Review
Infectious Diseases
Ahmed G. G. Abdelhamid, Ahmed E. E. Yousef
Summary: Biofilms are complex multicellular structures formed by microorganisms on living or nonliving surfaces. They often lead to persistent infections, increased antibiotic resistance, and recurrence of infections. This review focuses on the clinical problem of biofilm infections and highlights current and emerging antibiofilm strategies, including disrupting quorum sensing, preventing bacterial adhesion, degrading the extracellular matrix, and developing nanoparticle-based drug complexes. However, challenges such as limited effectiveness, cytotoxicity, and resistance need to be addressed.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Li Zhang, Hriday Bera, Hengzhuang Wang, Junwei Wang, Yi Guo, Changzhi Shi, Dongmei Cun, Claus Moser, Niels Hoiby, Mingshi Yang
Summary: This article reviews recent advances in using nanotechnology-based drug delivery approaches to combat respiratory biofilm infections. It presents the formation and characteristics of bacterial biofilm infections in the airway mucus, followed by a brief review of current clinical approaches to treat such infections. The article also discusses the use of combined antibiotics and non-antibiotic adjuvants to combat respiratory biofilm infections.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICS
(2022)
Review
Microbiology
Ramanathan Srinivasan, Sivasubramanian Santhakumari, Pandurangan Poonguzhali, Mani Geetha, Madhu Dyavaiah, Lin Xiangmin
Summary: Biofilm formation is a major concern in various sectors, with bacterial biofilm posing a persistent threat in healthcare due to increased mortality and morbidity. Bacteria can form biofilms on various substrates, exhibiting significant resistance to external attacks. Developing novel therapeutic strategies to combat biofilm-mediated infections has garnered significant attention in recent research.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Engineering, Environmental
Fangchao Cui, Tingting Li, Dangfeng Wang, Shumin Yi, Jianrong Li, Xuepeng Li
Summary: This review presents the current advances and potential mechanisms of carbon-based nanomaterials (CBNs) as antibiofilm agents. CBNs, with their high biocompatibility and unique physicochemical properties, show great potential for combating biofilm-associated infections.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Fan Zhao, Yajuan Su, Junying Wang, Svetlana Romanova, Dominick J. DiMaio, Jingwei Xie, Siwei Zhao
Summary: Biofilm infection in chronic wounds is common and delays wound healing. This paper describes a highly effective electrical antibiofilm treatment system that uses high-intensity current to debride biofilm and enhance antibiotic delivery. The system reduces bacterial count of MRSA biofilm-infected ex vivo skin wounds and demonstrates in vivo antibiofilm efficacy in a diabetic mouse-based wound infection model. This novel technology provides a quick, safe, and highly efficacious treatment for chronic wound biofilm infections.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Duoyang Fan, Xiaohui Liu, Yueming Ren, Shuaige Bai, Yanbing Li, Ziheng Luo, Jie Dong, Fei Chen, Wenbin Zeng
Summary: The emergence of antibiotic-resistant superbugs poses a serious threat to human health. Nanomaterials and cationic polymers have shown unprecedented advantages as effective antimicrobial therapies due to their flexibility and ability to interact with biological macromolecules. They can incorporate a variety of antimicrobial substances, achieving multifunctional effects without easily developing drug resistance. This article discusses recent advances in cationic polymers and nano-antibacterial materials, including material options, fabrication techniques, structural characteristics, and activity performance, with a focus on their fundamental active elements.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Lan Lu, Mingxing Li, Guojuan Yi, Li Liao, Qiang Cheng, Jie Zhu, Bin Zhang, Yingying Wang, Yong Chen, Ming Zeng
Summary: Interference with quorum sensing is an important strategy for the treatment of bacterial infections and restoring antibiotic tolerance. The discovery of quorum sensing inhibitors has a significant impact on the development of anti-infective drugs. Various approaches exist for the discovery of quorum sensing inhibitors.
JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL ANALYSIS
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Xuanzong Wang, Chi Zhang, Liuliang He, Mingfei Li, Pengfei Chen, Wan Yang, Pengfei Sun, Daifeng Li, Yi Zhang
Summary: The researchers proposed a novel nanoplatform for the synergistic use of photothermal therapy, chemodynamic therapy, and antibiotics in the treatment of drug-resistant bacterial biofilm infections. The nanoplatform caused damage to bacterial membrane structures through the release of antibiotics and generation of hydroxyl radicals in an acidic environment, and exhibited excellent hyperthermia and accelerated drug release under laser irradiation. Additionally, the nanoplatform enabled precise imaging of the infected sites.
JOURNAL OF NANOBIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Emerito Carlos Rodriguez-Merchan, Donald J. Davidson, Alexander D. Liddle
Summary: Biofilm-related implant infections are a disastrous complication of orthopaedic surgery, with high treatment risks, significant socioeconomic costs, and a high risk of recurrence. Interventions to prevent and treat these infections are a major focus of research due to the large number of medical device implantations performed annually.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Saurabh Shah, Mahavir Bhupal Chougule, Arun K. Kotha, Rama Kashikar, Chandraiah Godugu, Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, Shashi Bala Singh, Saurabh Srivastava
Summary: Millions of people die each year from viral infections, highlighting the urgent need to overcome current pitfalls in antiviral therapy. Nanomedicine offers a promising solution by using different types of nanoformulations to target the drawbacks in antiviral treatment.
JOURNAL OF CONTROLLED RELEASE
(2021)
Review
Infectious Diseases
Rajwinder Kaur, Kirandeep Kaur, Mohammad H. Alyami, Damanpreet Kaur Lang, Balraj Saini, Mohammad F. Bayan, Balakumar Chandrasekaran
Summary: The nature of microorganisms and the efficiency of antimicrobials have exhibited a significant interdependent change in their dynamics in recent decades. Metals and metallic compounds have gained popularity as they have been found effective against various microbial strains. A structured search of research and review papers, as well as other sources such as patents and Clinicaltrials.gov, was conducted for this review. Different microbes and their species and strains were found to be sensitive to metal-carrying formulations, effectively inhibiting growth, multiplication, and biofilm formation. Silver, copper, gold, iron, and gallium were identified as metals with antimicrobial properties. Membrane disruption, oxidative stress, and interaction with proteins and enzymes were identified as primary microbicidal processes.
Review
Microbiology
Narchonai Ganesan, Biswajit Mishra, LewisOscar Felix, Eleftherios Mylonakis
Summary: Clinical management of Staphylococcus aureus infections is challenging due to high incidence, virulence, and drug resistance. The treatment of drug-resistant strains, such as MRSA, is further complicated by tolerance and persistence to antimicrobial agents. Membrane disruptors, such as antimicrobial peptides and small molecules, have the potential to overcome these challenges by targeting the bacterial membrane and secondary mechanisms.
MICROBIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Zheng Su, Lingtong Kong, Jiawei Mei, Qianming Li, Zhengzheng Qian, Yuanyuan Ma, Yue Chen, Shenghong Ju, Jiaxing Wang, Weitao Jia, Chen Zhu, Wenpei Fan
Summary: A novel non-antibiotic strategy based on the synergy of bionanocatalysts-driven heat-amplified chemodynamic therapy (CDT) and innate immunomodulation is proposed for specific biofilm elimination. The results show that this strategy can precisely eliminate refractory peri-implant biofilm infections with extremely few adverse effects.
DRUG RESISTANCE UPDATES
(2023)
Review
Microbiology
M. Iqbal Choudhary, Ute Romling, Faiza Nadeem, Hafiz Muhammad Bilal, Munirah Zafar, Humera Jahan, Atta-ur-Rahman
Summary: Antimicrobial resistance and tolerance are natural phenomena resulting from microorganisms' evolutionary adaptation to xenobiotic agents, which pose challenges to current treatment options. Novel strategies are needed to identify drug targets and candidates for infectious diseases. This review focuses on developing small molecules that can interfere with microbial resistance mechanisms, optimizing growth media, and analyzing microbial response to antimicrobial agents. The review also discusses the identification and mechanisms of action of antibiofilm molecules. It provides recent advances in host mimicking growth media for effective drug discovery and development of antimicrobial and antibiofilm agents.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Bingqing Jia, Xuancheng Du, Weijie Wang, Yuanyuan Qu, Xiangdong Liu, Mingwen Zhao, Weifeng Li, Yong-Qiang Li
Summary: This review provides an overview of nanophysical antimicrobial strategies (NPAS), categorizing them based on the modes of their physical stimulation. The biomedical applications of NPAS in combating bacterial infections are discussed, with a focus on design and antimicrobial mechanisms. Current challenges and future perspectives of NPAS in clinical treatment of bacterial infections are also summarized and discussed, highlighting their potential use in clinical settings.
Article
Orthopedics
Raman Mundi, Harman Chaudhry, Seper Ekhtiari, Prabjit Ajrawat, Daniel M. Tushinski, Thomas J. Wood, Mohit Bhandari
Summary: This study conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the impact of hydrofiber dressings on reducing complications in total joint arthroplasty surgeries. The results showed that hydrofiber dressings had no observable effect on prosthetic joint infection and wound irritation, but they did reduce the rate of blisters and the number of dressing changes. However, the evidence for the reduction in blisters and dressing changes is limited due to biased trial methodologies and wide confidence intervals.
Editorial Material
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Thomas K. Wood
Summary: Reflecting on the first 15 years of Microbial Biotechnology, a shift is observed in research focus from whole-cell populations to single cells, indicating a growing interest in understanding bacterial growth in various environments. This trend instills optimism for gaining insights into the diverse aspects of bacterial growth in communities.
MICROBIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Entomology
T. J. Wood, M. Vanderplanck, M. Vastrade, A. D. Vaudo, D. Michez
Summary: This study investigates the impact of pollen quality from different plant species on Bombus terrestris and suggests that woody plants can be potential candidates for inclusion in agri-environment schemes to provide suitable pollen resources in the early part of the season.
ENTOMOLOGIA GENERALIS
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Timothy Weekers, Leon Marshall, Nicolas Leclercq, Thomas James Wood, Diego Cejas, Bianca Drepper, Louise Hutchinson, Denis Michez, Jean-Marc Molenberg, Guy Smagghe, Peter Vandamme, Nicolas J. Vereecken
Summary: The study found that the dominance of honey bees is significantly and negatively associated with wild bee diversity, regardless of local management practices. Semi-natural habitats have a positive impact on functional diversity of wild bees, while urbanization and crop cover around orchards have no effect on diversity metrics. In locations with high honey bee dominance, a greater number of bee species exhibit less common combinations of functional traits, especially larger bee species with longer tongues.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Ophthalmology
Thomas Charles Wood, Sundas Maqsood, Alex Saunders, William Sancha, Mayank A. Nanavaty, Michael Wearne, Saul Rajak
Summary: The objective of this study was to develop and implement a simulation-based training model for the management of posterior capsule rupture (PCR) from a non-technical skills (NTS) perspective. The results showed significant improvement in participants' NTS and non-significant improvement in their technical skills (TS).
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Thomas R. Wood, Kate Hildahl, Hawley Helmbrecht, Kylie A. Corry, Daniel H. Moralejo, Sarah E. Kolnik, Katherine E. Prater, Sandra E. Juul, Elizabeth Nance
Summary: Organotypic brain slice models are used to investigate therapeutic options for hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, a major factor in neonatal mortality. The study found highly heterogeneous regional responses to different treatments and different morphologies of microglia responded differently to injury and treatment.
BIOENGINEERING & TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Sandra E. Juul, Thomas R. Wood, Bryan A. Comstock, Krystle Perez, Semsa Gogcu, Mihai Puia-Dumitrescu, Sara Berkelhamer, Patrick J. Heagerty
Summary: Understanding the causes and circumstances of death in extremely preterm infants is crucial for healthcare practitioners. This study retrospectively examined a cohort of infants born between 24 and 27 weeks of gestation to determine the risk factors, causes, timing, and circumstances of death. The study found that respiratory distress or failure, pulmonary hemorrhage, necrotizing enterocolitis, catastrophic intracranial hemorrhage, sepsis, and sudden unexplained death were the primary causes of death. The risk of death decreased over time, and preterm labor was associated with a decreased hazard of death. Clinical factors such as low birth weight, low Apgar score, sick appearance at birth, necrotizing enterocolitis, pulmonary hemorrhage, severe intracranial hemorrhage, and severe sepsis were also associated with death.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
N. Leclercq, L. Marshall, T. Weekers, A. Anselmo, D. Benda, D. Bevk, P. Bogusch, D. Cejas, B. Drepper, M. Galloni, M. Gerard, G. Ghisbain, L. Hutchinson, B. Martinet, D. Michez, J-M Molenberg, P. Nikolic, S. Roberts, G. Smagghe, J. Straka, P. Vandamme, T. J. Wood, N. J. Vereecken
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Timothy Weekers, Leon Marshall, Nicolas Leclercq, Thomas J. Wood, Diego Cejas, Bianca Drepper, Michael Garratt, Louise Hutchinson, Stuart Roberts, Jordi Bosch, Laura Roquer-Beni, Patrick Lhomme, Denis Michez, Jean-Marc Molenberg, Guy Smagghe, Peter Vandamme, Nicolas J. Vereecken
Summary: This study investigates the impact of variables such as climate, landscape composition, management practices, and wild bee pollination on commercial apple production. The results show that apple yields are mainly influenced by management practices, not the contribution of managed honey bees. Wild bee diversity is negatively correlated with honey bee dominance but promotes apple quality. Thus, harnessing wild bee diversity can be a nature-based solution and a substitute for an exclusive reliance on honey bees in apple production.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2022)
Article
Ophthalmology
Thomas Charles Wood, Sundas Maqsood, William Sancha, Alex Saunders, David Lockington, Mayank A. Nanavaty, Saul Rajak
Article
Entomology
Thomas J. Wood, Sebastien Patiny, Silas Bossert
Summary: Establishing a higher classification of bees based on morphology alone can fail to capture evolutionary relationships. In the subfamily Panurginae, two Old World species previously placed in separate genera were found to be most closely related to each other. To address this, a new genus was established and the classification of the tribe was reassessed. The study highlights the challenges of establishing a phylogenetically sound classification and the existence of unrecognized genera, even in well-studied regions.
JOURNAL OF HYMENOPTERA RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Gregory C. Valentine, Krystle M. Perez, Thomas R. Wood, Dennis E. Mayock, Bryan A. Comstock, Mihai Puia-Dumitrescu, Patrick J. Heagerty, Sandra E. Juul
Summary: This study evaluated the association between maximal weight loss (MWL) and total fluid administration (TFA) in the first week after birth and outcomes in extremely preterm (EP) newborns. The results showed that MWL between 5% to 15% was associated with a decreased risk of necrotizing enterocolitis, while average TFA > 150 mUkg birthweight/day was associated with an increased risk of necrotizing enterocolitis and patent ductus arteriosus requiring surgery.
JOURNAL OF PERINATOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Thomas E. Wood, Kathleen A. Westervelt, Jessica M. Yoon, Heather D. Eshleman, Roie Levy, Henry Burnes, Daniel J. Slade, Cammie F. Lesser, Marcia B. Goldberg
Summary: The effector protein OspB of Shigella spp. is a cysteine protease that modulates the TORC1 signaling pathway to promote infection. The study provides insights into the mechanism of action of OspB and its role in Shigella pathogenesis.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ines Bleriot, Lucia Blasco, Olga Pacios, Laura Fernandez-Garcia, Anton Ambroa, Maria Lopez, Concha Ortiz-Cartagena, Felipe Fernandez Cuenca, Jesus Oteo-Iglesias, Alvaro Pascual, Luis Martinez-Martinez, Pilar Domingo-Calap, Thomas K. Wood, Maria Tomas
Summary: This study demonstrates the important role of the PemK/PemI TA system in phage inhibition. Overexpression of the PemK toxin leads to dormancy of bacteria, resulting in inhibition of phage infections.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Proceedings Paper
Engineering, Aerospace
J. M. Dailey, T. Koch, J. Delatore, J. Kolchmeyer, S. Husaini, M. Dinu, J. Le Grange, B. Yagudayev, A. Stenard, L. Crandall, G. Szczepanik, N. Wendt, A. Monte, T. H. Wood, B. Schulein, D. J. Geisler
Summary: This article reports on the design, development, and testing of a high-power broadband optical modem for NASA's crewed Artemis-2 mission. The modem, known as O2O, provides a bi-directional optical link back to earth while en route to the moon. It features a full-duplex design with a high-power optical transmitter and receiver optimized for serially-concatenated pulse-position modulation (SCPPM). The modem has passed rigorous environmental testing and has been declared at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6.
FREE-SPACE LASER COMMUNICATIONS XXXIV
(2022)