Nickel Nanoparticles: Applications and Antimicrobial Role against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has evolved vast antibiotic resistance. These strains contain numerous virulence factors facilitating the development of severe infections. Considering the costs, side effects, and time duration needed for the synthesis of novel drugs, seeking efficient alternative approaches for the eradication of drug-resistant bacterial agents seems to be an unmet requirement. Nickel nanoparticles (NiNPs) have been applied as prognostic and therapeutic cheap agents to various aspects of biomedical sciences. Their antibacterial effects are exerted via the disruption of the cell membrane, the deformation of proteins, and the inhibition of DNA replication. NiNPs proper traits include high-level chemical stability and binding affinity, ferromagnetic properties, ecofriendliness, and cost-effectiveness. They have outlined pleomorphic and cubic structures. The combined application of NiNPs with CuO, ZnO, and CdO has enhanced their anti-MRSA effects. The NiNPs at an approximate size of around 50 nm have exerted efficient anti-MRSA effects, particularly at higher concentrations. NiNPs have conferred higher antibacterial effects against MRSA than other nosocomial bacterial pathogens. The application of green synthesis and low-cost materials such as albumin and chitosan enhance the efficacy of NPs for therapeutic purposes

Bilosomes as Nanocarriers for the Drug and Vaccine Delivery against Gastrointestinal Infections: Opportunities and Challenges

The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) environment has an intricate and complex nature, limiting drugs’ stability, oral bioavailability, and adsorption. Additionally, due to the drugs’ toxicity and side effects, renders are continuously seeking novel delivery systems. Lipid-based drug delivery vesicles have shown various loading capacities and high stability levels within the GIT. Indeed, most vesicular platforms fail to efficiently deliver drugs toward this route. Notably, the stability of vesicular constructs is different based on the different ingredients added. A low GIT stability of liposomes and niosomes and a low loading capacity of exosomes in drug delivery have been described in the literature. Bilosomes are nonionic, amphiphilic, flexible surfactant vehicles that contain bile salts for the improvement of drug and vaccine delivery. The bilosomes’ stability and plasticity in the GIT facilitate the efficient carriage of drugs (such as antimicrobial, antiparasitic, and antifungal drugs), vaccines, and bioactive compounds to treat infectious agents. Considering the intricate and harsh nature of the GIT, bilosomal formulations of oral substances have a remarkably enhanced delivery efficiency, overcoming these conditions. This review aimed to evaluate the potential of bilosomes as drug delivery platforms for antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, and antiparasitic GIT-associated drugs and vaccines

Various features of multi-epitope vaccines.

Various features of multi-epitope vaccines.</p

The 3D view of the final system conformations.

The interface residues between two proteins TLRs (orange cartoon) and vaccines (magenta cartoon) residues (orange and magenta sticks) are labeled. Hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic contacts are presented as green dashed line and arc with spokes radiating, respectively. A and B indicate TLR4-construct 1 and TLR3-construct 2 complexes, respectively.</p

Multiple alignment of the NS5B protein sequences in HCV strains.

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S1 Fig -

Prediction of the secondary structure of the construct 1 (A) and construct 2 (B) vaccines. The predicted results showed that among 686 amino acids in the construct 1, 268 (39.07%), 135 (19.68%), 66 (9.62%) and 217 (31.63%) amino acids are involved in α-helix, extended strand, beta turn, and random coil, respectively. Our predicted outputs revealed that among 607 amino acids in the construct 2, 205 (33.77%), 132 (21.75%), 63 (10.38%) and 207 (34.10%) amino acids are involved in α-helix, extended strand, beta turn, and random coil, respectively. (DOCX)</p

Final selected CTL, HTL and LBL epitopes for multi-epitope vaccines construction.

Final selected CTL, HTL and LBL epitopes for multi-epitope vaccines construction.</p

Helper T Lymphocyte (HTL) epitopes of the NS3 protein.

(DOCX)</p

Helper T Lymphocyte (HTL) epitopes of the NS5B protein.

(DOCX)</p

Prediction and assessment of the 3D structure of the multi-epitope vaccines.

(A) Schematic image of the final vaccine. (B) Ramachandran plot analysis of refined construct 1, showing 91.08%, 7.17% and 1.75% residues in favored, allowed and disallowed region, respectively, (C) ProSA validation of 3D construct 1, showing Z-score -3.28, (D) Ramachandran plot analysis of refined construct 2, showing 91.07%, 7.28% and 1.65% residues in favored, allowed and disallowed region, respectively, (E) ProSA validation of 3D construct 2, showing Z-score -3.88, (F and G) 3D structure of vaccines models showing α-helix (red cartoon), β-strand (yellow cartoon) and loop (green cartoon).</p