Philippine E-Journals

The Cytotoxicity Tests on the Non-pathogenic Bacteria Bacillus subtilis after Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields Treatment

Kaxandra Gaile B. Nubla | Geunhye Kim | Ric John L. Ombid | Romeric Pobre

 

Abstract:

There is a growing interest to studies involving the use of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) on biological systems. Exposure to RFEMF will influence the activity of microbiological organisms but its susceptibility is dependent on the field parameters, such as frequency. In this study, bacteria Bacillus subtilis was exposed to RF-EMF with a carrier frequency of 3.3 MHz. Bacillus subtilis was selected as the biological system to be investigated because of its benefits to medical and dietary field. It was investigated at five different exposure times (i.e. 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 minutes). The computed sweep frequency for Bacillus subtilis are 85 Hz and 169 Hz as the lower limit and upper limit, respectively. The cytotoxicity test was used to determine the optical density of cell viability through Spectrophotometer. It was then analyzed using the statistical T test and ANOVA test. The result has indicated that the most significant effect on bacteria Bacillus subtilis is at 6 minutes and 12 minutes exposure. Also, serial dilution analysis was used to test for quantitative results for colony growth of the bacteria. The results of the experiment showed that the bacteria were able to proliferate when it was exposed to longer time intervals. This study provides information of the effect of radiofrequency on bacteria Bacillus subtilis.