Physicochemical characterization of nanoparticles in highly diluted preparations and exploratory plasma proteomic...

The physicochemical properties of highly diluted homeopathic preparations remain insufficiently characterized. This study investigated particulate features of Kali carbonicum (K₂CO₃) at 50-millesimal potencies (LM4-LM7, ∼1:50,000 dilutions per step) and explored plasma proteomic changes in a placebo-controlled N-of-1 trial. Scanning electron microscopy showed larger particle size in Kali carbonicum (67.3 nm) than in the lactose control (47.5 nm) at LM4 in a descriptive comparison. Dynamic light scattering showed no significant differences in size, polydispersity, or zeta potential among Kali carbonicum, lactose control, and solvent blank, accounting for vial-level clustering. Atomic force microscopy showed more compact dendritic assemblies in Kali than in lactose controls, suggesting trituration influences self-organization. Raman spectroscopy of LM7 detected carbonate-associated bands absent in controls. Plasma proteomics identified six FDR-significant proteins during Kali exposure, including increased S100A9, with exploratory enrichment for inflammation, cytoskeletal, and motility terms. These findings are exploratory and do not imply causality.