The effects of microwave radiation on microbial cultures
Studies on the effects of microwaves on the growth of microbial cultures were searched for in biomedical journals indexed in MEDLINE from 1966 to 2012. The published studies showed that microwaves produce significant effects on the growth of microbial cultures, which vary from the killing of microorganisms to enhancement of their growth. The nature and extent of the effect depend on the frequency of microwaves and the total energy absorbed by the microorganisms. Low energy, low frequency microwaves enhance the growth of microorganisms, whereas high energy, high frequency microwaves destroy the microorganisms. However, neither the effects of a wide spectrum of frequencies nor the effects of a wide range of absorbed energies have been investigated.