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Advances in Antimicrobial and Macromolecules Materials
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Advances in Antimicrobial and Macromolecules Materials

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Macromolecules".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 May 2023) | Viewed by 11388

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ángel Serrano-Aroca

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Biomaterials and Bioengineering Lab, Centro de Investigación Traslacional San Alberto Magno, Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir, c/Guillem de Castro 94, 46001 Valencia, Spain
Interests: polymers; nanomaterials; nanocomposites; biomaterials; antimicrobial materials; regenerative medicine; tissue engineering; biomedical engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Murtaza M. Tambuwala

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, Ulster University, Coleraine BT52 1SA, UK
Interests: nanoparticles; anti-inflamamtory; anti-cancer; anti-microbials; drug delviery; biomedical engineering; 3D printing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Martin Birkett

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical and Construction Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK
Interests: thin films; coatings; nanomaterials; nanocomposites; antimicrobial materials; biocompatible materials; structural properties; mechanical properties; manufacturing; process optimisation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The recent outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is a clear example of how pathogens can cause disastrous effects on global human health and the economy. The next forecasted pandemics will occur due to antimicrobial resistance, which is increasing at an alarming rate. Important viral and bacterial transmission pathways are via material contact and aerosols. Therefore, the development of new antimicrobial materials and coatings capable of preventing viral and bacterial transmission is becoming more and more important to keep humans safe from emerging infectious pathogens. Contributions to this Special Issue will provide new insights into antimicrobial solutions that can prevent viral and bacterial infectious; particularly against SARS-CoV-2. Types of manuscripts to be featured include articles and reviews.

Due to the success of the 1st edition, we would like to add more results and new insights from recent research projects. You can find the 1st edition at the following link.

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijms/special_issues/Frontiers_Antimicrobial_Materials

Dr. Ángel Serrano-Aroca
Dr. Murtaza M. Tambuwala
Dr. Martin Birkett
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biomaterials
  • polymers
  • metals
  • ceramics
  • composites
  • coatings
  • nanomaterials
  • nanocarriers
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • COVID-19
  • viruses
  • bacteria
  • fungi: multidrug-resistant

Related Special Issues

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

9 pages, 3211 KiB  
Communication
Biocompatible Chitosan Films Containing Acetic Acid Manifested Potent Antiviral Activity against Enveloped and Non-Enveloped Viruses
by Alba Cano-Vicent, Alberto Tuñón-Molina, Miguel Martí and Ángel Serrano-Aroca
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(15), 12028; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241512028 - 27 Jul 2023
Viewed by 723
Abstract
Chitosan films were prepared by solvent casting using an acetic acid-based solution. The films that were developed contained 15.49% of acetic acid solution (10% v/v) and showed biocompatibility in vitro in human keratinocyte HaCaT cells and potent antiviral activity against [...] Read more.
Chitosan films were prepared by solvent casting using an acetic acid-based solution. The films that were developed contained 15.49% of acetic acid solution (10% v/v) and showed biocompatibility in vitro in human keratinocyte HaCaT cells and potent antiviral activity against both enveloped and non-enveloped viruses. The results showed up to 99.98% and 99.92% viral inactivation against the phi 6 enveloped bacteriophage and MS2 non-enveloped bacteriophage, respectively, suggesting that this chitosan/acetic acid film is a promising material for biomedical applications that require biodegradable broad-spectrum antiviral materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Antimicrobial and Macromolecules Materials)
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20 pages, 4815 KiB  
Article
Investigating the Properties and Characterization of a Hybrid 3D Printed Antimicrobial Composite Material Using FFF Process: Innovative and Swift
by Waleed Ahmed, Ali H. Al-Marzouqi, Muhammad Hamza Nazir, Tahir A. Rizvi, Essam Zaneldin, Mushtaq Khan and Muthanna Aziz
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(10), 8895; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24108895 - 17 May 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1636
Abstract
Novel strategies and materials have gained the attention of researchers due to the current pandemic, the global market high competition, and the resistance of pathogens against conventional materials. There is a dire need to develop cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and biodegradable materials to fight [...] Read more.
Novel strategies and materials have gained the attention of researchers due to the current pandemic, the global market high competition, and the resistance of pathogens against conventional materials. There is a dire need to develop cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and biodegradable materials to fight against bacteria using novel approaches and composites. Fused filament fabrication (FFF), also known as fused deposition modeling (FDM), is the most effective and novel fabrication method to develop these composites due to its various advantages. Compared to metallic particles alone, composites of different metallic particles have shown excellent antimicrobial properties against common Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. This study investigates the antimicrobial properties of two sets of hybrid composite materials, i.e., Cu-PLA-SS and Cu-PLA-Al, are made using copper-enriched polylactide composite, one-time printed side by-side with stainless steel/PLA composite, and second-time with aluminum/PLA composite respectively. These materials have 90 wt.% of copper, 85 wt.% of SS 17-4, 65 wt.% of Al with a density of 4.7 g/cc, 3.0 g/cc, and 1.54 g/cc, respectively, and were fabricated side by side using the fused filament fabrication (FFF) printing technique. The prepared materials were tested against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E. coli), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), Salmonella Poona (S. Poona), and Enterococci during different time intervals (5 min, 10 min, 20 min, 1 h, 8 h, and 24 h). The results revealed that both samples showed excellent antimicrobial efficiency, and 99% reduction was observed after 10 min. Hence, three-dimensional (3D) printed polymeric composites enriched with metallic particles can be utilized for biomedical, food packaging, and tissue engineering applications. These composite materials can also provide sustainable solutions in public places and hospitals where the chances of touching surfaces are higher. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Antimicrobial and Macromolecules Materials)
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18 pages, 3309 KiB  
Article
Adaptive Responses of a Peroxidase-like Polyoxometalate-Based Tri-Assembly to Bacterial Microenvironment (BME) Significantly Improved the Anti-Bacterial Effects
by Chunxia Zhang, Rongrong Liu, Xueping Kong, Hongwei Li, Dahai Yu, Xuexun Fang, Lixin Wu and Yuqing Wu
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(10), 8858; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24108858 - 16 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1191
Abstract
The present study presents the tertiary assembly of a POM, peptide, and biogenic amine, which is a concept to construct new hybrid bio-inorganic materials for antibacterial applications and will help to promote the development of antivirus agents in the future. To achieve this, [...] Read more.
The present study presents the tertiary assembly of a POM, peptide, and biogenic amine, which is a concept to construct new hybrid bio-inorganic materials for antibacterial applications and will help to promote the development of antivirus agents in the future. To achieve this, a Eu-containing polyoxometalate (EuW10) was first co-assembled with a biogenic amine of spermine (Spm), which improved both the luminescence and antibacterial effect of EuW10. Further introduction of a basic peptide from HPV E6, GL-22, induced more extensive enhancements, both of them being attributed to the cooperation and synergistic effects between the constituents, particularly the adaptive responses of assembly to the bacterial microenvironment (BME). Further intrinsic mechanism investigations revealed in detail that the encapsulation of EuW10 in Spm and further GL-22 enhanced the uptake abilities of EuW10 in bacteria, which further improved the ROS generation in BME via the abundant H2O2 involved there and significantly promoted the antibacterial effects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Antimicrobial and Macromolecules Materials)
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17 pages, 2551 KiB  
Article
Synergistic Antimicrobial Action of Lactoferrin-Derived Peptides and Quorum Quenching Enzymes
by Aysel Aslanli, Maksim Domnin, Nikolay Stepanov and Elena Efremenko
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(4), 3566; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24043566 - 10 Feb 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1634
Abstract
Combined use of various antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with enzymes that hydrolyze the signaling molecules of the resistance mechanism of various microorganisms, quorum sensing (QS), to obtain effective antimicrobials is one of the leading approaches in solving the antimicrobial resistance problem. Our study investigates [...] Read more.
Combined use of various antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with enzymes that hydrolyze the signaling molecules of the resistance mechanism of various microorganisms, quorum sensing (QS), to obtain effective antimicrobials is one of the leading approaches in solving the antimicrobial resistance problem. Our study investigates the lactoferrin-derived AMPs, lactoferricin (Lfcin), lactoferampin and Lf(1-11), as potential partners for combination with enzymes hydrolyzing lactone-containing QS molecules, the hexahistidine-containing organophosphorus hydrolase (His6-OPH) and penicillin acylase, to obtain effective antimicrobial agents with a scope of practical application. The possibility of the effective combination of selected AMPs and enzymes was first investigated in silico using molecular docking method. Based on the computationally obtained results, His6-OPH/Lfcin combination was selected as the most suitable for further research. The study of physical–chemical characteristics of His6-OPH/Lfcin combination revealed the stabilization of enzymatic activity. A notable increase in the catalytic efficiency of action of His6-OPH in combination with Lfcin in the hydrolysis of paraoxon, N-(3-oxo-dodecanoyl)-homoserine lactone and zearalenone used as substrates was established. Antimicrobial efficiency of His6-OPH/Lfcin combination was determined against various microorganisms (bacteria and yeasts) and its improvement was observed as compared to AMP without enzyme. Thus, our findings demonstrate that His6-OPH/Lfcin combination is a promising antimicrobial agent for practical application. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Antimicrobial and Macromolecules Materials)
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20 pages, 4523 KiB  
Article
Ephedra foeminea as a Novel Source of Antimicrobial and Anti-Biofilm Compounds to Fight Multidrug Resistance Phenotype
by Shurooq Ismail, Rosa Gaglione, Marco Masi, Srichandan Padhi, Amit K. Rai, Ghadeer Omar, Alessio Cimmino and Angela Arciello
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(4), 3284; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24043284 - 07 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1915
Abstract
Plants are considered a wealthy resource of novel natural drugs effective in the treatment of multidrug-resistant infections. Here, a bioguided purification of Ephedra foeminea extracts was performed to identify bioactive compounds. The determination of antimicrobial properties was achieved by broth microdilution assays to [...] Read more.
Plants are considered a wealthy resource of novel natural drugs effective in the treatment of multidrug-resistant infections. Here, a bioguided purification of Ephedra foeminea extracts was performed to identify bioactive compounds. The determination of antimicrobial properties was achieved by broth microdilution assays to evaluate minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values and by crystal violet staining and confocal laser scanning microscopy analyses (CLSM) to investigate the antibiofilm capacity of the isolated compounds. Assays were performed on a panel of three gram-positive and three gram-negative bacterial strains. Six compounds were isolated from E. foeminea extracts for the first time. They were identified by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS) analyses as the well-known monoterpenoid phenols carvacrol and thymol and as four acylated kaempferol glycosides. Among them, the compound kaempferol-3-O-α-L-(2″,4″-di-E-p-coumaroyl)-rhamnopyranoside was found to be endowed with strong antibacterial properties and significant antibiofilm activity against S. aureus bacterial strains. Moreover, molecular docking studies on this compound suggested that the antibacterial activity of the tested ligand against S. aureus strains might be correlated to the inhibition of Sortase A and/or of tyrosyl tRNA synthase. Collectively, the results achieved open interesting perspectives to kaempferol-3-O-α-L-(2″,4″-di-E-p-coumaroyl)-rhamnopyranoside applicability in different fields, such as biomedical applications and biotechnological purposes such as food preservation and active packaging. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Antimicrobial and Macromolecules Materials)
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16 pages, 5081 KiB  
Article
Studies of Mercaptosuccinic Acid-Crosslinked Chitosan Hydrogel with Grafted Cinnamaldehyde and Silver Nanoparticles for Antibacterial Biomedical Application
by Chi-Hui Cheng, Yao-Yuan Tu and Jui-Che Lin
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(23), 14806; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232314806 - 26 Nov 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1465
Abstract
For the effective clinical antibacterial application of biomaterials, such as for wound management and tissue repair, the biomaterials need to show proper antibacterial capability as well as non-cytotoxicity. Furthermore, the material needs to have suitable mechanical characteristics for further medical use. Chitosan hydrogel [...] Read more.
For the effective clinical antibacterial application of biomaterials, such as for wound management and tissue repair, the biomaterials need to show proper antibacterial capability as well as non-cytotoxicity. Furthermore, the material needs to have suitable mechanical characteristics for further medical use. Chitosan hydrogel is a potential candidate for various antibacterial biomedical applications due to its amine functionalities that lead to antimicrobial characteristics. Nevertheless, its antimicrobial capability is dependent upon the degree of protonation of amine groups caused by the pH value. Moreover, its mechanical compressive strength may not be high enough for clinical use if not chemically or physically crosslinked. This study utilized a novel chemical crosslinker, mercaptosuccinic acid, to improve its mechanical characteristics. The natural antibacterial agent, cinnamaldehyde, was grafted onto the crosslinked chitosan to improve its antimicrobial capability. Meanwhile, to take advantage of the thiol functionality in the mercaptosuccinic acid, the bactericidal silver nanoparticles were incorporated through silver-thiol covalent bounding. NMR analyses indicated the chitosan was successfully mercaptosuccinic acid-crosslinked and grafted with cinnamaldehyde at different ratios. Combined the results from the mechanical assessment, swelling experiments, antimicrobial assessment, and cytotoxicity assay, the chitosan hydrogel with the highest crosslinked degree and grafted with cinnamaldehyde and silver nanoparticles is of great promise for further clinical uses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Antimicrobial and Macromolecules Materials)
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23 pages, 5707 KiB  
Article
Comparative Experimental Investigation of Biodegradable Antimicrobial Polymer-Based Composite Produced by 3D Printing Technology Enriched with Metallic Particles
by Waleed Ahmed, Ali H. Al-Marzouqi, Muhammad Hamza Nazir, Tahir A. Rizvi, Essam Zaneldin and Mushtaq Khan
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(19), 11235; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms231911235 - 23 Sep 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2065
Abstract
Due to the prevailing existence of the COVID-19 pandemic, novel and practical strategies to combat pathogens are on the rise worldwide. It is estimated that, globally, around 10% of hospital patients will acquire at least one healthcare-associated infection. One of the novel strategies [...] Read more.
Due to the prevailing existence of the COVID-19 pandemic, novel and practical strategies to combat pathogens are on the rise worldwide. It is estimated that, globally, around 10% of hospital patients will acquire at least one healthcare-associated infection. One of the novel strategies that has been developed is incorporating metallic particles into polymeric materials that neutralize infectious agents. Considering the broad-spectrum antimicrobial potency of some materials, the incorporation of metallic particles into the intended hybrid composite material could inherently add significant value to the final product. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate an antimicrobial polymeric PLA-based composite material enhanced with different microparticles (copper, aluminum, stainless steel, and bronze) for the antimicrobial properties of the hybrid composite. The prepared composite material samples produced with fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printing technology were tested for different time intervals to establish their antimicrobial activities. The results presented here depict that the sample prepared with 90% copper and 10% PLA showed the best antibacterial activity (99.5%) after just 20 min against different types of bacteria as compared to the other samples. The metallic-enriched PLA-based antibacterial sheets were remarkably effective against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli; therefore, they can be a good candidate for future biomedical, food packaging, tissue engineering, prosthetic material, textile industry, and other science and technology applications. Thus, antimicrobial sheets made from PLA mixed with metallic particles offer sustainable solutions for a wide range of applications where touching surfaces is a big concern. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Antimicrobial and Macromolecules Materials)
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