Photocatalytic degradation of parabens: A comprehensive meta-analysis investigating the environmental remediation potential of emerging pollutant.

The increasing prevalence of paraben compounds in the environment has given rise to concerns regarding their detrimental impacts on both ecosystems and human health. Over the past few decades, photocatalytic reactions have drawn significant attention as a method to accelerate the otherwise slow degradation of these pollutants. The current study aims to evaluate the current efficacy of the photocatalytic method for degrading parabens in aqueous solutions. An extensive literature review and bibliometric analysis were conducted to identify key research trends and influential areas in the field of photocatalytic paraben degradation. Studies were screened based on the predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria, which led to 13 studies that were identified as being appropriate for the meta-analysis using the random effects model. Furthermore, experimental parameters such as pH, paraben initial concentration, catalyst dosage, light intensity, and contact time have been reported to have key impacts on the performance of the photocatalytic degradation process. A comprehensive quantitative assessment of these parameters was carried out in this work. Overall, photocatalytic techniques could eliminate parabens with an average degradation efficiency of >80 %. The findings of the Egger's test and the Begg's test were statistically not significant suggesting potential publication bias was not observed. This review provides a holistic understanding of the photocatalytic degradation of parabens and is anticipated to encourage more widespread adoption of photocatalytic procedures as a suitable method for the elimination of parabens from aqueous solutions, opening new avenues for future research in this direction.

ß-Caryophyllene-Loaded Microemulsion-Based Topical Hydrogel: A Promising Carrier to Enhance the Analgesic and Anti-Inflammatory Outcomes.

Musculoskeletal pain and inflammation can vary from localised pain like pain in the shoulders and neck to widespread pain like fibromyalgia, and as per estimates, around 90% of humans have experienced such pain. Oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are frequently prescribed for such conditions but are associated with concerns like gastric irritation and bleeding. In the present study, a microemulsion-based gel comprising ß-caryophyllene, isopropyl myristate, Tween 80, and normal saline was prepared as a topical option for managing topical pain and inflammation. The globules of the microemulsion were below 100 nm with a zetapotential of around -10 mV. The drug entrapment was >87% with a drug loading of >23%. The permeation studies established better skin permeation (20.11 ± 0.96 µg cm-2 h-1) and retention of the drug (4.96 ± 0.02%) from the developed system vis-à-vis the conventional product (9.73 ± 0.35 µg cm-2 h-1; 1.03 ± 0.01%). The dermatokinetic studies established the better pharmacokinetic profile of the bioactive in the epidermis and dermis layers of the skin. The anti-inflammatory potential in carrageenan-induced rat paw oedema was more pronounced than the conventional product (~91% vis-à-vis ~77%), indicating a better pharmacodynamic outcome from the developed system. The nanotechnology-based natural bioactive product with improved efficacy and drug loading can provide a better alternative for the management of musculoskeletal pain.

Sortase A Inhibitor Protein Nanoparticle Formulations Demonstrate Antibacterial Synergy When Combined with Antimicrobial Peptides.

Sortase A (SrtA) is an enzyme which attaches proteins, including virulence factors, to bacterial cell walls. It is a potential target for developing anti-virulence agents against pathogenic and antimicrobial resistant bacteria. This study aimed to engineer 𝛽-lactoglobulin protein nanoparticles (PNPs) for encapsulating safe and inexpensive natural SrtA inhibitors (SrtAIs; trans-chalcone (TC), curcumin (CUR), quercetin (QC), and berberine (BR)) to improve their poor aqueous dispersibility, to screen for synergy with antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), and to reduce the cost, dose, and toxicity of AMPs. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), checkerboard synergy, and cell viability assays were performed for SrtAI PNPs against Gram-positive (methicillin-sensitive and -resistant S. aureus) and Gram-negative (E. coli, P. aeruginosa) bacteria alone and combined with leading AMPs (pexiganan, indolicidin, and a mastoparan derivative). Each SrtAI PNP inhibited Gram-positive (MIC: 62.5-125 µg/mL) and Gram-negative (MIC: 31.3-500 µg/mL) bacterial growth. TC PNPs with pexiganan demonstrated synergy against each bacteria, while BR PNPs with pexiganan or indolicidin provided synergy towards S. aureus. Each SrtAI PNP inhibited SrtA (IC50: 25.0-81.8 µg/mL), and did not affect HEK-293 cell viability at their MIC or optimal synergistic concentrations with AMPs. Overall, this study provides a safe nanoplatform for enhancing antimicrobial synergy to develop treatments for superbug infections.

Bioactive Peptide Discovery from Edible Insects for Potential Applications in Human Health and Agriculture.

In the past decade, there has been fast-growing interest among researchers to discover bioactive peptides from edible insects and to evaluate their potential applications in the management of human, livestock, and plant health. This review summarizes current knowledge of insect-derived peptides and their potential role in tackling human health issues and solving agriculture problems by protecting crops and livestock against their pathogens. Numerous bioactive peptides have been identified from edible insect species, including peptides that were enzymatically liberated from insect proteins and endogenous peptides that occur naturally in insects. The peptides exhibited diverse bioactivities, encompassing antioxidant, anti-angiotensin-converting enzyme, anti-dipeptidyl peptidase-IV, anti-glucosidase, anti-lipase, anti-lipoxygenase, anti-cyclooxygenase, anti-obesity, and hepatoprotective activities. Such findings point to their potential contribution to solving human health problems related to inflammation, free radical damage, diabetes, hypertension, and liver damage, among others. Although most of the experiments were performed in vitro, evidence for the in vivo efficacy of some peptides is emerging. Evidence of the protective effects of insect-derived endogenous antimicrobial peptides in combating farm animal and plant pathogens is available. The ability of insect-derived endogenous neuropeptides to protect plants against herbivorous insects has been demonstrated as well. Nevertheless, the potency of peptides identified from insect protein hydrolysates in modulating livestock and plant health remains a knowledge gap to be filled.

Leveraging the potential of silver nanoparticles-based materials towards sustainable water treatment.

Increasing demand of pure and accessible water and improper disposal of waste into the existing water resources are the major challenges for sustainable development. Nanoscale technology is an effective approach that is increasingly being applied to water remediation. Compared to conventional water treatment processes, silver nanotechnology has been demonstrated to have advantages due to its anti-microbial and oligodynamic (biocidal) properties. This review is focused on environmentally friendly green syntheses of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and their applications for the disinfection and microbial control of wastewater. A bibliometric keyword analysis is conducted to unveil important keywords and topics in the utilisation of AgNPs for water treatment applications. The effectiveness of AgNPs, as both free nanoparticles (NPs) or as supported NPs (nanocomposites), to deal with noxious pollutants like complex dyes, heavy metals as well as emerging pollutants of concern is also discussed. This knowledge dataset will be helpful for researchers to identify and utilise the distinctive features of AgNPs and will hopefully stimulate the development of novel solutions to improve wastewater treatment. This review will also help researchers to prepare effective water management strategies using nano silver-based systems manufactured using green chemistry.

Statistical evaluation of cow-dung derived activated biochar for phenol adsorption: Adsorption isotherms, kinetics, and thermodynamic studies.

Sustainable and economical wastewater treatment forms a vital step towards long-term sustainability of petrochemical refineries and industries. An affordable solution to this challenge is to employ biowaste as the key consumable active component. This paper describes the synthesis and characterization of activated biochar derived from cow-dung, a readily available raw material in low-resource settings, and its application for adsorption of phenol, one of the major pollutants in industrial wastewater. Adsorption parameters are optimized by using response surface methodology. Phenol adsorption equilibrium and kinetics data are well fitted to Freundlich isotherm (R2 = 0.97) and pseudo-second-order model (R2 = 0.99), respectively. The maximal adsorption capacity (518.89 mg/g) was attained using the Langmuir isotherm model at pH 6.0. Negative values of thermodynamic parameters confirmed the spontaneity, feasibility, and exothermic behaviour of adsorption reaction. The results demonstrate that synthesized activated biochar showed an excellent phenol adsorption capacity of 98.8 %.

Current perspective of innovative strategies for bioremediation of organic pollutants from wastewater.

Organic contaminants in water are a growing environmental threat to sustainable development, with detrimental effects on the biosphere. In recent years, researchers have increasingly focused their attention on the area of bioremediation as an important tool to eliminate harmful pollutants from the environment. This review examines the application of bioremediation technologies to the removal of organic pollutants, with an emphasis on hydrocarbons and textile dyes. It applies a descriptive bibliometric analysis to study statistical practicality-vs-applicability of bioremediation of emerging organic pollutants. The paper identifies efficient pathways for bioremediation of different types of organic pollutants and outlines the potential for an eco-friendly and economical approach for the biological remediation of micropollutants by microalgae. Facts and figures on various hazardous pollutants, constraints in their current removal from water at an industrial level, and promising future solutions are carefully presented here.

Optimized protocols for assessing libraries of poorly soluble sortase A inhibitors for antibacterial activity against medically-relevant bacteria, toxicity and enzyme inhibition.

Increasing antimicrobial resistance is a major global health concern. Conventional antibiotics apply selection pressures, which promote the accumulation of resistant microbes. Anti-virulence strategies, in contrast, are less potent antimicrobials, but are less likely to select for resistance, can be combined with existing antibiotics to improve their activity, and in some cases can overcome antimicrobial resistance towards other antimicrobials. Sortase A inhibitors (SrtAIs) represent an exciting example of this class; however, many reported examples demonstrate poor water solubility, which complicates their biological assessment and activity. This includes reports that use antimicrobial concentrations of organic solvents or conditions that fail to solubilise these compounds for minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) assessments. Herein, we report the first study to optimise screening processes for a library of prospective SrtAIs (trans-chalcone (TC), berberine (BR), curcumin (CUR), and quercetin (QC)), including comparative assessment of the effects of various co-solvent concentrations, along with comparative assessment of their antimicrobial activities against multiple disease relevant bacterial strains (methicillin-sensitive and resistant S. aureus, E. coli, and P. aeruginosa), inhibition of the sortase A enzyme, and toxicity towards mammalian cells (HEK-293), using these optimised conditions. Optimal solubility with minimal effect on bacterial viability was observed in the presence of 5% (v/v) dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)-Mueller-Hinton Broth. Three antimicrobial susceptibility tests (broth microdilution, agar dilution, and disk diffusion) were assessed for their ability to accurately determine minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) data for each SrtAI. Broth microdilution and agar dilution were both effective; however, the broth microdilution assay required the addition of a colorimetric metabolic indicator (resazurin) to enable simple and reliable MIC determination due to the development of precipitants over time. In contrast, disk diffusion did not provide reliable zone of inhibition data. Identical MIC data was observed with methicillin-sensitive and -resistant S. aureus (MRSA; ATCC43300), with lower potency activity against E. coli and P. aeruginosa. Under these conditions, TC and CUR demonstrated significant toxicity towards human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) cells, with QC showing less toxicity and BR limited-to-no toxicity at its MIC. Overall, the findings of this work provide optimised processes, which will prove useful for the study of other poorly soluble antimicrobial agents and SrtAIs. The obtained data suggests that BR should be considered in preference to the other SrtAIs for the development of new antimicrobial formulations, based on its superior antimicrobial and SrtA inhibition potency, and greatly reduced toxicity.

Instructive analysis of engineered carbon materials for potential application in water and wastewater treatment.

Water remediation is an essential component for sustainable development. Increasing population and rapid industrialization have contributed to the deterioration of water resources. In particular, effluents from chemical, pharmaceutical, petroleum industries, and anthropogenic activities have led to severe ecological degradation. Many of these detrimental pollutants are highly toxic even at low concentrations, acting as carcinogens and inflicting severe long-lasting effects on human health. This review underscores the potential applications of engineered carbon-based materials for effective wastewater treatment. It focuses on the performance as well as efficiency of activated carbon, graphene nanomaterial, and carbon nanotubes, both with and without chemical functionalization. Plausible mechanisms of action between the chemically functionalized adsorbent and pollutants are also discussed. Based on the keywords from the literature published in the recent five years, a statistical practicality-vs-applicability analysis of these three materials is also provided. The review will provide a deep understanding of the physical or chemical interactions of the wastewater pollutants with carbon materials.

Sortase A (SrtA) inhibitors as an alternative treatment for superbug infections.

Virulence factor, sortase A (SrtA), has crucial roles in the pathogenesis of Gram-positive superbugs. SrtA is a bacterial cell membrane enzyme that anchors crucial virulence factors to the cell wall surface of Gram-positive bacteria. SrtA is not necessary for bacterial growth and viability and is conveniently accessible in the cell membrane; therefore, it is an ideal target for antivirulence drug development. In this review, we focus on antimicrobial resistance (AMR)-expressing bacteria and SrtA as a potential target for overcoming AMR. The mechanism of action of SrtA and its inhibition by various types of inhibitors, such as synthetic small molecules, peptides, and natural products, are provided. Future SrtA research perspectives for alternative drug development to antibiotics are also proposed.

Wound dressings from naturally-occurring polymers: A review on homopolysaccharide-based composites.

Wound dressings are designed to support the wound bed and protect it from the factors that may delay or impede its healing such as contaminations and moisture-loss, thereby facilitating and accelerating the healing process. The materials used to prepare wound dressings include natural and synthetic polymers, as well as their combinations, in the forms of films, sponges and hydrogels. Polysaccharides are naturally-occurring polymers that have been extensively used as wound dressing materials. Homopolysaccharides are a class of polysaccharides consist of only one type of monosaccharide. The current review intends to overview the studies in which wound dressings from naturally-occurring polymers, based on homopolysaccharides, were prepared and evaluated. Homopolysaccharides such as cellulose, chitosan, chitin, pullulan, starch and ß-glucan were considered.

Ovalbumin lipid core peptide vaccines and their CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell responses.

The lipid core peptide (LCP) system has successfully been used in development of peptide-based vaccines against cancer and infectious diseases (such as group A streptococcal infection). CD8(+) T cells are important targets for vaccines, however developing a vaccine that activates long-lasting immunity has proven challenging. The ability of LCP vaccines to activate antigen-specific CD8(+) and/or CD4(+) T cell responses was tested using compounds that contained two or four copies of OVA257-264 and/or OVA323-339 peptides conjugated to LCP, which are recognised by OTI (CD8(+) specific) and OTII (CD4(+) specific) T cells, respectively. The LCP-ovalbumin vaccines developed in this study were synthesised in 30% yields and showed no significant haemolytic effect on red blood cells (below 4% haemolysis when tested with compounds at up to 100µM concentrations). Promising in vivo data in mice suggested that this LCP-ovalbumin vaccine system could act as a novel and potent vehicle for the stimulation of robust antigen-specific CD8(+) T cell responses.

Design, synthesis and characterisation of mannosylated ovalbumin lipid core peptide self-adjuvanting vaccine delivery system.

Peptide-based vaccine delivery can be hampered by rapid peptidase activity and poor inherent immunogenicity. The self-adjuvanting lipid core peptide system (LCP) has been shown to confer improved stability and immunogenicity on peptide epitopes of group A Streptococcus, Chlamydia, hookworm, and malaria pathogens. However, various diseases, including cancer, still require targeted delivery of their vaccine candidates. For this reason, we have selected two model peptides (ovalbumin CD4(+) and/or CD8(+) T cell epitopes), and incorporated two or four copies of either epitope into our LCP vaccine. Optimised glycosylation of ovalbumin peptides yielded 46 % when microwave-assisted double coupling with 2 eq of carbohydrate derivative, activated by N,N-diisopropylethylamine and (O-benzotriazol-1-yl)-N,N,N',N'-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate, was performed. All ovalbumin peptides were successfully synthesised and purified in 11-55 % yields by Fmoc- or Boc-chemistry using solid-phase peptide synthesis. The mannosylated ovalbumin peptides were nontoxic to human erythrocytes in haemolytic assay (<2 % haemolysis) and showed increased (up to 20-fold) stability in plasma.