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Winery industry by-products have a great reuse potential in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic fields due to their bioactive compounds. This study investigates the phytochemical profile and the bioactivity of Vitis vinifera variety Fetească neagră tendrils extract (TE) and leaves extract (LE), intended to be used in oral hygiene products recommended in periodontal disease. The evaluation of the phenolic content was performed by colorimetric analysis. Liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry was used to determine the chemical profile of the two extracts obtained from V. vinifera. Moreover, the antioxidant activity of the extracts was determined by spectrophotometric methods, as well as on human gingival fibroblasts (HGF) cell line. The cytocompatibility and cytoprotective effect against nicotine-induced cytotoxicity were tested, as well as the anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects. The TE showed higher total polyphenolic content, rich in rutin, compared to the leaves extract that displayed important amounts of isoquercitrin. The antioxidant effect was confirmed by both non-cellular and cellular tests. The cytocompatibility of the extracts was confirmed at a wide range of concentrations. The cytoprotective effect was demonstrated in HGF exposed to cytotoxic doses of nicotine; 300 µg/mL of both tested extracts decreased nicotine toxicity by approximately 20%. When challenged with E. coli polysaccharides, in HGF cells co-exposed to TE and LE, a reduction in the release of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-8, IL-6 and IL-1β) was observed. The extracts were both able to reduce the levels of reactive oxygen species and inflammatory cytokines, and had notable antimicrobial effects on pathogenic bacteria associated with periodontitis.

Antibiotic resistance has increased significantly in the recent years, and has become a global problem for human health and the environment. As a result, several technologies for the controlling of health-care associated infections have been developed over the years. Thus, the most recent findings in hydrogel fabrication, particularly antimicrobial hydrogels, could offer valuable solutions for these biomedical challenges. In this review, we discuss the most promising strategies in the development of antimicrobial hydrogels and the application of hydrogels in the treatment of microbial infections. The latest advances in the development of inherently and composite antimicrobial hydrogels will be discussed, as well as hydrogels as carriers of antimicrobials, with a focus on antibiotics, metal nanoparticles, antimicrobial peptides, and biological extracts. The emergence of CRISR-Cas9 technology for removing the antimicrobial resistance has led the necessity of new and performant carriers for delivery of the CRISPR-Cas9 system. Different delivery systems, such as composite hydrogels and many types of nanoparticles, attracted a great deal of attention and will be also discussed in this review.

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Various powders of graphene oxide (GO), GO with silver (GO-Ag) and zinc oxide (GO-ZnO) were obtained. The powders were silanized with (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) aiming to be used, in a future stage, as additives in the hydraulic lime mortars composition. The powders were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) before and after the silanization process. GO, GO-Ag, GO-Ag-APTES, GO-ZnO and GO-ZnO-APTES powders were also investigated by Thermogravimetric Analysis (TG/DTA) and Ultraviolet–Visible Spectroscopy (UV-Vis). Likewise, the antibacterial effect of powders against five bacterial strains was evaluated. The peaks associated to the functional groups from GO, GO-APTES, GO-Ag, GO-Ag-APTES, GO-ZnO and GO-ZnO-APTES powders were identified by FTIR analysis. The mass losses of powders, analyzed by TG/DTA were lower than those recorded for GO. By UV-VIS analysis, maxima corresponding to the electronic π-π * and n-π * transitions were recorded. SEM images highlighted the lamellar and layered structure of GO, but also the presence of Ag and Zn nanoparticles on the surface of graphene sheets. All these results confirm the presence of Ag/ZnO/APTES on the GO. The antibacterial effect evaluated by recording the diameter of the inhibition zone ranged between 12–22 mm.