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Cited by 25Biofield Effects and BiophysicsSpectroscopy and Quantum Chemical StudiesNonlinear Optical Materials Studies

Modern Anesthetic Ethers Demonstrate Quantum Interactions with Entangled Photons

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Burdick, Ryan K., Villabona-Monsalve, Juan P., Mashour, George A., Goodson, Theodore·2019·Scientific Reports
DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-47651-1PMC PMC6683176
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Abstract

Despite decades of research, the mechanism of anesthetic-induced unconsciousness remains incompletely understood, with some advocating for a quantum mechanical basis. Despite associations between general anesthesia and changes in physical properties such as electron spin, there has been no empirical demonstration that general anesthetics are capable of functional quantum interactions. In this work, we studied the linear and non-linear optical properties of the halogenated ethers sevoflurane (SEVO) and isoflurane (ISO), using UV-Vis spectroscopy, time dependent-density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations, classical two-photon spectroscopy, and entangled two-photon spectroscopy. We show that both of these halogenated ethers interact with pairs of 800 nm entangled photons while neither interact with 800 nm classical photons. By contrast, nonhalogenated diethyl ether does not interact with entangled photons. This is the first experimental evidence that halogenated anesthetics can directly undergo quantum interaction mechanisms, offering a new approach to understanding their physicochemical properties.

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  • The evidence that terahertz quantum vibrations in microtubules are dampened during anaesthesia does not support the link between consciousness and OR.

    “There is evidence that terahertz quantum vibrations in microtubules are dampened during anaesthesia (Burdick et al., 2019). However, this does not support the link between consciousness and OR.”

    From Hard criteria for empirical theories of consciousness (2021) · cites this paper as Burdick et al., 2019

    The Discussion says microtubules have been proposed as substrates for anesthetic quantum effects, but states that this study did not investigate them. A title in the References mentions anesthetic alterations of terahertz oscillations in tubulin; neither passage says the vibrations are dampened during anaesthesia. The statement about consciousness and OR is the citing authors’ own conclusion, not a claim attributed to Burdick et al. (LLM, conf=0.76)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Burdick, R. K., Villabona-Monsalve, J. P., Mashour, G. A., & Goodson, T.
Affiliations
University of Michigan (US)
Corresponding author
Mashour, George A.
ORCID
Venue
Scientific Reports
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2019-08-05
Volume
9
Issue
1
Pages
11351-11351
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/s41598-019-47651-1
PMC
PMC6683176
OpenAlex
W2966161849
Cited by
25
References
4
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 5
FWCI
2.23
Type
journal article
Language
en
Update notices
correction (2021-04-20)
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (1607949)
  • Division of Chemistry (CHE 1607949)
  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-17, FA9550-, FA9550-17-1, FA9550-17-1-0457)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Biofield Effects and Biophysics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics › Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemical Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Nonlinear Optical Materials Studies
Keywords
general anesthesia mechanism, sevoflurane, isoflurane, diethyl ether, entangled photons, quantum entanglement, two-photon spectroscopy, nonlinear optical properties, halogenated anesthetics, electron spin

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