The drug conjugates were stable, non-hemolytic and non-toxic to the internal organs of the animal and showed good anti-fungal and anti-leishmanial activity in vitro. In spite of the large molecular weight of the polysaccharide, AmB from the conjugates showed bioavailability after i.v injection. Since the highest concentration of AmB was found in the spleen after a single injection, these conjugates may have potential in anti-leishmanial therapy.

Recently, carbon dots (CDs) have become one of the most sought nanomaterials for biological applications owing to their excellent fluorescence, chemical inertness and biocompatibility. This article depicts the generation of a fluorescent nano probe using CDs for viewing bone cracks and simultaneous drug delivery to the cracked or infected sites. Water soluble polyethylene glycol diamine capped CDs were conjugated with glutamic acid (GA), a calcium targeting ligand, and ciprofloxacin as an antibacterial model drug. Physicochemical characterizations, cytotoxicity evaluation, haemolysis and antibacterial activity studies of the synthesized probe and its ability to target onto bone are demonstrated. Our results indicate that there is significant scope in developing functionalized CDs as theranostic agents.

Ampicillin was conjugated to periodate-oxidized gum arabic (GA), a branched polysaccharide, to form the imino conjugate of the drug and the polysaccharide. The water-soluble conjugate was dispersed by sonication in a mixture of toluene and liquid paraffin in the presence of a non-ionic surfactant as droplet stabilizer and fabricated into microspheres by heat denaturation at 80 degrees C to obtain spheres less than 2 microm in diameter. These microspheres did not undergo dissolution in water on prolonged incubation. In-vitro release of ampicillin into phosphate buffer from the microspheres was slow and sustained with a cumulative release between 10 and 25% of the drug content in 10 days depending on the degree of oxidation of GA and the drug payload. Release into simulated gastric fluid was faster due to faster hydrolysis of the drug-GA bond in the acid medium, but when the medium was changed to intestinal fluid, the release was slowed down. Ampicillin released was functionally active and inhibited the growth of S. aureus and E. coli in cultures, although not as actively as free ampicillin. The microspheres underwent slow biodegradation on prolonged incubation in aqueous media. These studies show that ampicillin conjugated with oxidized GA and fabricated into microspheres possesses sustained-release characteristics for prolonged periods.

The yeast Kodamaea (Pichia) ohmeri is a rare human pathogen with infrequent report of neonatal infection. Native valve endocarditis by Kodamaea ohmeri is extremely rare. The current case report describes a case of fatal nosocomial native valve endocarditis without any structural heart defects in a 40dayold baby. The patient was referred to our institute after having ICU stay of 18 days in another hospital for necrotizing enterocolitis and was found to have obstructive tricuspid valve mass and fungemia with Kodamaea ohmeri. In spite of the treatment, patient developed sepsis with disseminated intravascular coagulation and could not be revived.