Inhibitory activity of curcumin extract against some bacteria causing food poisoning isolated from some ready-to-eat meals

The current study aimed to extract curcumin from the rhizomes of turmeric Curcuma longa after exposing it to sonication, to confirm its specificity to curcumin through colorimetric tests, and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), which proved it possesses the functional groups of curcumin. The efficiency of curcumin in its inhibitory activity against some gram-negative and gram-positive bacterial species isolated from some types of ready-to-eat foods randomly from fast food restaurants spread in Baghdad City, Iraq and with three activated colonies for each of them using the Well diffusion method

Functionalization strategies of polymeric nanoparticles for drug delivery in Alzheimer’s disease: current trends and future perspectives

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common form of dementia, is a progressive and multifactorial neurodegenerative disorder whose primary causes are mostly unknown. Due to the increase in life expectancy of world population, including developing countries, AD, whose incidence rises dramatically with age, is at the forefront among neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, a definitive cure is not yet within reach, imposing substantial medical and public health burdens at every latitude. Therefore, the effort to devise novel and effective therapeutic strategies is still of paramount importance. Genetic, functional, structural and biochemical studies all indicate that new and efficacious drug delivery strategies interfere at different levels with various cellular and molecular targets. Over the last few decades, therapeutic development of nanomedicine at preclinical stage has shown to progress at a fast pace, thus paving the way for its potential impact on human health in improving prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of age-related neurodegenerative disorders, including AD. Clinical translation of nano-based therapeutics, despite current limitations, may present important advantages and innovation to be exploited in the neuroscience field as well. In this state-of-the-art review article, we present the most promising applications of polymeric nanoparticle-mediated drug delivery for bypassing the blood-brain barrier of AD preclinical models and boost pharmacological safety and efficacy. In particular, novel strategic chemical functionalization of polymeric nanocarriers that could be successfully employed for treating AD are thoroughly described. Emphasis is also placed on nanotheranostics as both potential therapeutic and diagnostic tool for targeted treatments. Our review highlights the emerging role of nanomedicine in the management of AD, providing the readers with an overview of the nanostrategies currently available to develop future therapeutic applications against this chronic neurodegenerative disease

Journey into genetics: taking the twists and turns of life

Genetics play a major role in our lives and for the most part, we take it for granted. By definition, it is a study of heredity or how the characteristics of living things and their variations are transmitted from one generation to the next. Although genetics has a pervasive influence in every sphere of life, the focus of my research is on human and medical genetics. Almost every human trait and disease has a genetic component, whether inherited or influenced by behavioural factors such as exercise and diet. These genetic components can also modify the body’s response to environmental factors such as toxins or even drugs. Understanding the underlying concepts of human genetics, especially the role of genes, is important for applying genetic and genomic information as well as technologies in healthcare. It is also important in improving disease diagnosis and treatment. The completion of the first mapping of the Human Genome Project has opened tremendous potential for research in which genes relate to human conditions, diseases, impairment and susceptibilities. Hence, the knowledge generated through human genetics research has the potential to improve individual and community health. The following sections will first provide some information about basic genetic concepts, the major types of genetic disease, and the impact of genetic variation. Subsequently, the selected research projects that were carried out in the application of genetics and genetic technologies in cancer, especially breast cancer, infectious diseases and therapeutics, including genetic immunisation will be chronicled and highlighted. It is highly likely that human genetics research through the years will become an increasingly more integral component of medical research. It is hoped that the scope of genetic research illustrated by the current activities in my laboratory reflects this reality

Synthesis of new pyrazolium based tunable aryl alkyl ionic liquids and their use in removal of methylene blue from aqueous solution

In this study, two new pyrazolium based tunable aryl alkyl ionic liquids, 2-ethyl-1-(4-methylphenyl)-3,5- dimethylpyrazolium tetrafluoroborate (3a) and 1-(4-methylphenyl)-2-pentyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazolium tetrafluoroborate (3b), were synthesized via three-step reaction and characterized. The removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution has been investigated using the synthesized salts as an extractant and methylene chloride as a solvent. The obtained results show that MB was extracted from aqueous solution with high extraction efficiency up to 87 % at room temperature at the natural pH of MB solution. The influence of the alkyl chain length on the properties of the salts and their extraction efficiency of MB was investigated