Occurrence, identification, and discharge of microplastics from effluent and sludge of the largest WWTP in Iran-South of Tehran.

Microplastic pollution is a serious threat to the biota and humans, and wastewater treatment plants act as a pathway for entering microplastics into the environment. This study discusses the identification and quantification of microplastics in the south of Tehran municipal WWTP. The sampling was repeated three times in a month, overall, nine times for water samples and once a month in total, three times for digested sludge samples by steel bucket with the WPO method. The microplastics from water and digested sludge samples were identified using the micro-Raman microscope. According to this study, 98.9% of microplastic particles in effluent and 99.2% of microplastics particles in the sludge were fibers. The influent contained an average of 180 ± 4.3 MP/L and was reduced to 5.3 ± 0.31 MP/L in the final effluent. Despite this significant reduction, we calculate that this WWTP releases 2.3 × 109 microplastics per day through final effluent and 1.61 × 1010 particles per day through dried sludge into the environment. We performed micro-Raman analyses and ICP mass to measure the amount of heavy metal absorption of MPs. In addition, SEM analyses were used to study the surface morphology of microplastic particles. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Fourteen different polymers were identified in the influent, effluent, and digested sludge. The main collected shapes obtained were fiber, film, and fragment, which fiber was the predominant polymer in this WWTP. The plant releases 2.3 * 109 MPs per day to its downstream environment. This WWTP has average removal with an efficiency of 99.06%.

A critical review on the existing wastewater treatment methods in the COVID-19 era: What is the potential of advanced oxidation processes in combatting viral especially SARS-CoV-2?

The COVID-19 epidemic has put the risk of virus contamination in water bodies on the horizon of health authorities. Hence, finding effective ways to remove the virus, especially SARS-CoV-2, from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) has emerged as a hot issue in the last few years. Herein, this study first deals with the fate of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in WWTPs, then critically reviews and compares different wastewater treatment methods for combatting COVID-19 as well as to increase the water quality. This critical review sheds light the efficiency of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) to inactivate virus, specially SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Although several physicochemical treatment processes (e.g. activated sludge) are commonly used to eliminate pathogens, AOPs are the most versatile and effective virus inactivation methods. For instance, TiO2 is the most known and widely studied photo-catalyst innocuously utilized to degrade pollutants as well as to photo-induce bacterial and virus disinfection due to its high chemical resistance and efficient photo-activity. When ozone is dissolved in water and wastewater, it generates a wide spectrum of the reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are responsible to degrade materials in virus membranes resulting in destroying the cell wall. Furthermore, electrochemical advanced oxidation processes act through direct oxidation when pathogens react at the anode surface or by indirect oxidation through oxidizing species produced in the bulk solution. Consequently, they represent a feasible choice for the inactivation of a wide range of pathogens. Nonetheless, there are some challenges with AOPs which should be addressed for application at industrial-scale.

Diagnosis of Bloodstream Infections: An Evolution of Technologies towards Accurate and Rapid Identification and Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing.

Bloodstream infections (BSI) are a leading cause of death worldwide. The lack of timely and reliable diagnostic practices is an ongoing issue for managing BSI. The current gold standard blood culture practice for pathogen identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing is time-consuming. Delayed diagnosis warrants the use of empirical antibiotics, which could lead to poor patient outcomes, and risks the development of antibiotic resistance. Hence, novel techniques that could offer accurate and timely diagnosis and susceptibility testing are urgently needed. This review focuses on BSI and highlights both the progress and shortcomings of its current diagnosis. We surveyed clinical workflows that employ recently approved technologies and showed that, while offering improved sensitivity and selectivity, these techniques are still unable to deliver a timely result. We then discuss a number of emerging technologies that have the potential to shorten the overall turnaround time of BSI diagnosis through direct testing from whole blood-while maintaining, if not improving-the current assay's sensitivity and pathogen coverage. We concluded by providing our assessment of potential future directions for accelerating BSI pathogen identification and the antibiotic susceptibility test. While engineering solutions have enabled faster assay turnaround, further progress is still needed to supplant blood culture practice and guide appropriate antibiotic administration for BSI patients.

SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia Predicts Clinical Deterioration and Extrapulmonary Complications from COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: The determinants of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease severity and extrapulmonary complications (EPCs) are poorly understood. We characterized relationships between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNAemia and disease severity, clinical deterioration, and specific EPCs. METHODS: We used quantitative and digital polymerase chain reaction (qPCR and dPCR) to quantify SARS-CoV-2 RNA from plasma in 191 patients presenting to the emergency department with COVID-19. We recorded patient symptoms, laboratory markers, and clinical outcomes, with a focus on oxygen requirements over time. We collected longitudinal plasma samples from a subset of patients. We characterized the role of RNAemia in predicting clinical severity and EPCs using elastic net regression. RESULTS: Of SARS-CoV-2-positive patients, 23.0% (44 of 191) had viral RNA detected in plasma by dPCR, compared with 1.4% (2 of 147) by qPCR. Most patients with serial measurements had undetectable RNAemia within 10 days of symptom onset, reached maximum clinical severity within 16 days, and symptom resolution within 33 days. Initially RNAemic patients were more likely to manifest severe disease (odds ratio, 6.72 [95% confidence interval, 2.45-19.79]), worsening of disease severity (2.43 [1.07-5.38]), and EPCs (2.81 [1.26-6.36]). RNA loads were correlated with maximum severity (r = 0.47 [95% confidence interval, .20-.67]). CONCLUSIONS: dPCR is more sensitive than qPCR for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia, which is a robust predictor of eventual COVID-19 severity and oxygen requirements, as well as EPCs. Because many COVID-19 therapies are initiated on the basis of oxygen requirements, RNAemia on presentation might serve to direct early initiation of appropriate therapies for the patients most likely to deteriorate.

Wastewater Based Epidemiology Perspective as a Faster Protocol for Detecting Coronavirus RNA in Human Populations: A Review with Specific Reference to SARS-CoV-2 Virus.

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has a long history of identifying a variety of viruses from poliovirus to coronaviruses, including novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The presence and detection of SARS-CoV-2 in human feces and its passage into the water bodies are significant public health challenges. Hence, the hot issue of WBE of SARS-CoV-2 in the coronavirus respiratory disease (COVID-19) pandemic is a matter of utmost importance (e.g., SARS-CoV-1). The present review discusses the background, state of the art, actual status, and prospects of WBE, as well as the detection and quantification protocols of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. The SARS-CoV-2 detection studies have been performed in different water matrixes such as influent and effluent of wastewater treatment plants, suburban pumping stations, hospital wastewater, and sewer networks around the globe except for Antarctica. The findings revealed that all WBE studies were in accordance with clinical and epidemiological data, which correlates the presence of SARS-CoV-2 ribonucleic acid (RNA) with the number of new daily positive cases officially reported. This last was confirmed via Reverse Transcriptase-quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) testing which unfortunately is not suitable for real-time surveillance. In addition, WBE concept may act as a faster protocol to alert the public health authorities to take administrative orders (possible re-emerging infections) due to the impracticality of testing all citizens in a short time with limited diagnostic facilities. A comprehensive and integrated review covering all steps starting from sampling to molecular detection of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater has been made to guide for the development well-defined and reliable protocols.

Positive environmental effects of the coronavirus 2020 episode: a review.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has made a global catastrophic situation that caused 1,039,406 deaths out of 35,347,404 infections, and it will also cause significant socio-economic losses with poverty increasing from 17.1 to 25.9%. Although the spreading rate of COVID-19 is very high on October 6, 2020, the death rate is still less than 2.94%. Nonetheless, this review article shows that the lockdown has induced numerous positive impacts on the environment and on energy consumption. For instance, the lockdown has decreased the electricity demand by 30% in Italy, India, Germany, and the USA, and by 12-20% in France, Germany, Spain, India, and the UK. Additionally, the expenditure of the fuel supply has been decreased by 4% in 2020 as compared to the previous years (2012-2019). In particular, The global demand for coal fuel has been reduced by 8% in March and April 2020 as compared to the same time in 2019. In terms of harmful emissions, the lockdowns reduced the emissions of nitrous oxides by 20-30% in China, Italy, France, Spain, and by 77.3% in São Paulo, Brazil. Similarly, the particulate matter level has been reduced from 5-15% in Western Europe, to 200% in New Delhi, India, which in turn has enhanced the air quality in a never-seen manner in recent times. In some places, such as New York, USA, CO2 emission was also reduced by 5-10%. The water quality, in several polluted areas, has also been remarkably enhanced, for example, the dissolved oxygen content in the Ganga River, India, has increased by about 80%. Traffic congestion has also been reduced worldwide, and in some areas, it has been reduced by 50%, such as New York and Los Angeles, USA. Overall, while the COVID-19 pandemic has shrinked the global economy by 13-32%, the pandemic has also clearly benefited to other sectors, which must be considered as the spotlight for the permanent revival of the global ecosystem.

Data on the microplastics contamination in water and sediments along the Haraz River estuary, Iran.

The type and extent of microplastic contamination in water and sediment of Haraz River were evaluated. Water and sediment samples were collected using a planktonic trawl with a mesh size of 300 µ and a Van Veen grab, from February to May 2017. The morphology and elemental compounds of microplastic particles were analysed using SEM/EDX. Moreover, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was done for polymers identification; so that the data could be used for comparative analyses. The number of pieces per kg dry weight in sediments and per cubic meter sampled water was determined. Last but not least, plastic types were also distinguished.

A Novel Platform Using RNA Signatures To Accelerate Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing in Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

The rise of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens can be attributed to the lack of a rapid pathogen identification (ID) or antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST), resulting in delayed therapeutic decisions at the point of care. Gonorrhea is usually empirically treated, with no AST results available before treatment, thus contributing to the rapid rise in drug resistance. Here, we present a rapid AST platform using RNA signatures for Neisseria gonorrhoeae Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) followed by bioinformatic tools was applied to explore potential markers in the transcriptome profile of N. gonorrhoeae upon minutes of azithromycin exposure. Validation of candidate markers using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) showed that two markers (arsR [NGO1562] and rpsO) can deliver accurate AST results across 14 tested isolates. Further validation of our susceptibility threshold in comparison to MIC across 64 more isolates confirmed the reliability of our platform. Our RNA markers combined with emerging molecular point-of-care systems has the potential to greatly accelerate both ID and AST to inform treatment.

RNA markers for ultra-rapid molecular antimicrobial susceptibility testing in fluoroquinolone-treated Klebsiella pneumoniae.

OBJECTIVES: Traditional antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) is growth dependent and time-consuming. With rising rates of drug-resistant infections, a novel diagnostic method is critically needed that can rapidly reveal a pathogen's antimicrobial susceptibility to guide appropriate treatment. Recently, RNA sequencing has been identified as a powerful diagnostic tool to explore transcriptional gene expression and improve AST. METHODS: RNA sequencing was used to investigate the potential of RNA markers for rapid molecular AST using Klebsiella pneumoniae and ciprofloxacin as a model. Downstream bioinformatic analysis was applied for optimal marker selection. Further validation on 11 more isolates of K. pneumoniae was performed using quantitative real-time PCR. RESULTS: From RNA sequencing, we identified RNA signatures that were induced or suppressed following exposure to ciprofloxacin. Significant shifts at the transcript level were observed as early as 10 min after antibiotic exposure. Lastly, we confirmed marker expression profiles with concordant MIC results from traditional culture-based AST and validated across 11 K. pneumoniae isolates. recA, coaA and metN transcripts harbour the most sensitive susceptibility information and were selected as our top markers. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that RNA signature is a promising approach to AST development, resulting in faster clinical diagnosis and treatment of infectious disease. This approach is potentially applicable in other models including other pathogens exposed to different classes of antibiotics.

SARS-CoV-2 RNAaemia predicts clinical deterioration and extrapulmonary complications from COVID-19.

Background: The determinants of COVID-19 disease severity and extrapulmonary complications (EPCs) are poorly understood. We characterise the relationships between SARS-CoV-2 RNAaemia and disease severity, clinical deterioration, and specific EPCs. Methods: We used quantitative (qPCR) and digital (dPCR) PCR to quantify SARS-CoV-2 RNA from nasopharyngeal swabs and plasma in 191 patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) with COVID-19. We recorded patient symptoms, laboratory markers, and clinical outcomes, with a focus on oxygen requirements over time. We collected longitudinal plasma samples from a subset of patients. We characterised the role of RNAaemia in predicting clinical severity and EPCs using elastic net regression. Findings: 23·0% (44/191) of SARS-CoV-2 positive patients had viral RNA detected in plasma by dPCR, compared to 1·4% (2/147) by qPCR. Most patients with serial measurements had undetectable RNAaemia 10 days after onset of symptoms, but took 16 days to reach maximum severity, and 33 days for symptoms to resolve. Initially RNAaemic patients were more likely to manifest severe disease (OR 6·72 [95% CI, 2·45 - 19·79]), worsening of disease severity (OR 2·43 [95% CI, 1·07 - 5·38]), and EPCs (OR 2·81 [95% CI, 1·26 - 6·36]). RNA load correlated with maximum severity (r = 0·47 [95% CI, 0·20 - 0·67]). Interpretation: dPCR is more sensitive than qPCR for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNAaemia, which is a robust predictor of eventual COVID-19 severity and oxygen requirements, as well as EPCs. Since many COVID-19 therapies are initiated on the basis of oxygen requirements, RNAaemia on presentation might serve to direct early initiation of appropriate therapies for the patients most likely to deteriorate.

Proteomic Analysis of Resistance of Gram-Negative Bacteria to Chlorhexidine and Impacts on Susceptibility to Colistin, Antimicrobial Peptides, and Ceragenins.

Use of chlorhexidine in clinical settings has led to concerns that repeated exposure of bacteria to sub-lethal doses of chlorhexidine might result in chlorhexidine resistance and cross resistance with other cationic antimicrobials including colistin, endogenous antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and their mimics, ceragenins. We have previously shown that colistin-resistant Gram-negative bacteria remain susceptible to AMPs and ceragenins. Here, we investigated the potential for cross resistance between chlorhexidine, colistin, AMPs and ceragenins by serial exposure of standard strains of Gram-negative bacteria to chlorhexidine to generate resistant populations of organisms. Furthermore, we performed a proteomics study on the chlorhexidine-resistant strains and compared them to the wild-type strains to find the pathways by which bacteria develop resistance to chlorhexidine. Serial exposure of Gram-negative bacteria to chlorhexidine resulted in four- to eight-fold increases in minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs). Chlorhexidine-resistant organisms showed decreased susceptibility to colistin (8- to 32-fold increases in MICs) despite not being exposed to colistin. In contrast, chlorhexidine-resistant organisms had the same MICs as the original strains when tested with representative AMPs (LL-37 and magainin I) and ceragenins (CSA-44 and CSA-131). These results imply that there may be a connection between the emergence of highly colistin-resistant Gram-negative pathogens and the prevalence of chlorhexidine usage. Yet, use of chlorhexidine may not impact innate immune defenses (e.g., AMPs) and their mimics (e.g., ceragenins). Here, we also show that chlorhexidine resistance is associated with upregulation of proteins involved in the assembly of LPS for outer membrane biogenesis and virulence factors in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Additionally, resistance to chlorhexidine resulted in elevated expression levels of proteins associated with chaperones, efflux pumps, flagella and cell metabolism. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the evolutionary proteomic changes in P. aeruginosa following exposure to chlorhexidine and colistin. These results have important clinical implications considering the continuous application of chlorhexidine in hospitals that could influence the emergence of colistin-resistant strains.

ASSESSMENT OF INDOOR GAMMA RADIATION AND DETERMINATION OF EXCESS LIFETIME CANCER RISK IN TEHRAN IN WINTER AND SPRING 2017.

Natural radiation is a feature of the environment in which we live. One of the contributions of human exposure to ionizing radiation due to natural sources arises from gamma radiation. Therefore, present study was aimed to evaluate and map indoor gamma dose rate in Tehran. The corresponding annual effective dose (AED) and excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) were also calculated. All measurements were performed by a Geiger Muller detector in 43 dwellings in Tehran. The average indoor gamma dose rate in Tehran was appointed as 343.2 nGy/h. AED and ELCR were calculated as 2.4 mSv and 10.3 × 10-3, respectively. The evaluated indoor gamma dose rate and calculated AEDs and lifetime cancer risk were found higher than the world average value.

Susceptibility of Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria, Isolated from Water and Plants in Nigeria, to Ceragenins.

The continuous emergence of multidrug resistant pathogens is a major global health concern. Although antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have shown promise as a possible means of combatting multidrug resistant strains without readily engendering resistance, costs of production and targeting by proteases limit their utility. Ceragenins are non-peptide AMP mimics that overcome these shortcomings while retaining broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. To further characterize the antibacterial activities of ceragenins, their activities against a collection of environmental isolates of bacteria were determined. These isolates were isolated in Nigeria from plants and water. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) of selected ceragenins and currently available antimicrobials against these isolates were measured to determine resistance patterns. Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), we examined the morphological changes in bacterial membranes following treatment with ceragenins. Finally, we investigated the effectiveness of ceragenins in inhibiting biofilm formation and destroying established biofilms. We found that, despite high resistance to many currently available antimicrobials, including colistin, environmental isolates in planktonic and biofilm forms remain susceptible to ceragenins. Additionally, SEM and confocal images of ceragenin-treated cells confirmed the effective antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of ceragenins.

Ceragenins are active against drug-resistant Candida auris clinical isolates in planktonic and biofilm forms.

Background: Candida auris has emerged as a serious threat to human health. Of particular concern are the resistance profiles of many clinical isolates, with some being resistant to multiple classes of antifungals. Objectives: Measure susceptibilities of C. auris isolates, in planktonic and biofilm forms, to ceragenins (CSAs). Determine the effectiveness of selected ceragenins in gel and cream formulations in eradicating fungal infections in tissue explants. Materials and methods: A collection of 100 C. auris isolates available at CDC was screened for susceptibility to a lead ceragenin. A smaller collection was used to characterize antifungal activities of other ceragenins against organisms in planktonic and biofilm forms. Effects of ceragenins on fungal cells and biofilms were observed via microscopy. An ex vivo model of mucosal fungal infection was used to evaluate formulated forms of lead ceragenins. Results: Lead ceragenins displayed activities comparable to those of known antifungal agents against C. auris isolates with MICs of 0.5-8 mg/L and minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFCs) of 2-64 mg/L. No cross-resistance with other antifungals was observed. Fungal cell morphology was altered in response to ceragenin treatment. Ceragenins exhibited activity against sessile organisms in biofilms. Gel and cream formulations including 2% CSA-44 or CSA-131 resulted in reductions of over 4 logs against established fungal infections in ex vivo mucosal tissues. Conclusions: Ceragenins demonstrated activity against C. auris, suggesting that these compounds warrant further study to determine whether they can be used for topical applications to skin and mucosal tissues for treatment of infections with C. auris and other fungi.

Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities of Poloxamer Micelles Containing Ceragenin CSA-131 on Ciliated Tissues.

Ceragenins were designed as non-peptide mimics of endogenous antimicrobial peptides, and they display broad-spectrum antibacterial and antifungal activities, including the ability to eradicate established biofilms. These features of ceragenins make them attractive potential therapeutics for persistent infections in the lung, including those associated with cystic fibrosis. A characteristic of an optimal therapeutic for use in the lungs and trachea is the exertion of potent antimicrobial activities without damaging the cilia that play a critical role in these tissues. In previous work, potent antimicrobial activities of ceragenin CSA-131 have been reported; however, we found in ex vivo studies that this ceragenin, at concentrations necessary to eradicate established biofilms, also causes loss of cilia function. By formulating CSA-131 in poloxamer micelles, cilia damage was eliminated and antimicrobial activity was unaffected. The ability of CSA-131, formulated with a poloxamer, to reduce the populations of fungal pathogens in tracheal and lung tissue was also observed in ex vivo studies. These findings suggest that CSA-131, formulated in micelles, may act as a potential therapeutic for polymicrobial and biofilm-related infections in the lung and trachea.

Preclinical testing of a broad-spectrum antimicrobial endotracheal tube coated with an innate immune synthetic mimic.

BACKGROUND: Endotracheal tubes provide an abiotic surface on which bacteria and fungi form biofilms, and the release of endotoxins and planktonic organisms can cause damaging inflammation and infections. OBJECTIVES: Ceragenins are small molecule mimics of antimicrobial peptides with broad-spectrum antibacterial and antifungal activity, and a ceragenin may be used to provide antimicrobial protection to the abiotic surface of an endotracheal tube. METHODS: A hydrogel film, containing CSA-131, was generated on endotracheal tubes. Elution of CSA-131 was quantified in drip-flow and static systems, antifungal and antibacterial activity was measured with repeated inoculation in growth media, biofilm formation was observed through electron microscopy, safety was determined by intubation of pigs with coated and uncoated endotracheal tubes. RESULTS: Optimized coatings containing CSA-131 provided controlled elution of CSA-131, with concentrations released of less than 1 µg/mL. The eluting ceragenin prevented fungal and bacterial colonization of coated endotracheal tubes for extended periods, while uncoated tubes were colonized by bacteria and fungi. Coated tubes were well tolerated in intubated pigs. CONCLUSIONS: Thin films containing CSA-131 provide protection against microbial colonization of endotracheal tubes. This protection prevents fungal and bacterial biofilm formation on the tubes and reduces endotoxin associated with tubes. This coating is well suited for decreasing the adverse effects of intubation associated with infection and inflammation.

Susceptibility of Colistin-Resistant, Gram-Negative Bacteria to Antimicrobial Peptides and Ceragenins.

The susceptibility of colistin-resistant clinical isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae to ceragenins and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) suggests that there is little to no cross-resistance between colistin and ceragenins/AMPs and that lipid A modifications are found in bacteria with modest changes in susceptibility to ceragenins and with high levels of resistance to colistin. These results suggest that there are differences in the resistance mechanisms to colistin and ceragenins/AMPs.

Modified lysozymes as novel broad spectrum natural antimicrobial agents in foods.

UNLABELLED: In recent years much attention and interest have been directed toward application of natural antimicrobial agents in foods. Some naturally occurring proteins such as lactoperoxidase, lactoferrin, and lysozyme have received considerable attention and are being considered as potential antimicrobial agents in foods. Lysozyme kills bacteria by hydrolyzing the peptidoglycan layer of the cell wall of certain bacterial species, hence its application as a natural antimicrobial agent has been suggested. However, limitations in the action of lysozyme against only Gram-positive bacteria have prompted scientists to extend the antimicrobial effects of lysozyme by several types of chemical modifications. During the last 2 decades extensive research has been directed toward modification of lysozyme in order to improve its antimicrobial properties. This review will report on the latest information available on lysozyme modifications and examine the applicability of the modified lysozymes in controlling growth of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria in foods. The results of modifications of lysozyme using its conjugation with different small molecule, polysaccharides, as well as modifications using proteolytic enzymes will be reviewed. These types of modifications have not only increased the functional properties of lysozyme (such as solubility and heat stability) but also extended the antimicrobial activity of lysozyme. Many examples will be given to show that modification can decrease the count of Gram-negative bacteria in bacterial culture and in foods by as much as 5 log CFU/mL and in some cases essentially eliminated Escherichia coli. In conclusion this review demonstrates that modified lysozymes are excellent natural food preservatives, which can be used in food industry. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The subject described in this review article can lead to the development of methods to produce new broad-spectrum natural antimicrobial agents, based on modification of chicken egg white lysozyme, which might potentially replace the currently used synthetic food preservatives.