Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has emerged as a fast-paced epidemic in late 2019 which is disrupting life-saving immunization services. SARS-CoV-2 is a highly transmissible virus and an infectious disease that has caused fear among people across the world. The worldwide emergence and rapid expansion of SARS-CoV-2 emphasizes the need for exploring innovative therapeutic approaches to combat SARS-CoV-2. The efficacy of some antiviral drugs such as remdesivir, favipiravir, umifenovir, etc., are still tested against SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, there is a large global effort to develop vaccines for the protection against COVID-19. Because vaccines seem the best solution to control the pandemic but time is required for its development, pre-clinical/clinical trials, approval from FDA and scale-up. The nano-based approach is another promising approach to combat COVID-19 owing to unique physicochemical properties of nanomaterials. Peptide based vaccines emerged as promising vaccine candidates for SARS-CoV-2. The study emphasizes the current therapeutic approaches against SARS-CoV-2 and some of the potential candidates for SARS-CoV-2 treatment which are still under clinical studies for their effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2. Overall, it is of high importance to mention that clinical trials are necessary for confirming promising drug candidates and effective vaccines and the safety profile of the new components must be evaluated before translation of in vitro studies for implementation in clinical use.

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The aim of the present study is to investigate the antimicrobial and anti-oxidant potential of lichen Ramalina fastigiata collected from Kolli hills, Eastern Gahts of Tamil Nadu, India. Phytochemical study revealed that acetone extract of Ramalina fastigiata confirmed the presence of flavonoids, glycosides and phenols. Acetone extract of Ramalina fastigiata was tested against human pathogens, which exposed antimicrobial activity against Klebsiella pneumonia and Candida krusei with the inhibition rate of 2.1 mm and 1.3 mm respectively. The acetone extract of lichen Ramalina fastigiata exhibited significant antioxidant activity as well. Radical scavenging ability of Ramalina fastigiata was reported in terms of 61.53 % inhibition.

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Nanomotors are the new generation drug delivery devices that find their major application in the pharmaceutical sector. This chapter highlights the basic aspects, mechanisms, and applications of nanomotors in antibacterial therapy, cancer therapy, nano-surgery, and imaging. Because of their higher penetration ability, rapid transportation, and controlled mobility, micro and nanomotors are referred as new generation targeted drug delivery devices. The detecting and sensing ability of nanomotors find potential applications in diagnostics and therapeutics. Bio-hybrid nanomotors are most attracting candidates for effective drug delivery. Bio-functionalized nanomotor can be used for detection and identification of tumor cells. Thus, nanomotors and micromotors can pave way for development of diagnostic and therapeutic tools for the future. Further development in these areas facilitate the discovery of lab-on-chip devices that can be used for super-fast screening and clinical diagnostic applications.

The aim of the present study is to investigate the bioactivities of various solvent extracts of lichens collected from Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India. The lichen samples were identified based on color tests, chemical profiling and morphological and anatomical characteristic features. Lichens such as P.grayanum, P.tinctorum, P.reticulatum and P.austrosinense were selected and analyzed for their biological activities. Among the tested lichen samples, methanol extract of P.tinctorum and P.austrosinense showed a strong antibacterial activity with the inhibition rate of 15.13±0.76 and 13.9±0.1mm respectively. P.reticulatum indicated a strong antifungal activity with the inhibition zone of 10.17±0.96mm followed by P.austrosinense and P.tinctorum. Antioxidant study revealed that IC50 value of acetone extracts of P. tinctorum showed higher antioxidant activity with IC50 of 17.52 µg/ml than P.austrosinense exhibited IC50 value of 26.39 µg/ml. These activities were confirmed through in vitro cytotoxic studies in which P. austrosinense registered the maximum control over HeLa cell lines with the IC50 value of 39.06µg/ml.