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Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) are recognized for their potential in biomedical applications due to their distinctive physicochemical properties. This study investigates the synthesis of IONPs with various geometric morphologies-cubic, star-like, truncated icosahedron, and spherical-via thermal decomposition to enhance their utility in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and targeted drug delivery. X-ray diffraction analysis verified the Fe 3 O 4 phase in all nanoparticles, illustrating the synthesis's efficacy. Particle morphologies were well-defined, with sizes ranging from 10 to 150 nm, as determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Magnetic evaluations using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM-PPMs) demonstrated their superparamagnetic behavior, with larger particles exhibiting greater saturation magnetization. Notably, truncated icosahedron and cubic IONPs showed superior transverse relaxation rates, with r 2 values of 56.77 s 1 mM 1 and 42.67 s 1 mM 1 , respectively. These results highlight the potential of customizing IONP geometries to optimize their magnetic properties and increase surface area available for functionalization, thereby improving their efficacy for biomedical applications., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Carbon-based quantum dots (CBQDs), sulfur-doped carbon-based quantum dots (S-CBQDs), and nitrogen-doped carbon-based quantum dots (N-CBQDs) have strong potential for drug delivery platforms. They were conjugated with andrographolide, a well-known hydrophobic drug, to study the concomitant changes in hydrophilicity. The interactions between these nanomaterials and the drug were studied by characterizing the optical and structural properties of the nanoparticles before and after coupling with the drug. It was found that the interaction of the drug with these nanomaterials produced noticeable changes in their optical and structural properties. Moreover, the partition coefficient for the nanocomposites was determined by NMR. The results indicate that conjugating the drug with the nanoparticles significantly enhanced its affinity for the aqueous phase, from 2.632 to 0.1117, thereby opening the possibility of using this approach for developing an effective drug delivery platform for this hydrophobic drug., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

The Caribbean region is a hotspot of biodiversity (i.e., algae, sponges, corals, mollusks, microorganisms, cyanobacteria, and dinoflagellates) that produces secondary metabolites such as polyketides and polypropionates. Polyketides are a diverse class of natural products synthesized by organisms through a biosynthetic pathway catalyzed by polyketide synthase (PKS). This group of compounds is subdivided into fatty acids, aromatics, and polypropionates such as macrolides, and linear and cyclic polyethers. Researchers have studied the Caribbean region to find natural products and focused on isolation, purification, structural characterization, synthesis, and conducting biological assays against parasites, cancer, fungi, and bacteria. These studies have been summarized in this review, including research from 1981 to 2020. This review includes about 90 compounds isolated in the Caribbean that meet the structural properties of polyketides. Out of 90 compounds presented, 73 have the absolute stereochemical configuration, and 82 have shown biological activity. We expect to motivate the researchers to continue exploring the Caribbean region's marine environments to discover and investigate new polyketide and polypropionate natural products.

Classical antibacterial drugs were designed to target specific bacterial properties distinct from host human cells to maximize potency and selectivity. These designs were quite effective as they could be easily derivatized to bear next-generation drugs. However, the rapid mutation of bacteria and their associated acquired drug resistance have led to the rise of highly pathogenic superbug bacterial strains for which treatment with first line drugs is no match. More than ever, there is a dire need for antibacterial drug design that goes beyond conventional standards. Taking inspiration by the body's innate immune response to employ its own supply of labile copper ions in a toxic attack against pathogenic bacteria, which have a very low Cu tolerance, this review article examines the feasibility of Cu-centric strategies for antibacterial preventative and therapeutic applications. Promising results are shown for the use of Cu-containing materials in the hospital setting to minimize patient bacterial infections. Studies directed at disrupting bacterial Cu regulatory pathways elucidate new drug targets that can enable toxic increase of Cu levels and perturb bacterial dependence on iron. Likewise, Cu intracellular chelation/prochelation strategies effectively induce bacterial Cu toxicity. Cu-based small molecules and nanoparticles demonstrate the importance of the Cu ions in their mechanism and display potential synergism with classical drugs., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.