The electrochemical behavior of erythrocytes (red blood cell, RBC) and
leukocytes (white blood cell, WBC) has been investigated by cyclic vo
ltammetry with a three electrode system. The anodic wave of leukocytes
and erythrocytes appeared at 0.32 V and at 0.73 V (vs. SCE): on the f
irst scan. No corresponding reduction wave was observed in the reverse
scan. The effect of scan rate and temperature on the peak potential a
nd peak current were examined. The experimental results show that the
electrode redox processes of erythrocytes and leukocytes are totally i
rreversible. An electrochemical method to monitor the number of leukoc
ytes and erythrocytes was proposed. The peak current resulted in a lin
ear change for 6.21 x 10(4) - 1.14 x 10(6) cells mL(-1) of leukocytes
and 7.2 x 10(8) - 5.76 x 10(9) cells mL(-1) of erythrocytes. The peak
potential shifted negatively with increasing of concentration of eryth
rocytes and at the same time the morphological overlapping of erythroc
ytes was found. This may be due to the self-assembly of erythrocyte tr
ansmembrane protein (band 3 and glycophorin A) noncovalently associate
d.