Antimicrobial Carbohydrate-Based Macromolecules: Their Structures and Activities

Advances in the preparation and application of cellulose-based antimicrobial materials: A review

The rise of polymer materials in modern life has drawn attention to renewable, easily biodegradable, environmentally-friendly bio-based polymers. Notably, significant research has been dedicated to creating green antimicrobial functional materials for the biomedical field using natural polymer materials. Cellulose is a rich natural biomass organic polymer material. Given its favorable attributes like film-forming capability, biodegradability, and biocompatibility, it is extensively employed to tackle a wide range of challenges confronting humanity today. However, its inherent drawbacks, such as insolubility in water and most organic solvents, hygroscopic nature, difficulty in melting, and limited antimicrobial properties, continue to pose challenges for realizing the high-value applications of cellulose. Achieving multifunctionality and more efficient application of cellulose still poses major challenges. In this regard, the current development status of cellulose materials was reviewed, covering the classification, preparation methods, and application status of cellulose-based antimicrobial materials. The application value of cellulose-based antimicrobial materials in biomedicine, textiles, food packaging, cosmetics and wastewater treatment was summarised. Finally, insights were provided into the developing prospects of cellulose-based antimicrobial materials were provided.

Carbohydrate polymer-based nanocomposites for breast cancer treatment

Breast cancer is known as the most common invasive malignancy in women with the highest mortality rate worldwide. This concerning disease may be presented in situ (relatively easier treatment) or be invasive, especially invasive ductal carcinoma which is highly worrisome nowadays. Among several strategies used in breast cancer treatment, nanotechnology-based targeted therapy is currently being investigated, as it depicts advanced technological features able of preventing drugs' side effects on normal cells while effectively acting on tumor cells. In this context, carbohydrate polymer-based nanocomposites have gained particular interest among the biomedical community for breast cancer therapy applications due to their advantage features, including abundance in nature, biocompatibility, straightforward fabrication methods, and good physicochemical properties. In this review, the physicochemical properties and biological activities of carbohydrate polymers and their derivate nanocomposites were discussed. Then, various methods for the fabrication of carbohydrate polymer-based nanocomposites as well as their application in breast cancer therapy and future perspectives were discussed.

Synthesis of C6-amino agarose and evaluation of its antibacterial activity

In this paper, the biologically inert agarose was selectively modified at C6 of β-d-Galp units to produce an amino derivative with antibacterial property. The synthetic route involved the preparation of tosyl and azido agarose intermediates. All the polysaccharide derivatives were characterized by mono- and bidimensional 1H and 13C NMR and FT-IR analysis. A water-soluble amino polymer (Mw = 39,000 g mol-1, DSamino = 0.50) was produced by partial acid hydrolysis showing bactericidal and bacteriostatic activity against P. aeruginosa (ATCC 9027), S. aureus (ATCC 6538), and E. coli (ATCC 25922), with MIC values lower than 2.5 mg mL-1 and MBC values ranging from 2.5 to 5.0 mg mL-1.