Reuse of healing abutments can be cost effective in dental practice. However, used abutments sterilized and serviced by dental implant dealers might be a source of cross-infection. They should therefore be cleaned and resterilized before reuse as a precaution.

In this work, a comparison between two different preparation methods for the improvement of dissolution rate of an antifungal agent is presented. Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) electrospun fibers and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) complexes, which were produced via an electrospinning process and an inclusion complexation method, respectively, were addressed for the treatment of fungal infections. Voriconazole (VRCZ) drug was selected as a model drug. PCL nanofibers were characterized on the basis of morphology while phase solubility studies for β-CDs complexes were performed. Various concentrations (5, 10, 15 and 20 wt %) of VRCZ were loaded to PCL fibers and β-CD inclusions to study the in vitro release profile as well as in vitro antifungal activity. The results clearly indicated that all formulations showed an improved VRCZ solubility and can inhibit fungi proliferation.

Probiotics are live microbial food supplements that can be considered a functional food. They benefit the health of a host animal by maintaining their intestinal microbial balance. Most probiotic microorganisms are lactic acid bacteria (LAB) such as Lactobacillus spp., Bifidobacterium spp., and Enterococcus spp. LAB have been reported to possess certain anticancer properties. The vast majority of studies on their anticancer effects have dealt with colorectal cancers, although there have also been some studies on breast and bladder cancers. Colon cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer-related mortality in the world. The aim of this study was to investigate the antiproliferative effects of the cell-free filtrate and the cell-free lyophilized filtrate of 3 LAB (Pediococcus pentosaceus, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Weissella confusa) on human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line Caco-2. The filtrates were found to inhibit the growth of colon cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner as detected by the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay, suggesting that these strains might have use as probiotics in functional food or for colon cancer treatment. There are no other studies related to the anticancer activities of W. confusa in the literature.

Inorganic and carbon based nanomaterials are widely used against several diseases, such as cancer, autoimmune diseases as well as fungi and bacteria colonization. In this work, Santa Barbara Amorphous mesoporous silica (SBA), Halloysite Nanotubes (HNTs) and Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) were loaded with fluoroquinolone Levofloxacin (LVF) to be applied as antimicrobial agents. The prepared via adsorption nanocarriers were characterized by Fourier-Transformed Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy as well as High Pressure liquid Chromatography. In vitro release studies were carried out using Simulated Body Fluid at 37 o C and data analyzed by various kinetic models showing slow dissolution over 12-24 hours. Antimicrobial studies showed improved antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis compared to neat nanomaterials. CNTs were found to be the most promising candidates for LVF delivery and they were chosen to be further studied for their acute oral toxicity and histopathological examination using C57/Black mice. Histological examination depicted that drug loading did not affect mice organs morphology as well as hepatocyte degeneration, central vein degeneration and parenchymal necrosis scores. To conclude, the prepared nanomaterials present significant characteristics and can act as antimicrobial drug carriers; CNTs found to be safe candidates when orally fed to mice.