In this research, a textile surface was modified by the sol–gel methodology with a new antimicrobial coating containing nanoparticles active against bacteria resistant to antibiotics. The effect of ultrasonic irradiation power (40 to 90 kHz), the concentration of reagents (nanoparticles, precursor and acids) and time (15 to 72 min) were investigated in relation to the structure, morphology and antimicrobial activity of coatings with zinc oxide nanoparticles. The relationship between the sonocatalytic performance and structure of the resultant modification was established by using various techniques, such as FTIR spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy with an EDX detector (SEM-EDX), thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and antimicrobial effects were determined on selected model microorganisms. The homogeneity of layers with ZnO nanoparticles on samples was increased by increasing the ultrasonic irradiation power and time. The ultrasonic irradiation unify did not only unify both the structure and the morphology of samples, it also prevented the agglomeration of the nanoparticles. Moreover, under optimal conditions, an antimicrobial coating with ZnO nanoparticles, active against bacterial species S. aureus and E. coli was efficiently prepared. Results of the Time-kill methodology revieled excellent results starting after 6 hours of exposal to antimicrobialy functionalized cellulose polymer.

The field of population genomics has seen a surge of studies on genomic structural variation over the past two decades. These studies witnessed that structural variation is taxonomically ubiquitous and represent a dominant form of genetic variation within species. Recent advances in technology, especially the development of long-read sequencing platforms, have enabled the discovery of structural variants (SVs) in previously inaccessible genomic regions which unlocked additional structural variation for population studies and revealed that more SVs contribute to evolution than previously perceived. An increasing number of studies suggest that SVs of all types and sizes may have a large effect on phenotype and consequently major impact on rapid adaptation, population divergence, and speciation. However, the functional effect of the vast majority of SVs is unknown and the field generally lacks evidence on the phenotypic consequences of most SVs that are suggested to have adaptive potential. Non-human genomes are heavily under-represented in population-scale studies of SVs. We argue that more research on other species is needed to objectively estimate the contribution of SVs to evolution. We discuss technical challenges associated with SV detection and outline the most recent advances towards more representative reference genomes, which opens a new era in population-scale studies of structural variation.

In this work the in vitro antimicrobial activity of colloidal solutions of nine different commercially available nanoparticles were investigated against Staphylococcus aureus strains, both methicillin-sensitive (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant (MRSA). Research covered antimicrobial investigation of different metal and metal-oxide nanoparticles, including Ag 10 nm, Ag 40 nm, Al2O3 100 nm, Au 20 nm, Pt 4 nm, TiO2 100 nm, Y2O3 100 nm, ZnO 100 nm and ZrO2 100 nm nanoparticles. Such materials were foreseen to be applied as coatings on 3D-printed biodegradable polymers: i.e., catheters, disposable materials, hospital bedding items, disposable antimicrobial linings and bandages for chronic wounds. Therefore, the antimicrobial activity of the nanoparticles was determined by agar well diffusion assays and serial microdilution broth assays. In addition, the chromatographic characterization of elements present in trace amounts was performed as a method for tracing the nanoparticles. Moreover, the potential of preparing the rough surface of biodegradable polymers for coating with antimicrobial nanoparticles was tested by 3D-printing fused deposition methodology. The in vitro results have shown that particular nanoparticles provided powerful antimicrobial effects against MSSA and MRSA strains, and can be easily applied on different biopolymers.