An endophytic fungus, Penicillium simplicissimum conjugated with C60 fullerene for its potential antimitotic, anti-inflammatory, anticancer and photodegradation activities

Nanocomposite fibers based on cellulose acetate loaded with fullerene for cancer therapy: preparation, characterization and in-vitro evaluation

The current prevalence of cancerous diseases necessitates the exploration of materials that can effectively treat these conditions while minimizing the occurrence of adverse side effects. This study aims to identify materials with the potential to inhibit the metastasis of cancerous diseases within the human body while concurrently serving as therapeutic agents for their treatment. A novel approach was employed to enhance the anti-cancer properties of electrospun cellulose fibers by incorporating fullerene nanoparticles (NPs) into cellulose acetate (CA) fibers, resulting in a composite material called Fullerene@CA. This development aimed at utilizing the anti-cancer properties of fullerenes for potential therapeutic applications. This process has been demonstrated in vitro against various types of cancer, and it was found that Fullerene@CA nanocomposite fibers displayed robust anticancer activity. Cancer cells (Caco-2, MDA-MB 231, and HepG-2 cells) were inhibited by 0.3 and 0.5 mg.g-1 fullerene doses by 58.62-62.87%, 47.86-56.43%, and 48.60-57.73%, respectively. The tested cancer cells shrink and lose their spindle shape due to morphological changes. The investigation of the prepared nanocomposite reveals its impact on various genes, such as BCL2, NF-KB, p53, Bax, and p21, highlighting the therapeutic compounds' effectiveness. The experimental results demonstrated that the incorporation of NPs into CA fibers resulted in a significant improvement in their anti-cancer efficacy. Therefore, it is suggested that these modified fibers could be utilized as a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment and prevention of cancer metastasis.

Bioactive compounds and biomedical applications of endophytic fungi: a recent review

Human life has been significantly impacted by the creation and spread of novel species of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and virus strains that are difficult to manage. Scientists and researchers have recently been motivated to seek out alternatives and other sources of safe and ecologically friendly active chemicals that have a powerful and effective effect against a wide variety of pathogenic bacteria as a result of all these hazards and problems. In this review, endophytic fungi and their bioactive compounds and biomedical applications were discussed. Endophytes, a new category of microbial source that can produce a variety of biological components, have major values for study and broad prospects for development. Recently, endophytic fungi have received much attention as a source for new bioactive compounds. In addition, the variety of natural active compounds generated by endophytes is due to the close biological relationship between endophytes and their host plants. The bioactive compounds separated from endophytes are usually classified as steroids, xanthones, terpenoids, isocoumarins, phenols, tetralones, benzopyranones and enniatines. Moreover, this review discusses enhancement methods of secondary metabolites production by fungal endophytes which include optimization methods, co-culture method, chemical epigenetic modification and molecular-based approaches. Furthermore, this review deals with different medical applications of bioactive compounds such as antimicrobial, antiviral, antioxidant and anticancer activities in the last 3 years.