Biological Evaluation and Structural Analysis of Some Aminodiphenylamine Derivatives.

4-Aminodiphenylamino derivatives were investigated for their antioxidant and hydrophobicity character, together with other biological measurements, such as antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity. Among these nine compounds used, we obtained novel derivatives via reaction of the starting material with NBD-chloride. Therefore, we performed a full structural analysis for these compounds, i.

Anti- Probiotics: Latest Mechanistic Insights.

The genus is the leading cause of human gastroenteritis, with the consumption of contaminated poultry meat as the main route of infection. Probiotic bacteria, such as , , Nissle, and species, have a great immunomodulatory capacity and exhibit antipathogenic effects through various molecular mechanisms. Reducing levels in livestock animals, such as poultry, will have a substantial benefit to humans as it will reduce disease transmissibility through the food chain.

The in vitro and in vivo anti-virulent effect of organic acid mixtures against Eimeria tenella and Eimeria bovis.

Eimeria tenella and Eimeria bovis are complex parasites responsible for the condition of coccidiosis, that invade the animal gastrointestinal intestinal mucosa causing severe diarrhoea, loss of appetite or abortions, with devastating impacts on the farming industry. The negative impacts of these parasitic infections are enhanced by their role in promoting the colonisation of the gut by common foodborne pathogens. The aim of this study was to test the anti-Eimeria efficacy of maltodextrin, sodium chloride, citric acid, sodium citrate, silica, malic acid, citrus extract, and olive extract individually, in vitro and in combination, in vivo.

Structural Bioinformatics Used to Predict the Protein Targets of Remdesivir and Flavones in SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Background: During the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the identification of effective antiviral drugs is crucial. Unfortunately, no specific treatment or vaccine is available to date.

Objective: Here, we aimed to predict the interactions with SARS-CoV-2 proteins and protein targets from the human body for some flavone molecules (kaempferol, morin, pectolinarin, myricitrin, and herbacetin) in comparison to synthetic compounds (hydroxychloroquine, remdesivir, ribavirin, ritonavir, AMD-070, favipiravir).

Phenotypic and genotypic virulence features of staphylococcal strains isolated from difficult-to-treat skin and soft tissue infections.

Chronic infections represent an important burden on the healthcare system and have a significant impact on the patients' quality of life. While Staphylococcus spp. are commensal bacteria, they can become pathogenic, leading to various types of infections.

Potential Therapeutic Approaches to Alzheimer's Disease By Bioinformatics, Cheminformatics And Predicted Adme-Tox Tools.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is considered a severe, irreversible and progressive neurodegenerative disorder. Currently, the pharmacological management of AD is based on a few clinically approved acethylcholinesterase (AChE) and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor ligands, with unclear molecular mechanisms and severe side effects.

Methods: Here, we reviewed the most recent bioinformatics, cheminformatics (SAR, drug design, molecular docking, friendly databases, ADME-Tox) and experimental data on relevant structurebiological activity relationships and molecular mechanisms of some natural and synthetic compounds with possible anti-AD effects (inhibitors of AChE, NMDA receptors, beta-secretase, amyloid beta (Aβ), redox metals) or acting on multiple AD targets at once.

Peripheral immune cell markers in children with recurrent respiratory infections in the absence of primary immunodeficiency.

The immune system of a child has a degree of immaturity that is maintained until 6-7 years of age. Immaturity may be due to age-related functional disorders in the immune response. A healthy child can contract a series of infections which contribute to the maturation of the immune system during the pre-pubertal period.

Tunable ZnO spheres with high anti-biofilm and antibacterial activity via a simple green hydrothermal route.

A family of distinct ZnO morphologies - hollow, compartmented, core-shell and full solid ZnO spheres, dispersed or interconnected - is obtained by a simple hydrothermal route, in the presence of the starch biopolymer. The zinc-carbonaceous precursors were characterized by infrared spectroscopy, thermal analysis and scanning electron microscopy, while the ZnO spheres, obtained after the thermal processing, were investigated by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, UV-VIS spectroscopy, photoluminescence measurements, antimicrobial, anti-biofilm and flow cytometry tests. The formation mechanism proposed for this versatile synthesis route is based on the gelling ability of amylose, one of the starch template constituents, responsible for the effective embedding of zinc cations into starch prior to its hydrothermal carbonization.

Antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of alcoholic extracts obtained from vegetative organs of A. retroflexus.

In vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Amaranthus retroflexus leaves and inflorescence alcoholic (ethanol 70%) extracts of various concentrations ranging from 0.78 to 400 μL/ml were analyzed on different clinical and reference bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtills, Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii) and fungal strains (Candida albicans, C. famata, C.

Usnic acid-loaded biocompatible magnetic PLGA-PVA microsphere thin films fabricated by MAPLE with increased resistance to staphylococcal colonization.

Due to their persistence and resistance to the current therapeutic approaches, Staphylococcus aureus biofilm-associated infections represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the hospital environment. Since (+)-usnic acid (UA), a secondary lichen metabolite, possesses antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive cocci, including S. aureus, the aim of this study was to load magnetic polylactic-co-glycolic acid-polyvinyl alcohol (PLGA-PVA) microspheres with UA, then to obtain thin coatings using matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation and to quantitatively assess the capacity of the bio-nano-active modified surface to control biofilm formation by S.

Prevention of microbial biofilms - the contribution of micro and nanostructured materials.

Microbial biofilms are associated with drastically enhanced resistance to most of the antimicrobial agents and with frequent treatment failures, generating the search for novel strategies which can eradicate infections by preventing the persistent colonization of the hospital environment, medical devices or human tissues. Some of the current approaches for fighting biofilms are represented by the development of novel biomaterials with increased resistance to microbial colonization and by the improvement of the current therapeutic solutions with the aid of nano (bio)technology. This special issues includes papers describing the applications of nanotechnology and biomaterials science for the development of improved drug delivery systems and nanostructured surfaces for the prevention and treatment of medical biofilms.

Water dispersible cross-linked magnetic chitosan beads for increasing the antimicrobial efficiency of aminoglycoside antibiotics.

The aim of this study was to obtain a nano-active system to improve antibiotic activity of certain drugs by controlling their release. Magnetic composite nanomaterials based on magnetite core and cross-linked chitosan shell were synthesized via the co-precipitation method and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), infrared microscopy (IRM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The prepared magnetic composite nanomaterials exhibit a significant potentiating effect on the activity of two cationic (kanamycin and neomycin) drugs, reducing the amount of antibiotics necessary for the antimicrobial effect.

Functionalized magnetite silica thin films fabricated by MAPLE with antibiofilm properties.

We report on the fabrication of magnetite/salicylic acid/silica shell/antibiotics (Fe(3)O(4)/SA/SiO(2)/ATB) thin films by matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) to inert substrates. Fe(3)O(4)-based powder have been synthesized and investigated by XRD and TEM. All thin films were studied by FTIR, SEM and in vitro biological assays using Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa reference strains, as well as eukaryotic HEp-2 cells.

Fabrication, characterization and in vitro profile based interaction with eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells of alginate-chitosan-silica biocomposite.

This work is focused on the fabrication of a new drug delivery system based on polyanionic matrix (e.g. sodium alginate), polycationic matrix (e.

Improved antibacterial activity of cephalosporins loaded in magnetic chitosan microspheres.

During the present study, we have evaluated magnetic chitosan as a potential drug delivery device, by specifically determining if chitosan could elute antibiotics in an active form that would be efficacious in inhibiting Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli growth. We have demonstrated that the incorporation of cephalosporins of second, third and fourth generation into magnetic chitosan microspheres can possibly lead to an improved delivery of antibiotics in active forms, probably due to the inherent properties of chitosan.

Correlation of anti-Helicobacter pylori cagA IgG antibodies with resistance to first line treatment, bleeding gastroduodenal ulcers and gastric cancer.

Unlabelled: Helicobacter pylori was recognized in 1994 as a class I carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The prevalence of H. pylori infection varies from 20 to 50% in industrialized countries to over 80% in developing countries.

Hybrid magnetite nanoparticles/Rosmarinus officinalis essential oil nanobiosystem with antibiofilm activity.

Biofilms formed by fungal organisms are associated with drastically enhanced resistance against most antimicrobial agents, contributing to the persistence of the fungi despite antifungal therapy. The purpose of this study is to combine the unique properties of nanoparticles with the antimicrobial activity of the Rosmarinus officinalis essential oil in order to obtain a nanobiosystem that could be pelliculised on the surface of catheter pieces, in order to obtain an improved resistance to microbial colonization and biofilm development by Candida albicans and C. tropicalis clinical strains.

Bacteriological aspects implicated in abdominal surgical emergencies.

Unlabelled: The purpose of the present study was to establish the microbial etiology of abdominal surgical emergencies as well as the relationship between the bacterial etiology and the virulence factors produced by the respective isolated strains. 110 bacterial strains were isolated from 100 randomized clinical cases, operated during 2009-2010 in the First Surgical Clinic of the University Hospital of Bucharest. The clinical cases (sex ratio 52 M/48F aged between 22-85 years old) were classified into three risk groups, as related to their severity.

Mechanisms of ceftazidime and ciprofloxacin transport through porins in multidrug-resistance developed by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase E.coli strains.

Resistance towards antibiotics stands out today as a major issue in the clinical act of treatment of bacterial-generated infections. This process was characterized in proteoliposomes reconstituted from an E.coli strain isolated from invasive infections (blood culture) occurred in patients with a cardio-vascular device admitted for surgery.

In vitro assessment of the antimicrobial activity of new N-acyl-thiourea derivatives.

The qualitative screening of the susceptibility spectra of different microbial strains to the newly synthesized substances complexes was performed by adapted disk diffusion techniques, while the quantitative assay of the minimal inhibitory concentration (M.I.C.

[Aflatoxins--health risk factors].

Aflatoxins are secondary metabolites produced by a group of strains, mainly Aspergillus and Penicillium species. These mycotoxins are bifurano-coumarin derivatives group with four major products B1, B2, G1 and G2 according to blue or green fluorescence emitted in ultraviolet light and according to chromatographic separation. After metabolism of aflatoxin B1 and B2 in the mammalian body, result two metabolites M1 and M2 as hydroxylated derivatives of the parent compound.

[Implication of quorum sensing phenomenon in the expression of genes that code for bacteriocines in lactic bacteria].

Bacterial Quorum sensing and response or simply quorum sensing (QS) is an ubiquitous regulatory mechanism that allows a continuous monitoring of the cell density in bacterial communities and adequate responses/behaviour to the cellular density. Each cell in these communities produces and responds to a signalling molecule that belongs to some different compounds family: acyl-homoserine-lactones (Gram negative bacteria), oligopeptides (Gram positive bacteria), A12 family (present in both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria). For an efficient colonization and adaptation to different environmental conditions, lactic acid bacteria require complex sensor systems for the specific detection of the external signals.