Zolav®: a new antibiotic for the treatment of acne

This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/). By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms (https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php).BACKGROUND: Acne is a prominent skin condition affecting >80% of teenagers and young adults and ~650 million people globally. Isotretinoin, a vitamin A derivative, is currently the standard of care for treatment. However, it has a well-established teratogenic activity, a reason for the development of novel and low-risk treatment options for acne. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of Zolav(®), a novel antibiotic as a treatment for acne vulgaris. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Minimum inhibitory concentration of Zolav(®) against Propionibacterium acnes was determined by following a standard protocol using Mueller-Hinton broth and serial dilutions in a 96-well plate. Cytotoxicity effects on human umbilical vein endothelial cells and lung cells in the presence of Zolav(®) were investigated by determining the growth inhibition (GI50) concentration, total growth inhibition concentration, and the lethal concentration of 50% (LC50). The tryptophan auxotrophic mutant of Escherichia coli strain, WP2 uvrA (ATCC 49979), was used for the AMES assay with the addition of Zolav(®) tested for its ability to reverse the mutation and induce bacterial growth. The in vivo effectiveness of Zolav(®) was tested in a P. acnes mouse intradermal model where the skin at the infection site was removed, homogenized, and subjected to colony-forming unit (CFU) counts. RESULTS: Susceptibility testing of Zolav(®) against P. acnes showed a minimum inhibitory concentration of 2 µg/mL against three strains with no cytotoxicity and no mutagenicity observed at the highest concentrations tested, 30 µM and 1,500 µg/plate, respectively. The use of Zolav(®) at a concentration of 50 µg/mL (q8h) elicited a two-log difference in CFU/g between the treatment group and the control. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the potential of Zolav(®) as a novel treatment for acne vulgaris

Unravelling the structure of the C60 and p-But-calix[8]arene complex

Open Access Article. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence.The structure of the C60 and p-But-calix[8]arene complex has been reinvestigated, showing an unprecedented continuous layered tetragonal array of fullerenes encapsulated by calixarenes. Electron diffraction data revealed the tetragonal symmetry, with a stepped structure observed by AFM and SEM, and the thickness of the basal plane was measured by XRD, as 2 nm. The molecular simulated arrangement of fullerenes accounts for the ability to take up to ca. 11% of fullerenes C70 in place of the smaller fullerene

Comparison of the in vitro antibacterial activity of Ramizol, fidaxomicin, vancomycin, and metronidazole against 100 clinical isolates of Clostridium difficile by broth microdilution

This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. This author accepted manuscript is made available following 12 month embargo from date of publication (June 2018) in accordance with the publisher’s archiving policyAntibiotic drug development remains a major challenge with few candidates in clinical development. Ramizol, a first-in-class styrylbenzene antibiotic, is under development for the treatment of Clostridium difficile associated disease. Here, we investigate the in vitro antibacterial activity of Ramizol in comparison to fidaxomicin, vancomycin and metronidazole against 100 clinical isolates of C. difficile by the broth microdilution method. We show there is no apparent impact of ribotype, toxin-production, or resistance to fidaxomicin, vancomycin or metronidazole on the activity of Ramizol. Moreover, we show Ramizol has a narrower MIC range translating to potentially better control over the therapeutic dose. Together, these results support the further development of Ramizol for the treatment of C. difficile associated disease.The authors acknowledge funding from Boulos & Cooper Pharmaceuticals for this research

Sub-micron moulding topological mass transport regimes in angled vortex fluidic flow

Shear stress in dynamic thin films, as in vortex fluidics, can be harnessed for generating non-equilibrium conditions, but the nature of the fluid flow is not understood. A rapidly rotating inclined tube in the vortex fluidic device (VFD) imparts shear stress (mechanical energy) into a thin film of liquid, depending on the physical characteristics of the liquid and rotational speed,ω, tilt angle,θ, and diameter of the tube. Through understanding that the fluid exhibits resonance behaviours from the confining boundaries of the glass surface and the meniscus that determines the liquid film thickness, we have established specific topological mass transport regimes. These topologies have been established through materials processing, as spinning top flow normal to the surface of the tube, double-helical flow across the thin film, and spicular flow, a transitional region where both effects contribute. The manifestation of mass transport patterns within the film have been observed by monitoring the mixing time, temperature profile, and film thickness against increasing rotational speed,ω. In addition, these flow patterns have unique signatures that enable the morphology of nanomaterials processed in the VFD to be predicted, for example in reversible scrolling and crumbling graphene oxide sheets. Shear-stress induced recrystallisation, crystallisation and polymerisation, at different rotational speeds, provide moulds of high-shear topologies, as ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ spicular flow behaviour. ‘Molecular drilling’ of holes in a thin film of polysulfone demonstrate spatial arrangement of double-helices. The grand sum of the different behavioural regimes is a general fluid flow model that accounts for all processing in the VFD at an optimal tilt angle of 45°, and provides a new concept in the fabrication of novel nanomaterials and controlling the organisation of matter

Continuous flow tuning of ordered mesoporous silica under ambient conditions

Mesoporous silica SBA-15 is formed at room temperature, with significantly shortened pre-calcining reaction times, down to minutes under continuous flow conditions using a vortex fluidic device. This is associated with controllable pore size by varying the shear on the preformed micelles, from 2.8 nm to 3.8 nm, and a constant wall thickness at ∼5 n

Constructing Multicomponent Materials Involving Inclusion of Mono- and Bis-Imidazolium Cations in Gadolinium(III)‑<i>p</i>‑sulfonatocalix[5]arene Coordination Networks

<i>p</i>-Sulfonatocalix­[5]­arene forms host–guest complexes in the solid state with hydroxyl-functionalized imidazolium and bis-imidazolium cations, also involving gadolinium­(III) ions which form a coordination polymer through the sulfonate groups of the calixarene. The interplay of the components have been investigated using Hirshfeld surface analysis, with the nature of the species in aqueous solution in the absence of the paramagnetic lanthanide ions studied using ¹H NMR and modeled using molecular simulations

Constructing Multicomponent Materials Involving Inclusion of Mono- and Bis-Imidazolium Cations in Gadolinium(III)‑<i>p</i>‑sulfonatocalix[5]arene Coordination Networks

<i>p</i>-Sulfonatocalix­[5]­arene forms host–guest complexes in the solid state with hydroxyl-functionalized imidazolium and bis-imidazolium cations, also involving gadolinium­(III) ions which form a coordination polymer through the sulfonate groups of the calixarene. The interplay of the components have been investigated using Hirshfeld surface analysis, with the nature of the species in aqueous solution in the absence of the paramagnetic lanthanide ions studied using ¹H NMR and modeled using molecular simulations