A series of methylated imidazolium salts with varying substituents on the 4 and 5 positions of the imidazole ring were synthesized. These salts were reacted with silver acetate to afford their corresponding silver N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes. These complexes were then evaluated for their stability in water as well as for their antimicrobial efficacy against a variety of bacterial strains associated with cystic fibrosis and chronic lung infections.

B virus (Cercopithecine herpesvirus 1) is a zoonotic agent that can cause fatal encephalomyelitis in humans. The virus naturally infects macaque monkeys, resulting in disease that is similar to herpes simplex virus infection in humans. Although B virus infection generally is asymptomatic or mild in macaques, it can be fatal in humans. Previously reported cases of B virus disease in humans usually have been attributed to animal bites, scratches, or percutaneous inoculation with infected materials; however, the first fatal case of B virus infection due to mucosal splash exposure was reported in 1998. This case prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, Georgia) to convene a working group in 1999 to reconsider the prior recommendations for prevention and treatment of B virus exposure. The present report updates previous recommendations for the prevention, evaluation, and treatment of B virus infection in humans and considers the role of newer antiviral agents in postexposure prophylaxis.

The pressing need to treat multi-drug resistant bacteria in the chronically infected lungs of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients has given rise to novel nebulized antimicrobials. We have synthesized a silver–carbene complex (SCC10) active against a variety of bacterial strains associated with CF and chronic lung infections. Our studies have demonstrated that SCC10-loaded into l-tyrosine polyphosphate nanoparticles (LTP NPs) exhibits excellent antimicrobial activity in vitro and in vivo against the CF relevant bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Encapsulation of SCC10 in LTP NPs provides sustained release of the antimicrobial over the course of several days translating into efficacious results in vivo with only two administered doses over a 72 h period.

The complete DNA sequence of herpes B virus (Cercopithecine herpesvirus 1) strain E2490, isolated from a rhesus macaque, was determined. The total genome length is 156,789 bp, with 74.5% G؉C composition and overall genome organization characteristic of alphaherpesviruses. The first and last residues of the genome were defined by sequencing the cloned genomic termini. There were six origins of DNA replication in the genome due to tandem duplication of both oriL and oriS regions. Seventy-four genes were identified, and sequence homology to proteins known in herpes simplex viruses (HSVs) was observed in all cases but one. The degree of amino acid identity between B virus and HSV proteins ranged from 26.6% (US5) to 87.7% (US15). Unexpectedly, B virus lacked a homolog of the HSV ␥ 1 34.5 gene, which encodes a neurovirulence factor. Absence of this gene was verified in two low-passage clinical isolates derived from a rhesus macaque and a zoonotically infected human. This finding suggests that B virus most likely utilizes mechanisms distinct from those of HSV to sustain efficient replication in neuronal cells. Despite the considerable differences in G؉C content of the macaque and B virus genes (51% and 74.2%, respectively), codons used by B virus are optimal for the tRNA population of macaque cells. Complete sequence of the B virus genome will certainly facilitate identification of the genetic basis and possible molecular mechanisms of enhanced B virus neurovirulence in humans, which results in an 80% mortality rate following zoonotic infection.Comparative genome analyses of closely related viruses offer insight into the protein coding capacities of viral genomes (18, 69), a means to biologically classify viruses (2, 19) and identify viral genes involved in virulence and pathogenicity (1,37,67). The number of completely sequenced viral genomes has been increasing rapidly and now exceeds 1,000, including 29 herpesvirus genomes (GenBank data, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov /PMGifs/Genomes/viruses.html).B virus (Cercopithecine herpesvirus 1, monkey B virus) is a member of the subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae, which together with human herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2) constitutes the genus Simplexvirus. B virus generally causes only mild localized or asymptomatic infections in its natural hosts, Asian monkeys of the genus Macaca (33,34,74). In contrast, B virus infections in foreign hosts, humans or monkey species other than macaques, often result in encephalitis, encephalomyelitis, and death (53,73,74).The genome organization of B virus is similar to that of HSV-1 and HSV-2: the unique long (U L ) and unique short (U S ) segments flanked by inverted long (R L ) and short (R S ) repeat sequences are covalently joined in four possible isomeric configurations (26). Sequence analysis of the partial U S regions of B virus and simian agent 8 virus demonstrated that human and primate viruses are colinear in this genomic segment (51). However, only a limited number of B virus gene sequences from the U L region have b...