Developments and future prospects of personalized medicine in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma diagnoses and treatments.

BACKGROUND: Precision healthcare has entered a new era because of the developments in personalized medicine, especially in the diagnosis and treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). This paper explores the dynamic landscape of personalized medicine as applied to HNSCC, encompassing both current developments and future prospects. RECENT FINDINGS: The integration of personalized medicine strategies into HNSCC diagnosis is driven by the utilization of genetic data and biomarkers. Epigenetic biomarkers, which reflect modifications to DNA that can influence gene expression, have emerged as valuable indicators for early detection and risk assessment. Treatment approaches within the personalized medicine framework are equally promising. Immunotherapy, gene silencing, and editing techniques, including RNA interference and CRISPR/Cas9, offer innovative means to modulate gene expression and correct genetic aberrations driving HNSCC. The integration of stem cell research with personalized medicine presents opportunities for tailored regenerative approaches. The synergy between personalized medicine and technological advancements is exemplified by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications. These tools empower clinicians to analyze vast datasets, predict patient responses, and optimize treatment strategies with unprecedented accuracy. CONCLUSION: The developments and prospects of personalized medicine in HNSCC diagnosis and treatment offer a transformative approach to managing this complex malignancy. By harnessing genetic insights, biomarkers, immunotherapy, gene editing, stem cell therapies, and advanced technologies like AI and ML, personalized medicine holds the key to enhancing patient outcomes and ushering in a new era of precision oncology.

Low-Cost Perovskite Solar Cell Fabricated using the Expanded Graphite Back Contact and Electronically Conducting Activated Carbon as the Hole Transporting Material.

Although perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have reached a record high conversion efficiency of 25.7%, the materials used to fabricate them invoke costly hole-transporting materials, such as spiro-OMeTAD, and expensive gold back contacts. The cost of fabrication of a solar cell or any other practical device is an important issue in their practical applications. In this study, we describe the fabrication of a low-cost, mesoscopic PSC, eliminating the use of expensive p-type semiconductors and substituting them with electronically conducting activated carbon, and the gold back contact with expanded graphite. The activated carbon hole transporting material was derived from readily available coconut shells and the expanded graphite from graphite attached to rock pieces of graphite vein banks. We drastically reduced the overall cell fabrication cost using these low-cost materials and added commercial value to discarded graphite and coconut shells. Under ambient conditions, our PSC gives a conversion efficiency of 8.60 ± 0.10 % at 1.5 AM simulated sunlight. We have identified the lower fill factor as the limiting factor for the low conversion efficiency. We believe that the lower cost of the materials used and the deceptively simple powder pressing method would compensate for the relatively lower conversion efficiency in its practical application.

Comparison of Antibacterial Activity of Nanocurcumin with Bulk Curcumin.

The development of antibacterial compounds using natural products, particularly nano-sized antibacterial products, has been intensively investigated in recent years. This study was conducted to compare the antibacterial activity of nanocurcumin with bulk curcumin against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative Escherichia coli bacteria. Curcumin was extracted from turmeric rhizome using the Soxhlet extraction with ethanol. A physicochemical fabrication method was used to synthesize nanocurcumin from extracted curcumin. The particle size of nanocurcumin was 87 ± 8 nm. The 1H NMR spectrum of nanocurcumin show that all the peaks are well separated and can be interpreted to those of curcumin. According to the in vitro antibacterial assay, nanocurcumin shows better antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria than bulk curcumin, with increased inhibition zones of 29.91 ± 0.53 mm (S. aureus) and 24.58 ± 1.12 mm (E. coli) when compared to 24.82 ± 0.54 mm (S. aureus) and 19.70 ± 1.18 mm (E. coli) of the latter. Subsequently, antibacterial creams were formulated, and the inhibition zones of nanocurcumin cream were larger than that of curcumin cream for both S. aureus and E. coli, exhibiting its superior antibacterial activity. Different storage periods of up to 1 month did not affect the inhibition zones significantly (p < 0.05), where nanocurcumin cream maintained its better antibacterial quality over bulk curcumin cream. There is no significant cytotoxicity in either of these formulations.

Formulation of Iron Oxide and Oxy-hydroxide Nanoparticles from Ilmenite Sand through a Low-Temperature Process.

In our previous publication, we published a simple, low-cost, and environmentally friendly process for the breaking down of the ilmenite lattice using rotary autoclaving, separation of titanium and iron components, and the conversion of the titanium component to amorphous TiO2 and phase-specific titanium dioxide nanorods. Here, the separated iron component was converted into iron oxide (magnetite and hematite) and iron oxy-hydroxide (akaganeite, ß-FeOOH) nanoparticles. The process flow diagram is presented to explain the steps involved. The materials synthesized are fully characterized by X-ray diffractogram (XRD), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDAX), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and it is shown that they contain 100% pure iron oxide and iron oxy-hydroxide nanoparticles without any detectable impurities. All of the chemical reactions involved in this process, which contribute to the mechanism of the process, are given. So far, such a low-cost, environmentally friendly, and low-temperature process has not been documented, and the process can be scaled-up for mass production of these nanomaterials used in various technological applications.