Low-field NMR water proton longitudinal relaxation in ultrahighly diluted aqueous solutions of silica-lactose prepared in glass material for pharmaceutical use

Abstract

Low-field (0.02--4 MHz) proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) longitudinal relaxometry was applied to ultrahighly diluted aqueous solutions in order to detect physical modifications induced in the solvent by the dilution process. A mixture of silica-lactose (1.67.10 -5 M silica, 2.92-10 -2 M lactose) was initially solubilized in water or in saline, then submitted to eighteen iterative centesimal dilutions in water or in saline under vigorous vortex agitation and rigorously controlled atmospheric conditions, and compared to similarly treated pure water and saline as controls. Several independent series of samples were measured according to a blind protocol (total of 140 code-labelled samples). A slight frequency dispersion (about 4%) was found within the 0.02-4 MHz range, centered around 0.55 MHz, and ascribed to combined effects of silica and trace paramagnetic contaminants, both concentrated and in a reduced motion at the borosilicate wall tube interface. The iterative dilutionagitation process in pure water and saline induced no significant effect on relaxivity. Slightly increased relaxivity compared to solvent was found in the initial silica-lactose dilution (especially in saline, about 4%), which vanished unexpectedly slowly upon dilution, as adjusted to an arbitrary log-linear model. Statistical analysis was applied to succeed in discriminating solutions from their solvents beyond the 10 -~z level of dilution. No clear explanation emerged, but post-experiment chemical analysis revealed high amounts (6 ppm) of released silica from the glass mate¡ used, with excess in silicalactose samples, and lower amounts of trace paramagnetic contaminants in highly diluted silica-lactose samples, which could provide a clue.

Laboratory Research in Homeopathy: Con

“…9 Recent nuclear magnetic resonance studies of homeopathic solutions have shown that no long-lived alterations are present in the hydrogen bonding pattern of the bulk water 10,11 and that silicates leaching from the glass vials used to make the preparations may be responsible for some differences observed in relaxation times between different solutions. 12,13 The water cluster theory of homeopathy runs into additional trouble in light of the fact that many homeopathic preparations are soaked onto sugar pills, which are then dried to remove the solvent.…”

Effects of Homeopathic Preparations on Human Prostate Cancer Growth in Cellular and Animal Models

“…53 Thus, the authors recommend the use of succussed controls, stored for the same time period and in the same type of container as their remedy counterparts. Using either nuclear magnetic resonance 54 or a biologic effect in mice, 55 a few reports documenting differences to this effect have been released. However, further attempts to demonstrate or replicate these differences 56 remained unsuccessful.…”

Research on Homeopathy: State of the Art

“…A series of studies using nuclear magnetic resonance imaging were able to document differences. 64,65 However, very thorough predecessor studies, conducted in a triple-blinded setup, were unable to confirm clear-cut and replicable differences, 66 and other independent studies yielded sometimes positive, 67 sometimes negative results. 68 A recent study using thermoluminescence found significant differences between a homeopathic test substance and succussed controls, 69 a result that awaits replication.…”