In vitro antibacterial effects of topical local anesthetics

WOS: 000260926400005PubMed: 18608709Background: The antibacterial activities of local anesthetics are recognized. Objective: To investigate in vitro the activity of topical local anesthetic ointments at clinical doses. Methods: The activity of two different local anesthetic ointments including lidocaine 5% and lidocaine/prilocaine 2.5% was tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pyogenes and Enterococcus faecalis by the disc-diffusion method. Sterile discs containing topical local anesthetic drugs were prepared taking into account the doses of ointments used in clinical practice. The validity of the methodology was confirmed using topical antibacterial mupirocin. The inhibition zones of the discs were measured. Results: Mupirocin inhibited all the bacteria. Both local anesthetic ointments were found to be most effective on E. coli, whereas they had no effects on P. aeruginosa. Lidocaine 5% revealed antibacterial activity against S. aureus, S. epidermidis, E. coli, S. pyogenes and E. faecalis, but lidocaine/prilocaine 2.5% showed no activity on E. faecalis and inhibited S. pyogenes only at double doses. It was also observed that the antibacterial activity was in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion: In the light of these findings, it might be concluded that topical local anesthetic ointments in routine settings may have a preventive role against some bacteria

A Preliminary Investigation on the Presence of Calcifying Nanoparticles in the Breast Tumor

Calcium phosphate is deposited in many diseases, but the molecular basis of mineralization remains largely unknown. Biomineralizied calcifications that are formed by calcium deposits are also detected in breast mammograms. Some of the detected microcalcifications are thought to be related with malignancy. Taken together, calcifying nanoparticles (CNP) may be thought as a source of malign calcifications in breast cancers. The aim of the study is to research the presence of CNP in breast tumor tissue. With this aim, the presence of CNP was investigated by culturing 16 patients' breast tumor tissue and from 2 pathologic tissues with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Their growth was monitored by optical density (OD) at a wavelength of 650 nm. CNP couldn't be found in the analysed tissues. The presence of CNP in the breast tumor tissue was researched for the first time. We could not find CNP in the breast tumor tissue, but we think this research will open a new field of study for researchers