Incidence, identification and antibiotic resistance of Salmonella spp. in the well waters of Tadla Plain, Morocco.

Concerns about challenges with water availability in the Tadla Plain region of Morocco have grown as a result of groundwater contamination brought on by human activity, climate change, and insufficient groundwater management. The objective of the study is to measure the number of resistant bacteria in the groundwater of Beni Moussa and Beni Aamir, as well as to evaluate the level of water pollution in this area. 200 samples were therefore gathered from 43 wells over the course of four seasonal campaigns in 2017 and 2018. Additionally, the samples were examined to determine whether Salmonella species were present and if they were resistant to the 16 antibiotics that were tested. Salmonella spp. have been identified in 31 isolated strains in total, accounting for 18.02% of all isolated strains. Data on antibiotic resistance show that 58.1% of Salmonella spp. strains are multidrug-resistant (MDR); 38.7% of Salmonella strains are tolerant to at least six antibiotics, 19.4% to at least nine antibiotics, 9.7% to four to seven antibiotics, 6.5% to at least eleven antibiotics, and the remaining 3.2% to up to twelve antibiotics. A considerable level of resistance to cefepime (61.29%), imipenem (54.84%), ceftazidime (45.16%), ofloxacin (70.97%), and ertapenem (74.19%) was found in the data. Consequently, it is important to monitor and regulate the growth of MDR in order to prevent the groundwater's quality from declining.

Unveiling anticancer, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activities of novel synthesized bimetallic boron oxide-zinc oxide nanoparticles.

Bimetallic nanoparticles have received much attention recently due to their multifunctional applications, and synergistic potential at low concentrations. In the current study, bimetallic boron oxide-zinc oxide nanoparticles (B2O3-ZnO NPs) were synthesized by an eco-friendly, and cost-effective method through the utilization of gum arabic in the presence of gamma irradiation. Characterization of the synthesized bimetallic B2O3-ZnO NPs revealed the successful synthesis of bimetallic NPs on the nano-scale, and good distribution, in addition to formation of a stable colloidal nano-solution. Furthermore, the bimetallic B2O3-ZnO NPs were assessed for anticancer, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. The evaluation of the cytotoxicity of bimetallic B2O3-ZnO NPs on Vero and Wi38 normal cell lines illustrated that bimetallic B2O3-ZnO NPs are safe in use where IC50 was 384.5 and 569.2 µg ml-1, respectively. The bimetallic B2O3-ZnO NPs had anticancer activity against Caco 2 where IC50 was 80.1 µg ml-1. Furthermore, B2O3-ZnO NPs exhibited promising antibacterial activity against E. coli, P. aeruginosa, B. subtilis and S. aureus, where MICs were 125, 62.5, 125 and 62.5 µg ml-1 respectively. Likewise, B2O3-ZnO NPs had potential antifungal activity against C. albicans as unicellular fungi (MIC was 62.5 µg ml-1). Moreover, B2O3-ZnO NPs displayed antioxidant activity (IC50 was 102.6 µg ml-1). In conclusion, novel bimetallic B2O3-ZnO NPs were successfully synthesized using gum arabic under gamma radiation, where they displayed anticancer, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities.

Correction: Unveiling anticancer, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activities of novel synthesized bimetallic boron oxide-zinc oxide nanoparticles.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1039/D3RA03413E.].