ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Correlation Between Exposure to Transfluthrin
and the Change in Dielectric Properties
and Deformed Cells of Mice
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1
Laboratory of Advanced Physics, Department of Physics, Brawijaya University,
Jalan Veteran, Malang, Indonesia 65145
2
Laboratory of Air Quality and Astro Imaging, Department of Physics, Brawijaya University,
Jalan Veteran, Malang, Indonesia 65145
Submission date: 2019-10-28
Final revision date: 2020-04-17
Acceptance date: 2020-04-18
Online publication date: 2020-09-07
Publication date: 2020-11-10
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2021;30(1):663-670
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ABSTRACT
Transflutrhin is a single isomer compound that is contained in mosquito repellent. The volatility
of this chemical compound made it suited for applications that evaporate this active ingredient like
space spray using one push mosquito repellent. As an aerosol, transfluthrin can trigger oxidative stress
that causes cell damage. Cell damage can be identified microscopically or by analyzing the electrical
characteristics of the cell. Cell damage due to the content of chemical compounds in the pollutants that
enter the body will affect the electrical properties of the cell itself. One of the bio-electric variables
in organ tissues that can be analyzed and used to determine the level of tissue damage is a change
in the dielectric constant value of an organ. The measurement of the dielectric constant is done by
using two conductor plates in which the dielectric material is inserted in the middle of the plates, and
the capacitance value will be measured. The results show that a higher level of damage to the organ
caused a lower dielectric constant value. This decrease was caused by the changes in the polarization
properties of the damaged tissue. Factors that affected the polarization of material were large electric
dipole moments and large numbers of healthy and damaged cells. Organ damage was determined based
on the decrease in the value of dielectric constant. Histological studies revealed severe cell damages
evidenced by the deformed cell compared to the unexposed mice. Type-A mosquito repellents with
transfluthrin active ingredients of 25% caused 74% at lung cell damage, 71% of blood damage, 47% of
kidney cell damage, and 40% of liver cell damage, with dielectric organ constants 0.65x105 to 2.62x105.
In the mice exposed to type-B mosquito repellent (21.3% of transfluthrin), the damage levels were 72%,
72%, 49%, and 36%, respectively, for lung, blood, kidney, and liver cells. The dielectric constants were
0.91x105 to 2.62x105. Our studies indicate that mosquito repellent aerosol does initiate physical damage
to the cells of mice. These histological studies must be taken into consideration by the use of mosquito
repellent, particularly when investigating the long-term effect of the transfluthrin impact on health.