Collagen Application in Pediatric Superficial Burns: The Right Time!

Introduction Delayed presentation of burn patients, in a developing country with the patient being referred from one center to another higher one, is a common occurrence. Efficient management of such delayed burn wounds thus becomes critical to decrease the morbidity of the patient within economic constraints. The advantages of collagen dressing are numerous. However, there is scarce literature on the timing of its application. Traditionally, it is thought that collagen sheets should be applied within 24 hours of burns as the wound is still sterile. This thus becomes ironical as patients are presenting late. Hence, we studied retrospectively the result of collagen application in delayed presentation of burns. Methods A retrospective study was conducted in which records of pediatric patients of less than 10 years with less than 30% total body surface area scald burns were considered. Collagen dressing was done in all these patients. Presentation time from burns, timing of collagen application, status of wound at various check dresses, complication of burn wound, and total healing times were recorded. Appropriate statistical formulas were used to calculate significance levels for continuous and categorical variables. Result Fifty-three patients, 33 male and 20 female were studied. The most common cause of scald was hot water spillage from baths and cooking, with the anterior trunk being the most involved site. The mean time of presentation of the patient from burns is 71.74 hours and that of collagen application was 76.4 hours. Fourteen (25.4%) patients had wound complications in the form of soakage, fever, and pus. Eight patients had their collagen removed. The average healing time for patients with intact collagen was 12.15 days and that for those on daily dressing was 21.9 days. Conclusion Collagen should be preferred even when the patient presents after 24 hours of burns. A thoroughly washed wound is a necessary prerequisite before collagen application. Burn patients presenting after 3 days have a higher incidence of wound infection. No such time stamp of application of collagen sheets within 24 hours can thus be given for its use as the advantages of adhered and successful collagen dressings outweigh those on daily dressings.

Fungal Pigment-Assisted Silver Nanoparticle Synthesis and Their Antimicrobial and Cytotoxic Potential.

The biological production of nanoparticles has taken center stage among the various generation methods available owing to its environment-friendly characteristics and reduced energy requirements. A protocol for pigment-assisted silver nanoparticle (AgNP) synthesis was established, employing an extracellular composite pigment produced by the Ascomycota Talaromyces purpurogenus (presently Talaromyces purpureogenus). The extracellular pigment can reduce the precursor silver salt into nanoparticles in the presence of sodium hydroxide and light. Transmission electron microscopy may be used to characterize the bio-generated nanoparticles, which can also be tested for their biological properties using antimicrobial and anticancer assays.

Targeting Selectins Mediated Biological Activities With Multivalent Probes.

Selectins are type-I transmembrane glycoproteins that are ubiquitously expressed on activated platelets, endothelial cells, and leukocytes. They bind to cell surface glycoproteins and extracellular matrix ligands, regulate the rolling of leukocytes in the blood capillaries, and recruit them to inflammatory sites. Hence, they are potential markers for the early detection and inhibition of inflammatory diseases, thrombosis, cardiovascular disorders, and tumor metastasis. Fucosylated and sialylated glycans, such as sialyl Lewisx, its isoform sialyl Lewisa, and heparan sulfate, are primary selectin ligands. Functionalization of these selectin-binding ligands on multivalent probes, such as nanoparticles, liposomes, and polymers, not only inhibits selectin-mediated biological activity but is also involved in direct imaging of the inflammation site. This review briefly summarizes the selectin-mediated various diseases such as thrombosis, cancer and recent progress in the different types of multivalent probes used to target selectins.

Assay for advanced glycation end products generating intracellular oxidative stress through binding to its receptor.

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are a heterogenous group of glycation adducts on amino acids produced with sugars or dicarbonyls. Intracellular inflammation triggered by binding of AGEs to receptor for AGEs (RAGE) is linked to some chronic diseases. Here, we established a competitive assay format to comprehensively quantify AGEs which bound to RAGE. RAGE-binding activities of sugar- and dicarbonyl-derived AGEs were correlated with oxidative stress in cultured cells generated by the respective AGEs, suggesting that this would be a promising method for evaluating AGEs which could affect cellular functions despite limited information on individual glycation adducts.

Biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Mediated by Extracellular Pigment from Talaromyces purpurogenus and Their Biomedical Applications.

In recent years, green syntheses have been researched comprehensively to develop inexpensive and eco-friendly approaches for the generation of nanoparticles. In this context, plant and microbial sources are being examined to discover potential reducing agents. This study aims to utilize an extracellular pigment produced by Talaromyces purpurogenus as a prospective reducing agent to synthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). Biosynthesized AgNPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), electron probe micro analyser (EPMA), and zeta potential. The pigment functional groups involved in the generation of AgNPs were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. TEM images showed that the generated nanoparticles were spherical, hexagonal, rod-shaped, and triangular-shaped with a particle size distribution from 4 to 41 nm and exhibited a surface plasmon resonance at around 410 nm. DLS and zeta potential studies revealed that the particles were polydispersed and stable (-24.8 mV). EPMA confirmed the presence of elemental silver in the samples. Biosynthesized AgNPs exhibited minimum inhibitory concentrations of 32 and 4 µg/mL against E. coli and S. epidermidis, respectively. Further, cytotoxicity of the AgNPs was investigated against human cervical cancer (HeLa), human liver cancer (HepG2), and human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) cell lines using 5-fluorouracil as a positive control. A significant activity was recorded against HepG2 cell line with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration of 11.1 µg/mL.

Microplate-based Assay for Screening of Advanced Glycation End Products Binding to Its Receptor.

Advanced Glycation End products (AGEs) are a group of amino-acid modifications produced with sugars or di-carbonyls. Some AGEs are known to affect health through binding to the receptor of AGEs (RAGE). Here, we propose a method for screening RAGE-binding AGEs by a competitive assay using purified RAGE and AGEs-specific antibody. This method has clarified that at least carboxyethyl lysine and pentosidine among methylglyoxal-derived AGEs are involved in RAGE binding, suggesting that this would be a promising method for classifying RAGE-binding AGEs.