Abstract
This study examines the response of different time constant 7.5 Hz pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) stimulation on rat osteoblasts and tries to determine the shortest exposure time to the selected time constant PEMF that is necessary to increase cell viability in vitro. We use an in vitro rat osteoblast model to investigate, for different periods of time (1, 2, or 3 days), rat osteoblasts to 7.5 Hz PEMF of different time constants (694, 432, and 268 µsec) or exposure time (20 min, 1, 3, 9, and 24 hr) and have evaluated the field's effects on the cell viability by colorimetric tetrazolium (MTT) assay and PGE2 concentrations by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). It was shown that time constant was not the dominant parameter affecting osteoblast growth, and a short time exposure of PEMF 20 min/day could increase cell viability and PGE2 secretion significantly.