Prevalence of Candida albicans Among Pregnant and Non-Pregnant Women attending a Medical Facility in Oredo, Edo State, Nigeria

Candida albicans is the most prevalent cause of fungal infections worldwide as a consequence of various triggering environments. Hence, this paper evaluates the prevalence of Candida albican in the cultures of pregnant and non-pregnant women who attended prenatal classes at a medical facility in Oredo, Edo State, Nigeria by collecting200 vaginal swab samples for microbiological examination using standard methods. The pour plate method was used to carry out microbial isolation. Based on their cultural, morphological, and biochemical characteristics, isolated microorganisms were recognised. The agar dilution technique was used to test antifungal sensitivity. The results showed that the lowest fungal count was 0.6±0.48×103 cfu/g and the highest fungal count was 5.6±0.32×103 cfu/g. Both Candida albicans and non-albicans were among the fungal isolates. In comparison to non-pregnant women (18 %), pregnant women had a percentage frequency of Candida albican of 30.5 %. Age groups 31 to 35 and 41 to 46 showed the highest and lowest frequencies of Candida albicans, respectively, among the pregnant women. Additionally, the age range of 20 to 25 had the highest frequency of Candida albicans among the non-pregnant women, while the age range of 36 to 40 had the lowest frequency. No antifungal resistance was found in any of the Candida albicans isolates to the analytical grades of itraconazole or clotrimazole, respectively. Additionally, isolate proliferation was inhibited by Ocimum gratissimum extracts. This study revealed that pregnant women had a higher prevalence of Candida albicans than non-pregnant women. It is recommended that, the general public given orientation of the major health effects of vulvovaginal candidiasis during pregnancy, especially during antenatal

Site-specific PEGylation of protein bisulfide bonds using a three-carbon bridge

MEDLINE® is the source for the MeSH terms of this document.The covalent conjugation of a functionalized poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to multiple nucleophilic amine residues results in a heterogeneous mixture of PEG positional isomers. Their physicochemical, biological, and pharmaceutical properties vary with the site of conjugation of PEG. Yields are low because of inefficient conjugation chemistry and production costs high because of complex purification procedures. Our solution to these fundamental problems in PEGylating proteins has been to exploit the latent conjugation selectivity of the two sulfur atoms that are derived from the ubiquitous disulfide bonds of proteins. This approach to PEGylation involves two steps: (1) reduction to release the two cysteine thiols and (2) re-forming the disulfide by bis-alkylation via a three-disulfide carbon bridge to which PEG was covalently attached. During this process, irreversible denaturation of the protein did not occur. Mechanistically, the conjugation is conducted by a sequential, interactive bis-alkylation using α,β-unsaturated β′- monosulfone functionalized PEG reagents. The combination of (a) maintaining the protein's tertiary structure after disulfide reduction, (b) the mechanism for bis-thiol selectivity of the PEG reagent, and (c) the steric shielding of PEG ensure that only one PEG molecule is conjugated at each disulfide bond. PEG was site-specifically conjugated via a three-carbon bridge to 2 equiv of the tripeptide glutathione, the cyclic peptide hormone somatostatin, the tetrameric protein L-asparaginase, and to the disulfides in interferon α-2b (IFN). SDS-PAGE, mass spectral, and NMR analyses were used to confirm conjugation, thiol selectivity, and connectivity. The biological activity of the L-asparaginase did not change after the attachment of four PEG molecules. In the case of IFN, a small reduction in biological activity was seen with the single-bridged IFN (without PEG attached). A significantly larger reduction in biological activity was seen with the three-carbon disulfide single-bridged PEG-IFNs and with the double-bridged IFN (without PEG attached). The reduction of the PEG-IFN's in vitro biological activity was a consequence of the steric shielding caused by PEG, and it was comparable to that seen with all other forms of PEG-IFNs reported. However, when a three-carbon bridge was used to attach PEG, our PEG-IFN's biological activity was found to be independent of the length of the PEG. This property has not previously been described for PEG-IFNs. Our studies therefore suggest that peptides, proteins, enzymes, and antibody fragments can be site-specifically PEGylated across a native disulfide bond using three-carbon bridges without destroying their tertiary structure or abolishing their biological activity. The stoichiometric efficiency of this approach also enables recycling of any unreacted protein. It therefore offers the potential to make PEGylated biopharmaceuticals as cost-effective medicines for global use.Peer reviewe

Synthesis and applications of biomedical and pharmaceutical polymers via click chemistry methodologies

In this review, the synthesis and application of biomedical and pharmaceutical polymers synthesized via the copper(I)-catalyzed alkyne-azide cycloaddition, the thiol−ene reaction, or a combination of both click reactions are discussed. Since the introduction of both “click” methods, numerous articles have disclosed new approaches for the synthesis of polymers with different architectures, e.g., block and graft copolymers, dendrimers, and hydrogels, for pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. By describing selected examples, an overview is given of the possibilities and limitations that these two “click” methods may offer