Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a disease caused by Leishmania tropica parasite. Current treatments for this parasite are undesirable because of their toxicity, resistance, and high cost. Macrophages are key players against pathogens. Nitric oxide (NO), a molecule produce by immune cells, controls intracellular killing of pathogens during infection. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) demonstrated broad-spectrum activity against various types of infectious diseases. It has the ability to stimulate oxygen species production. This study aims to analyze the macrophages activation through NO production and estimate the cytotoxicity based on the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release upon exposure to L. tropica and Ag NPs. Serially concentrations of Ag NPs were used under two conditions during and following macrophages exposure to L. tropica. MTT assay was used to determine the cytotoxicity of Ag NPs on L. tropica amastigotes during infection of macrophages in vitro. The results showed that by increasing the Ag NPs concentrations, the viability percentage of L. tropica amastigotes decreased and reached to 21.7 ± 0.64 % during infection compared with the control. The 50% inhibitory concentration of Ag NPs on amastigotes was 2.048µg/ml during infection. Moreover, post-phagocytosis study involved the assessment of NO and LDH release by macrophages upon exposure to L. tropica. It have shown that untreated macrophages released low levels of NO while in the presence of Ag NPs, macrophages were activated to produce higher levels of NO under all experimental conditions. On the other hand, macrophages were capable of controlling cytotoxicity and decreasing LDH levels during phagocytosis of L. tropica amastiogotes. Taking together, these findings suggest that Ag NPs can enhance macrophages NO production which provides a method for the identification of Ag NPs ligands with microbicidal and anti-cytotoxic properties against L. tropica pathogens.
In the present work, a Z-scan technique was used to study the nonlinear optical properties, represented by the nonlinear refractive index and nonlinear absorption coefficients of the Ag nanoparticles. In this technique, a pulsed second harmonic Nd :YAG laser at wavelength 532 nm was used. The results show that the nonlinear refractive index and nonlinear absorption coefficients of the Ag nanoparticles are found to be dependent on the size these nanoparticles.
Neural stem cells (NSCs) are progenitor cells which have the ability to self‑renewal and potential for differentiating into neurons, oligodendrocytes, and astrocytes. The in vitro isolation, culturing, identification, cryopreservation were investigated to produce neural stem cells in culture as successful sources for further studies before using it for clinical trials. In this study, mouse bone marrow was the source of neural stem cells. The results of morphological study and immunocytochemistry of isolated cells showed that NSCs can be produced successfully and maintaining their self‑renewal and successfully forming neurosphere for multiple passages. The spheres preserved their morphology in culture and cryopreserved t
... Show More This is a contribution to study the complex effect of rainfall on the incidence of cutaneous leishmaniasis in an endemic area (AL-Mohalabiya) in Ninava province in the north region of Iraq.
In the current century, nanotechnology has gained great interest due to its ability to modify the size of metals to the nanoscale, which dramatically changes the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of metals relative to their bulk counterparts. The approaches used to create nanoparticles (NPs) are physical, و chemical and وbiological. The shortcomings in physical and chemical synthesis approaches, such as the generation of toxic by-products, and energy consume as they require high temperature, pressure, power and lethal chemicals, contributed to an increased interest in biological synthesis by plants. Scientists have created a new filed called as "green nanotechnology" by fusing the idea of sustainability with nanotechno
... Show MoreIsolation and identification of bacterial isolates were carried out according to the morphology and biochemical characteristics on one hundred and twenty stool specimens collected from children under five years old via using biochemical tests and Api 20E compact system for further confirmation. Bacterial isolates were distributed as (34.48, 20.68, 5.17,0.86) % for Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi ,Enterobacter aerogenos, Citrobacter freundii and Hafnia alvei respectively and 9.48 % for each Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella Pneumonia. As well as, 2.58% for both Shigella sonnei and Serratia marcescens. Antibiotic susceptibility test for 116 bacterial isolates was performed towards 20 antibiotics types using disk d
... Show MoreIn the current research, an eco-biosynthesis method for synthesizing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is reported using thymus vulgaris leaves (T. vulgaris) extracts. The optical and structural properties of the nanoparticles is determined using UV-visible, x-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). In addition, the synthesis factors such as the temperature, the molar ratio of silver nitride and thymus vulgaris leaves extract have been investigated. The XRD pattern presented higher intensity for the five characteristic peaks of silver. FESEM images for same samples indicated that the particle size was distributed between 24-56 nm. In addition, it’s observed the formation of some aggregated Ag particles
... Show MoreBackground: He-Ne laser (632.8 nm) pre-irradiation may lead to modulate the damaging effects of ionizing radiation and decreasing in radiation damage on cells, by the induction of antioxidant defence mechanisms and accelerated the repair.
Objective: To study the protection properties of He-Ne laser (632.8 nm) pre-irradiation against UV light (253.7 nm) damage on human lymphocyte blood cells and its DNA.
Subject & Methods: 27 samples were processed only for lymphocyte blood cells separation, while a 45 samples for the extracted DNA from lymphocyte. The total of 72 sampleswere employed to evaluate the influence of He-Ne laser pre- irradiation against UV-light.
Results: The results showed that He-Ne laser (632.8 nm) pre-irradia
Background: The emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacilliin burn wound infections related to biofilm formation, which lend to challenge in treatment with conventional antibiotics andprompting to search for novel antimicrobial agents to control the infections.Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have wide spectrum biological properties with different mechanisms of action and less toxicity towards human cells.
Objective:The goal of this study was to evaluated the anti-bacterial and anti-biofilm activities of AgNPs alone and in combination with aminoglycoside (Amikacin) and β-lactam (Ampicillin) antibiotics against multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacilli (Pseudomonas aeruginos
... Show MoreNanoparticles produced by plants are preferred in the medical field for its safe and unpolluted product; it is also accepted as an ecofriendly, non-expensive, and non-toxic nanomaterial. In this study, silver nitrate was successfully used to produce silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by the use extractsof 4 different latex-producing plants which belong to 2 families (Moraceae and Euphorbiaceae). The synthesis was proved by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM).The sizes of the AgNP grains were estimated by Granularity Cumulating Distribution (GCD). The results revealed the production of AgNPs in different sizes of 103 and 82 nm using the Moraceae family and 77 and74nm using the Euphorbiaceae
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