Tetracycline (TC), a broad-spectrum antibiotic, is widely used in animal husbandry, both for the treatment of bacterial infections and as growth-promoter. Due to its persistent nature significant accumulation occurs in animal waste and eventually leads to antibiotic pollution. In this study, selective TC enrichment of poultry manure induced bacterial community restructuring. As revealed by Illumina high-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing, post-enrichment community was found to be dominated mainly by Proteobacteria, Gemmatimonadota, and Acidobacteriota. Members of the culturable TC-degrading bacterial consortium, Klebsiella pneumoniae strain SM2 (accession no. PV258316.1) and Alcaligene faecalis strain SM4 (accession no. PV258595.1), both belonging to Proteobacteria phylum, were isolated. Biochemical characterizations, molecular identification and secondary structure prediction of 16S rRNA were carried out to identify the isolates. Optimized conditions were established by response surface methodology (RSM). HPLC analysis revealed that at pH 6.9, 29.7 degrees C and with 5.7% (v/v) inoculum volume the bacterial consortium could degrade 95.14% TC (100 mg L- 1) within 14 days. Ten intermediates were identified by LC-MS analysis suggesting the possible biodegradation pathways. Intermediates were less toxic than TC, as revealed from post-treatment toxicity reduction on Vigna radiata seeds. Additionally, supernatant from the treatment culture media showed reduced potency against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922. Such enriched "Klebsiella-Alcaligenes consortium", demonstrating efficient TC degradation and toxicity alleviation, are considered to have potential for practical application as bioremediation tool by offering sustainable alternatives to conventional strategies.

Allergic diseases have been increasing significantly with increasing level of pollution besides the natural causes, affecting more than 20% of the global population. First-line treatment using antiallergic drugs include topical corticosteroids, as well as adjuvant treatment of antihistamine drugs, that have adverse side effects including development of drug resistance when used for long term, thus necessitating alternative strategies. Acorus calamus rhizome (ACR) is known to be used in traditional medicines. The present study intends to assess the antiallergic potential of secondary metabolites reported to be present ACR. Molecular docking studies could evaluate the binding affinity of the curated secondary metabolites with four key allergy-associated proteins, viz., histamine H1 receptor (H1R), interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-13, and IL-5. Based on molecular docking and absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity analyses, best two inhibitory phytochemicals appear to be δ-cadinene and β-caryophyllene for H1R; acoronene and espatulenol for IL-4; lepidozene and δ-cadinene for IL-13; and curcumin and pinostilbene for IL-5, respectively. Molecular dynamics simulation studies further confirm that these compounds can form stable complexes with the aforementioned proteins. Such set of comprehensive studies are considered to emerge as baseline for further in vitro and in vivo studies to validate their antiallergic potentials.

In this study, we report the synthesis and comprehensive characterization of heparin-capped carbon dots (Hep-C-dots) prepared using D-glucose as a carbon precursor and heparin, a negatively charged polysaccharide belonging to the glycosaminoglycan family, as a capping and stabilizing agent. The obtained Hep-C-dots exhibited a uniform nanoscale size distribution with an average diameter of 2.5 ± 0.5 nm and a high negative surface charge (- 36.8 mV). Full characterization of as-synthesized Hep-C-dots has been done by several state-of-the-art analytical techniques, such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and zeta potential analysis. The interactions between Hep-C-dots and key human proteins, namely human methemoglobin (HB) and human serum albumin (HSA), were investigated via fluorescence spectroscopy, demonstrating significant binding affinities with Ksv values of 2.61 ± 0.5 × 107 M- 1 for HSA and 1.83 ± 0.4 × 107 M- 1 for HB. Cytotoxicity assays performed on A549 lung cancer cells revealed that Hep-C-dots exhibit slightly higher toxicity compared to bare carbon dots (C-dots), with IC50 values of 176.21 µg/mL and 200.4 µg/mL, respectively. Moreover, hemolysis assessment using bovine red blood cells (RBCs) showed that Hep-C-dots induce negligible hemolysis (0.002% at 200 µg/mL), confirming their excellent hemocompatibility. These findings suggest that Hep-C-dots hold promise as biocompatible nanomaterials for biomedical applications.

Structured communities of microbial cells within an extracellular polymeric matrix, called biofilms are a significant cause of the persistence and severity of chronic infection. These biofilm-mediated infections pose significant complications in the treatment plans since they are more resistant to conventional antimicrobial drugs and they are also resistant to the host immune system. Hence, new approaches should be warranted over the traditional therapies to counter such infections. The use of biosurfactants is one of the promising strategies, as these amphiphilic molecules that are produced by microorganisms are present naturally and have strong antibiofilm capabilities. Biosurfactants, including rhamnolipids, sophorolipids, and lipopeptides, work in a range of ways, including interfering with the integrity of biofilms, modulation of microbial adhesion, and quorum sensing. This review discusses the biofilm characteristics and the step of biofilm development along with the detailed analyses of the major biosurfactants and their mechanisms of action as an alternative to the conventional therapy. Moreover, we have pointed out the most recent case studies on biosurfactants with their antibiofilm activities as well as biosurfactant-coated surfaces in biofilm prevention on medical devices to provide the new opportunities in managing biofilm-related infections. Overall, this review brings the better understanding about different biosurfactants to integrate it into clinical treatments.

Role of quorum sensing (QS), a bacterial communication process and autoinducers CAI-1 and AI-2 in regulating virulence expression, biofilm formation, and intestinal colonization in Vibrio cholerae O139, a strain of significant epidemiological relevance, have been investigated. QS enables V. cholerae to form biofilms that enhances its survival in aquatic environments. Through gene knockout experiments on the V. cholerae O139 Bengal strain MO10, the impact of mutations in CAI-1, AI-2, and flagellar components on the production of cholera toxin (CT) and the development of biofilms were elucidated. Autoinducers CAI-1 and AI-2, along with the flagellar protein FlaA, regulate the expression of key virulence genes (toxR, tcpP, and toxT) that control CT production. Strains lacking CAI-1, AI-2, or flagellar functions increased extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) production and reduced CT expression, suggesting the inhibitory role of EPS on virulence signalling. This relationship was further supported by a decrease in colonization efficiency in high-EPS-producing mutants, as their biofilm-like aggregates could impair interaction with intestinal epithelia. Smooth colony morphotypes with functional CAI-1, AI-2, and FlaA restored both CT expression and intestinal colonization. Results highlight the regulatory interplay between quorum sensing, flagellar activity, and biofilm formation in V. cholerae, influencing its pathogenicity and environmental adaptability. Such an understanding on the autoinducer-mediated virulence regulation could provide insights into efficient strategies in controlling cholera outbreaks.

Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis are tenacious pathogens that cause toxic shock syndrome. Accessory gene regulator (Agr) of Staphylococcus sp. controls the expression of multiple genes that encode virulence properties. Evolutionary covariance of accessory gene regulators of selected strains of two Staphylococcus sp. was entrenched through multiple sequence alignment, relative synonymous codon usage, codon adaptation index and compositional analysis. Artificial intelligence and machine learning based AlphaFold and TrRosetta were used to determine the tertiary structures of the proteins. Structure-based ab initio models could forecast subcellular localization, domain length, molecular docking, and simulation of Agrs in the isolates belonging to Staphylococcus sp. AT ending codons are preferred over GC ending codons. Besides, the mutational pressure has been found to be one of the causative factors in shaping the codon usage biasness. Topological investigations reveal the existence of AgrA and AgrD in the cytosol, while AgrB and AgrC to reside in the cellular membrane. All Agrs are acidic and stable, except AgrB. Secondary structural studies showed that Agrs mostly consist of α-helix followed by random coils that preferentially remain in the transmembrane region. Protein-protein docking studies using the HDOCK server demonstrated that AgrA has stronger binding affinity with AgrC in S. epidermidis isolates than the same in S. aureus. By analysing the docking potential of AgrB and AgrD, it has been found that S. aureus possesses higher docking score than S. epidermidis. Such compressive investigations could provide crucial insights into the structural features of Agrs in S. aureus and S. epidermidis, that are actively implicated in quorum sensing signalling-mediated virulence factor regulation and help in the identification of new Agr-dependent quorum sensing inhibitors. AgrA and AgrC are, therefore, appear to be seemingly promising in the management of bacterial infections and are apprehended to be useful therapeutic targets for the discovery of potential antimicrobial drugs.

Rise of antibiotic resistance has led to increased treatment failures in severe cholera cases across the globe. The etiological agent Vibrio cholerae is known for its ability to persist in human gut and environmental settings through biofilm formation. Consequently, the targeting of biofilms is suggested as a viable alternative approach to address the pathogen alongside the rising challenge of drug resistance. Anti-biofilm efficacies of two flavonoids baicalein and fisetin were explored. Minimum biofilm inhibitory concentrations (MBIC) were 40 and 30 µg/mL and minimum biofilm eradication concentrations (MBEC) were 70 and 50 µg/mL for baicalein and fisetin respectively against studied multidrug resistant high biofilm-forming V. cholerae strains. Additionally, both the flavonoids were able to reduce accessory adhesion factors like auto-aggregation abilities, cell surface hydrophobicity of V. cholerae. Disintegration of biofilm moieties post treatment with flavonoids were visualized by scanning electron and atomic force microscope. Fisetin displayed greater efficacy than baicalein in both the studied strains. Both the flavonoids could reduce gene expressions levels of biofilm regulatory DGCs viz., cdgA, cdgH, cdgK, cdgL, cdgM and vpvC and three important biofilm regulators vpsR, vpsT and aphA that correspond to intercellular cyclic-di-GMP levels in V. cholerae. Besides, molecular docking and dynamic simulation studies also demonstrated superiority of fisetin over baicalein in targeting the DGC active site, potentially explaining its enhanced biofilm suppression. Presence of hydroxyl groups at C3, C4, C7, and C3’ positions for fisetin could be the underlying reason as the therapeutic efficacy of flavonoids is significantly contributed by the arrangement of hydroxyl groups. The present study gains its prominence by documenting, maiden insights on the capacity of studied flavonoids to target DGCs and interfere c-di-GMP signalling pathways, to exert their anti-biofilm properties.

Biofilm consists of populations of microorganisms encased in an extracellular matrix that the microbes produce themselves and adhere to either a living or non-living surface. When compared to planktonic cells, the intrinsic properties of cells within a film are distinct. There has been a lot of concern about biofilm resistance to antimicrobial drugs recently. It is already established that biofilm linked with soft tissues of livestock organisms can cause multitude of chronic and severe infections and that remains the leading underlying reason why antibiotics get ineffective in combating infections. Eliminating biofilms is an arduous task. Investigations on establishing novel and promising strategies in controlling infections associated with biofilms and fighting the challenge are continuing. To assess the efficacy of these techniques, however, there is necessity of further preclinical research and well-designed multi-center clinical trials. Here, an attempt has been made to explore the detailed mechanisms responsible for the development of biofilm-related drug- resistance as well as the recent advancements in therapeutics and effective strategies against microbial biofilms.

BACKGROUND:Staphylococcus epidermidis generally causes skin and soft tissue infections. Control and treatment of infections caused by S. epidermidis require in-depth analyses of its genotypic traits and patterns of their antibiotic susceptibility. METHODS AND RESULTS:100 S. epidermidis isolates were obtainedfrom community setting in Midnapore, West Bengal, India. Different biochemical and PCR-based analyses could identify the presumed S. epidermidis phenotypically, and subsequently their genotypic makeup. Besides that, the isolates were studied for presence of virulence genes and biofilm formation capabilities. Majority of the isolates (63%) were found as possessing moderate biofilm-forming capabilities; only 23% and 14% had high and low biofilm capacities, respectively. Intercellular adhesion (ica) operon involved in biofilm signalling, screened using PCR, revealed the presence of two most-prevalent icas, accounting 80.7% (icaB) and 86.5% (sarA). Only two isolates were tested positive for all of the six known virulence genes using PCR. Haemolysin-encoding genes had the greatest prevalence rates with 92.3 and 94.2% of isolates to be found positive for the hla and hlb genes, respectively. Two strains (3.8%) could be found with the staphylococcal toxin-encoding genes see, seg, and sei. With multiple antibiotic resistance indices ranging from 0.38 to 0.75, S. epidermidis isolates exhibited low resistance to linezolidand levofloxacin. CONCLUSION:Conventional antibiotic use was associated with higher percentages of multi-drug resistance outbreaks. The identification of staphylococcal toxin in community has raisedworries about the emergence of new variants. The high frequency of ica operons is believed to drive further research into targeting these genes as alternative therapeutic options.

Staphylococcus aureus, member of ESKAPEE pathogens is a noteworthy contributor to the global crisis rising due to antimicrobial resistance. Biofilms are the primary reason behind the increased antibiotic resistance and tolerance of pathogens. Hence targeting bacterial biofilms has been prioritized as an alternative strategy to counter antibiotic resistance. Aegle marmelos has gained prominence in Indian traditional medicine as seeds, fruits, leaves, bark and roots of this plant are being in use extensively in treating several kinds of ailments by the inhabitants of this subcontinent due to its ethno-pharmacological relevance. The fruit of this plant has been found with remarkable anti-bacterial properties along with other therapeutic efficacies. The present study aimed to identify the anti-biofilm potential of methanolic fruit extract of Aegle marmelos (AMFE) against multi-drug-resistant (MDR) S. aureus strains as a resort to counter the global crisis of antimicrobial resistance for alternative approaches. MBIC and MBEC of AMFE ranged between 100 and 200 µg.mL−1 and 300–500 µg.mL−1, respectively. AMFE could substantially reduce the carbohydrate and protein content of the exo-polymeric substance (EPS), crucial for biofilm production. Expressions of major biofilm promoting genes icaAD and its accessory sarA were down-regulated upon AMFE treatment as revealed from qRT-PCR analysis whereas the quorum sensing gene agr that promotes biofilm detachment was up-regulated. Fluorescence, scanning electron and atomic force microscopic studies confirm the reduction of biofilm biomass upon AMFE treatment. Up to 10 mg.mL−1 AMFE was non-toxic to human lymphocytes with cell viability of 75.35

The global increase in allergic reactions necessitate the development of effective and safe therapeutic approaches. Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) loaded with methanolic extract of Acorus calamus (ACE) rhizome as neoteric and benign strategy for the treatment of allergy has been explored in terms of therapeutic efficacy and bioavailability. NLC formulations were prepared using stearic acid, tripalmitin, soylecithin (1:2:2; M/M/M) by cold homogenization followed by ultrasonic dispersion technique where polyvinyl alcohol-31000 (PVA), polyethylene glycol-2000 (PEG), polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate (T-60), Poloxamer-188 (P188), were separately used as stabilizers. Combined FTIR, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, UV-visible absorption spectroscopy were utilized to correlate the physicochemical properties, ACE payload, ACE release, and biological activity of ACE-NLC. P188 stabilized NLC was spherical with minimum aggregation with an average particle size of 152.6 +/- 8.4 nm, zeta potential equal to -49.2 +/- 2.00 mV, entrapment efficiency 92.33 +/- 0.53 %, drug loading 7.39 +/- 0.03 % where 59.28 +/- 4.58 % ACE released after 72 h at pH 3. MTT assay indicated over 78 % cell viability at 1.5 mM NLC. In vivo anti-allergic activity of ACE-NLCs were assessed in BALB/c mice using black tiger shrimp extract as allergen. P188 stabilized ACE-NLC significantly (P < 0.001) reduced serum IL-4 (52 %), IL-5 (61 %), IL-13 (48 %), and IgE (60 %) levels, along with decreased eosinophil infiltration and goblet cell hyperplasia in duodenal mucosa, compared to bare ACE. Such a set of work, not reported earlier in the literature may be considered as a proof of concept that requires further clinical trials.

This study investigates the effects of biogenic gold nanoparticles (Au NPs), synthesized using an aqueous leaf extract of Morus alba, as a feed supplement on the gut microbiota of Bombyx mori. The synthesized Au NPs displayed a characteristic peak absorbance at 545 nm in the UV-vis spectrum, indicative of surface plasmon resonance (SPR), a phenomenon typical of Au NPs. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra revealed the functional groups responsible for the reduction of Au-(III) to Au(0). The crystallinity of the synthesized Au NPs was checked using TEM and XRD analysis. TEM micrographs further exhibited the quasi-spherical, monodispersed, well-scattered nature of the Au NPs with an average particle size of 34.15 ± 9.45 nm. The presence of (111), (200), (220), and (311) planes in Bragg's reflections confirmed the face-centered-cubic (fcc) crystalline nature of elemental gold. The LC-MS/MS study revealed that the presence of two zwitterionic species (mainly betaine) stabilizes the Au NPs by the formation of positive sol micelles. Biogenic Au NPs at 40-60 ppm concentrations significantly improved larval growth, effective rearing rate (ERR), filament length, and cocoon quality without affecting silk fineness. Doses below 40 ppm were biologically ineffective, while concentrations above 60 ppm triggered oxidative stress and cytotoxicity. Similarly, gut microbiota analysis revealed notable compositional shifts at the phylum, class, family, and genus levels. There was a decrease in the relative abundance of the phylum Cyanobacteria, concomitant with a significant enrichment of stress-resilient taxa, including Planctomycetes, Micrococcaceae, Parcubacteria, and Candidatus Adlerbacteria. Predictive functional profiling using PICRUSt indicated enhanced microbial pathways linked to metabolism, stress response, and detoxification. These results suggest that biogenic Au NPs influence host-microbiome interactions, facilitating improved nutrient assimilation and silk production. However, further research is required to evaluate the long-term safety and ecological impact before widespread use in sericulture.

Isothermal titration calorimetric (ITC) study can probe critical micelle concentration (CMC) as well as the associated thermodynamics of surfactant aggregation. Micellization behavior of two bile salts, sodium cholate (NaC) and sodium deoxycholate (NaDC) were evaluated through ITC studies; subsequently the enthalpy change (Delta Hdemic0$$ {\Delta H}_{\mathrm{demic}}<^>0 $$), Gibbs free energy change (Delta Gdemic0$$ {\Delta G}_{\mathrm{demic}}<^>0 $$) and entropy change (Delta Sdemic0$$ {\Delta S}_{\mathrm{demic}}<^>0 $$) of demicellization processes were also evaluated in the presence of varied concentration of an ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([bmim]BF4) and at different temperatures at ascertain concentration of IL (1.0 mM). In order to distinguish the effect of IL from the corresponding common salt, studies were also carried out in aqueous sodium tetrafluoroborate (NaBF4) medium. CMC values decrease with increasing IL/NaBF4 concentration and increase with increasing temperature. CMC reduction in case of NaDC-NaBF4 system is more prominent, while considering temperature variation, the CMC rise in NaC-[bmim]BF4 system is more significant. Delta Hdemic0$$ {\Delta H}_{\mathrm{demic}}<^>0 $$ values considerably depend on temperature. Temperature rise causes an increase in Delta Gdemic0$$ {\Delta G}_{\mathrm{demic}}<^>0 $$ values. However, it decreases with increasing IL/NaBF4 concentration for both NaC and NaDC. Effect of temperature is less prominent on the Delta Gdemic0$$ {\Delta G}_{\mathrm{demic}}<^>0 $$ variation whereby the demicellization processes are found to be entropy driven processes. Temperature variation exhibits greater effect on Delta Hdemic0$$ {\Delta H}_{\mathrm{demic}}<^>0 $$ than the additive concentration. Such comprehensive studies hold promise for diverse scientific and industrial applications besides the fundamental understanding on IL induced micellization.

During various stages of its life cycle, Vibrio cholerae initiate biofilm signalling cascade. Intercellular high level of the signalling nucleotide 3'-5' cyclic dimeric guanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP), synthesized by diguanylate cyclases (DGCs) from its precursor molecule GTP, is crucial for biofilm formation. Present study endeavours to in silico approaches in evaluating genomic, physicochemical, topological and functional properties of six c-di-GMP regulatory DGCs (CdgA, CdgH, CdgK, CdgL, CdgM, VpvC) of V. cholerae. Genomic investigations unveiled that codon preferences were inclined towards AU ending over GC ending codons and overall GC content ranged from 44.6 to 49.5 with codon adaptation index ranging from 0.707 to 0.783. Topological analyses deciphered the presence of transmembrane domains in all proteins. All the DGCs were acidic, hydrophilic and thermostable. Only CdgA, CdgH and VpvC were predicted to be stable during in vitro conditions. Non-polar amino acids with leucine being the most abundant amino acid among these DGCs with α-helix as the predominant secondary structure, responsible for forming the transmembrane regions by secondary structure analysis. Tertiary structures of the proteins were obtained by computation using AlphaFold and trRosetta. Predicted structures by both the servers were compared in various aspects using PROCHECK, ERRAT and Modfold8 servers. Selected 3D structures were refined using GalaxyRefine. InterPro Scan revealed presence of a conserved GGDEF domain in all DGCs and predicted the active site residues in the GGDEF domain. Molecular docking studies using CB-DOCK 2 tool revealed that among the DGCs, VpvC exhibited highest affinity for GTP (-5.6 kcal/mol), which was closely followed by CdgL (-5.5 kcal/mol). MD simulations depicted all DGC-GTP complexes to be stable due to its considerably low eigenvalues. Such studies are considered to provide maiden insights into the genomic and structural properties of V. cholerae DGCs, actively involved in biofilm signalling systems, and it is projected to be beneficial in the discovery of novel DGC inhibitors that can target and downregulate the c-di-GMP regulatory system to develop anti-biofilm strategies against the cholera pathogen.

Phorate, an organophosphorus compound is known to have applications against pests. However, its hazardous nature is a matter of concern. Microbial biodegradation is a potent method that can eliminate pesticides from the environment by enzymatic reactions. As toxicity and binding specificity are inherently correlated to each other, this study was focussed on finding out binding sites for ensuing biodegradation. Brevibacterium frigoritolerans GD44 and Enterobacter cloacae subsp. cloacae ATCC 13047 were included in the study for genomic and structural analyses as alkaline phosphatase from Brevibacterium frigoritolerans GD44 and endonuclease/exonuclease/phosphatase from Enterobacter cloacae subsp. cloacae ATCC 13047 were found to degrade phorate. It was apparent from the present findings that alkaline phosphatase containing homologous bacterial species are AT-rich, while the phosphatase containing bacteria are GC-rich. Bacterial species having phosphatase enzyme contain more aromatic amino acids that stabilize the protein structure than alkaline phosphatase containing bacteria. Variation of relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU) value was found to be very little and natural selection pressure was preferred over mutational pressure in determining codon usage pattern. High level of codon adaptation index (CAI) found in both the bacterial species indicates higher level of codon usage bias and gene expression in them. Furthermore, docking results suggest that alkaline phosphatase has higher binding affinity to phorate than phosphatase that might be considered effective in bioremediation. The results obtained are considered to shed further light in the experimental biodegradation of organophosphorus pesticides by the bacteria.

Interactions between a zwitterionic phospholipid, 1, 2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and four anionic phospholipids dihexadecyl phosphate (DHP), 1, 2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoglycerol (DMPG), 1, 2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphate (DPP) and 1, 2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho ethanol (DPPEth) in combination with an additional amount of 30 mol% cholesterol were separately investigated at air-buffer interface through surface pressure (π) - area (A) measurements. π-A isotherm derived parameters revealed maximum negative deviation from ideality for the mixtures comprising 30 mol% anionic lipids. Besides the film functionality, structural changes of the monomolecular films at different surface pressures in the absence and presence of polyamidoamine (PAMAM, generation 4), a cationic dendrimer, were visualised through Brewster angle microscopy and fluorescence microscopic studies. Fluidity/rigidity of monolayers were assessed by surface dilatational rheology studies. Effect of PAMAM on the formation of adsorbed monolayer, due to bilayer disintegration of liposomes (DPPC:anionic lipids= 7:3 M/M, and 30 mol% cholesterol) were monitored by surface pressure (π) - time (t) isotherms. Bilayer disintegration kinetics were dependent on lipid head group and chain length, besides dendrimer concentration. Such studies are considered to be an in vitro cell membrane model where the alteration of molecular orientation play important roles in understanding the nature of interaction between the dendrimer and cell membrane. Liposome-dendrimer aggregates were nontoxic to breast cancer cell line as well as in doxorubicin treated MDA-MB-468 cell line suggesting their potential as drug delivery systems.

Environmental abuses and subsequent array of health hazards by petroleum products have emerged as a global concern that warrants proper remediation. Pyrene (PYR), a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, is a xenobiotic by-product during crude petroleum processing. Biodegradation potential of two bacterial isolates (MK4 and MK9) of Brevibacterium sediminis from oil contaminated sites was explored. MK4 and MK9 could degrade PYR up to 23 and 59