In an effort to characterize, on the molecular scale, the Acanthamoeba initially isolated from the cornea of an amoebic keratitis patient associated with overnight-wear orthokeratology lens in Korea, we conducted mitochondrial DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism, 18S rDNA sequencing, and drug sensitivity analyses on the isolate (KA/PE1). The patient was treated with polyhexamethylene b...

Acanthamoeba castellanii is a free-living protozoan pathogen capable of causing a blinding keratitis and fatal granulomatous encephalitis. Current treatment generally involves an hourly application of polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) over a period of several days but this is not entirely effective against all strains/isolates. The tolerance mechanisms of PHMB in Acanthamoeba cells remain uncl...

BACKGROUND The formation of biofilms is crucial in the pathogenesis of many acute and subacute microbial infections, including chronic wounds and foreign-body-related infections. Topical antimicrobial therapy with chemical antiseptics or physical treatment with tissue-tolerable plasma (TTP) may be promising to control bacterial infection. METHODS We assessed the efficacy of 0.1% chlorhexidine...

Acanthamoeba keratitis is a rare but serious corneal disease, often observed in contact lens wearers. Clinical treatment of infected patients frequently involves the use of polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB), a polymer used as a disinfectant and antiseptic, which is toxic also for the epithelial cells of the cornea. Prompt and effective diagnostic tools are hence highly desiderable for both sta...

The adsorption of ion-association complexes on a carbon paste electrode (CPE) was investigated by cyclic voltammetry using an electroactive hydrophobic anion probe. The redox reactions of 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridyl)azo-5-[N-n-propyl-N-(3-sulfopropyl)amino]phenol (5-Br-PAPS), the analytical probe, were irreversible. The reduction of the azo group and the oxidation of the phenol were observed at -0.1 V...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of two novel alcohol-free oral rinses: polyhexamethylene biguanide botanical oral rinse (PBOR) and chlorhexidine gluconate botanical oral rinse (CBOR), against common ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) pathogens using in vitro methods and compare their antimicrobial activity to commercially available oral care products viz. Listerine, ...

BACKGROUND Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vulvovaginal infection and represents the 35% of all the infections occurring in women in the reproductive age. It is well recognised that serious forms of BV can induce several complications among women undergoing gynaecologic or obstetric surgery, having pelvic inflammatory diseases, temporary or absolute infertility, miscarriage and abor...