The α-helix alignment of proteins in water solution toward a high-frequency electromagnetic field: A FTIR spectroscopy study

Quantum Electrodynamics Coherence and Hormesis: Foundations of Quantum Biology

BACKGROUND

"Quantum biology" (QB) is a promising theoretical approach addressing questions about how living systems are able to unfold dynamics that cannot be solved on a chemical basis or seem to violate some fundamental laws (e.g., thermodynamic yield, morphogenesis, adaptation, autopoiesis, memory, teleology, biosemiotics). Current "quantum" approaches in biology are still very basic and "corpuscular", as these rely on a semi-classical and approximated view. We review important considerations of theory and experiments of the recent past in the field of condensed matter, water, physics of living systems, and biochemistry to join them by creating a consistent picture applicable for life sciences. Within quantum field theory (QFT), the field (also in the matter field) has the primacy whereby the particle, or "quantum", is a derivative of it. The phase of the oscillation and not the number of quanta is the most important observable of the system. Thermodynamics of open systems, symmetry breaking, fractals, and quantum electrodynamics (QED) provide a consistent picture of condensed matter, liquid water, and living matter. Coherence, resonance-driven biochemistry, and ion cyclotron resonance (Liboff-Zhadin effect) emerge as crucial hormetic phenomena. We offer a paradigmatic approach when dealing with living systems in order to enrich and ultimately better understand the implications of current research activities in the field of life sciences.

Biochemical assay and spectroscopic analysis of oxidative/antioxidative parameters in the blood and serum of substance use disorders patients. A methodological comparison study

Substance abuse such as opioids, cannabis, and alcohol causes activation on the immune system and the release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) into the blood and serum. These substances cause an effect on oxidant and antioxidant status in patients with substance abuse. Mainly, wide-open to the ROS are lipids and proteins included blood, which suffers peroxidation. In this study, for the first-time differentiation of the effects of cannabis, alcohol and other synthetic substances on blood and serum samples, were performed. For this purpose, the level of the malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) in serum and red blood cells, was measured using biochemical assay methods and Fourier Transform InfraRed spectroscopy (FTIR). The results showed, that peroxidation which is dignified as the production of MDA was increased for substance use disorder (SUD) patients (18.01 ± 2.97) compared to the control group (10.75 ± 2.28) (p < 0.001) and for antioxidant capacity, GSH level were significantly increased for SUD patients (p < 0.001). For the discrimination of protein and lipid region obtained from FTIR spectroscopy, we extracted features by principal component analyze (PCA) of protein (1800 cm^-1 to 900 cm^-1) and lipid (3200 cm^-1 to 2800 cm^-1) regions for blood and serum samples collected from patients with different types of SUD and healthy control (HC) participants. For the consideration of lipid oxidation, lipid saturation, lipid desaturation and protein aggregation the peak heights at 1740 cm^-1 to 2960 cm^-1, 2920 cm^-1 to 2960 cm^-1, 3012 cm^-1 to 2960 cm^-1, and 1630 cm^-1 to 1650 cm^-1 regions were studied for SUD and HC. Moreover, more visible changes were noticed for proteins region, than for lipids. The most notice structural changes were observed in amide II in serum spectra. Then we classified protein and lipid region's PCA results of blood and serum by Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and Support vector machine (SVM). Confidence of the specificity, sensitivity and accuracy of blood and serum were obtained as 100%, 100% and 100% individually. This is the first comparative study on the spectrochemical tool and biochemical assay on SUD. Our results presented 100% discrimination of disorder region compared to healthy subjects.

Modulation of Maillard reaction and protein aggregation in bovine meat following exposure to microwave heating and possible impact on digestive processes: An FTIR spectroscopy study

The aim of this study was to highlight the existence of a correlation between Maillard reaction and protein aggregation in bovine meat as a function of power level and exposure time used by microwave heating. The obtained results are compared with those of convective heating. For this, Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy was used to analyze the effects of microwave heating on different samples of bovine meat cooked in microwave ovens at three power levels of 700, 900 and 1100 W, and in conventional electric oven at the temperature of 170°C. An increase in intensity of methylene vibration bands after microwave cooking at 700 W for 3 min was more than that which occurred after microwave cooking at 900 and 1100 W for 2 min, showing that Maillard reaction depends on exposure time to microwaves. Also, the β-sheet contents at 1695 and 1635 cm^-1 in meat samples heated for 2 min by microwave oven increased with increase in power level from 700 to 1100 W, showing that protein aggregation is strictly related to the power level of microwave heating. This result showed that an extended exposure time to microwave heating can significantly alter gastrointestinal digestive processes.

Chromosome aberration in typical biological systems under exposure to low- and high-intensity magnetic fields

The aim of this study was to investigate the response of chromosomes in typical human and plant cells under applied low-frequency magnetic fields at low and high intensities. Neuronal-like cells and roots of Allium sativum and Vicia faba were used to investigate chromosome's response to a static and 50 Hz magnetic fields at intensities ranging from 1 mT to 0.8 T, generated by two Helmholtz coils driven by direct current or alternate current voltage. Vertex spectrometer and Olympus microscope with camera were used. A significant decrease in intensity of the phosphate bands in the DNA infrared region was observed by FTIR spectroscopy analysis after exposure of neuronal-like cells to static and 50 Hz magnetic field at low intensity of 1 mT, which can be explained assuming that uncoiling and unpackaging of chromatin constituents occurred after exposure. This effect was directly observed by microscope in roots of Allium sativum and Vicia faba under exposure to a static magnetic field at high intensity of 0.8 T. These findings can be explained assuming that exposure to both low- and high-intensity magnetic fields of chromosomes in typical human and plant cells induces uncoiling and unpackaging of chromatin constituents, followed by chromosome alignment towards the direction of applied magnetic field, providing further demonstration that magnetic fields can induce the orientation of organic macromolecules even at low-intensity values.

The inverse relation between mitochondrial transmembrane potential and proteins α-helix in neuronal-like cells under static magnetic field and the role of VDAC

In this study, a correlation between cell channel α-helices displacement and the mitochondrial transmembrane potential after exposure of 3, 7, 15 and 24 h of neuronal-like cells to a uniform magnetic field at the intensity of 2 mT was shown. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy and fluorescence techniques were used to analyze the secondary structure of protein content and mitochondrial transmembrane potential, respectively. The main result of this study was represented by a significant inverse relation between the mitochondrial transmembrane potential and the intensity of the Amide I band that can be associated with time exposure. Given that mitochondrial transmembrane potential should be related to the gating state of voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) in mitochondrial membrane, this result could have a relevant role in medicine. Indeed, VDAC's irregular behavior can be associated with several varieties of mitochondria-associated pathologies and various forms of cancer and neurodegeneration.

New Perspectives in the Treatment of Tumor Cells by Electromagnetic Radiation at Resonance Frequencies in Cellular Membrane Channels

Background:

The use of electromagnetic fields has been considered as adjuvant therapy for the treatment of cancer given that some clinical trials have shown that the irradiation of cancer cells with electromagnetic fields can slow down the disease progression.

Aims:

We hypothesize that this effect could be amplified by irradiating tumor cells with electromagnetic fields having frequencies close to the natural resonant frequencies of membrane channels in tumor cells, in order to obtain a significant change of the ion flux across tumor cell membrane channels, inducing the largest harmful alteration in their cellular function.

Methods:

Neuronal-like cells were used as a cell model and exposed for 6 h to electromagnetic fields at different frequencies (0, 50 Hz, 900 MHz) at the same intensity of 2 mT. The exposure system was represented by two Helmholtz coils driven by a power amplifier in current mode and an arbitrary function generator. FTIR spectroscopy was used to evaluate the results of the exposure.

Results:

The results of this study showed that the Amide I vibration band increased in intensity with the increase of the frequency, leading us to assume that the displacement of the cell channels α-helices depends on the frequency of the applied electromagnetic fields.

Conclusion:

This preliminary result leads us to plan future research aimed at searching for the natural frequencies of membrane channels in tumor cells using resonant electromagnetic fields in order to damage the cellular functions of tumor cells. Clinical trials are needed to confirm such a hypothesis derived from this physical study.

Diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma from pleural fluid by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy coupled with chemometrics

This study was conducted to differentiate malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) from lung cancer (LC) and benign pleural effusion (BPE) from pleural fluids using the diagnostic power of Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance mode coupled with chemometrics. Infrared spectra of MPM (n  =  24), LC (n  =  20), and BPE (n  =  25) were collected, and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were applied to their spectra. HCA results indicated that MPM was differentiated from LC with 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity and from BPE, with 100% sensitivity and 88% specificity, which were also confirmed by PCA score plots. PCA loading plots indicated that these separations originated mainly from lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids-related spectral bands. There was significantly higher lipid, protein, nucleic acid, and glucose contents in the MPM and LC. However, the significant changes in triglyceride and cholesterol ester content, protein and nucleic acid structure, a lower membrane fluidity, and higher membrane order were only observed in the MPM. To check the classification success of some test samples/each group, soft independent modeling of class analogies was performed and 96.2% overall classification success was obtained. This approach can provide a rapid and inexpensive methodology for the efficient differentiation of MPM from other pleural effusions.

Introduction to the Special Issue “Electromagnetic Waves Pollution”

Modern technology has largely developed using energy forms of which the most relevant is surely electricity. Electric power stations generate alternate current at frequencies of 50 or 60 Hz, transmitted across high voltage transmission lines that are often located too near to buildings where humans live or work. In addition, home devices that work using alternate current expose humans to extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields. Furthermore, trams, electric trains, and some industrial processes generate static magnetic fields. Electromagnetic fields produce non-ionizing radiation, which gives rise to the so-called electromagnetic waves pollution, also named electrosmog. A large scientific production study showed harmful effects of exposure to EMFs. In view of these results, the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection published international guidelines in order to recommend exposure limits to EMFs for occupational exposure and for general public exposure. The aim of this thematic issue is to give a further contribution to highlight the problem of electromagnetic waves pollution and to investigate the effects of exposure to EMFs on biological systems even below the EMF limits recommended by ICNIRP.