Abstract. A new vancomycin (VCM)-eluting mixed bilayer niosome formulation was evaluated for the control of staphylococcal colonization and biofilm formation on abiotic surfaces, a niosome application not explored to date. Cosurfactant niosomes were prepared using a Span 60/Tween 40/cholesterol blend (1: 1: 2). Tween 40, a polyethoxylated amphiphile, was included to enhance VCM entrapment and confer niosomal surface properties precluding bacterial adhesion. VCM-eluting niosomes showed good quality attributes including relatively high entrapment efficiency (∼50%), association of Tween 40 with vesicles in a constant proportion (∼87%), biphasic release profile suitable for inhibiting early bacterial colonization, and long-term stability at 4°C for a 12-month study period. Niosomes significantly enhanced VCM activity against planktonic bacteria of nine staphylococcal strains. Using microtiter plates as abiotic surface, VCM-eluting niosomes proved superior to VCM in inhibiting biofilm formation, eradicating surface-borne biofilms, inhibiting biofilm growth, and interfering with biofilm induction by VCM subminimal inhibitory concentrations. Data suggest dual functionality of cosurfactant VCM-eluting niosomes as passive colonization inhibiting barrier and active antimicrobial-controlled delivery system, two functions recognized in infection control of abiotic surfaces and medical devices.
Two novel series of quinoxalines derived from 3-phenylquinoxalin-2(1H)-one and 2-hydrazino-3-phenylquinoxaline, namely 1-substituted-3-phenylquinoxaline-2(1H)-ones, 2a-c, 3a-d, and 4; 2-(3-oxo-3,3a,4,5,6,7-hexahydroindazol-2-yl)-3-phenylquinoxaline 6; N- cyclopentylidene or benzylidene-N'-(3-phenylquinoxaline-2-yl)hydrazines, 7 and 18; 1-substituted-4-phenyl-1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalines, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, and 16 have been synthesized in order to evaluate their antitumor and antimicrobial activities. Preliminary screening at NCI showed that compounds 2b, 2c, 3b, 3c, and 9 exhibited a moderate to strong growth inhibition activity on various tumor panel cell lines between 10(-6) to 10(-5) molar concentrations. Compound 3b was the most active with a broad spectrum of activity. Compound 3c showed selectivity towards CNS-cancer SF-639, leukemia CCRF-CEM, and melanoma SK-MEL-5 (GI(50) = 4.03, 6.46, and 4.17 microM, respectively). On the other hand, the in vitro microbiological data revealed that the prepared compounds showed mild antimicrobial activity.
BackgroundMicrobial contamination of pharmaceuticals poses a great problem to the pharmaceutical manufacturing process, especially from a medical as well as an economic point of view. Depending upon the product and its intended use, the identification of isolates should not merely be limited to the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) indicator organisms.ResultsEighty-five pre-used non-sterile pharmaceuticals collected from random consumers in Egypt were examined for the eventual presence of bacterial contaminants. Forty-one bacterial contaminants were isolated from 31 of the tested preparations. These isolates were subjected to biochemical identification by both conventional tests as well as API kits, which were sufficient for the accurate identification of only 11 out of the 41 bacterial contaminants (26.8 %) to the species level. The remaining isolates were inconclusively identified or showed contradictory results after using both biochemical methods. Using molecular methods, 24 isolates (58.5 %) were successfully identified to the species level. Moreover, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays were compared to standard biochemical methods in the detection of pharmacopoeial bacterial indicators in artificially-contaminated pharmaceutical samples.ConclusionPCR-based methods proved to be superior regarding speed, cost-effectiveness and sensitivity. Therefore, pharmaceutical manufacturers would be advised to adopt PCR-based methods in the microbiological quality testing of pharmaceuticals in the future.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12866-015-0609-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Methicillin resistance among staphylococci isolated from patients in northern Egypt has escalated alarmingly in the past decade. Data about the prevalence of fusidic acid (FA) resistance in Egyptian clinical isolates are limited. This work investigates the prevalence and mechanism of FA resistance among 81 methicillin-resistant staphylococcal isolates from major hospitals of Alexandria, Egypt. Some combinations for treating infections due to resistant isolates were studied. Twenty-six isolates (32.1%) were FA resistant (minimum inhibitory concentrations [MICs] = 2-1,024 μg/ml), and fusB and fusC genes coding for FA resistance were detected in 30.77% and 34.62% of the FA-resistant strains, respectively. One highly resistant isolate, S502 (MIC = 1,024 μg/ml), possessed both genes. Plasmid curing resulted in fusB loss and MIC decrease by 16-64 folds. Conjugation caused acquisition of FA resistance among susceptible isolates. Serial passages in subinhibitory FA concentrations produced mutants with increased MIC by 4-32 folds. The combination of FA with rifampin, gentamicin, or ampicillin/sulbactam, in a subinhibitory concentration, was synergistic against the isolates, including serial passage mutants, decreasing number of survivors by an average of 2-4 logs. A relatively moderate rate of FA resistance was detected in Alexandria hospitals. Combination therapy with gentamicin, rifampin, or ampicillin/sulbactam is crucial to preserve the effectiveness of FA.
HCV is a single-stranded RNA virus with a single open reading frame (ORF) that is translated into a polyprotein that is then processed to form 10 viral proteins. An additional eleventh viral protein, the alternative reading frame protein (ARFP), was discovered relatively recently. This protein results from a translational frameshift in the core region during the expression of the viral proteins. Recombinant expression of different forms of ARFP was previously done for HCV genotypes 1 and 2, and more recently, genotype 3. However, none of the previous studies addressed the expression of ARFP of HCV genotype 4a, which is responsible for 80 % of HCV infections in the Middle East and Africa. Moreover, the direct detection of the ARFP antigen in HCV-infected patients was never studied before for any HCV genotype. In the present study, recombinant ARFP derived from HCV genotype 4a was successfully expressed in E. coli and purified using metal affinity chromatography. The recombinant ARFP protein and anti-ARFP antibodies were used for detection of ARFP antigen in patients' sera, employing competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) procedures. Furthermore, the recombinant antigen was also used to detect and quantify anti-ARFP antibodies in HCV-infected Egyptian patients at different stages of pegylated interferon/ribavirin therapy, using an ELISA assay. The ARFP antigen was detectable in 69.4 % of RNA-positive sera, indicating that ARFP antigen is produced during the natural course of HCV infection. In addition, significant levels of anti-ARFP antibodies were present in 41 % of the serum samples tested. The important diagnostic value of the recombinant ARFP antigen was also demonstrated.
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