RESUMO
Quantum Dots (QDs) have emerged as versatile nanomaterials with origins spanning organic, inorganic, and natural sources, revolutionizing various biomedical applications, particularly in combating pathogenic biofilm formation. Biofilms, complex structures formed by microbial communities enveloped in exopolysaccharide matrices, pose formidable challenges to traditional antibiotics due to their high tolerance and resistance, exacerbating inefficacy issues in antibiotic treatments. QDs offer a promising solution, employing physical mechanisms like photothermal or photodynamic therapy to disrupt biofilms. Their efficacy is noteworthy, with lower susceptibility to resistance development and broad-spectrum action as compared to conventional antibiotic methods. The stability and durability of QDs ensure sustained biofilm activity, even in challenging environmental conditions. This comprehensive review delves into the synthesis, properties, and applications of Carbon Quantum Dots (CQDs), most widely used QDs, showcasing groundbreaking developments that position these nanomaterials at the forefront of cutting-edge research and innovation. These nanomaterials exhibit multifaceted mechanisms, disrupting cell walls and membranes, generating reactive oxygen species (ROS), and binding to nucleic materials, effectively inhibiting microbial proliferation. This opens transformative possibilities for healthcare interventions by providing insights into biofilm dynamics. However, challenges in size control necessitate ongoing research to refine fabrication techniques, ensure defect-free surfaces, and optimize biological activity. QDs emerge as microscopic yet potent tools, promising to contribute to a brighter future where quantum wonders shape innovative solutions to persistently challenging issues posed by pathogenic biofilms. Henceforth, this review aims to explore QDs as potential agents for inhibiting pathogenic microbial biofilms, elucidating the underlying mechanisms, addressing the current challenges, and highlighting their promising future potential.
Assuntos
Nanoestruturas , Pontos Quânticos , Pontos Quânticos/química , Antibacterianos/farmacologia , Antibacterianos/química , Biofilmes , CarbonoRESUMO
Cancer of the female reproductive system involves abnormal cell growth that can potentially invade the peritoneal cavity resulting in malignancy and disease severity. Ovarian cancer is the most common type of gynecological cancer, which often remains undiagnosed until the later stages of the disease or until cancer has metastasized towards the peritoneum and omentum, compelling it to be a deadly disease complicating the prognosis and therapeutics. Environmental, genetics and microbial factors are the common mainsprings to the disease. Moreover, human beings harbor rich microbial diversity in various organs (gut, respiratory tract, reproductive tract, etc.) as a microbiome, crucially impacting health. Any dysbiosis in the microbial diversity or richness of the reproductive tract and gut can contribute to preconditions to develop/progress various diseases, including ovarian carcinoma. The microbiome may have a casual or associate role in ovarian cancer development, with Proteobacteria being the most dominant taxa in cancer patients and Firmicutes being the most dominant in a normal healthy adult female. A healthy estrogen-gut axis has an essential role in estrogen metabolism and utilization. However, estrobolome (Bacteriodete, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Proteobacteria) dysbiosis has an indirect association with ovarian carcinoma. Microbes associated with sexually transmitted diseases also impact the induction and progression of ovarian malignancies. Altogether, the microbes and their metabolites are incidental to the risk of developing ovarian carcinoma.
Assuntos
Microbioma Gastrointestinal , Microbiota , Neoplasias Ovarianas , Disbiose , Estrogênios , Feminino , HumanosRESUMO
An effective and rapid diagnosis has great importance in tackling the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic through isolation of the infected individuals to curb the transmission and initiation of specialized treatment for the disease. It has been proven that enhanced testing capacities contribute to efficiently curbing SARS-CoV-2 transmission during the initial phases of the outbreaks. RT-qPCR is considered a gold standard for the diagnosis of COVID-19. However, in resource-limited countries expenses for molecular diagnosis limits the diagnostic capacities. Here, we present interventions of two pooling strategies as 5 sample pooling (P-5) and 10 sample pooling (P-10) in a high-throughput COVID-19 diagnostic laboratory to enhance throughput and save resources and time over a period of 6 months. The diagnostic capacity was scaled-up 2.15-folds in P-5 and 1.8-fold in P-10, reagents (toward RNA extraction and RT-qPCR) were preserved at 75.24% in P-5 and 86.21% in P-10, and time saved was 6,290.93 h in P-5 and 3147.3 h in P-10.