Two-dimensional layered nanomaterial Ti3C2TX (a member of the MXene family) was used to immobilise enzyme sarcosine oxidase to fabricate a nanostructured biosensor. The device was applied for detection of sarcosine, a potential prostate cancer biomarker, in urine for the first time. The morphology and structures of MXene have been characterised by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Electrochemical measurements, SEM and AFM analysis revealed that MXene interfaced with chitosan is an excellent support for enzyme immobilisation to fabricate a sensitive biosensor exhibiting a low detection limit of 18 nM and a linear range up to 7.8 µM. The proposed biosensing method also provides a short response time of 2 s and high recovery index of 102.6% for detection of sarcosine spiked into urine sample in a clinically relevant range.

Based on recent computational and experimental studies, hesperidin, a bioactive flavonoid abundant in citrus peel, stands out for its high binding affinity to the main cellular receptors of SARS-CoV-2, outperforming drugs already recommended for clinical trials. Thus, it is very promising for prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-19, along with other coexistent flavonoids such as naringin, which could help restraining the proinflammatory overreaction of the immune system. Controlled hydrodynamic cavitation processes showed the highest speed, effectiveness and efficiency in the integral and green aqueous extraction of flavonoids, essential oils and pectin from citrus peel waste. After freeze-drying, the extracted pectin showed high quality and excellent antioxidant and antibacterial activities, attributed to flavonoids and essential oils adsorbed and concentrated on its surface. This study reviews the recent evidence about hesperidin as a promising molecule, and proposes a feasible and aff... [more]

Controlled drug delivery systems can be used to carry several anticancer agents, including classical chemotherapeutic agents such as doxorubicin, paclitaxel or cisplatin, and are also used for the encapsulation of tyrosine kinase inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies. Usually, the controlled systems are used to decrease drug toxicity, increase local drug concentration or target specific organs or systems. In dogs, liposomal doxorubicin is the most known controlled drug delivery vehicle in veterinary medicine. However, several antitumor drugs can be encapsulated within these systems. Since the delivery vehicles are a relatively new topic in veterinary oncology, this review aims to discuss the current knowledge regarding the controlled drug delivery vehicles and discuss the current challenges and future direction of its use in veterinary oncology.

Microfluidics is a very facile and fast method of particulate production. Besides, it enables the manufacturing of size tuned particulate systems. Niosomes due to structural similarities have importance as alternative drug delivery systems to liposomes. Niosomes can be encapsulated or co-encapsulated with hydrophilic and lipophilic drugs. The research presented here includes the optimization of method parameters for niosome production as well as evaluation of the efficiency of microfluidics to encapsulate and co-encapsulate the drugs. For this purpose, metformin (MET) and garcinol (GC) were the model drugs. Two different non-ionic surfactants (NIS), namely Tween-20 and Span-60 with significant difference in hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) value, were chosen to analyze their efficiency to form niosomes and encapsulate one or more drugs.

Human skin has protective functions and it is a barrier that protects the interior of the body from harmful environmental factors and pathogen penetration. An important role of the skin is also to prevent the loss of water from the body and if the skin barrier is damaged, the amount of water emitted from the internal environment is increased. Therefore, it is crucial to recovery and maintenance of epidermal barrier integrity. The aim of the current work was to encapsulate Calendula officinalis flower extract in gelatin microspheres and then incorporation microspheres into thin polymeric films made from sodium alginate or mixture of sodium alginate and starch. Such materials may find applications in the cosmetic field for example in the preparation of masks for skin, according to the Calendula officinalis flower extract wide influence on skin condition. Thus, the release profile of this extract from the materials was tested under conditions corresponding to the skin (pH 5.4, 37 °C). The... [more]

Bee pollens are rich source of essential amino acids and are often considered as complete food for human beings. Herein, we exploited the potential reducing abilities of Bee pollens extract for the eco-friendly preparation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs-G). The resulting NPs were characterized using a combination of microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. The analyses confirm the formation of spherical Ag NPs. AgNPs-G obtained from the aqueous extract of bee pollens was used to study their antibacterial properties against Gram-positive and Gram-negative microbes using the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration 50 (MIC50) method. The antibacterial properties of AgNPs-G were compared to the properties of chemically synthesized Ag NPs (AgNPs-C) using sodium borohydride as a reducing agent. The green synthesized nanoparticles (AgNPs-G) exhibited a better antibacterial activity against most of the studied strains when compared to the chemically synthesized Ag NPs (AgNPs-C). In addition, the ant... [more]

The aim of the study was to determine the use of digestate from anaerobic digestion of dairy wastewater as a culture medium for microalgae to obtain bio-oil. The experiments were conducted at a small scale in a closed raceway pond. The efficiency of the microalgae biomass production, the digestate treatment efficiency as well as the content and properties of the bio-oil obtained from the microalgal cells were analyzed. The produced biomass concentration was about 3000 ± 10.5 mg dry biomass/L, with an average growth rate of 160 ± 6.6 mgdm/L·d. The efficiency of organic compound and nutrient removal was above 90%. The bio-oil content in the biomass was about 20%. Based on the results of the study, a concept for technical-scale technology was developed.

Substrate availability plays a key role in dictating metabolic strategies. Most microorganisms consume carbon/energy sources in a sequential, preferential order. The presented study investigates metabolic strategies of Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius, a thermoacidophilic bacterium that has been shown to co-utilize glucose and xylose, as well as degrade phenolic compounds. An existing metabolic model was expanded to include phenol degradation and was analyzed with both metabolic pathway and constraint-based analysis methods. Elementary flux mode analysis was used in conjunction with resource allocation theory to investigate ecologically optimal metabolic pathways for different carbon substrate combinations. Additionally, a dynamic version of flux balance analysis was used to generate time-resolved simulations of growth on phenol and xylose. Results showed that availability of xylose along with glucose did not predict enhanced growth efficiency beyond that of glucose alone, but did predi... [more]

The aim of this study was preparation of new derivatives based on 2-((4-chlorophenoxy)methyl)-N-(arylcarbamothioyl)benzamide structure; the new compounds were characterized by IR, NMR (1H, 13C) spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. The obtained compounds were evaluated for their in vitro antimicrobial activity against planktonic and biofilm-embedded microbial cells (Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Candida albicans), by qualitative and quantitative assays. Some of the compounds revealed promising antibacterial and antifungal activities, with low minimum inhibitory concentration values between 0.15 and 2.5 mg/mL and minimal biofilm eradication concentrations of 0.019−2.5 mg/mL. To investigate the potential target of their antibacterial activity, in silico drug-likeness and molecular docking screenings on Staphylococcus aureus DNA gyrase were performed. The compound with the best antibacterial activity (1g) was docked into topoisomer... [more]

Tissue adhesives have been widely used in surgical procedures. Compared to traditional surgical sutures, tissue adhesives provide fast bonding experiences and full closure of wounds. However, current tissue adhesives are mostly fossil-based synthetic products. Therefore, it is of great significance to explore the use of natural materials in tissue adhesives. Whey is a low-end byproduct of cheese manufacturing. Whey protein, a group of small globular proteins, can exhibit adhesive properties if their structures are modified by physical or chemical means. The objectives of this study were to investigate the functional and structural properties of whey protein-based tissue adhesive, along with the antibacterial effect of totarol, a natural antimicrobial agent. Whey protein isolate (WPI) solutions (25%−33% protein) were mixed with different levels (0.1%−0.3% w/w) of totarol. The mixtures were analyzed for total plate count and yeast and mold count. The lap-shear bonding strength was tested... [more]

Bone has a complex hierarchical structure with the capability of self-regeneration. In the case of critical-sized defects, the regeneration capabilities of normal bones are severely impaired, thus causing non-union healing of bones. Therefore, bone tissue engineering has since emerged to solve problems relating to critical-sized bone defects. Amongst the many biomaterials available on the market, calcium silicate-based (CS) cements have garnered huge interest due to their versatility and good bioactivity. In the recent decade, scientists have attempted to modify or functionalize CS cement in order to enhance the bioactivity of CS. Reports have been made that the addition of mesoporous nanoparticles onto scaffolds could enhance the bone regenerative capabilities of scaffolds. For this study, the main objective was to reuse gelatin from fish wastes and use it to combine with bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2 and Sr-doped CS scaffolds to create a novel BMP-2-loaded, hydrogel-based mesopo... [more]

The insect cell-baculovirus vector system has become one of the favorite platforms for the expression of viral vectors for vaccination and gene therapy purposes. As it is a lytic system, it is essential to balance maximum recombinant product expression with harvest time, minimizing product exposure to detrimental proteases. With this purpose, new bioprocess monitoring solutions are needed to accurately estimate culture progression. Herein, we used online digital holographic microscopy (DHM) to monitor bioreactor cultures of Sf9 insect cells. Batches of baculovirus-infected Sf9 cells producing recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) and non-infected cells were used to evaluate DHM prediction capabilities for viable cell concentration, culture viability and AAV titer. Over 30 cell-related optical attributes were quantified using DHM, followed by a forward stepwise regression to select the most significant (p < 0.05) parameters for each variable. We then applied multiple linear regres... [more]

Phenolic acids and natural extracts, as ecofriendly environmental agents, can be used as bio bactericides against the growth of plant pathogenic bacteria. In this study, isolation trails from infected potato tubers and stems that showed soft rot symptoms in fields revealed two soft rot bacterial isolates and were initially identified through morphological, physiological, and pathogenicity tests. The molecular characterization of these isolates via PCR, based on the 16S rRNA region, was carried out by an analysis of the DNA sequence via BLAST and Genbank, and showed that the soft rot bacterial isolates belong to Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum (PCC1) and Dickeya solani (Ds1). The in vitro results of the tested phenolic acids against the cultured bacterial isolates proved that concentrations of 800, 1600, and 3200 μg/mL were the most effective. Ferulic acid was the potent suppressive phenolic acid tested against the Ds1 isolate, with an inhibition zone ranging from 6.00 to... [more]

New sources of polyphenols with anticancer, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties in arid environments are critical for the development of alternative medicines and natural remedies. This study explored the polyphenol profiles and biological activities of methanolic leaf extracts from natural Mentha × piperita and Mentha longifolia populations in northern Saudi Arabia. Chromatographic analyses identified several polyphenols in M. × piperita including phenolic acids: rosmarinic acid (1547.6 mg/100 g DW (dry weight)), cryptochlorogenic acid (91.7 mg/100 g DW), and chlorogenic acid (69.4 mg/100 g DW), as well as flavonoids: naringin (328.8 mg/100 g DW) and cynaroside (162.8 mg/100 g DW). The major polyphenols in M. longifolia were: rosmarinic acid (781.6 mg/100 g DW), cryptochlorogenic acid (191.1 mg/100 g DW), p-coumaric acid (113.0 mg/100 g DW), m-coumaric acid (112.2 mg/100 g DW), and chlorogenic acid (63.8 mg/100 g DW). M. × piperita and M. longifolia leaf extracts had high antiox... [more]

Over a long period of time, humans have explored many natural resources looking for remedies of various ailments. Traditional medicines have played an intrinsic role in human life for thousands of years, with people depending on medicinal plants and their products as dietary supplements as well as using them therapeutically for treatment of chronic disorders, such as cancer, malaria, diabetes, arthritis, inflammation, and liver and cardiac disorders. However, plant resources are not sufficient for treatment of recently emerging diseases. In addition, the seasonal availability and other political factors put constrains on some rare plant species. The actual breakthrough in drug discovery came concurrently with the discovery of penicillin from Penicillium notatum in 1929. This discovery dramatically changed the research of natural products and positioned microbial natural products as one of the most important clues in drug discovery due to availability, variability, great biodiversity, u... [more]

Microorganisms colonizing plastic waste material collected in composting-, landfill-, and anaerobic digestion plants were isolated to obtain novel strains maximally adapted to the degradation of plastics due to long-term contact with plastic polymers. Twenty-six bacterial strains were isolated and identified by the 16 S rRNA method, and eighteen strains of yeasts and fungi using 18 S rRNA and the internal transcribed spacer ITS sequencing of the 18 S rRNA gene. In selected strains, the ability to degrade linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polystyrene (PS), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was tested in aerobic liquid-medium cultures. An oxidative, two-step pretreatment of LLDPE and LDPE using γ- or UV-irradiation followed by a high-temperature treatment was carried out, and the pretreated plastics were also included in the degradation experiments. The respective weight losses after biodegradation by Trichoderma hamatum were: virgin and γ/T90-pretreate... [more]

Amyloid beta peptide (Aβ)-related studies require an adequate supply of purified Aβ peptide. However, Aβ peptides are “difficult sequences” to synthesize chemically, and low yields are common due to aggregation during purification. Here, we demonstrate an easier synthesis, deprotection, reduction, cleavage, and purification process for Aβ(1-40) using standard 9-fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl (Fmoc)-protected amino acids and solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) resin [HMBA (4-hydroxymethyl benzamide) resin] that provides higher yields of Aβ(1-40) than previous standard protocols. Furthermore, purification requires a similar amount of time as conventional purification processes, although the peptide must be cleaved from the resin immediately prior to purification. The method described herein is not limited to the production of Aβ(1-40), and can be used to synthesize other easily-oxidized and aggregating sequences. Our proposed methodology will contribute to various fields using “difficult se... [more]

The importance of fruit-derived resveratrol (RES) in the treatment of various diseases has been discussed in various research publications. Those research findings have indicated the ability of the molecule as therapeutic in the context of in vitro and in vivo conditions. Mostly, the application of RES in in vivo conditions, encapsulation processes have been carried out using various nanoparticles that are made of biocompatible biomaterials, which are easily digested or metabolized, and RES is absorbed effectively. These biomaterials are non-toxic and are safe to be used as components in the biotherapeutics. They are made from naturally available by-products of food materials like zein or corn or components of the physiological system as with lipids. The versatility of the RES nanoparticles in their different materials, working range sizes, specificity in their targeting in various human diseases, and the mechanisms associated with them are discussed in this review.

Twenty fluorescent Pseudomonas isolates were tested for their ability to produce siderophores on chrome azurol S (CAS) agar plates and their antagonistic activity against six plant pathogenic fungal isolates was assessed. Scaling-up production of siderophores from the promising isolates, P. aeruginosa F2 and P. fluorescens JY3 was performed using batch and exponential fed-batch fermentation. Finally, culture broth of the investigated bacterial isolates was used for the preparation of two economical bioformulations for controlling Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizoctonia solani. The results showed that both isolates yielded high siderophore production and they were more effective in inhibiting the mycelial growth of the tested fungi compared to the other bacterial isolates. Exponential fed-batch fermentation gave higher siderophore concentrations (estimated in 10 µL), which reached 67.05% at 46 h and 45.59% at 48 h for isolates F2 and JY3, respectively, than batch fermentation. Formulated P.... [more]

Cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) is an emerging tool for the rapid production of difficult-to-express proteins as well as for identifying protein synthesis bottlenecks. In CFPS, the biotic phase is substituted by extracts of living cells devoid of any of their own genetic material. The main advantage is that these systems delineate cell growth from recombinant protein production, enabling the expression of targets that would otherwise place too big a burden on living cells. We have conducted a techno-economic analysis of a CFPS system to produce monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) using extracts of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. We compare the performance of the CFPS system with two alternative production strategies: stable and transient gene expression in CHO cells. Our assessment shows that the viability of CFPS for mAb production requires a significant increase in the product yield and the recycling of high-cost components such as DNA. Nevertheless, CFPS shows significant promise for... [more]

Nanofiltration membrane separation is an energy-saving technology that was used in this study to concentrate extracellular lipase and increase its total activity for biodiesel production. Lipase was produced by recombinant Aspergillus oryzae expressing Fusarium heterosporum lipase (FHL). A sulfonated polyethersulfone nanofiltration membrane, NTR-7410, with a molecular weight cut-off of 3 kDa was used for the separation, because recombinant lipase has a molecular weight of approximately 20 kDa, which differs from commercial lipase at around 30 kDa for CalleraTM Trans L (CalT). After concentration via nanofiltration, recombinant lipase achieved a 96.8% yield of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) from unrefined palm oil, compared to 50.2% for CalT in 24 h. Meanwhile, the initial lipase activity (32.6 U/mL) of recombinant lipase was similar to that of CalT. The composition of FAME produced from recombinant concentrated lipase, i.e., C14:1, C16:0, C18:0, C18:1 cis, and C18:2 cis were 0.79%, 34.... [more]

Investigating the polyphenolic profile of natural Rosmarinus officinalis and Ocimum basilicum populations may reveal essential compounds that have biological activities. Natural populations of R. officinalis and O. basilicum in Northern Riyadh were investigated by HPLC-DAD analyses. Several polyphenols, including rosmarinic acid, gentisic acid, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, rutoside, and others, out of 38 screened were confirmed. Rosmarinic acid was the major polyphenol in both of R. officinalis and O. basilicum. R. officinalis methanolic leaf extracts contained other phenols such as gentisic acid while O. basilicum contained also 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and rutoside as well as others. R. officinalis showed higher antioxidant activities than O. basilicum using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and β-carotene bleaching assays. These higher activities are associated with a higher composition of rosmarinic acid in leaf extracts. The a... [more]

The latest class of engineered nanomaterials, viz., carbon quantum dots (CQDs), has attracted attention because they are synthesized through green chemical procedures and from organic waste matter. The synthesis of these nano-sized particles synthesized from biomass such as fruit peel and other organic matter results in mixtures of CQD species that differ in chemical identity, activity and photo-physical properties. Generally used collectively as chemically heterogeneous ensemble, they have already had an impact on multiple sectors of our environment by use as wastewater sensors, switches, model agro-fertilizers, and in biomedicine. The transitioning of their applications to crops is an important crossover point that calls for an accurate and detailed assessment of their genomic, proteomic, and metabolomics impact on agriculturally important crops and produce. We review the current status of CQDs vis-à-vis their impact on the biosphere via recent model studies and comment on the knowle... [more]

Background: Continuous non-invasive blood pressure (BP) measurement is a desired virtue in clinical practice. Unfortunately, current systems do not allow one for continuous, reliable BP measurement for more than a few hours per day, and they often require a complicated set of sensors to provide the necessary biosignals. Therefore we investigated the possibility of proposing a computational model that would predict the BP from pulse waves recorded in a single spot. Methods: Two experimental circuits were created. One containing a simple plastic tube for model development and a second with a silicone molded patient-specific arterial tree model. The first model served for the measuring of pulse waves under various BP (70−270 mmHg) and heart rate (60−190 beats per minute) values. Four different computational models were used to estimate the BP values from the diastolic time. The most accurate model was further validated using data from the latter experimental circuit containing a molded pa... [more]

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages worldwide. Its effect on health is generally regarded as beneficial in many studies. However, there are growing concerns about the adverse effect of coffee consumption on cardiovascular disease (CVD) due to the potential aggravating impact on the cardiovascular system attributed to various compounds within coffee. This review is focused on deteriorative effects of coffee consumption on CVDs with possible mechanisms. Patients with risk factors of CVDs should prudently consider heavy consumption of coffee as it may exacerbate hypertension, dyslipidemia, and atherosclerosis, and increase the odds of cardiovascular events. J-shaped or U-shaped dose-response graphs of coffee consumption and CVD parameters partially explain the inconsistency of conclusions between coffee studies on CVD, highlighting a moderate intake of coffee. Moreover, there are discrepancies in results from clinical studies elucidating considerable influences of confounding fact... [more]