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Choremeio Research Laboratory, Haematology/Oncology Unit, Thivon & Levadeias 8, 11527 Athens, Greece
Biological fluids can be defined as a general category of biological substance, which mainly exists in liquid form or possesses viscous properties. Although physicochemical properties were first defined for chemical substances (organic or inorganic), they were subsequently applied to the study of biological fluids, such as the study of central nervous system (CNS) physiology and pathophysiology. The present work provides a general review of knowledge of the physicochemical properties of CNS biological fluids. An literature search was conducted, selecting original articles and systematic reviews. Our appraisal concludes that knowledge concerning the physicochemical properties of biofluids and, a fortiori, of complete living systems, is as yet very limited and clearly much more is still to be learned. As for its applications to biological systems, physical chemistry, although in general a mature science, is still in its infancy. Electrochemical methods to resolve the properties of biological samples could be extremely useful as they are noninvasive and mostly low-risk.
Keywords: dielectric, diffusion, electrochemistry, hydrolysis, neurotransmitter, redox, solubility product, voltammetry