Curcumin loaded zinc oxide nanoparticles for activity-enhanced antibacterial and anticancer applications.

Zinc oxide nanoparticles and curcumin have been shown to be excellent antimicrobial agents and promising anticancer agents, both on their own as well as in combination. Together, they have potential as alternatives/supplements to antibiotics and traditional anticancer drugs. In this study, different morphologies of zinc oxide-grafted curcumin nanocomposites (ZNP-Cs) were synthesized and characterized using SEM, TGA, FTIR, XRD and UV-vis spectrophotometry.

Antimicrobial and Alpha-Amylase Inhibitory Activities of Organic Extracts of Selected Sri Lankan Bryophytes.

Medicinal plants have been the main focus of natural product research. However, recent research has revealed that lower plants including bryophytes are also a major resource of biologically active compounds with novel structures. Sri Lanka is considered as a biodiversity hotspot with a higher degree of endemism flora including bryophytes.

Drug-Loaded Halloysite Nanotube-Reinforced Electrospun Alginate-Based Nanofibrous Scaffolds with Sustained Antimicrobial Protection.

Halloysite nanotube (HNT)-reinforced alginate-based nanofibrous scaffolds were successfully fabricated by electrospinning to mimic the natural extracellular matrix (ECM) structure which is beneficial for tissue regeneration. An antiseptic drug, cephalexin (CEF)-loaded HNT, was incorporated into the alginate-based matrix to obtain sustained antimicrobial protection and robust mechanical properties, the key criteria for tissue engineering applications. Electron microscopic imaging and drug release studies revealed that CEF had penetrated into the lumen space of the HNT and also deposited on the outer walls, with a total loading capacity of 30 wt %.

Antimicrobial activities of endophytic fungi of the Sri Lankan aquatic plant and chaetoglobosin A and C, produced by the endophytic fungus .

Twenty distinct endophytic fungi were isolated from the surface-sterilized plant parts of and were identified using morphological and molecular techniques. At 300 µg/disc concentration, eight of the 20 fungal extracts exhibited antimicrobial activities against (ATCC 25923) and (ATCC 11778) while two within the eight showed activity against (ATCC 9027) and (ATCC 35218). Furthermore, investigation of the crude extract of resulted in the isolation of two known cytochalasans, chaetoglobosin A and C, and their structures were elucidated and confirmed by mass and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) (H, C, COSY, HSQC, HMBC and tROESY) spectral data.