Pristine and antibiotic-loaded nanosheets/nanoneedles-based boron nitride films as a promising platform to suppress bacterial and fungal infections

In recent years, bacteria inactivation during their direct physical contact withsurface nanotopography has become one of the promising strategies for fighting infection. Contact-killing ability has been reported for several nanostructured surfaces, e.g. black silicon, carbon nanotubes, zinc oxide nanorods, and copper oxide nanosheets. Herein, we demonstrate that Gram-negative antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria are killed as a result of their physical destruction while contacting nanostructured h-BN surfaces. BN films, made ofspherical nanoparticles formed by numerous nanosheets and nanoneedles with a thickness 99 % inactivation of colony forming units after 24 h, same as gentamicin-loaded (150 µg/cm2) BN sample. The BN films loaded with a mixture of gentamicin (150 and 300 µg/cm2) and amphotericin B (100 µg/cm2) effectively inhibit the growth of E. coli K-261 and Neurospora crassa strains. During immersion in the normal saline solution, the BN film generates reactiveoxygen species (ROS), which can lead to accelerated oxidative stress at the site of physical cell damage. The obtained results are valuable for further development of nanostructured surfaces having contact killing, ROS and biocide release abilities

Diversity of toxic components from the venom of the evolutionarily distinct black whip snake, Demansia vestigiata

Included among the more than 300 species of elapid snakes worldwide is the Australian genus Demansia, or whip snakes. Despite evidence to suggest adverse clinical outcomes from envenomation by these snakes, together with confusion on their true phylogenetic relationship to other Australian elapids, not a single toxin sequence has previously been reported from the venom of a Demansia species. We describe here a combined proteomic and transcriptomic approach characterizing the venom from the black whip snake, Demansia vestigiata. A total of 13 distinct toxin families were identified, including homologues of all of the major toxic components previously reported from the venom of other Australian elapids, such as factor X-like prothrombin activators, neurotoxins, phospholipases, cysteine rich secretory proteins, textilinin-like molecules, nerve growth factors, L-amino acid oxidases, vespryns, 5′ nucleotidases, metalloproteinases, and C-type lectins as well as a novel dipeptidyl peptidase family. Phylogenetic analysis of these sequences revealed an early evolutionary split of the black whip snake from all other characterized Australian snakes, with a low degree of sequence identity between D. vestigiata and the other snakes, across all toxin families. The results of this study have important implications not only for the further characterization of venom from whip snakes, but also for our understanding of the evolutionary relationship of Australian snake species

Therapeutic potential of venom peptides

Venomous animals have evolved a vast array of peptide toxins for prey capture and defence. These peptides are directed against a wide variety of pharmacological targets, making them an invaluable source of ligands for studying the properties of these targets in different experimental paradigms. A number of these peptides have been used in vivo for proof-of-concept studies, with several having undergone preclinical or clinical development for the treatment of pain, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. Here we survey the pharmacology of venom peptides and assess their therapeutic prospects