Construction of Antibacterial N‐Halamine Polymer Nanomaterials Capable of Bacterial Membrane Disruption for Efficient Anti‐Infective Wound Therapy

The increasing occurrence of bacterial infection at the wound sites is a serious global problem, demanding the rapid development of new antibacterial materials for wound dressing to avoid the abuse of antibiotics and thereby antibiotic resistance. In this work, the authors first report on antibacterial N‐halamine polymer nanomaterials based on a strategic copolymerization of 3‐allyl‐5,5‐dimethylhydantoin (ADMH) and methyl methacrylate (MMA), which exhibits in vitro and in vivo antimicrobial efficacy against pathogenic bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Particularly, when a biological evaluation is run for wound therapy, the N‐halamine polymer nanomaterials exhibit a powerful antibacterial efficiency and wound healing ability after a series of histological examination of mouse wound. After the evaluation of biological and chemical surroundings, the proposed four‐stage mechanism suggests that, with unique antibacterial N? Cl bonds, the N‐halamine polymer nanomaterials can disrupt the bacterial membrane, as a result causing intracellular content leaked out and thereby cell death. Based on the synergistic action of antibacterial and wound therapy, the N‐halamine polymer nanomaterials are expected to be promising as wound dressing materials in medical healing and biomaterials.     

Complementary Approaches to Imaging Subcellular Lipid Architectures in Live Bacteria Using Phosphorescent Iridium Complexes and Raman Spectroscopy

A family of three neutral iridium(III) tetrazolato complexes are investigated as bacterial imaging agents. The complexes offer a facile tuning of the emission colour from green (520 nm) to red (600 nm) in aqueous media, while keeping the excitation wavelength unchanged. The three complexes do not inhibit the bacterial growth of Bacillus Cereus, used as a model in this study, and exhibit extremely fast cellular uptake. After a minute incubation time, the nontoxic complexes show subcellular localisation in spherical structures identified as lipid vacuoles. Confocal Raman imaging has been exploited for the first time on live bacteria, to provide direct and label-free mapping of the lipid-enriched organelles within B. cereus, complementing the use of luminescent probes. Examination of the Raman spectra not only confirmed the presence of lipophilic inclusions in B. cereus but offered additional information about their chemical composition, suggesting that the lipid vacuoles may contain polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB).     

Bacterial synthesized metal and metal salt nanoparticles in biomedical applications: An up and coming approach

In the present scenario, metal nanoparticles have elicited a great deal of interest in biomedical applications because of their unique properties and antimicrobial potentials. Over the past few years, the green nanotechnology has materialized as a momentous approach for the synthesis and fabrication of noble metal salt and metal nanoparticles. The green route synthesis exploits diverse reducing and stabilizing agents from bacterial resources for the successful synthesis of metal nanoparticles. This review mainly focuses on the biosynthesis of the most commonly studied metal and metal salt nanoparticles such as gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper, cadmium, titanium oxide, zinc oxide, zinc sulphate, cadmium sulphide and many more. These noble nanoparticles can be exploited in pharmaceutical industry as antimicrobial and anti-biofilm agents, targeted delivery of anticancer drugs, biosensors, etc.     

Carboxymethylation of Bacterial Cellulose

The carboxymethylation of bacterial cellulose (BC) was studied under typical heterogeneous reaction conditions. It was found that the BC possesses a significantly lower reactivity compared to wood cellulose converted under comparable conditions. Moreover, water-solubility of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) obtained from BC appears at rather high degree of substitution of about 1.5 although a nearly statistical functionalization pattern was analyzed by HPLC. Obviously, the nano-structure of BC is important for the reactivity and the properties of the synthesized CMC like water-solubility.     

Nanocellulose Materials – Different Cellulose,Different Functionality

Summary: Nanocelluloses combine in a very exciting manner important properties of cellulose with amazing features of nano-scale materials. With a view to the increasing discussion on the potential risks of nanoparticles and nanotechnology to human health and the environment, it is important to point out that the nanocellulose fibers are irreversibly networked in the supramolecular cellulose structure. This contribution assembles the current knowledge in research, development, and application in the field of nanocelluloses through examples. The topics combine selected results on nanocelluloses from bacteria and wood as well as the formation and in situ shaping of cellulose bodies, the coating of materials with nanosized cellulose networks/supports, and the preparation of nanocellulose composites as well as the use of bacterial cellulose as novel type of medical implants.     

Synthesis,Structures and Various Biological Applications of New Zn(II) Complexes Having Different Coordination Modes Controlled by the Drug Furosemide in Presence of Bioactive Nitrogen Based Ligands

Novel Zn(II) complexes with the general formula: [Zn(furo)₂(L)_n], n = 1 or 2, (furo = furosemide = (4‐chloro‐2‐(furan‐2‐ylmethylamino)‐5‐sulfamoylbenzoic acid) were prepared. The complexes [Zn(furo)₂(MeOH)₂] ( 1 ; MeOH = methanol), [Zn(furo)₂(2‐ampy)₂] ( 2 ; 2‐ampy = 2‐aminopyridine), [Zn(furo)₂(2‐ammepy)₂] ( 3 ; 2‐ammepy = 2‐aminomethylpyridine), [Zn(furo)₂(H₂O)(2,2‐bipy)] ( 4 ; 2,2′‐bipy = 2,2′‐bipyridine), [Zn(furo)₂(H₂O)(4,4′‐bipy)] ( 5 ; 4,4′‐bipy = 4,4′‐bipyridine), [Zn(furo)₂(1,10‐phen)] ( 6 ; 1,10‐phen = 1,10‐phenanthroline), [Zn(furo)₂(2,9‐dmp)] ( 7 ; 2,9‐dmp = 2,9‐dimethyl‐1,10‐phenanthroline), and [Zn (furo)₂(quin)₂] ( 8 ; quin = quinoline) were synthesized and characterized using different techniques such as IR, UV–Vis, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, LC/MS and others. The crystal structure of complex ( 4 ) was determined using single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. The anti‐bacterial activity of complexes ( 1 – 8 ) was tested using agar diffusion method against three gram‐positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus epidermidis) and three gram‐negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa). The obtained results showed different Inhibition Zone Diameters (IZD) with various anti‐bacterial activities against the selected gram‐positive and gram‐negative bacteria. In addition, the rate of bis‐(4‐nitrophenyl) phosphate hydrolysis was measured at different temperatures, different pH values and different concentrations. The rates for the eight complexes were in the following order: complex 4 > 2 > 5 > 8  >  7  >  6  >  3  >  1 .     

An ancient remedial repurposing: synthesis of new pinocembrin fatty acid acyl derivatives as potential antimicrobial/anti-inflammatory agents

Five new pinocembrin derivatives (MC1-MC5) were synthesized by Steglich reaction, and investigated for their antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activity. MC2 (oleoyl derivative) and MC3 (linoleoyl derivative) have shown the highest inhibitory effects on bacterial proliferation, with MIC values of 32 μg/mL against Staphylococcus aureus. The docosahexaenoyl derivative MC5 displayed the highest anti-inflammatory activity, decreasing NO production in LPS-stimulated macrophages with an IC₅₀ value of 15.51 μg/mL higher than the positive control diclofenac (IC₅₀ of 39.71 μg/mL). All new synthesized compounds showed no anti-proliferative effects on RAW 264.7 cells. Results demonstrated as the introduction of fatty acid substituents improved the biological profile of pinocembrin. Moreover, the chemical nature of substituents significantly affects the bioactivity. These preliminary results outline the importance to investigate the synthesis of pinocembrin fatty acids derivatives as new and safe anti-microbial/anti-inflammatory agents.     

Antibacterial Activity and Mechanism of Oxidized Bacterial Nanocellulose with Different Carboxyl Content

Oxidized bacterial nanocellulose (OBC) is reported to prevent microbial growth, but its antibacterial characteristics and mechanism are still unclear. Here, the antibacterial mechanism of OBC is explored by detecting and assessing the interaction of OBC with different carboxyl content on Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The results show that OBC has strong antibacterial activity and antibiofilm activity against S. aureus and E. coli, which is positively correlated with the carboxyl content of OBC. After OBC treatment, the bacteria adhesion is inhibited and the cell membrane is destroyed leading to increased permeability. Further investigation reveals that the concentration of cyclic diguanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP) that induced biofilm formation is significantly decreased to 1.81 pmol mg⁻¹ after OBC treatment. In addition, OBC inactivates mature biofilms, with inactivation rates up to 79.3%. This study suggests that OBC has excellent antibacterial and antiadhesion properties, which can increase the cell membrane permeability and inhibit c-di-GMP formation. In addition, OBC also has a strong inactivation effect on mature biofilm, which can be used as an effective antibiofilm agent.