ABSTRACT
Antimicrobial resistance and antiviral infections statistics show that the number of global cases has been exponentially increasing;thus there is an unmet need for developing alternatives rather than to continue conventional strategies such as antibiotic administration, since they failed to show promise especially during the past few decades. Among different porous materials, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of porous coordination polymers broadly explored in nano- and biomedicine due to their desirable properties, including excellent surface area, structural variability, the richness of their crystal structures/architectures, allowing for engineering synergies between metal nodes, functional linkers, encapsulated substrates or nanoparticles, heterogeneous catalysis, ion exchange, controlled and targeted drug delivery, energetics, etc. MOF-based sensing platforms have shown suitable potentials for specific viral detection. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are porous crystalline organic materials with two- or three-dimensional structures, which can be employed for reducing the interaction between the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in addition to other inhibitory effects. These frameworks can be applied for encapsulating antibiotics or antiviral agents against pathogens;they have been also studied for photodynamic inactivation of pathogenic bacteria. Herein, the most recent advancements pertaining to the applications of these frameworks for specific detection and inhibition of pathogenic viruses and antibiotic-resistant bacteria are cogitated, focusing on important challenges and perspectives. This review also provides expert recommendations on the future development and utility of these frameworks to manage antimicrobial resistance and infectious diseases more efficiently. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd
ABSTRACT
Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest problems that the healthcare system faces nowadays, with an increasing burden due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Different alternatives to the current treatments of bacterial infections have been studied far away from the use of traditional antibiotics. One of them is nanotechnology, which proposes a suitable solution without the associated problems. Still, the production of different nanomaterials often shows disadvantages, such as producing toxic by-products or the need for functionalization to deliver a suitable therapeutic effect. The implementation of green nanotechnology in nanomaterials synthesis shows great potential, with specific implementation in metal-based nanomaterials. As such, this chapter revised the state of biogenic or biologically produced metal nanoparticles produced by bacteria, fungi, and plant extracts with antimicrobial applications against antibiotic-resistant strains. The chapter summarizes and discusses some of the newest advances in the field to demonstrate that these nanostructures can become a significant enhancement in the fight towards superbugs. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
In recent decades, some 30 new human pathogens have been identified, of which 75% were spillovers from animals. In late 2019, human infections with a new coronavirus from an unknown origin emerged in China and later spread worldwide. The zoonotic source of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 remains unknown, and there is only some limited information about the close association between the first human cases of COVID-19 and visiting animal markets. Now, bats and pangolins are suspected as natural hosts, and large cats, raccoon dogs, dogs, minks, ferrets, and pangolins as intermediate hosts. There is not enough evidence to prove that animals can transmit COVID-19 infection to humans, but there are some data about the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 between humans and some animal species.