Bioinspired from cationic antimicrobial peptides, sequence-defined triazolium-grafted peptoid oligomers (6- to 12-mer) were designed to adopt an amphipathic helical polyproline I-type structure. Their evaluation on a panel of bacterial strains (, , , and ), pathogenic fungi (, , and ), and human cells (hRBC, BEAS-2B, Caco-2, HaCaT, and HepG2) enabled the identification of two heptamers with improved activity to selectively fight pathogens. Modulation of parameters such as the nature of the triazolium and hydrophobic/lipophilic side chains, the charge content, and the sequence length drastically potentiates activity and selectivity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiofilm is a dynamic structure from which individual bacteria and micro-aggregates are released to subsequently colonize new niches by either detachment or dispersal. Screening of a transposon mutant library identified genes associated with the alteration of biofilm including , which encodes a transcriptional regulator involved in membrane lipid homeostasis. An isogenic ∆ mutant formed more biofilm than the wild-type (WT) strain and its trans-complemented strain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Biomed Mater Res B Appl Biomater
September 2024
Our laboratory recently developed a new class of high surface area, honeycomb Nanoclay Microsphere Framework absorbents (NMFs) that prompt rapid hemostasis. In the present work, we propose a novel approach to develop antibacterial Topical Hemostatic Agents (THAs) by anchoring silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) onto NMFs. This combination was obtained by a chemical co-reduction approach, followed by freeze-processing, and was shown to ensure stability and on-site delivery of AgNPs, without altering the hemostatic properties of NMFs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Digital interventions integrating gamification features hold promise to promote daily steps. However, results regarding the effectiveness of this type of intervention are heterogeneous and not yet confirmed in real-life contexts.
Objective: This study aims to examine the effectiveness of a gamified intervention and its potential moderators in a large sample using real-world data.