Papers by luminita marutescu
Book of Abstracts SIMI 2022
Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 2022
This work pledge to extend the therapeutic windows of hybrid nanoparticulate systems by engineeri... more This work pledge to extend the therapeutic windows of hybrid nanoparticulate systems by engineering mannose-decorated hybrid nanoparticles based on poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) and vegetable oil for efficient delivery of two lipophilic anti-inflammatory therapeutics (Celecoxib-CL and Indomethacin-IMC) to macrophages. The mannose surface modification of nanoparticles is achieved via O-palmitoyl-mannose spacer during the emulsification and nanoparticles assembly process. The impact of targeting motif on the hydrodynamic features (RH, PdI), stability (ζ-potential), drug encapsulation efficiency (DEE) is thoroughly investigated. Besides, the in vitro biocompatibility (MTT, LDH) and susceptibility of mannose-decorated formulations to macrophage as well their immunomodulatory activity (ELISA) are also evaluated. The monomodal distributed mannose-decorated nanoparticles are in the range of nanometric size (RH < 115 nm) with PdI < 0.20 and good encapsulation efficiency (DEE = 46.15% for CL and 76.20% for IMC). The quantitative investigation of macrophage uptake shows a 2-fold increase in fluorescence (RFU) of cells treated with mannose-decorated formulations as compared to non-decorated ones (p < 0.001) suggesting an enhanced cell uptake respectively improved macrophage targeting while the results of ELISA experiments suggest the potential immunomodulatory properties of the designed mannose-decorated hybrid formulations.
The aim of the present study is to investigate the microbiota of root filled teeth with apical pe... more The aim of the present study is to investigate the microbiota of root filled teeth with apical periodontitis and to determine the antibiotic susceptibility patterns of microbial strains isolated from twenty nine apical lesion samples taken from patients with fibrous chronic apical lesions. The present study has highlighted the polymicrobial nature of the root canal infections and the importance of facultatively anaerobic, Gram positive bacteria found in 90.74% of the isolated microorganims. The present study has shown an increased resistance of microorganisms to conventional antibiotics, which included penicillin, erythromycin and amoxicillin, as well as tetracyclines, although the last ones have been used sparingly in the past decade. The results of antibiotic sensitivity obtained in this study underline the importance of the microbiological diagnosis and antibiotic susceptibility testing in the choice of therapeutic agents used for the treatment of chronic apical lesions. Further studies with clinical correlation of effectiveness of these antibiotics and cultures taken after administration of antibiotics as well as recording of disappearance of symptoms are also recommended.
Romanian Biotechnological Letters, 2021
Genetic testing for hereditary thrombophilia, an inherited predisposition to thrombotic events, i... more Genetic testing for hereditary thrombophilia, an inherited predisposition to thrombotic events, is increasingly available. To evaluate the rate of positive thrombophilia tests in our laboratory we analyzed the carrier status for common thrombophilia-related gene variants in a consecutive unselected cohort of 360 Romanian patients. Genetic tests were performed on a Real-Time PCR platform. Majority of patients (98.6%) carried at least one thrombophilic variant. The carrier frequencies for classical prothrombotic mutations in F5 (Factor V Leiden) and F2 genes (prothrombin G20210A mutation) were 11.67% (10.27% heterozygous, 1.4% homozygous) and 6.95% (6.39% heterozygous, 0.56% homozygous), respectively. Concurrently, high carrier frequencies for MTHFR c.677C>T, MTHFR c.1298A>C, and PAI-1 4G/5G variants, that are controversially associated with thrombophilia, were observed: 65.28% (52.5% heterozygous, 12.78% homozygous), 53.61% (45% heterozygous, 8.61% homozygous), and 78.61% (49.4...
Journal of Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials
In this paper we show that preparation of Ag doped hydroxyapatite by an adapted co-precipitation ... more In this paper we show that preparation of Ag doped hydroxyapatite by an adapted co-precipitation method at 100°C has several advantages over other techniques. Specifically, it can generate highly crystalline nanopowder Ag:HAp which could be used for implantable medical devices. The XRD of HAp (xAg = 0) and Ag:HAp (xAg = 0.05, and xAg = 0.4) also demonstrates that powders obtained by co-precipitation at 100°C exhibit the apatite characteristics with good crystal structure and no new phase or impurity is found. The SEM results suggested that Ag+ doping had little influence on the morphology and dimension of the samples. It can be seen that all the samples consist of elipsoidal particles. The antibactericidal activity of Ag:HAp-NPs with xAg = 0, xAg = 0.05, and xAg = 0.4 on Bacilus and E.coli ESBL 1576 were presented. The Ag:HAp-NPs with xAg = 0.05, and xAg = 0.4 inhibited the biofilm development both by the gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus 0364) and the gram-negative (Providencia ...
Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, 2013
ABSTRACT New species of type MLCl2·nH2O (M:Ni, n = 6; M:Cu, n = 1.5 and M:Zn, n = 1; L: 1,8-bis(3... more ABSTRACT New species of type MLCl2·nH2O (M:Ni, n = 6; M:Cu, n = 1.5 and M:Zn, n = 1; L: 1,8-bis(3′-ketopyridil)-1,3,6,8,10,13-hexaazacyclotetradecane, ligand resulted by 1,2-diaminoethane, nicotinamide and formaldehyde template condensation) were synthesised. The compounds were characterised by chemical analysis, ESI–MS, IR, NMR, UV–Vis-NIR and EPR spectroscopy as well as magnetic data at room temperature. The modifications in the IR and NMR spectra are in accordance with the condensation process. Electronic spectra indicate that Ni(II) adopts an octahedral stereochemistry while the surrounding of Cu(II) is square-pyramidal. The proposed stereochemistry was furthermore confirmed by magnetic moments and EPR spectrum at room temperature. The water is eliminated in one or two steps, respectively, while the oxidative degradation of the ligand and chloride decomposition occur in two steps. The final residues consist of the most stable metallic oxides as X-ray powder diffraction indicates. The newly synthesised compounds were evaluated for their antimicrobial effect against different bacterial and fungal strains.
Current Organic Chemistry, 2013
ABSTRACT New dibenzo[b,e]thiepins were synthesized, characterized by elemental analysis, spectral... more ABSTRACT New dibenzo[b,e]thiepins were synthesized, characterized by elemental analysis, spectral studies (H-1-NMR, C-13-NMR, IR) and screened for their microbicidal and antibiofilm properties. The new dibenzo[b,e]thiepins and their sulfones exhibited a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity (superior for the S-oxidized compounds) being effective at low concentrations against a wide range of infectious microorganisms. The oximes exhibited anti-A. baumanii activity. Some of the compounds exhibited good antibiofilm activity against the Gram-negative, non-fermentative bacilli P. aeruginosa and A. baumanii, and their possible target suggested by molecular modeling being the synthesis of the quorum sensing molecules employed by the Gram-negative microorganisms represented by N-acyl-l-homoserine lactones.
Rainwater actions transform hydrogen sulfide released from the free decomposition process of lign... more Rainwater actions transform hydrogen sulfide released from the free decomposition process of lignocellulosic residues (forestry, agriculture, municipal or industrial waste) into sulphuric acid, which is an environmental pollutant. Fungi have the ability to metabolize lignocellulosic substances to proteins which are assimilable for both animals and humans. Through this controlled decomposition of waste organic matter, the pollutant feature of these lignocellulosic residues is converted into an economically profitable aspect. Purpose: To investigate the role of microwave treatment in the improvement of the lignocellulosic waste processing biotechnology. Materials and methods. The biological material was represented by mushroom cultures of a Pleurotus ostreatus strain grown on malt agar medium, incubated at 20-25 C0C for 7 days. The mushroom cultures were used to inoculate a barley grains buffer medium with 2% CaCO3. Incubation was performed at 20-25 0C for 30 days. The obtained cultur...
This study investigated the resistance profiles of Gram-negative strains isolated from different ... more This study investigated the resistance profiles of Gram-negative strains isolated from different types of wastewater and the receiving river. Significantly higher resistance rates were observed in strains from river receiving wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent as compared with strains from upstream river. High multidrug resistance rates were registered in E. coli (60.34%), Enterobacter (34.38%) and Klebsiella (32.76%) strains. Strains isolated from river receiving WWTP effluent harboured blaCMY, blaNDM, tetD, sulI and qnrB genes. The blaTEM, blaSHV and blaCMY genes were detected in 10% to 40% of wastewater strains. The tetB was the most frequent in WWTP effluent (75%), WWTP influent (42.85%) and hospital effluent (33.33%). The sulI gene was the most common (2056.25%) in all wastewater types, followed by sulII (9.09-16.66%). The qnrB (60%) and qnrS (33.33%) genes were detected in strains isolated from hospital effluent. The results of this study showed that wastewater treatme...
Current Organic Chemistry, 2016
Antibiotic resistance (AR) is currently a major threat to global health, calling for a One Health... more Antibiotic resistance (AR) is currently a major threat to global health, calling for a One Health approach to be properly understood, monitored, tackled, and managed. Potential risk factors for AR are often studied in specific high-risk populations, but are still poorly understood in the general population. Our aim was to explore, describe, and characterize potential risk factors for carriage of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-resistant E. coli (ESBL-EC) in a large sample of European individuals aged between 16 and 67 years recruited from the general population in Southern Germany, the Netherlands, and Romania. Questionnaire and stool sample collection for this cross-sectional study took place from September 2018 to March 2020. Selective culture of participants’ stool samples was performed for detection of ESBL-EC. A total of 1,183 participants were included in the analyses: 333 from Germany, 689 from the Netherlands, and 161 from Romania. Travels to Northern Africa (aOR 4.03, 95% ...
Revista de Chimie
Wastewater treatment plants are major interface between rural and urban activities and the natura... more Wastewater treatment plants are major interface between rural and urban activities and the natural environment with problems relating to the survival and transmission of the fecal bacteria into streams and rivers. The main goal of this paper was to showed the impact of WWTPs on fecal populations bacteria and their dissemination into the aquatic ecosystems. The sampling campaigns were conducted in 2019 where the hospital and WWTPs wastewater from three cities from the south-eastern part of Romania and the surface water of their emissaries were trimestral collected. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of total and fecal coliforms indicated the efficiency of wastewater treatment processes but at the same time, the contribution of contamination with hospital effluents has been demonstrated. Also, the microbiological results showed the selectivity of the destruction of fecal coliform bacteria between wastewater and surface water.
Pharmaceutics
Coatings are an attractive and challenging selection for improving the bioperformance of metallic... more Coatings are an attractive and challenging selection for improving the bioperformance of metallic devices. Composite materials based on bioglass/antibiotic/polymer are herein proposed as multifunctional thin films for hard tissue implants. We deposited a thin layer of the polymeric material by matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation—MAPLE onto Ti substrates. A second layer consisting of bioglass+antibiotic was applied by MAPLE onto the initial thin film. The antimicrobial activity of MAPLE-deposited thin films was evaluated on Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa standard strains. The biocompatibility of obtained thin films was assessed on mouse osteoblast-like cells. The results of our study revealed that the laser-deposited coatings are biocompatible and resistant to microbial colonization and biofilm formation. Accordingly, they can be considered viable candidates for biomedical devices and contact surfaces that would otherwi...
European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, 2021
To investigate whether wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) workers and residents living in close pr... more To investigate whether wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) workers and residents living in close proximity to a WWTP have elevated carriage rates of ESBL-producing Enterobacterales, as compared to the general population. From 2018 to 2020, we carried out a cross-sectional study in Germany, the Netherlands, and Romania among WWTP workers (N = 344), nearby residents (living ≤ 300 m away from WWTPs; N = 431) and distant residents (living ≥ 1000 m away = reference group; N = 1165). We collected information on potential confounders via questionnaire. Culture of participants’ stool samples was performed with ChromID®-ESBL agar plates and species identification with MALDI-TOF–MS. We used logistic regression to estimate the odds ratio (OR) for carrying ESBL-producing E. coli (ESBL-EC). Sensitivity analyses included stratification by country and interaction models using country as secondary exposure. Prevalence of ESBL-EC was 11% (workers), 29% (nearby residents), and 7% (distant residents), a...
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the resistance profiles of Pseudomonas aeruginosa clini... more The purpose of this study was to evaluate the resistance profiles of Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical strains isolated during 2014-2015 from patients hospitalized in National Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases Prof. C.C. Iliescu, Bucharest with cardiovascular diseases. The strains identification was performed in the hospital unit using the automated VITEK2 compact system. The antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method and the genetic support of the resistance to carbapenems, quinolones, aminoglycosides and of porins was investigated by simplex and multiplex PCR. Our study revealed that the P. aeruginosa strains isolated from patients underlying cardiovascular surgery were resistant in high proportions to ticarcillin (58.33%), third and fourth generation cephalosporins (ceftazidime=50% and cefepime=41.67%) and to ciprofloxacin (33.33%), but remained susceptible to colistin. 48.48% of the isolates were positive for the OprD gene and 24.24% f...
Although antibiotics have drastically reduced illness and death from infectious diseases, bacteri... more Although antibiotics have drastically reduced illness and death from infectious diseases, bacteria have exibited a remarkable capacity to quickly become resistant to antibiotics. The increase in antibiotic resistance is thus a global problem, due to the increased incidence of opportunistic infections with bacterial strains, aggravated by producing bacterial biofilms on cell substrates or biomaterials used in medicine. The emergence of multidrug-resistant phenomena caused an increasing concern and sustained researches for finding new antimicrobial agents or new therapeutical strategies for infectious diseases. In recent years, following the general trend of using direct resources provided by nature, bee products too have became an important source for different active factors, essential to promote a range of harmless therapeutic drugs. Among these, propolis is one of the strongest challenges to nutritionists and medical world due to the recognition of its high biological value and bo...
Background: Romania is one of the European countries reporting very high antimicrobial resistance... more Background: Romania is one of the European countries reporting very high antimicrobial resistance (AMR) rates and consumption of antimicrobials. We aimed to characterize the AMR profiles and clonality of 304 multi-drug resistant (MDR), carbapenemase (CP) and extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing Acinetobacter baumannii (Ab) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) strains isolated during two consecutive years (2018 and 2019) from hospital settings, hospital collecting sewage tanks and the receiving wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in the main geographical regions of Romania. Methods: The strains were isolated on chromogenic media and identified by MALDI-TOF-MS. Antibiotic susceptibility testing and confirmation of ESBL- and CP- producing phenotype were performed. The genetic analyses consisted of PCR for ESBL and CP genes, horizontal gene transfer experiments, whole-genome sequencing (WGS), assembling, annotation and characterization. Results: Both clinical and aquatic...
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Papers by luminita marutescu