Metal–organic frameworks based bioelectrodes.

The unique functionality of Akkermansia muciniphila in gut microbiota indicates it to be an indispensable microbe for human welfare. The importance of A. muciniphila lies in its potential to convert mucin into beneficial by-products, regulate intestinal homeostasis and maintain gut barrier integrity. It is also known to competitively inhibit other mucin-degrading bacteria and improve metabolic functions and immunity responses in the host. It finds a pivotal perspective in various diseases and their treatment. It has future as a promising probiotic, disease biomarker and therapeutic agent for chronic diseases. Diseaseassociated dysbiosis of A. muciniphila in the gut microbiome makes it a potential candidate as a biomarker for some diseases and can provide future theranostics by suggesting ways of diagnosis for the patients and best treatment method based on the screening results. Manipulation of A. muciniphila in gut microbiome may help in developing a novel personalized therapeutic action and can be a suitable next generation medicine. However, the actual pathway governing A. muciniphila interaction with hosts remains to be investigated. Also, due to the limited availability of products containing A. muciniphila, it is not exploited to its full potential. The present review aims at highlighting the potential of A. muciniphila in mucin degradation, contribution towards the gut health and host immunity and management of metabolic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, and respiratory diseases such as cystic fibrosis and COVID-19.

Cancer is a global concern and a major cause of early deaths as well as poor lifestyles. One of the prime research areas of cancer includes nanotechnology and its applications. Many nanomaterials like carbon nanotubes, nanoshells, nanorod arrays, polymer dots, quantum dots, etc have been highlighted owing to their excellent characteristics aiding in cancer diagnostics and therapeutics. In this paper, the authors aim to highlight the application of one of such nanostructures, i.e, Carbon quantum dots (CQDs). These nanoparticles have seen widespread application in cancer due to their special optical characteristics, high quantum yield as well as good electrical properties. They also possess excellent photostability. The past few decades have seen their application in diagnostic devices, assays, biosensors, bioimaging, drug delivery, and other therapeutic applications as well. The review summarizes its remarkable characteristics and recent trends in cancer diagnostics and therapeutics. The outcome of our literature review highlights that CQDs are able to detect specific types of cancer and differentiate between normal and malignant cells, hence, making cancer diagnosis more efficient. Similarly, in cancer therapy, the excellent photoluminescence property of CQDs has been well exploited in drug delivery.