Use of photo-Fenton's reaction by 400-nm LED light for endodontic disinfection: A preliminary in vitro study on Enterococcus faecalis

Advances in Ferroptosis-Inducing Agents by Targeted Delivery System in Cancer Therapy

Currently, cancer remains one of the most significant threats to human health. Treatment of most cancers remains challenging, despite the implementation of diverse therapies in clinical practice. In recent years, research on the mechanism of ferroptosis has presented novel perspectives for cancer treatment. Ferroptosis is a regulated cell death process caused by lipid peroxidation of membrane unsaturated fatty acids catalyzed by iron ions. The rapid development of bio-nanotechnology has generated considerable interest in exploiting iron-induced cell death as a new therapeutic target against cancer. This article provides a comprehensive overview of recent advancements at the intersection of iron-induced cell death and bionanotechnology. In this respect, the mechanism of iron-induced cell death and its relation to cancer are summarized. Furthermore, the feasibility of a nano-drug delivery system based on iron-induced cell death for cancer treatment is introduced and analyzed. Secondly, strategies for inducing iron-induced cell death using nanodrug delivery technology are discussed, including promoting Fenton reactions, inhibiting glutathione peroxidase 4, reducing low glutathione levels, and inhibiting system Xc-. Additionally, the article explores the potential of combined treatment strategies involving iron-induced cell death and bionanotechnology. Finally, the application prospects and challenges of iron-induced nanoagents for cancer treatment are discussed.

LED-irradiated photo-Fenton process on pollutant removal: outcomes, trends, and limitations

This manuscript critically reviews the state of the art on the application of photo-Fenton processes irradiated by light-emitting diode arrays (LED) with a focus on the removal of contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) from aqueous matrices. LEDs are clean, low-cost radiation sources with longer lifespan compared to mercury lamps. This study covers the influence of LED sources, wavelengths, and dose upon CEC removal, and the potential for disinfection, abatement of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), and genes (ARG). The bibliographic search was performed in Scopus database using keyword combinations and resulted in a portfolio containing 52 relevant articles published between 2010-2023. According to reviewed papers, LED photoreactor design has evolved in the past decade aiming to improve CEC degradation in aqueous matrices while reducing construction and operation costs, and energy consumption. Among several reactors (annular, fluidized bed, parallel plate, wireless, pathway systems, and microreactor) surveyed for their performance and scalability, LED chips and strips are particularly suitable for application due to their wide emission angle (≈120°) and small size (mm2), which allow for, respectively, efficient illumination coverage and flexible arrangement and design. LED microreactors are very efficient in the degradation of contaminants and scalable with reduced area requirements. Although most studies were performed in synthetic solutions and at laboratory scale, the externally LED irradiated cylindrical reactor was successful for application in full-scale municipal water treatment plants. Future studies should focus on evaluating CEC removal in wastewater using scalable devices for continuous operation of solar photo-Fenton at night.

Vis LED Photo-Fenton Degradation of 124-Trichlorobenzene at a Neutral pH Using Ferrioxalate as Catalyst

Chlorinated organic compounds (COCs) are among the more toxic organic compounds frequently found in soil and groundwater. Among these, toxic and low-degradable chlorobenzenes are commonly found in the environment. In this work, an innovative process using hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant, ferrioxalate as the catalyst and a visible light-emitting diode lamp (Vis LED) were applied to successfully oxidize 124-trichlorobenzene (124-TCB) in a saturated aqueous solution of 124-TCB (28 mg L^-1) at a neutral pH. The influence of a hydrogen peroxide (HP) concentration (61.5-612 mg L^-1), Fe³⁺ (Fe) dosage (3-10 mg L^-1), and irradiation level (Rad) (I = 0.12 W cm^-2 and I = 0.18 W cm^-2) on 124-TCB conversion and dechlorination was studied. A D-Optimal experimental design combined with response surface methodology (RSM) was implemented to maximize the quality of the information obtained. The ANOVA test was used to assess the significance of the model and its coefficients. The maximum pollutant conversion at 180 min (98.50%) was obtained with Fe = 7 mg L^-1, HP = 305 mg L^-1, and I = 0.12 W cm^-2. The effect of two inorganic anions usually presents in real groundwater (bicarbonate and chloride, 600 mg L^-1 each) was investigated under those optimized operating conditions. A slight reduction in the 124-TCB conversion after 180 min of reaction was noticed in the presence of bicarbonate (8.31%) and chloride (7.85%). Toxicity was studied with Microtox® (Azur Environmental, Carlsbad, CA, USA) bioassay, and a remarkable toxicity decrease was found in the treated samples, with the inhibition proportional to the remaining 124-TCB concentration. That means that nontoxic byproducts are produced in agreement with the high dechlorination degrees noticed.

A comparative study of photo-Fenton process assisted by natural sunlight, UV-A, or visible LED light irradiation for degradation of real textile wastewater: factorial designs, kinetics, cost assessment, and phytotoxicity studies

The present work aims to evaluate the treatment of the effluent from the textile industry via advanced oxidative processes of photo-Fenton assisted by different sources (natural sunlight, UV-A or visible LED lamps). To identify the best operating conditions, a factorial design was carried out for each process. It was observed that after the optimization of the processes, chemical oxygen demand (COD) removals greater than 88% were achieved. In addition, it was observed that the use of the LED lamp required lower reagent concentrations compared to solar and UV-A sources. A kinetic study was carried out under the best conditions obtained and it was observed that the sources showed rapid evolution, reaching a COD removal equilibrium with 30 min of reaction. Reagent monitoring was also carried out, and it was observed that they were not limiting to the reaction. Phytotoxicity analysis was also satisfactory since the treated effluents allowed a higher relative growth and germination index of the cucumber roots compared to the raw effluent. Finally, the cost analysis indicated that the use of LED lamps resulted in a reduction in electrical consumption compared to the UV-A lamp, as well as a reduction in the cost of reagents due to the lower concentration of reagents required compared to processes assisted by natural sunlight and UV-A.

Bactericidal effect of Er,Cr:YSGG laser irradiation on endodontic biofilm: An ex vivo study

AIM

This ex vivo study aimed to evaluate the of Er,Cr:YSGG laser effectiveness in the decontamination of an endodontic biofilm.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Seventy-three single rooted human teeth, freshly were chosen. Each tooth was exposed to four associated species in an endodontic biofilm (Enterococcus faecalis, Streptococcus salivarius, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Prevotella intermedia) and randomly allocated to one of the seven experimental groups. The group 1 (7 teeth) was used to finalize the reliable biofilm-forming technique. The groups 2 and 3 (15 teeth each group) were irradiated with two different Er;Cr:YSGG laser settings (0,75 W - 40 Hz and 4 W - 40 Hz, respectively). The groups 4 and 5 (15 teeth each group) were irrigated with two different solutions and laser irradiated with the same settings (1,5 W - 15 Hz). The group 6 (6 teeth) was the control group treated only with 4 ml 2,5% NaOCl irrigation during 60 s.

RESULTS

The observations of group 2 and 3 specimens showed the ripeness of the biofilm with the presence of Enterococcus faecalis and Streptococcus salivarius in chains but in group 3 thermal edge effects produced by the optic fiber in the canal walls were present. The group 4 specimens observation showed an average cleaning of the root canal walls while on the canal walls of group 5 samples the apical third presented several debris and smear layer and in the centre cracks and melting dentin of the radicular wall were observed.

CONCLUSION

In those experimental conditions, this study, demonstrated that Er,Cr:YSGG laser has a canals decontamination ability when associated to NaOCl irrigation.

Recent Patents on Light-Based Anti-Infective Approaches

BACKGROUND

Antibiotic resistance is one of the most serious health threats to modern medicine. The lack of potent antibiotics puts us at a disadvantage in the fight against infectious diseases, especially those caused by antibiotic-resistant microbial strains. To this end, an urgent need to search for alternative antimicrobial approaches has arisen. In the last decade, light-based anti-infective therapy has made significant strides in this fight to combat antibiotic resistance among various microbial strains. This method includes utilizing antimicrobial blue light, antimicrobial photodynamic therapy, and germicidal ultraviolet irradiation, among others. Light-based therapy is advantageous over traditional antibiotics in that it eradicates microbial cells rapidly and the likelihood of light-resistance development by microbes is low.

METHODS

This review highlights the patents on light-based therapy that were filed approximately within the last decade and are dedicated to eradicating pathogenic microorganisms. The primary database that was used for the search was Google Patents. The searches were performed using the keywords including blue light, antimicrobial photodynamic therapy, ultraviolet irradiation, antibiotic resistance, disinfection, bacterium, fungus, and virus.

RESULTS

Forty-five patents were obtained in our search: 9 patents for the antimicrobial blue light approach, 21 for antimicrobial photodynamic therapy, 11 for UV irradiation, and lastly 4 for other light-based anti-infective approaches. The treatments and devices discussed in this review are interestingly enough able to be used in various different functions and settings, such as dental applications, certain eye diseases, skin and hard surface cleansing, decontamination of internal organs (e.g., the stomach), decontamination of apparel and equipment, eradication of pathogenic microorganisms from buildings and rooms, etc. Most of the devices and inventions introduce methods of destroying pathogenic bacteria and fungi without harming human cells and tissues.

CONCLUSIONS

Light-based antimicrobial approaches hold great promise for the future in regards to treating antibiotic-resistant infections and related diseases.

Antimicrobial blue light inactivation of pathogenic microbes: State of the art

As an innovative non-antibiotic approach, antimicrobial blue light in the spectrum of 400-470nm has demonstrated its intrinsic antimicrobial properties resulting from the presence of endogenous photosensitizing chromophores in pathogenic microbes and, subsequently, its promise as a counteracter of antibiotic resistance. Since we published our last review of antimicrobial blue light in 2012, there have been a substantial number of new studies reported in this area. Here we provide an updated overview of the findings from the new studies over the past 5 years, including the efficacy of antimicrobial blue light inactivation of different microbes, its mechanism of action, synergism of antimicrobial blue light with other angents, its effect on host cells and tissues, the potential development of resistance to antimicrobial blue light by microbes, and a novel interstitial delivery approach of antimicrobial blue light. The potential new applications of antimicrobial blue light are also discussed.