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Antimicrobial activity of metals: mechanisms, molecular targets and applications

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TLDR
The chemical and toxicological principles that underlie the antimicrobial activity of metals are described and the preferences of metal atoms for specific microbial targets are discussed.
Abstract
Metals have been used as antimicrobial agents since antiquity, but throughout most of history their modes of action have remained unclear. Recent studies indicate that different metals cause discrete and distinct types of injuries to microbial cells as a result of oxidative stress, protein dysfunction or membrane damage. Here, we describe the chemical and toxicological principles that underlie the antimicrobial activity of metals and discuss the preferences of metal atoms for specific microbial targets. Interdisciplinary research is advancing not only our understanding of metal toxicity but also the design of metal-based compounds for use as antimicrobial agents and alternatives to antibiotics.

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Nontoxic Metal–Cyclam Complexes, a New Class of Compounds with Potency against Drug-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis

TL;DR: A class of functionalized 1,8-disubstituted cyclam derivatives that display low micromolar activity against pathogenic mycobacteria and are active against multidrug-resistant M. tuberculosis strains are reported, indicating a distinct mode of action.
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Processing and properties of antibacterial silver nanoparticle-loaded hemp hurd/poly(lactic acid) biocomposites

TL;DR: In this paper, the use of silver nanoparticles in providing effective antibacterial resistance in glycidyl methacrylate-compatibilized hemp hurd-filled poly(lactic acid) biocomposite is presented.
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Arsenic exposure and intestinal microbiota in children from Sirajdikhan, Bangladesh

TL;DR: This preliminary study indicates that arsenic exposure early in life was associated with altered gut microbiota in Bangladeshi children and the enrichment of E.coli arsenic resistance genes in the high exposure group provides an insight into the possible mechanisms of how this toxic compound could affect gut microbiota.
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Mercury/silver resistance genes and their association with antibiotic resistance genes and microbial community in a municipal wastewater treatment plant.

TL;DR: Based on network analysis, Hg/Ag resistance genes might share the same microbial hosts with tetQ and tetW, implying the potential importance of HG/Ag in ARGs evolution and spread.
References
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Hard and soft acids and bases

TL;DR: In this paper, the rate data for the generalized nucleophilic displacement reaction were reviewed, and the authors presented a method to estimate the rate of the generalized displacement reaction in terms of the number of nucleophiles.
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Absolute hardness: companion parameter to absolute electronegativity

TL;DR: In this paper, a property called absolute hardness eta is defined for neutral and charged species, atomic and molecular, for both hard and soft acids and bases, by making use of the hypothesis that extra stability attends bonding of A to B when the ionization potentials of A and B in the molecule are the same.
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Shape-Controlled Synthesis of Gold and Silver Nanoparticles

TL;DR: Monodisperse samples of silver nanocubes were synthesized in large quantities by reducing silver nitrate with ethylene glycol in the presence of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP), characterized by a slightly truncated shape bounded by {100, {110}, and {111} facets.
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Free radicals, metals and antioxidants in oxidative stress-induced cancer

TL;DR: This review examines the evidence for involvement of the oxidative stress in the carcinogenesis process and the role of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants in the process of carcinogenesis as well as the antioxidant interactions with various regulatory factors.
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The bactericidal effect of silver nanoparticles

TL;DR: The results indicate that the bactericidal properties of the nanoparticles are size dependent, since the only nanoparticles that present a direct interaction with the bacteria preferentially have a diameter of approximately 1-10 nm.
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