Publications by authors named "Varsha Saini"

Article Synopsis
  • Polymicrobial wound infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria are difficult to treat with standard antibiotics, prompting the exploration of using adjuvants to enhance their effectiveness.
  • A niacin-cholic acid-peptide conjugate was developed to improve the action of macrolide antibiotics like erythromycin against these stubborn bacterial infections.
  • The study found that this conjugate helps disrupt bacterial membranes, allowing erythromycin to enter more effectively, ultimately showing success in eliminating both single and mixed bacterial infections associated with wounds.
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Retraction of 'Cytocompatible, soft and thick brush-modified scaffolds with prolonged antibacterial effect to mitigate wound infections' by Shaifali Dhingra , , 2022, , 3856-3877, https://doi.org/10.1039/D2BM00245K.

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Gram-negative bacterial infections are difficult to manage as many antibiotics are ineffective owing to the presence of impermeable bacterial membranes. Polymicrobial infections pose a serious threat due to the inadequate efficacy of available antibiotics, thereby necessitating the administration of antibiotics at higher doses. Antibiotic adjuvants have emerged as a boon as they can augment the therapeutic potential of available antibiotics.

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Biofilm infections are mainly caused by Gram-positive bacteria (GPB) like , Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) like , and fungi like . These infections are responsible for antimicrobial tolerance, and commensal interactions of these microbes pose a severe threat to chronic infections. Treatment therapies against biofilm infections are limited to eradicating only 20-30% of infections.

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Fungal infections cause severe and life-threatening complications especially in immunocompromised individuals. Antifungals targeting cellular machinery and cell membranes including azoles are used in clinical practice to manage topical to systemic fungal infections. However, continuous exposure to clinically used antifungal agents in managing the fungal infections results in the development of multi-drug resistance adapting different kinds of intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms.

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Emergence of vancomycin resistance in Gram-positive bacteria and the prevalence of vancomycin-resistant (VRE) infections are highly alarming as very limited antibiotic options are available against VRE infections. Here, we present the synthesis of cholic acid-derived dimeric amphiphiles where two cholic acid moieties are tethered through carboxyl terminals using different alkylene spacers. Our investigations revealed that dimer possessing a propylene spacer and glycine-valine peptides tethered on hydroxyl groups is the most effective antimicrobial against VRE.

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The unique structural components of cell membranes of Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, and mycobacteria provide an excellent therapeutic target for developing highly specific antimicrobials. Here, we report the synthesis of nine cholic acid (CA)-derived amphiphiles, where three hydroxyl groups of CA were tethered to dimethylamino pyridine and the C24-carboxyl group was conjugated with different alkyl chains. Structure-activity investigations revealed that amphiphile harboring a methyl group has antimicrobial activity against mycobacterial species.

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Correction for 'Cytocompatible, soft and thick brush-modified scaffolds with prolonged antibacterial effect to mitigate wound infections' by Shaifali Dhingra , , 2022, , 3856-3877, https://doi.org/10.1039/d2bm00245k.

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Infections caused by multidrug-resistant () pose major challenges for treatment due to the acquired, adaptive, and intrinsic resistance developed by the bacteria. Accumulation of mutations, the ability to form biofilms, and the presence of lipopolysaccharides in the outer bacterial membranes are the key mechanisms of drug resistance. Here, we show that a polyaspartate-derived synthetic antimicrobial polymer (SAMP) with a hexyl chain (TAC6) is an effective adjuvant for a hydrophobic antibiotic, rifampicin.

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Infections associated with Gram-positive bacteria like pose a major threat as these bacteria can develop resistance and thereby limit the applications of antibiotics. Therefore, there is a need for new antibacterials to mitigate these infections. Bacterial membranes present an attractive therapeutic target as these membranes are anionic in nature and have a low chance of developing modifications in their physicochemical features.

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Biomedical device or implant-associated infections caused by pathogenic bacteria are a major clinical issue, and their prevention and/or treatment remains a challenging task. Infection-resistant antimicrobial coatings with impressive cytocompatibility offer a step towards addressing this problem. Herein, we report a new strategy for constructing highly antibacterial as well as cytocompatible mixed polymer brushes onto the surface of 3D printed scaffold made of biodegradable tartaric acid-based aliphatic polyester blends.

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Tuberculosis (TB), including extrapulmonary TB, is responsible for more than one million deaths in a year worldwide. Existing methods of mycobacteria detection have poor sensitivity, selectivity, and specificity, especially in human tissues. Herein, the synthesis of a cholic acid-derived fluorescent probe (P4) that can specifically stain the mycobacterium species is presented.

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Gram-positive bacteria like Enterococcus faecium and Staphylococcus aureus, and Gram-negative bacteria like Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter Spp. are responsible for most of fatal bacterial infections. Bacteria present a handful of targets like ribosome, RNA polymerase, cell wall biosynthesis, and dihydrofolate reductase.

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Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are important components of the innate immune system that have been found to be effective against disease causing pathogens. Identification of AMPs through wet-lab experiment is expensive. Therefore, development of efficient computational tool is essential to identify the best candidate AMP prior to the in vitro experimentation.

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