The treatment of skin wounds is a key research domain owing to the important functional and aesthetic role of this tissue. When the skin is impaired, bacteria can soon infiltrate into underlying tissues which can lead to life-threatening infections. Consequently, effective treatments are necessary to deal with such pathological conditions. Recently, wound dressings loaded with antimicrobial agents have emerged as viable options to reduce wound bacterial colonization and infection, in order to improve the healing process. In this paper, we present an overview of the most prominent antibiotic-embedded wound dressings, as well as the limitations of their use. A promising, but still an underrated group of potential antibacterial agents that can be integrated into wound dressings are natural products, especially essential oils. Some of the most commonly used essential oils against multidrug-resistant microorganisms, such as tea tree, St. John’s Wort, lavender and oregano, together with their incorporation into wound dressings are presented. In addition, another natural product that exhibits encouraging antibacterial activity is honey. We highlight recent results of several studies carried out by researchers from different regions of the world on wound dressings impregnated with honey, with a special emphasis on Manuka honey. Finally, we highlight recent advances in using nanoparticles as platforms to increase the effect of pharmaceutical formulations aimed at wound healing. Silver, gold, and zinc nanoparticles alone or functionalized with diverse antimicrobial compounds have been integrated into wound dressings and demonstrated therapeutic effects on wounds.

In order to overcome the shortcomings related to unspecific and partially efficient conventional wound dressings, impressive efforts are oriented in the development and evaluation of new and effective platforms for wound healing applications. In situ formed wound dressings provide several advantages, including proper adaptability for wound bed microstructure and architecture, facile application, patient compliance and enhanced therapeutic effects. Natural or synthetic, composite or hybrid biomaterials represent suitable candidates for accelerated wound healing, by providing proper air and water vapor permeability, structure for macro- and microcirculation, support for cellular migration and proliferation, protection against microbial invasion and external contamination. Besides being the most promising choice for wound care applications, polymeric biomaterials (either from natural or synthetic sources) may exhibit intrinsic wound healing properties. Several nanotechnology-derived biomaterials proved great potential for wound healing applications, including micro- and nanoparticulate systems, fibrous scaffolds, and hydrogels. The present paper comprises the most recent data on modern and performant strategies for effective wound healing.

The intricate microstructure of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is responsible for the accurate intrinsic regulation of the central nervous system (CNS), in terms of neuronal pathophysiological phenomena. Any disruption to the BBB can be associated with genetic defects triggering or with local antigenic invasion (either neurotoxic blood-derived metabolites and residues or microbial pathogens). Such events can be further related to systemic inflammatory or immune disorders, which can subsequently initiate several neurodegenerative pathways. Any degenerative process related to the CNS results in progressive and yet incurable impairment of neuronal cells. Since these particular neurons are mostly scanty or incapable of self-repair and regeneration processes, there is tremendous worldwide interest in novel therapeutic strategies for such specific conditions. Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases (AD and PD, respectively) are conditions found worldwide, being considered the most rampant degenerative pathologies related to CNS. The current therapy of these conditions, including both clinical and experimental approaches, mainly enables symptom management and subsidiary neuronal protection and even less disease regression. Still, a thorough understanding of the BBB pathophysiology and an accurate molecular and sub-molecular management of AD and PD will provide beneficial support for more specific and selective therapy. Since nanotechnology-derived materials and devices proved attractive and efficient platforms for modern biomedicine (including detection, imaging, diagnosis, medication, restoration and regeneration), a particular approach for AD and PD management relies on nanoparticle-based therapy. In this paper we will discuss relevant aspects related to the BBB and its impact on drug-based treatment and emphasize that nanoparticles are suitable and versatile candidates for the development of novel and performance-enhanced nanopharmaceuticals for neurodegenerative conditions therapy.

Biofilms formed by fungal organisms are associated with drastically enhanced resistance against most antimicrobial agents, contributing to the persistence of the fungi despite antifungal therapy. The purpose of this study is to combine the unique properties of nanoparticles with the antimicrobial activity of the Rosmarinus officinalis essential oil in order to obtain a nanobiosystem that could be pelliculised on the surface of catheter pieces, in order to obtain an improved resistance to microbial colonization and biofilm development by Candida albicans and C. tropicalis clinical strains. The R. officinalis essential oils were extracted in a Neo-Clevenger type apparatus, and its chemical composition was settled by GC-MS analysis. Functionalized magnetite nanoparticles of up to 20 nm size had been synthesized by precipitation method adapted for microwave conditions, with oleic acid as surfactant. The catheter pieces were coated with suspended core/shell nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄/oleic acid:CHCl₃), by applying a magnetic field on nanofluid, while the CHCl₃ diluted essential oil was applied by adsorption in a secondary covering treatment. The fungal adherence ability was investigated in six multiwell plates, in which there have been placed catheters pieces with and without hybrid nanoparticles/essential oil nanobiosystem pellicle, by using culture-based methods and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The R. officinalis essential oil coated nanoparticles strongly inhibited the adherence ability and biofilm development of the C. albicans and C. tropicalis tested strains to the catheter surface, as shown by viable cell counts and CLSM examination. Due to the important implications of Candida spp. in human pathogenesis, especially in prosthetic devices related infections and the emergence of antifungal tolerance/resistance, using the new core/shell/coated shell based on essential oil of R. officinalis to inhibit the fungal adherence could be of a great interest for the biomedical field, opening new directions for the design of film-coated surfaces with antibiofilm properties.

This paper reports the synthesis and characterization of amoxicillin- functionalized magnetite nanostructures (Fe₃O₄@AMO), revealing and discussing several biomedical applications of these nanomaterials. Our results proved that 10 nm Fe₃O₄@AMO nanoparticles does not alter the normal cell cycle progression of cultured diploid cells, and an in vivo murine model confirms that the nanostructures disperse through the host body and tend to localize in particular sites and organs. The nanoparticles were found clustered especially in the lungs, kidneys and spleen, next to the blood vessels at this level, while being totally absent in the brain and liver, suggesting that they are circulated through the blood flow and have low toxicity. Fe₃O₄@AMO has the ability to be easily circulated through the body and optimizations may be done so these nanostructures cluster to a specific target region. Functionalized magnetite nanostructures proved a great antimicrobial effect, being active against both the Gram positive pathogen S. aureus and the Gram negative pathogen E. coli. The fabricated nanostructures significantly reduced the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the active drug. This result has a great practical relevance, since the functionalized nanostructures may be used for decreasing the therapeutic doses which usually manifest great severe side effects, when administrated in high doses. Fe₃O₄@AMO represents also a suitable approach for the development of new alternative strategies for improving the activity of therapeutic agents by targeted delivery and controlled release.

This review summarizes the results reported on the production of biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) materials derived from fish wastes (i.e., heads, bones, skins, and viscera), known as fish discards, and offers an in-depth discussion on their promising potential for various applications in many fields, especially the biomedical one. Thus, considerable scientific and technological efforts were recently focused on the capability of these sustainable materials to be transformed into economically attractive and highly valuable by-products. As a consequence of using these wastes, plenty of beneficial social effects, with both economic and environmental impact, will arise. In the biomedical field, there is a strong and continuous interest for the development of innovative solutions for healthcare improvement using alternative materials of biogenic origin. Thus, the orthopedic field has witnessed a significant development due to an increased demand for a large variety of implants, grafts, and/or scaffolds. This is mainly due to the increase of life expectancy and higher frequency of bone-associated injuries and diseases. As a consequence, the domain of bone-tissue engineering has expanded to be able to address a plethora of bone-related traumas and to deliver a viable and efficient substitute to allografts or autografts by combining bioactive materials and cells for bone-tissue ingrowth. Among biomaterials, calcium phosphate (CaP)-based bio-ceramics are widely used in medicine, in particular in orthopedics and dentistry, due to their excellent bioactive, osteoconductive, and osteointegrative characteristics. Recently, BCP materials (synthetic or natural), a class of CaP, which consist of a mixture of two phases, hydroxyapatite (HA) and beta tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP), in different concentrations, gained increased attention due to their superior overall performances as compared to single-phase formulations. Moreover, the exploitation of BCP materials from by-products of fish industry was reported to be a safe, cheap, and simple procedure. In the dedicated literature, there are many reviews on synthetic HA, β-TCP, or BCP materials, but to the best of our knowledge, this is the first collection of results on the effects of processing conditions on the morphological, compositional, structural, mechanical, and biological properties of the fish discard-derived BCPs along with the tailoring of their features for various applications.