We outlined NIR photothermal materials for photothermal cancer therapy and proposed three key metrics for evaluating the materials from physical, chemical, and bio/medical perspectives.

In recent years, a considerable number of structurally unique metabolites with biological and pharmacological activities have been isolated from the marine-derived fungi, such as polyketides, alkaloids, peptides, lactones, terpenoids and steroids. Some of these compounds have anticancer, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibiotic and cytotoxic properties. This review partially summarizes the new bioactive compounds from marine-derived fungi with classification according to the sources of fungi and their biological activities. Those fungi found from 2014 to the present are discussed.

Quorum sensing (QS) is a phenomenon of intercellular communication discovered mainly in bacteria. A QS system consisting of QS signal molecules and regulatory protein components could control physiological behaviors and virulence gene expression of bacterial pathogens. Therefore, QS inhibition could be a novel strategy to combat pathogens and related diseases. QS inhibitors (QSIs), mainly categorized into small chemical molecules and quorum quenching enzymes, could be extracted from diverse sources in marine environment and terrestrial environment. With the focus on the exploitation of marine resources in recent years, more and more QSIs from the marine environment have been investigated. In this article, we present a comprehensive review of QSIs from marine bacteria. Firstly, screening work of marine bacteria with potential QSIs was concluded and these marine bacteria were classified. Afterwards, two categories of marine bacteria-derived QSIs were summarized from the aspects of sources, structures, QS inhibition mechanisms, environmental tolerance, effects/applications, etc. Next, structural modification of natural small molecule QSIs for future drug development was discussed. Finally, potential applications of QSIs from marine bacteria in human healthcare, aquaculture, crop cultivation, etc. were elucidated, indicating promising and extensive application perspectives of QS disruption as a novel antimicrobial strategy.

It is desirable but challenging to locate solid catalysts at the oil-water interface to stabilize “Pickering emulsions”, which is one of the promising ways to develop efficient green chemical processes. Herein, water-stable metal organic framework ZIF-8 without any chemical modification was demonstrated to be an interface-active catalyst for Knoevenagel condensation in a biphasic system. Pickering emulsion formed under the reaction conditions due to its amphiphilic property, which was beneficial to the mass transfer and led to high catalytic performance. Moreover, it can be repeatedly applied for Knoevenagel condensation for at least six successive cycles without losing its catalytic activity and framework integrity.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a highly pathogenic bacterium for which safe and effective prevention as well as treatment methods are currently lacking. In this study, Rhizoctonia bicornis S10 was isolated from Schisandra chinensis and used to inhibit MRSA. Through single-factor experiments and response surface methodology, the optimal culture medium and fermentation conditions for Rhizoctonia bicornis S10 were determined. The results demonstrated that optimal growth conditions for Rhizoctonia bicornis S10 were achieved using corn meal as the culture medium. Furthermore, the extract of Rhizoctonia bicornis S10 showed maximal inhibitory activity against MRSA under the following optimized conditions: moisture content of 150%, time of 2.5 d, temperature of 30 °C, and pH 5.0. Antagonistic experiments demonstrated that the crude extract of Rhizoctonia bicornis S10 exhibits significant inhibitory activity against MRSA. During the growth of MRSA, the crude extract effectively suppressed its proliferation. Measurements of alkaline proteinase and membrane potential confirmed the disruption of the MRSA cell membrane, which was further visually validated by scanning electron microscopy. Additionally, the crude extract was shown to inhibit the formation of MRSA biofilms. These findings suggest that Rhizoctonia bicornis S10 should hold promise as a novel approach for the prevention and treatment of MRSA infections, providing new strategies and insights for combating this pathogen.