DOES QURANIC RECITATION WORK ON A NON-AUDIBLE CELL? AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY IN A MONOLAYER CELLS CULTURE MODEL

There has been a dearth in modern scientific literature addressing the effect of Quranic recitation on the physical context of beings compared to a psychological or spiritual dimension. Muslims believe that the Holy Qurʾān is Kalamullah (the words of God). This study distances itself from arguing the truthfulness of the Qurʾān. Instead, it is an effort out of curiosity to appreciate the Creator’s greatness from a scientist’s perspective. It is always room for improvement in seeking knowledge. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Quranic recitation on non-audible primary cells using a monolayer cell culture model. Cartilages were harvested from commercially available rabbits’ knee joints (n=6). The cartilage cells (chondrocytes) were isolated, cultured, and assigned to five groups. Three cultured chondrocyte groups were exposed to Sūrat l-Fātiĥah (The Opening), ‘Arabic poem’ and ‘Western poem’ recitals. Two other groups served as controls. One was exposed to a muted sound speaker (but switched on), and another group had no exposure. All recitations were recorded and exposed to the cells in a standardized, controlled condition to allow scientific rigor and a systematic approach. A scratch assay was also performed to mimic a simple wound healing model. Post-exposure evaluations included basic cellular staining, immunocytochemistry against collagen I and II, sulfated glycosaminoglycan (sGAG) production, and cartilage-specific gene expression analysis. All cells groups showed positive reactions to the various recitals exposures. However, based on the overall findings and chondrogenic properties preservation, the group exposed to the Qurʾān exhibited better structure and function than the other groups. The results showed that the non-audible chondrocytes devoid of spiritual dimension could respond to vocal sounds. This non-invasive study indicates that a proper Quranic recitation has a healing effect and could impact physical cells better than the other recitals

Effect of Qur’anic recitation on chondrocytes growth using scratch wound assay: work in progress

Purpose: This study aims to identify the potential effects of the Qur’anic recitation,particularly Surah Al-Fatihah on the wound healing activity of chondrocytes derived from rabbit articular cartilage. Methods: A serially cultured and expanded chondrocytes was used in this study. A cellular model was established in vitro and divided into four groups. The first and second groups were exposed to recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah and an Arabic poem respectively.The third group was exposed to a Western poem recitation. The exposure duration of the recitations to all groups was standardized to 14 minutes. The fourth group was not exposed to any sound and serves as control. As the cells reach 80-90% confluency, a single line or scratch wound was introduced. Growth kinetics assessment was performed to study the healing activities within each group. Any significant changes were recorded as photomicrograph. Results: Initial findings showed that the cells exposed to Qur’anic recitation showed faster and favourable healing effect compared to Arabic and Western poem. Growth rate, cell viability and total number of doubling were found to be increased with the Qur’anic recitation. Future work involving more samples will be conducted to validate these initial findings. It is found that the Qur’anic recitation was able to increase the proliferation and reduce the time to heal. The use of the Qur’anic recitation can be utilized to facilitate the cartilage regeneration in tissue engineering studies. Conclusion: This preliminary study exerts the positive effect of Qur’anic recitation on the wound healing activity of chondrocytes

Healing with sound: exploring possible applications of Qur’anic recitation in cell culture

There are evidences of research done in relation to sound healing in dealing with various health problems. Brain, auditory cells and other cells in the human body have been shown to react to sound. The use of Qur’anic recitation for therapeutic purposes can be traced back to the times of Prophet Muhammad (s. a. w.). Listening to the Qur’anic recitation can have therapeutic effects even on individuals who do not understand the meaning of the verses. However, there is little to suggest the effect of Qur’anic recitation on cell cultures. The Scopus database was examined for scientific writings that involve the effect of sound, with higher emphasis on “Healing with Qur’anic recitation”. The positive effects of sound identified from the literatures support future studies to examine the effects of Qur’anic recitation on cell cultures. However, this paper adopted a cautious approach to associating Qur’anic recitation to sound healing

Identifying the potential of Qur’anic recitation on the proliferation of chondrocytes derived from rabbit articular cartilage: work in progress

Introduction: In Islamic practice, the use of Qur’anic recitation in treatment can be traced back to the times of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). This preliminary study aims to identify the potential of Qur’anic recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah on the proliferation of chondrocytes derived from rabbit articular cartilage. Cartilage tissue engineering offers an alternative way to facilitate cartilage regeneration in-vitro. Materials and Methods: The cellular model was established using a serially cultured and expanded chondrocytes in-vitro. The model was assigned into three groups. The first group was exposed to the Surah Al-Fatihah, recited 17 times based on the five times daily prayer unit (Raka’ah) obligated upon Muslims. The second group was exposed to an Arabic poem recitation. The third group was not exposed to any sound and served as the control. All groups were subjected to the growth profile analysis. The analysis was conducted at different passages starting from passage 0 to passage 3. Results: The results showed that the cells proliferation based on the growth kinetic analysis is higher for the cells exposed with Qur’anic recitation as compared to the Arabic poem and control groups. Conclusions: The proliferation process of the rabbit articular cartilage might be influenced with the use of Qur’anic recitation and as well as Arabic poem recitation. Exposure to the Western poem recitation and mute sound will be added for future study. It is hoped that this study could shed some light on the potential use of the Qur’anic recitation to facilitate cartilage regeneration in tissue engineering studies

Exploring the feasibility in using medical computerized tomography to monitorgrowth progression in tissue engineered construct prepared from cells seeded on poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) based scaffolds.

This study attempted to examine the feasibility of using medical Computerized Tomography (CT) imaging scanner to monitor the growth of tissue engineered constructs (TECs) in vitro. A preliminary CT examination was performed on TECs prepared from serially expanded chondrocytes seeded on poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) based scaffolds that acted as cell carriers. One day old PLGA with fibrin and cells (PFC), PLGA and cells (PC) as well as PLGA with Fibrin (PF) constructs were stored in normal saline prior to CT examination. The kVp used was 80 Kvpwhile the effective mAs was 11 mAs. Sharp kernel was chosen as the reconstruction parameters and slice thickness used was 0.1mm.A PLGA without cells or fibrin was used as control. X-ray attenuation of TECs, measured in Hounsfield units (HU) or, also known as CT values were observed. The results indicated that the control PLGA, the PFC, the PC and also the PF constructs gave CT values between -665HU to 477HU, between 149HU to 181HU, between -120HU to 263HU and -209HU to 185HU respectively. These initial results indicate that the x-ray absorption-based quantitative differentiation between TECs could be appreciated. The CT values documented suggest that the differences in attenuation values are dependent on the condition of the scaffolds or the TECs themselves. Furthermore, the use of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) software installed in the CT system was found to be useful in appreciating the different compositions within the scanned samples. It is hoped that the outcomes of this preliminary study can serve as a baseline for future research to look for an alternative method to quantitatively monitor the growth of TECs in vitro as well as in vivo

Fabrication and characterization of three-dimensional poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid), atelocollagen, and fibrin bioscaffold composite for intervertebral disk tissue engineering application

The use of synthetically derived poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) scaffold and naturally derived materials in regeneration of intervertebral disks has been reported in many previous studies. However, the potential effect of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) in combination with atelocollagen or fibrin or both atelocollagen and fibrin bioscaffold composite have not been mentioned so far. This study aims to fabricate and characterize three-dimensional poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) scaffold incorporated with (1) atelocollagen, (2) fibrin, and (3) both atelocollagen and fibrin combination for intervertebral disk tissue engineering application. The poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) without anynatural, bioscaffold composites was used as control. The chemical conformation, morphology, cell–scaffold attachment, porosity, water uptake capacity, thermal properties, mechanical strength, and pH level were evaluated on all scaffolds using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscope, gravimetric analysis, swelling test, differential scanning calorimetry, and Instron E3000, respectively. Biocompatibility test was conducted to assess the intervertebral disk, annulus fibrosus cells viability using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. The attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared results demonstrated notable peaks of amide bond suggesting interaction of atelocollagen, fibrin, and both atelocollagen and fibrin combination into the poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) scaffold. Based on the scanning electron microscope observation, the pore size of the poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) structure significantly reduced when it was incorporated with atelocollagen and fibrin. The poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)–atelocollagen scaffolds demonstrated higher significant swelling ratios, mechanical strength, and thermal stability than the poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) scaffold alone. All the three bioscaffold composite groups exhibited the ability to reduce the acidic poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) by-product. In this study, the biocompatibility assessment using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol- 2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide cells proliferation assay demonstrated a significantly higher annulus fibrosus cells viability in poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)–atelocollagen–fibrin compared to poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) alone. The cellular attachment is comparable in poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)–atelocollagen–fibrin and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)–fibrin scaffolds. Overall, these results may suggest potential use of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) combined with atelocollagen and fibrin bioscaffold composite for intervertebral disk regeneration

Establishment of growth kinetics profile and measurement of Sulphated Glycosaminoglycans (sGAG) production in monolayer cultured chondrocytes following Qur’anic recitation exposure

Objectives/Research Problem: Cartilage is an avascular tissue made of one cell type only which is the chondrocyte. Due to the low mitotic property, the chondrocytes have very limited self-repair capacity. As a result, once the cartilage is injured and left untreated, degeneration changes will precede ageing and can be progressive. Limitation in the currently available treatments is noted. Seeking alternative ways to facilitate the cartilage repair and regeneration have become crucial. This study aims to identify the potential effects of the Qur’anic recitation, particularly Surah Al-Fatihah on the sGAG production in the monolayer cultured chondrocytes derived from rabbit articular cartilage. Materials and Method: A cellular model based on a serially cultured and expanded chondrocytes is established in vitro and divided into four groups. The first group is exposed to the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah. The second and third groups are exposed to the recitation of Arabic poem and Western poem respectively. The fourth group is not exposed to any sound and serves as control. Any significant changes are recorded and presented as photomicrographs. Growth kinetics assessment is performed to study the cell proliferation activities within each group. After reaching 80-90% confluency, the cells are harvested and pelleted through centrifugation step. The cell pellet is subjected to sGAG assay at different passages (P0, P1, P2, and P3). Results and Discussion: The cells exposed to Surah Al-Fatihah is expected to increase the proliferation and sGAG production of the chondrocytes better than the control group as well as the cells exposed to Arabic and Western poem recitation. Conclusion: Initial findings suggest that the Qur’anic recitation promotes cells proliferation and sGAG production. The Qur’anic recitation may serve as one of the potential signalling factors in tissue engineering studies and facilitate for cartilage repair and regeneration

Swelling capacity and degradation behaviour of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) tissue engineering scaffold through atelocollagen, fibrin or, combination of atelocollagen and fibrin addition

Swelling capacity and degradation behaviour are important factors for biomaterial scaffold in tissue engineering (TE). Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is a synthetic polymer used commonly as scaffolding material. Major concern with PLGA use is the trigger of inflammatory reaction damaging cells in vivo. Incorporation of natural polymers i.e. atelocollagen and/or fibrin onto PLGA may compensate those effects. This present study aimed to evaluate the swelling capacity and degradation behaviour of PLGA when added with atelocollagen, fibrin or, combination of both atelocollagen and fibrin. Atelocollagen type II has no telopeptide region and forms gel like structure at body temperature. Plasma-derived fibrin is reported to reduce inflammation caused by PLGA. Combination of both atelocollagen and fibrin could enhance PLGA properties. Porous PLGA scaffolds were fabricated via solvent-casting/salt-leaching method using salt as porogen. Atelocollagen was then added and cross-linked with the PLGA using 1-Ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC) and N-Hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) to form PLGA/atelocollagen (PA) scaffold. Plasma-derived fibrin was added to the PLGA and the prefabricated PLGA/atelocollagen scaffold to form PLGA/fibrin (PF) and PLGA/atelocollagen/fibrin scaffold (PAF) respectively. Calcium chloride was used to polymerize plasma-derived fibrin onto those scaffolds. Swelling test was performed by immersing the scaffolds in water for 24-hour. Hydrolytic degradation was performed by immersing the scaffolds in simulated body fluid (SBF) and the percentage of reduction was recorded at 28 days. Four scaffolds groups i.e. (1) PLGA alone, (2) PLGA/atelocollagen [PA], (3) PLGA/fibrin [PF], and (4) PLGA/atelocollagen/fibrin [PAF] were compared in this study. The swelling ratio of PA scaffold group (192.57±41.96%) had significantly increased compared to other groups (PLGA= 40.19±4.89%; PF=52.00±23.48%; PAF=66.59±13.38%). In terms of degradation, PA group exhibited significant weight loss (497.11±76.65%) over other groups after 28 days in SBF. These findings suggest PLGA/atelocollagen without fibrin is sufficient to increase swelling capacity and offer higher degradation properties