Characterization of ESKAPE pathogens in urinary tract infections among Jordanian patients.

INTRODUCTION: ESKAPE pathogens are a small group of pathogens of remarkable importance. The present study was carried out to determine the prevalence of ESKAPE pathogens in urinary tract infections (UTIs) and their antibiotic susceptibility patterns at the Jordan University of Science and Technology Health Center in Irbid, Jordan. METHODOLOGY: A one-year retrospective study was conducted from April 2021 to April 2022. A total of 444 samples of "clean-catch" (midstream) urine from outpatients were studied. RESULTS: Our study showed that the vast majority of urinary tract infected patients were females (92%) compared to males (8%) and were most frequent in the age group 21-30 years old. The most associated co-morbidities with UTIs were hypertension followed by diabetes mellitus and hypothyroidism. ESKAPE pathogens were responsible for about 87.4% of the UTIs in this study, and all were identified in the urine samples except Acinetobacter baumannii. In this study, isolates were most sensitive to levofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and third-generation cephalosporin's and least sensitive to doxycycline, amoxicillin, and clindamycin. CONCLUSIONS: This research work has shown that patients with UTI-associated ESKAPE pathogens in Jordan are at high risk of antibiotic resistance. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in the region that studies the association between ESKAPE pathogens and UTIs.

Nanomaterials as a Potential Target for Infectious Parasitic Agents.

Despite the technological advancement in the era of personalized medicine and therapeutics development, infectious parasitic causative agents remain one of the most challenging areas of research and development. The disadvantages of conventional parasitic prevention and control are the emergence of multiple drug resistance as well as the non-specific targeting of intracellular parasites, which results in high dose concentration needs and subsequently intolerable cytotoxicity. Nanotechnology has attracted extensive interest to reduce medication therapy adverse effects including poor bioavailability and drug selectivity. Numerous nanomaterials-based delivery systems have previously been shown in animal models to be effective in the treatment of various parasitic infections. This review discusses a variety of nanomaterials-based antiparasitic procedures and techniques as well as the processes that allow them to be targeted to different parasitic infections. This review focuses on the key prerequisites for creating novel nanotechnology-based carriers as a potential option in parasite management, specifically in the context of human-related pathogenic parasitic agents.

Protein-Based Drug Delivery Nanomedicine Platforms: Recent Developments.

BACKGROUND: Naturally occurring protein cages, both viral and non-viral assemblies, have been developed for various pharmaceutical applications. Protein cages are ideal platforms as they are compatible, biodegradable, bioavailable, and amenable to chemical and genetic modification to impart new functionalities for selective targeting or tracking of proteins. The ferritin/ apoferritin protein cage, plant-derived viral capsids, the small Heat shock protein, albumin, soy and whey protein, collagen, and gelatin have all been exploited and characterized as drugdelivery vehicles. Protein cages come in many shapes and types with unique features such as unmatched uniformity, size, and conjugations. OBJECTIVES: The recent strategic development of drug delivery will be covered in this review, emphasizing polymer-based, specifically protein-based, drug delivery nanomedicine platforms. The potential and drawbacks of each kind of protein-based drug-delivery system will also be highlighted. METHODS: Research examining the usability of nanomaterials in the pharmaceutical and medical sectors were identified by employing bibliographic databases and web search engines. RESULTS: Rings, tubes, and cages are unique protein structures that occur in the biological environment and might serve as building blocks for nanomachines. Furthermore, numerous virions can undergo reversible structural conformational changes that open or close gated pores, allowing customizable accessibility to their core and ideal delivery vehicles. CONCLUSION: Protein cages' biocompatibility and their ability to be precisely engineered indicate they have significant potential in drug delivery and intracellular administration.

Protein-based nanomaterials: a new tool for targeted drug delivery.

Protein nanomaterials are well-defined, hollow protein nanoparticles comprised of virus capsids, virus-like particles, ferritin, heat shock proteins, chaperonins and many more. Protein-based nanomaterials are formed by the self-assembly of protein subunits and have numerous desired properties as drug-delivery vehicles, including being optimally sized for endocytosis, nontoxic, biocompatible, biodegradable and functionalized at three separate interfaces (external, internal and intersubunit). As a result, protein nanomaterials have been intensively investigated as functional entities in bionanotechnology, including drug delivery, nanoreactors and templates for organic and inorganic nanomaterials. Several variables influence efficient administration, particularly active targeting, cellular uptake, the kinetics of the release and systemic elimination. This review examines the wide range of medicines, loading/release processes, targeted therapies and treatment effectiveness.