Ruthenium(II) polypyridyl complexes as emerging photosensitisers for antibacterial photodynamic therapy.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has recently emerged as a potential valuable alternative to treat microbial infections. In PDT, singlet oxygen is generated in the presence of photosensitisers and oxygen under light irradiation of a specific wavelength, causing cytotoxic damage to bacteria. This review highlights different generations of photosensitisers and the common characteristics of ideal photosensitisers.

Alpha-amyrin as an anti-biofilm agent against methicillin-resistant and vancomycin-intermediate s.

has caused life-threatening infections and developed resistance against conventional antimicrobials, posing a significant threat to human health worldwide. Biofilms that surround the bacteria cells act as a protective layer, allowing cells inside the biofilm to be resistant to external stresses such as antimicrobials. Therefore, biofilms further complicate treatment available for infections caused by multi-drug resistant .

Immunotherapies for the prevention and treatment of Staphylococcus aureus infections: updates and challenges.

Staphylococcus aureus is the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections and can cause a wide range of diseases from mild skin infections to invasive diseases including deep surgical site infections, life-threatening bacteremia, and sepsis. This pathogen remains a challenge to manage due to its ability to rapidly develop resistance to antibiotic treatment and to form biofilms. Despite the current infection control measures which involve mainly antibiotics, the burden of infection remains high.

Lactoferrin modulates the biofilm formation and gene expression of methicillin-resistant .

Lactoferrin is an innate glycoprotein with broad antibacterial and antibiofilm properties. The autonomous antibiofilm activity of lactoferrin against Gram-positive bacteria is postulated to involve the cell wall and biofilm components. Thus, the prevention of biomass formation and eradication of preformed biofilms by lactoferrin was investigated using a methicillin-resistant (MRSE) strain.

Antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities of Cu(II) Schiff base complexes against methicillin-susceptible and resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Background: Methicillin-resistance S. aureus (MRSA) possesses the ability to resist multiple antibiotics and form biofilm. Currently, vancomycin remains the last drug of choice for treatment of MRSA infection.

Novel targets of pentacyclic triterpenoids in Staphylococcus aureus: A systematic review.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus is an important pathogen both in community-acquired and healthcare-associated infections, and has successfully evolved numerous strategies for resisting the action to practically all antibiotics. Resistance to methicillin is now widely described in the community setting (CMRSA), thus the development of new drugs or alternative therapies is urgently necessary. Plants and their secondary metabolites have been a major alternative source in providing structurally diverse bioactive compounds as potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of bacterial infections.

PLGA/xylitol nanoparticles enhance antibiofilm activity penetration into biofilm extracellular polymeric substances.

Biofilms are gelatinous masses of microorganisms attached to wound surfaces. Previous studies suggest that biofilms generate resistance towards antibiotic treatments. It was reported that hydrogels containing xylitol and antibiotic combinations produced additive antibiofilm inhibition.

Current Technology in the Discovery and Development of Novel Antibacterials.

Background: Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is one of the most serious challenge to global public health. The introduction of new antibiotics in clinical settings, i.e.

Antimicrobial peptides as potential anti-biofilm agents against multidrug-resistant bacteria.

Bacterial resistance to commonly used drugs has become a global health problem, causing increased infection cases and mortality rate. One of the main virulence determinants in many bacterial infections is biofilm formation, which significantly increases bacterial resistance to antibiotics and innate host defence. In the search to address the chronic infections caused by biofilms, antimicrobial peptides (AMP) have been considered as potential alternative agents to conventional antibiotics.

Plant-derived Compounds as Potential Source of Novel Anti-Biofilm Agents Against Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the most common Gram-negative bacterium associated with nosocomial and life-threatening chronic infections in cystic fibrosis patients. This pathogen is wellknown for its ability to attach to surfaces of indwelling medical devices to form biofilms, which consist of a regular array of extracellular polymers. Tenaciously bound to the surface of devices and inherently resilient to antibiotic treatment, P.

The emerging problems of Klebsiella pneumoniae infections: carbapenem resistance and biofilm formation.

Klebsiella pneumoniae is an opportunistic pathogen that commonly causes nosocomial infections in the urinary tract, respiratory tract, lung, wound sites and blood in individuals with debilitating diseases. Klebsiella pneumoniae is still a cause of severe pneumonia in alcoholics in Africa and Asia, and the predominant primary pathogen of primary liver abscess in Taiwan and Southeast Asia, particularly in Asian and Hispanic patients, and individuals with diabetes mellitus. In the United States and Europe, K.

Potential targets by pentacyclic triterpenoids from Callicarpa farinosa against methicillin-resistant and sensitive Staphylococcus aureus.

The evolution of antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus aureus showed that there is no long-lasting remedy against this pathogen. The limited number of antibacterial classes and the common occurrence of cross-resistance within and between classes reinforce the urgent need to discover new compounds targeting novel cellular functions not yet targeted by currently used drugs. One of the experimental approaches used to discover novel antibacterials and their in vitro targets is natural product screening.

Transcriptional profiles of the response of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus to pentacyclic triterpenoids.

Staphylococcus aureus is an important human pathogen in both hospital and the community that has demonstrated resistance to all currently available antibiotics over the last two decades. Multidrug-resistant isolates of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) exhibiting decreased susceptibilities to glycopeptides has also emerged, representing a crucial challenge for antimicrobial therapy and infection control.

Identification, by gene expression profiling analysis, of novel gene targets in Staphylococcus aureus treated with betulinaldehyde.

Staphylococcus aureus has become a serious concern in hospitals and community due to rapid adaptation to existing antimicrobial agents. Betulinaldehyde [3β-hydroxy-20(29)-lupen-28-al (BE)] belongs to pentacyclic triterpenoids that are based on a 30-carbon skeleton comprising four six-membered rings and one five-membered ring. In a preliminary study, BE exhibited antimicrobial activity against reference strains of methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive S.

Synergistic antimicrobial activity between pentacyclic triterpenoids and antibiotics against Staphylococcus aureus strains.

Background: There has been considerable effort to discover plant-derived antibacterials against methicillin-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) which have developed resistance to most existing antibiotics, including the last line of defence, vancomycin. Pentacyclic triterpenoid, a biologically diverse plant-derived natural product, has been reported to show anti-staphylococcal activities. The objective of this study is to evaluate the interaction between three pentacyclic triterpenoid and standard antibiotics (methicillin and vancomycin) against reference strains of Staphylococcus aureus.