Effect of antibiotics' electromagnetic spectrums on the bacterial growths: beyond drug-receptor interaction

Abstract

Electromagnetic frequencies (EF) generated from different laboratory devices and appliances can interact with biological systems, including humans. Several studies have assessed the effect of electromagnetic frequencies on the growth of microorganisms, which revealed that EF could inhibit bacterial growth, decrease colony-forming units, or decrease viability depending on the field strength and frequency. Accordingly, in this study, we aimed to assess the effect of the antibiotics extracted electromagnetic spectrums on the growth of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Drugs digital electromagnetic spectrums of a mixture of antibiotics were generated using a DigiConPro® VITATEC device emitted using the supplied antenna and applied into a glass tube containing nutrient broth inoculated with S. aureus, and optical density was measured hourly for 6 hours. The post-exposure effect of antibiotics' electromagnetic spectrums was also determined on bacteria subcultured into blood agar. Antibiotics’ electromagnetic spectrums were seen to cause a statistically significant (p<0.05) decrease in the growth rate relative to the control after two hours of exposure that persisted until the stationary phase was reached. Also, this effect persisted after exposure and affected the next generation of bacteria and 4 hours dose of antibiotics’ electromagnetic spectrums was able to induce a huge reduction (5 times) in the bacterial growth compared to the control group and in reference to the zero time. As a conclusion, electromagnetic spectrums of the medications may have the same effect as the chemical compound, and the mechanism of drug action can be explained beyond the simple chemical-receptor interaction.