Clinical Cure of a Difficult-to-Treat Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Ventriculitis Using Cefiderocol: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Ventriculitis is a complication of meningitis (community-acquired or nosocomial) or other central nervous system (CNS) infections such as brain abscess. They are associated with a different spectrum of microorganisms, from resistant gram-negative bacilli to staphylococci, that can lead serious illness with high mortality. Difficult-to-treat resistance (DTR) gram-negative bacilli may increase to 20% of deaths respective to susceptible isolates of the same bacteria. We present the first report of a clinical cured case of DTR Pseudomonas aeruginosa ventriculitis in which cefiderocol penetration into the CNS has been confirmed in blood and cerebrospinal fluid. Cefiderocol might be considered for difficult-to-treat CNS infections in view of the recent new cases published as well as our case.

Nanoparticle characterization for cancer nanotechnology and other biological applications.

Nanotechnology is actively being used to develop promising diagnostics and therapeutics tools for the treatment of cancer and many other diseases. The unique properties of nanomaterials offer an exciting frontier of possibilities for biomedical researchers and scientists. Because existing knowledge of macroscopic materials does not always allow for adequate prediction of the characteristics and behaviors of nanoscale materials in controlled environments, much less in biological systems, careful nanoparticle characterization should accompany biomedical applications of these materials. Informed correlations between adequately characterized nanomaterial properties and reliable biological endpoints are essential for guiding present and future researchers toward clinical nanotechnology-based solutions for cancer. Biological environments are notoriously dynamic; hence, nanoparticulate interactions within these environments will likely be comparatively diverse. For this reason, we recommend that an interactive and systematic approach to material characterization be taken when attempting to elucidate or measure biological interactions with nanoscale materials. We intend for this chapter to be a practical guide that could be used by researchers to identify key nanomaterial characteristics that require measurement for their systems and the appropriate techniques to perform those measurements. Each section includes a basic overview of each measurement and notes on how to address some of the common difficulties associated with nanomaterial characterization.