New Nanostructured Carbon Coating Inhibits Bacterial Growth, but Does Not Influence on Animal Cells

An electrospark technology has been developed for obtaining a colloidal solution containing nanosized amorphous carbon. The advantages of the technology are its low cost and high performance. The colloidal solution of nanosized carbon is highly stable. The coatings on its basis are nanostructured. They are characterized by high adhesion and hydrophobicity. It was found that the propagation of microorganisms on nanosized carbon coatings is significantly hindered. At the same time, eukaryotic animal cells grow and develop on nanosized carbon coatings, as well as on the nitinol medical alloy. The use of a colloidal solution as available, cheap and non-toxic nanomaterial for the creation of antibacterial coatings to prevent biofilm formation seems to be very promising for modern medicine, pharmaceutical and food industries

Dispersed Geoheritage Points of the Lagonaki Highland, SW Russia: Contribution to Local Geoheritage Resource

Dispersed geoheritage points, which are small-sized and low-unique localities, manifest local geoheritage and, thus, may be useful for its comprehensive understanding. Field studies in the Lagonaki Highland (Western Caucasus, southwestern Russia) have permitted to find four geoheritage points that are described with argumentation of their importance to scientists, educators, and/or tourists. These points, none of which can be defined as a ‘traditional’ geosite, provide some precious sedimentary, palaeontological, and mineralogical information that improves perception of the local geoheritage landscape dominated by the Late Jurassic carbonate platform deposits. The studied localities are constituents of the local geoheritage resource because of their utility to three main categories of potential users. Scientists may be interested in these dispersed geoheritage points because of the need to collect massive geological data from big areas. Educators and tourists may appreciate these points because of their location along principal roads, i.e., their good accessibility

Do Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Have Significant Antibacterial Properties?

The use of metal oxide nanoparticles is one of the promising ways for overcoming antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have found wide applications in different fields of biomedicine. Several studies have suggested using the antimicrobial potential of IONPs. Iron is one of the key microelements and plays an important role in the function of living systems of different hierarchies. Iron abundance and its physiological functions bring into question the ability of iron compounds at the same concentrations, on the one hand, to inhibit the microbial growth and, on the other hand, to positively affect mammalian cells. At present, multiple studies have been published that show the antimicrobial effect of IONPs against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and fungi. Several studies have established that IONPs have a low toxicity to eukaryotic cells. It gives hope that IONPs can be considered potential antimicrobial agents of the new generation that combine antimicrobial action and high biocompatibility with the human body. This review is intended to inform readers about the available data on the antimicrobial properties of IONPs, a range of susceptible bacteria, mechanisms of the antibacterial action, dependence of the antibacterial action of IONPs on the method for synthesis, and the biocompatibility of IONPs with eukaryotic cells and tissues

Bacteriostatic and Cytotoxic Properties of Composite Material Based on ZnO Nanoparticles in PLGA Obtained by Low Temperature Method

A low-temperature technology was developed for producing a nanocomposite based on poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs), synthesized by laser ablation. Nanocomposites were created containing 0.001, 0.01, and 0.1% of zinc oxide nanoparticles with rod-like morphology and a size of 40–70 nm. The surface of the films from the obtained nanomaterial was uniform, without significant defects. Clustering of ZnO-NPs in the PLGA matrix was noted, which increased with an increase in the concentration of the dopant in the polymer. The resulting nanomaterial was capable of generating reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals. The rate of ROS generation increased with an increase in the concentration of the dopant. It was shown that the synthesized nanocomposite promotes the formation of long-lived reactive protein species, and is also the reason for the appearance of a key biomarker of oxidative stress, 8-oxoguanine, in DNA. The intensity of the process increased with an increase in the concentration of nanoparticles in the matrix. It was found that the nanocomposite exhibits significant bacteriostatic properties, the severity of which depends on the concentration of nanoparticles. In particular, on the surface of the PLGA–ZnO-NPs composite film containing 0.001% nanoparticles, the number of bacterial cells was 50% lower than that of pure PLGA. The surface of the composite is non-toxic to eukaryotic cells and does not interfere with their adhesion, growth, and division. Due to its low cytotoxicity and bacteriostatic properties, this nanocomposite can be used as coatings for packaging in the food industry, additives for textiles, and also as a material for biomedicine