Lipids and Essential Oils as Antimicrobial Agents

By integrating knowledge from pharmacology, microbiology, molecular medicine, and engineering, researchers from Europe, the U.S. and Asia cover a broad spectrum of current and potential antimicrobial medications and treatments. The result is a comprehensive survey ranging from small-molecule antibiotics to antimicrobial peptides and their engineered mimetics, from enzymes to nucleic acid therapeutics, from metallic nanoparticles to photo- and sonosensitizers and to phage therapy. In each case, the therapeutic approaches are compared in terms of their mechanisms, likelihood to induce resistance, and their efficiency in a global healthcare context. Unrivaled knowledge for professionals in fundamental research, pharmaceutical development and clinical practice.

Commercially used for food flavorings, toiletry products, cosmetics, and perfumes, among others, citrus essential oil has recently been applied physiologically, like for chemoprevention against cancer and in aromatherapy. Citrus Essential Oils: Flavor and Fragrance presents an overview of citrus essential oils, covering the basics, methodology, and applications involved in recent topics of citrus essential oils research. The concepts, analytical methods, and properties of these oils are described and the chapters detail techniques for oil extraction, compositional analysis, functional properties, and industrial uses. This book is an unparalleled resource for food and flavor scientists and chemists.

A guide to the use of essential oils in food, including information on their composition, extraction methods, and their antioxidant and antimicrobial applications Consumers’ food preferences are moving away from synthetic additives and preservatives and there is an increase demand for convenient packaged foods with long shelf lives. The use of essential oils fills the need for more natural preservativesto extend the shelf-life and maintaining the safety of foods. Essential Oils in Food Processing offers researchers in food science a guide to the chemistry, safety and applications of these easily accessible and eco-friendly substances. The text offers a review of essential oils components, history, source and their application in foods and explores common and new extraction methods of essential oils from herbs and spices. The authors show how to determine the chemical composition of essential oils as well as an explanation of the antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of these oils in foods. This resource also delves into the effect of essential oils on food flavor and explores the interaction of essential oils and food components. Essential Oils in Food Processing offers a: Handbook of the use of essential oils in food, including their composition, extraction methods and their antioxidant and antimicrobial applications Guide that shows how essential oils can be used to extend the shelf life of food products whilst meeting consumer demand for “natural” products Review of the use of essential oils as natural flavour ingredients Summary of relevant food regulations as pertaining to essential oils Academic researchers in food science, R&D scientists, and educators and advanced students in food science and nutrition can tap into the most recent findings and basic understanding of the chemistry, application, and safe us of essential oils in food processing.

The use of oligonucleotides as therapeutic agents rests upon their ability to interfere, in a sequence-specific manner, with the fundamental machinery of protein synthesis either by binding to the mRNAs transcribed from a gene or by binding directly to a target gene. This approach can be used not only for inhibition of the synthesis of host proteins but also of those required by invading pathogens. Potential therapeutic applications are enormous, ranging over hypertension, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease, vital and other parasitic infections (especially HIV), and cancer. This book discusses the chemistry and pharmacokinetics of oligonucleotides and their analogues, and surveys the results of structure-activity studies and current clinical trials. It also critically reviews the problems with antisense therapy, such as the enzymatic destruction of oligonucleotides, the doses required for a therapeutic response, the difficulty in directing oligonucleotides to particular target tissues and cells, the need for parenteral administration, and doubts concerning the mechanism of action (especially problems associated with non-specific binding to proteins) and long-term effects.

Unique coverage of proteomic and glycomic approaches to better distinguish highly dangerous pathogens, as well as using these to explore novel treatment and prevention options. The editors and authors are either part of a specialized European network initiated to develop fast and reliable detection and therapy options, or are associated with the core military research complex of the United States. With its description of the methods, their advantages and limitations, as well as the principle outcomes, this is a must-have resource for all professionals dealing with BSL3 and/or BSL 4 agents.

In one handy book, this reference gathers all the necessary information on 14 of the most commonly used dangerous groups of pathogens in biosafety level 3 and 4 laboratories. All the chapters are uniformly structured, with a brief overview of the microbiology, pathology, epidemiology and detection methods for each group. In addition, a whole chapter is devoted to the special biosafety requirements, disinfection, decontamination protocols, accident literature and accident procedures, as well as treatment options for all the organisms. This chapter is clearly marked and easy to find when opening the book. Essential literature for the increasing number of BSL3 or BSL4 labs worldwide and for medical facilities intervening in the case of an incident.

The Novartis Foundation Series is a popular collection of the proceedings from Novartis Foundation Symposia, in which groups of leading scientists from a range of topics across biology, chemistry and medicine assembled to present papers and discuss results. The Novartis Foundation, originally known as the Ciba Foundation, is well known to scientists and clinicians around the world.

The pioneering guide on the design, processing, and testing of antimicrobial plastic materials and coatings The manifestation of harmful microbes in plastic materials used in medical devices and drugs, water purification systems, hospital equipment, textiles, and food packaging pose alarming health threats to consumers by exposing them to many serious infectious diseases. As a result, high demand for intensifying efforts in the R&D of antimicrobial polymers has placed heavy reliance on both academia and industry to find viable solutions for producing safer plastic materials. To assist researchers and students in this endeavor, Antimicrobial Polymers explores coupling contaminant-deterring biocides and plastics—focusing particular attention on natural biocides and the nanofabrication of biocides. Each chapter is devoted to addressing a key technology employed to impart antimicrobial behavior to polymers, including chemical modification of the polymers themselves. A host of relevant topics, such as regulatory matters, human safety, and environmental risks are covered to help lend depth to the book's vital subject matter. In addition, Antimicrobial Polymers: Discusses the design, processing, and testing of antimicrobial plastic materials Covers interdisciplinary areas of chemistry and microbiology Includes applications in food packaging, medical devices, nanotechnology, and coatings Details regulations from the U.S. (FDA and EPA) and EU as well as human safety and environmental concerns Achieving cleaner and more effective methods for improving the infection-fighting properties of versatile and necessary plastic materials is a goal that stretches across many scientific fields. Antimicrobial Polymers combines all of this information into one volume, exposing readers to preventive strategies that harbor vast potential for making exposure to polymeric products and surfaces a far less risky undertaking in the future.

Addressing one of the biggest riddles in current molecular cell biology, this ground-breaking monograph builds the case for the crucial involvement of lipids and membranes in the formation of amyloid deposits. Tying together recent knowledge from in vitro and in vivo studes, and built on a sound biophysical and biochemical foundation, this overview brings the reader up to date with current models of the interplay between membranes and amyloid formation. Required reading for any researcher interested in amyloid formation and amyloid toxicity, and possible avenues for the prevention or treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. From the contents: * Interactions of Alpha-Synuclein with Lipids * Interaction of hIAPP and its Precursors with Membranes * Amyloid Polymorphisms: Structural Basis and Significance in Biology and Molecular Medicine * The Role of Lipid Rafts in Alzheimer's Disease * Alzheimer's Disease as a Membrane-Associated Enzymopathy of Beta-Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) Secretases * Impaired Regulation of Glutamate Receptor Channels and Signaling Molecules by Beta-Amyloid in Alzheimer's Disease * Membrane Changes in BSE and Scrapie * Experimental Approaches and Technical Challenges for Studying Amyloid-Membrane Interactions and more

In this text, the small team of expert authors presents the field in a comprehensive and accessible manner that is well suited for students and junior researchers. The result is a highly readable and systematically structured introduction to antimicrobial peptides, their structure, biological function and mode of action. The authors point the way towards a rational design of this potentially highly effective new class of clinical antibiotics on the brink of industrial application. They do this by discussing their design principles, target membranes and structure-activity relationships. The final part of the book describes recent successes in the application of peptides as anticancer agents.