Flavored Nanofiber Strips Loaded with Amoxicillin as an Alternative Method for Treating Bacterial Infections in Children
Semisynthetic penicillin, Amoxicillin, is a broad-spectrum antibiotic that is widely used to treat bacterial infections in children suffering ear, nose, and throat infections, genitourinary tract infections, skin infections, and lower respiratory tract infections1. This antibiotic works against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, such as Listeria monocytogenes, Haemophilus influenza, Streptococcus pneumonia , Streptococcus pyogene and Escherichia coli1,2. It shows antibacterial activity by inhibiting dd-transpeptidase, which maintains the integrity of the bacterial cell wall which results in bacterial cell death due to a fragile cell wall3. Nonadherence to medication was associated with 50% of drug-related hospitalizations in children4. In order to improve adherence and influence clinical outcome, it is important to acknowledge the importance of drug palatability to children4–6. The currently available liquid suspension form of this antibiotic is administered to patients through oral/GI routes. It is also available in capsules or tablets for adults7–9. In the gastrointestinal tract, the drug has to withstand variable pH conditions and enzymatic degradation , mucus and mucosal barriers to survive resulting in limiting drug bioavailability10,11. In addition to conventional drug delivery formulations, nanofibers can be used to deliver drugs orally, topically, and through buccal or transdermal routes12. Drug-loaded nanofibers offer many advantages as a delivery system, including their porous structure and their efficient delivery of various drugs and bioactive molecules including hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs12–14. Considering that amoxicillin palatability can affect children patients’ compliance and due to the advantages of both nanofiber drug delivery system and drug delivery through buccal routes, hence, this project aims to prepare flavored electrospun nanofibers loaded with amoxicillin to mask the unpleasant taste of the drug for treating children with bacterial infection. Nanofibers loaded with amoxicillin can be applied between the child's gum and cheek, allowing the fibers to dissolve in mucus and penetrate directly into the bloodstream.
KidneyLifePlus+ : Retinal Imaging Analysis for Kidney Disease Risk Assessment
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) represents a significant public health challenge, often referred to as a “silent disease” due to its asymptomatic progression during early stages (1–2). Consequently, most diagnoses occur during advanced stages (3 and beyond), where treatment options are more complex and outcomes are less favorable. Globally, CKD affects over 850 million individuals, with 434.3 million cases in Asia alone. Despite its prevalence, early-stage awareness remains alarmingly low, with only 5% of affected individuals aware of their condition. Existing screening methods are predominantly hospital-based, expensive, and time-intensive, limiting their accessibility, particularly in resource-constrained settings. This underscores an urgent need for more accessible and efficient diagnostic tools to enable early intervention. In response to this critical problem, we developed KidneyLifePlus+, an AI-powered platform that leverages advanced machine learning models, including U-net, ResNet-50, and YOLO v8, to analyze retinal images for early CKD detection. These models are integrated to ensure high screening accuracy by identifying subtle biomarkers indicative of CKD progression. Complementing the software, we designed proprietary hardware capable of capturing high-resolution retinal images, delivering performance comparable to hospital-grade equipment. By ensuring affordability and ease of use, the system extends screening capabilities beyond clinical environments, making it suitable for deployment in community healthcare settings. KidneyLifePlus+ addresses key limitations of traditional methods by offering a rapid, cost-effective, and highly accurate diagnostic solution. The platform’s potential to enhance early detection rates could significantly improve clinical outcomes and quality of life for CKD patients. Furthermore, this innovation contributes to global efforts to reduce the burden of CKD by promoting equitable access to diagnostic services, particularly in underserved regions.
In silico Screening of Forty Antiviral Phytochemicals as Inhibitors to the Envelope Protein of Dengue Virus Serotype 2 (DENV-2)
Infections by the Dengue virus (DENV) cause a disease amonghumansreferred to as Dengue fever, which causes thousands of fatalities globally. There is no existing treatment as of yet that successfully targets DENV. Among the factors thatdeterminetheentry of the virus and severity of the disease is the envelope(E) protein of DENV. This study aimed to examine forty antiviral phytochemicals enumeratedinpaststudiesaspossibleinhibitorstotheEprotein of DENV to provide candidates to aid in drug discovery against DENV. The phytochemicals were screened for their likelihood of inhibition of the E protein using AutoDock Suite and LigPlot+. Seven phytochemicals produced favorable binding affinities to the E protein, which are based on the interactions between the phytochemicals and amino acidsintheactivesiteoftheEprotein.Lipinski’s rule of 5 was then used to screen the seven phytochemicals for oral bioavailability. Glabridin has a binding affinity of -7.6 kcal/mol and was predicted to be orally bioavailable. This phytochemical interacts with amino acids in the E protein active site through hydrogen bonds to Asn355, andPhe337, as well as ten hydrophobic interactions. These interactions ensure that glabridin is able to specifically target and fit intotheactivesiteoftheEprotein, preventing its binding to the host cell and activating its viral proliferation. Glabridin is known to be found in the roots of licorice plants, providing anatural source for a possible cure for Dengue fever.