Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is known to be one of the most malignant and aggressive forms of brain cancer due to its resistance to chemotherapy. Recently, GBM was found to not only utilise both oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and aerobic glycolysis, but also depend on the bulk protein degradation system known as macroautophagy to uphold proliferation. Although autophagy modulators hold great potential as adjuvants to chemotherapy, the degree of upregulation or inhibition necessary to achieve cell death sensitisation remains unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the degree of autophagy modulation necessary to impair mitochondrial bioenergetics to the extent of promoting cell death onset. It was shown that coordinated upregulation of autophagy followed by its inhibition prior to chemotherapy decreased electron transfer system (ETS) and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) capacity, impaired mitochondrial fission and fusion dynamics and enhanced apoptotic cell death onset in terms of cleaved caspase 3 and cleaved PARP expression. Therefore, coordinated autophagy modulation may present a favourable avenue for improved chemotherapeutic intervention in the future.

Appropriate wound care is pivotal in preventing wound and postsurgery infections, which remain a serious clinical problem. In this study, we report the successful fabrication of antimicrobial and biodegradable materials for possible use in the medical field. Amino functionalized polycaprolactone (PCL [Poly (CL-co-ACL)]) was synthesized via ring opening polymerization. This polymer was then functionalized via the pendant amine to induce antimicrobial efficacy. This was done through the grafting of poly(lysine) onto the amine as well as the quaternization of the amine using alkyl halides. The chemical structures of the synthesized monomers and polymers were confirmed using nuclear magnetic resonance (1 H NMR and 13 C NMR) spectroscopy and attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The molecular weights of the polymers were determined using gel permeation chromatography. Nanofibre scaffolds were produced from the polymers using the electrospinning technique and these were characterized though scanning electron microscopy. The antimicrobial efficacy of the fabricated materials was tested against the Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923) and Gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853) bacteria using the disc diffusion and shake flask methods. The polymers demonstrated excellent antimicrobial efficacy. The fibers were exceptionally biodegradable which opens a lot of applications in the biomedical space.