Gopal Nayak, Shrikant Patil, Rama Mohan Tallapragada, Rakesh Mishra

Cellulose based polymers have shown tremendous potential as drug delivery carrier for oral drug delivery system (DDS). Hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) and hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) are widely explored as excipients to improve the solubility of poorly water soluble drugs and to improve self-life of dosage form. This work is an attempt to modulate the physicochemical properties of these cellulose derivatives using biofield treatment. The treated HEC and HPC polymer were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The XRD studies revealed a semi-crystalline nature of both the polymers. Crystallite size was computed using Scherrer’s formula, and treated HEC polymer showed a significant increase in percentage crystallite size (835%) as compared to the control polymer. This higher increase in crystallite size might be associated with greater crystallite indices causing a reduction in amorphous regions in the polymer. However treated HPC polymer showed decrease in crystallite size by -64.05% as compared to control HPC. DSC analysis on HEC polymer revealed the presence of glass transition temperature in control and treated HEC polymer. We observed an increase in glass transition temperature in treated HEC, which might be associated with restricted segmental motion induced by biofield. Nonetheless, HPC has not showed any glass transition. And no change in melting temperature peak was observed in treated HPC (T2) however melting temperature was decreased in T1 as compared to control HPC. TGA analysis established the higher thermal stability of treated HEC and HPC. CHNSO results showed significant increase in percentage oxygen and hydrogen in HEC and HPC polymers as compared to control samples. This confirmed that biofield had induced changes in chemical nature and elemental composition of the treated polymers (HEC and HPC).

Shrikant Patil, Harish Shettigar, Mayank Gangwar, Snehasis Jana

Raoultella ornithinolytica is belongs to the family of Enterobacteriaceae, a Gram-negative encapsulated aerobic bacillus associated with bacteremia and urinary tract infections. As biofield therapy is increasingly popular in biomedical heath care, so present study aimed to evaluate the impact of Mr. Trivedi’s biofield treatment on antimicrobial sensitivity, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), biochemical study, and biotype number of multidrug resistant strain of R. ornithinolytica. Clinical sample of R. ornithinolytica was divided into two groups i.e. control and biofield treated which were analyzed for the above parameters using MicroScan Walk-Away® system on day 10 after treatment. Antimicrobial sensitivity assay results showed a significant increase (60.71%) in sensitivity pattern of antimicrobials i.e. changed from resistant to susceptible while 10.71% of tested antimicrobials changed from intermediate to susceptible as compared to control. MIC results showed a significant decrease in MIC values of 71.88% tested antimicrobials as compared to control. Biochemical reaction study showed 15.15% alteration in different biochemical such as cetrimide, cephalothin, kanamycin, and ornithine after biofield treatment as compared to control. A significant change in biotype number (7775 4370) was also observed with organism identified as Klebsiella oxytoca after biofield treatment as compared to control (7775 5372). Overall results conclude that biofield treatment could be used as complementary and alternative treatment strategy against multidrug resistant strain of R. ornithinolytica with respect to improve the sensitivity and reduce the MIC values of antimicrobials. Hence, it is assumed that biofield treatment might be a suitable cost effective treatment strategy in near future, which could have therapeutic value in patients suffering from multidrug resistant pathogens.

Shrikant Patil, Harish Shettigar, Mayank Gangwar, Snehasis Jana

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (S. maltophilia) is a Gram-negative bacillus, an opportunistic pathogen, particularly among nosocomial infections. Multi-drug resistant strains are associated with very high rate of morbidity and mortality in severely immunocompromised patients. Present study was designed to evaluate the effect of biofield treatment against multidrug resistant S. maltophilia. Clinical sample of S. maltophilia was collected and divided into two groups i.e. control and biofield treated which were analyzed after 10 days with respect to control. The following parameters viz. susceptibility pattern, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), biochemical studies and biotype number of both control and treated samples were measured by MicroScan Walk-Away® system. The results showed an overall change of 37.5% in susceptibility pattern and 39.4% in biochemical study while 33.3% changes in MIC values of tested antimicrobials after biofield treatment. Further, the treated group of S. maltophilia has also shown a significant change in biochemical reactions followed by its biotype number as compared to control group. Biochemical reactions of treated group showed negative reaction to acetamide and positive reactions to colistin, glucose, adonitol, melibiose, arabinose, nitrate, oxidation-fermentation, raffinose, rhaminose, sorbitol, sucrose, and Voges-Proskauer as compared with control. The biofield treatment showed an alteration in MIC values of amikacin, amoxicillin/K-clavulanate, chloramphenicol, gatifloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, ceftazidime, cefotetan, ticarcillin/K-clavulanate, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Altogether, data suggest that biofield treatment has significant effect to alter the sensitivity pattern of antimicrobials and biotype number against multidrug resistant strain of S. Maltophilia.

Shrikant Patil, Rakesh Kumar Mishra, Snehasis Jana

Bile salt (BS) and proteose peptone (PP) are important biomacromolecules being produced inside the human body. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of biofield treatment on physicochemical properties of BS and PP. The study was performed in two groups (control and treated). The control group remained as untreated, and biofield treatment was given to treated group. The control and treated BS and PP samples were characterized by particle size analyzer (PSA), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). PSA results showed increase in particle size (d50 and d99) of both treated BS and PP as compared to control. Surface area analysis showed minimal decrease by 1.59%, in surface area of treated BS as compared to control. However, the treated PP showed increase (8%) in surface area as compared to control. DSC characterization showed increase in melting temperature of treated BS as compared to control. Whereas, DSC thermogram of treated PP showed decrease in melting temperature with respect to control. Moreover, the DSC of control and treated PP showed presence of exothermic peaks which were possibly due to protein aggregation. The treated PP showed higher exothermic transition temperature as compared to control. XRD analysis revealed slight reduction in crystalline nature of BS as compared to control. On the other hand, XRD data of control and treated PP showed an amorphous nature. TGA analysis of treated BS showed maximum thermal decomposition temperature at 22°C which was higher as compared to control sample (106°C). This could be due to biofield treatment which may enhance the thermal stability of treated BS with respect to control. However, the TGA thermogram of treated PP showed decrease in maximum thermal stability as compared to control. The overall results showed that biofield treatment has significantly altered the physical and thermal properties of BS and PP.