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Background/Objectives: Oral diseases causing mucosal lesions are normally treated with local or systemic anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antimicrobial agents. The development of topical formulations, including wound-healing promoters, might speed up the recovery process, improving patients' quality of life, and reduce the risk of deterioration in health conditions. In this study, a mucoadhesive multilayer film, including a novel biocompatible substance (solubilized eggshell membrane, SESM), was rationally designed. Methods: The SESM preparation procedure was optimized and its biological effects on cell proliferation and inflammation marker gene expression were evaluated in vitro; preformulation studies were conducted to identify the most promising polymers with film-forming properties; then, trilayer films, consisting of an outer layer including chlorhexidine digluconate as a model drug, a supporting layer and a mucoadhesive layer, incorporating SESM, were prepared using the casting method and their mechanical, adhesion and drug release control properties were evaluated. Results: SESM proved to possess a notable wound-healing capacity, inducing a wound closure of 84% in 24 h without inhibiting blood clotting. The films revealed a maximum detachment force from porcine mucosa of approx. 1.7 kPa and maximum in vivo residence time of approx. 200–240 min; finally, they released up to 98% of the loaded drug within 4 h. Conclusions: The formulated trilayer films were found to possess adequate properties, making them potentially suitable for protecting oral lesions and favoring their rapid healing, while releasing antimicrobial substances that might be beneficial in reducing the risk of bacterial infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens due to antibiotic misuse translates into obstinate infections with high morbidity and high-cost hospitalizations. To oppose these MDR superbugs, new antimicrobial options are necessary. Although both quaternary ammonium salts (QASs) and phosphonium salts (QPSs) possess antimicrobial effects, QPSs have been studied to a lesser extent. Recently, we successfully reported the bacteriostatic and cytotoxic effects of a triphenyl phosphonium salt against MDR isolates of the Enterococcus and Staphylococcus genera. Here, aiming at finding new antibacterial devices possibly active toward a broader spectrum of clinically relevant bacteria responsible for severe human infections, we synthesized a water-soluble, sterically hindered quaternary phosphonium salt (BPPB). It encompasses two triphenyl phosphonium groups linked by a C12 alkyl chain, thus embodying the characteristics of molecules known as bola-amphiphiles. BPPB was characterized by ATR-FTIR, NMR, and UV spectroscopy, FIA-MS (ESI), elemental analysis, and potentiometric titrations. Optical and DLS analyses evidenced BPPB tendency to self-forming spherical vesicles of 45 nm (DLS) in dilute solution, tending to form larger aggregates in concentrate solution (DLS and optical microscope), having a positive zeta potential (+18 mV). The antibacterial effects of BPPB were, for the first time, assessed against fifty clinical isolates of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative species. Excellent antibacterial effects were observed for all strains tested, involving all the most concerning species included in ESKAPE bacteria. The lowest MICs were 0.250 µg/mL, while the highest ones (32 µg/mL) were observed for MDR Gram-negative metallo-β-lactamase-producing bacteria and/or species resistant also to colistin, carbapenems, cefiderocol, and therefore intractable with currently available antibiotics. Moreover, when administered to HepG2 human hepatic and Cos-7 monkey kidney cell lines, BPPB showed selectivity indices > 10 for all Gram-positive isolates and for clinically relevant Gram-negative superbugs such as those of E. coli species, thus being very promising for clinical development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens causes difficult-to-treat infections with long-term hospitalizations and a high incidence of death, thus representing a global public health problem. To manage MDR bacteria bugs, new antimicrobial strategies are necessary, and their introduction in practice is a daily challenge for scientists in the field. An extensively studied approach to treating MDR infections consists of inducing high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by several methods. Although further clinical investigations are mandatory on the possible toxic effects of ROS on mammalian cells, clinical evaluations are extremely promising, and their topical use to treat infected wounds and ulcers, also in presence of biofilm, is already clinically approved. Biochar (BC) is a carbonaceous material obtained by pyrolysis of different vegetable and animal biomass feedstocks at 200–1000 °C in the limited presence of O2. Recently, it has been demonstrated that BC's capability of removing organic and inorganic xenobiotics is mainly due to the presence of persistent free radicals (PFRs), which can activate oxygen, H2O2, or persulfate in the presence or absence of transition metals by electron transfer, thus generating ROS, which in turn degrade pollutants by advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). In this context, the antibacterial effects of BC-containing PFRs have been demonstrated by some authors against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, thus giving birth to our idea of the possible use of BC-derived PFRs as a novel method capable of inducing ROS generation for antimicrobial oxidative therapy. Here, the general aspects concerning ROS physiological and pathological production and regulation and the mechanism by which they could exert antimicrobial effects have been reviewed. The methods currently adopted to induce ROS production for antimicrobial oxidative therapy have been discussed. Finally, for the first time, BC-related PFRs have been proposed as a new source of ROS for antimicrobial therapy via AOPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the antimicrobial potency of the pyrazole nucleus is widely reported, the antimicrobial effects of the 2-(4-bromo-3,5-diphenyl-pyrazol-1-yl)-ethanol (BBB4), found to be active against several other conditions, have never been investigated. Considering the worldwide need for new antimicrobial agents, we thought it noteworthy to assess the minimum inhibitory concentration (MICs) of BBB4 but, due to its scarce water-solubility, unequivocal determinations were tricky. To obtain more reliable MICs and to obtain a substance also potentially applicable in vivo, we recently prepared water-soluble, BBB4-loaded dendrimer nanoparticles (BBB4-G4K NPs), which proved to have physicochemical properties suitable for clinical application. Here, with the aim of developing a new antibacterial agent based on BBB4, the BBB4-G4K NPs were tested on several strains of different species of the Staphylococcus genus. Very low MICs (1.5–3.0 µM), 15.5–124.3-fold lower than those of the free BBB4, were observed against several isolates of S. aureus and S. epidermidis, the most pathogenic species of this genus, regardless of their resistance patterns to antibiotics. Aiming at hypothesizing a clinical use of BBB4-G4K NPs for staphylococcal skin infections, cytotoxicity experiments on human keratinocytes were performed; it was found that the nano-manipulated BBB4 released from BBB4-G4K NPs (LD50 138.6 µM) was 2.5-fold less cytotoxic than the untreated BBB4 (55.9 µM). Due to its physicochemical and biological properties, BBB4-G4K NPs could be considered as a promising novel therapeutic option against the very frequent staphylococcal skin infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]