Nanomechanics of superbugs and superdrugs: new frontiers in nanomedicine

2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 603-608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel A. McKendry

The alarming rise in drug-resistant hospital ‘superbugs’ and the associated increase in fatalities is driving the development of technologies to search for new antibiotics and improve disease diagnostics. One of the most successful drug targets is the bacterial cell wall, an evolutionary feature of virtually all prokaryotes and vital for their survival by providing mechanical strength. The recent discovery of bacterial cytoskeletal proteins analogous to the key force-bearing machinery in eukaryotes also provides new opportunities for drug discovery, but little is known about their mechanical role in bacteria. In the present short article, I review recent developments in the field of nanotechnology to investigate the mechanical mechanisms of action of potent antibiotics on cell wall and cytoskeletal targets with unprecedented spatial, temporal and force resolution and the development of a new generation of nanomechanical devices to detect pathogens for point-of-care diagnostics.

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cihun-Siyong Alex Gong ◽  
Kin Fong Lei

In recent years, a lot of demonstrations of the miniaturized instruments were reported for genomic applications. They provided the advantages of miniaturization, automation, sensitivity, and specificity for the development of point-of-care diagnostics. The aim of this paper is to report on recent developments on miniaturized instruments for genomic applications. Based on the mature development of microfabrication, microfluidic systems have been demonstrated for various genomic detections. Since one of the objectives of miniaturized instruments is for the development of point-of-care device, impedimetric detection is found to be a promising technique for this purpose. An in-depth discussion of the impedimetric circuits and systems will be included to provide total consideration of the miniaturized instruments and their potential application towards real-time portable imaging in the “-omics” era. The current excellent demonstrations suggest a solid foundation for the development of practical and widespread point-of-care genomic diagnostic devices.


2016 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samiksha Nayak ◽  
Nicole R. Blumenfeld ◽  
Tassaneewan Laksanasopin ◽  
Samuel K. Sia

Nanophotonics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed A. Mousa ◽  
Nadia H. Rafat ◽  
Amr A. E. Saleh

Abstract Raman identification is an instrumental tool with a broad range of applications, yet current spectroscopy approaches fall short in facilitating practical and scalable Raman identification platforms. In this work, we introduce a spectrometerless Raman identification approach that utilizes guided-mode resonance filters. Unlike arrayed narrowband-filters spectrometer, we tailor the transmission characteristics of each filter to match the Raman signature of a given target. Hence, instantaneous Raman identification could be directly achieved at the hardware level with no spectral data post-processing. The filters consist of a metasurface grating encapsulated between two identical distributed Bragg reflectors and are characterized by transmission peaks line-widths narrower than 0.01 nm and transmission efficiency exceeding 98%. We develop a rigorous design methodology to customize the filters’ characteristics such that the maximum optical transmission through a given filter is only attained when exposed to the Raman scattering from its matched target. To illustrate the potential of our approach, we theoretically investigate the identification of four different saccharides as well as the classification of two antibiotic-susceptible and resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus. We show that our proposed approach can accurately identify these targets. Our work lays the foundation for a new-generation of scalable, compact, and cost-effective instant Raman identification platforms that can be adopted in countless applications from wearables and point-of-care diagnostics to in-line quality control in food and pharmaceutical industries.


Lab on a Chip ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harshit Harpaldas ◽  
Siddarth Arumugam ◽  
Chelsey Campillo Rodriguez ◽  
Bhoomika Ajay Kumar ◽  
Vivian Shi ◽  
...  

This article reviews the rapid and unprecedented development, scaleup and deployment of POC devices in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications for the future of diagnostics and digital health.


Author(s):  
S.J. Krause ◽  
W.W. Adams

Over the past decade low voltage scanning electron microscopy (LVSEM) of polymers has evolved from an interesting curiosity to a powerful analytical technique. This development has been driven by improved instrumentation and in particular, reliable field emission gun (FEG) SEMs. The usefulness of LVSEM has also grown because of an improved theoretical and experimental understanding of sample-beam interactions and by advances in sample preparation and operating techniques. This paper will review progress in polymer LVSEM and present recent results and developments in the field.In the early 1980s a new generation of SEMs produced beam currents that were sufficient to allow imaging at low voltages from 5keV to 0.5 keV. Thus, for the first time, it became possible to routinely image uncoated polymers at voltages below their negative charging threshold, the "second crossover", E2 (Fig. 1). LVSEM also improved contrast and reduced beam damage in sputter metal coated polymers. Unfortunately, resolution was limited to a few tenths of a micron due to the low brightness and chromatic aberration of thermal electron emission sources.


Author(s):  
E.A. Martis ◽  
G M Doshi ◽  
G V Aggarwal ◽  
P P Shanbhag

With the emergence of newer diseases, resistant forms of infectious diseases and multi-drug resistant bacteria, it has become essential to develop novel and more effective antibiotics. Current antibiotics are obtained from terrestrial life or made synthetically from intermediates. The ocean represents virtually untapped resource from which novel antibiotic compounds can be discovered. It is the marine world that will provide the pharmaceutical industry with the next generation of antibiotics. Marine antibiotics are antibiotics obtained from marine organisms. Scientists have reported the discovery of various antibiotics from marine bacteria (aplasmomycin, himalomycins, and pelagiomycins), sponges (Ara C, variabillin, strobilin, ircinin-1, aeroplysin, 3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxyphenylacetamide), coelenterates (asperidol and eunicin), mollusks (laurinterol and pachydictyol), tunicates (geranylhydroquinone and cystadytins), algae (cycloeudesmol, aeroplysinin-1(+), prepacifenol and tetrabromoheptanone), worms (tholepin and 3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxybezaldehyde), and actinomycetes (marinomycins C and D). This indicates that the marine environment, representing approximately half of the global diversity, is an enormous resource for new antibiotics and this source needs to be explored for the discovery of new generation antibiotics. The present article provides an overview of various antibiotics obtained from marine sources.


2021 ◽  
Vol 06 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayekpam Chandralekha Devi ◽  
G. K. Hamsavi ◽  
Simran Sahota ◽  
Rochak Mittal ◽  
Hrishikesh A. Tavanandi ◽  
...  

Abstract: Algae (both micro and macro) have gained huge attention in the recent past for their high commercial value products. They are the source of various biomolecules of commercial applications ranging from nutraceuticals to fuels. Phycobiliproteins are one such high value low volume compounds which are mainly obtained from micro and macro algae. In order to tap the bioresource, a significant amount of work has been carried out for large scale production of algal biomass. However, work on downstream processing aspects of phycobiliproteins (PBPs) from algae is scarce, especially in case of macroalgae. There are several difficulties in cell wall disruption of both micro and macro algae because of their cell wall structure and compositions. At the same time, there are several challenges in the purification of phycobiliproteins. The current review article focuses on the recent developments in downstream processing of phycobiliproteins (mainly phycocyanins and phycoerythrins) from micro and macroalgae. The current status, the recent advancements and potential technologies (that are under development) are summarised in this review article besides providing future directions for the present research area.


ACS Nano ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrique Valera ◽  
Aaron Jankelow ◽  
Jongwon Lim ◽  
Victoria Kindratenko ◽  
Anurup Ganguli ◽  
...  

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