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Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are commonly used as disinfectants for industrial, medical, and residential applications. However, adverse health outcomes have been reported. Therefore, biocompatible disinfectants must be developed to reduce these adverse effects. In this context, QACs with various alkyl chain lengths (C12-C18) were synthesized by reacting QACs with the counterion silane. The antimicrobial activities of the novel compounds against four strains of microorganisms were assessed. Several in vivo assays were conducted on Drosophila melanogaster to determine the toxicological outcomes of Si-QACs, followed by computational analyses (molecular docking, simulation, and prediction of skin sensitization). The in vivo results were combined using a cheminformatics approach to understand the descriptors responsible for the safety of Si-QAC. Si-QAC-2 was active against all tested bacteria, with minimal inhibitory concentrations ranging from 13.65 to 436.74 ppm. Drosophila exposed to Si-QAC-2 have moderate-to-low toxicological outcomes. The molecular weight, hydrophobicity/lipophilicity, and electron diffraction properties were identified as crucial descriptors for ensuring the safety of the Si-QACs. Furthermore, Si-QAC-2 exhibited good stability and notable antiviral potential with no signs of skin sensitization. Overall, Si-QAC-2 (C14) has the potential to be a novel disinfectant., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Hydroxyapatite (HAP) occurs naturally in sedimentary and metamorphic rocks and constitutes the hard structures in many organisms. Since synthetic nano-sized HAP (HAP-NPs) are used in orthopedic applications and for heavy metal remediation in aquatic and terrestrial media, both environment and humans are exposed to them. Due to the concerns about their potential hazards, the genotoxic effects that round/rod forms of HAP-NPs were investigated in Drosophila using the wing-spot and the comet assays. Furthermore, caspase activities were evaluated to examine the activation of cell death pathways. As a novelty, the expression of 36 genes involved in DNA repair was investigated, as a tool to indirectly determine DNA damage induction. Obtained sizes were 35-60 nm (roundHAP-NPs) and 45-90 nm (rodHAP-NPs) with a low Zeta-potential (-1.65 and 0.37 mV, respectively). Genotoxicity was detected in the wing-spot (round form), and in the comet assay (round and rod-like HA-NPs). In addition, increased expression of Caspases 3/7, 8, and 9 activities were observed. For both HAP forms, increased changes in the expression were observed for mismatch repair genes, while decreased expression was observed for genes involved in ATM, ATR, and cell cycle pathways. The observed changes in the repair pathways would reinforce the view that HAP-NPs have genotoxic potential, although more markedly in the round form. Thus, the environmental presence of engineered nanoparticles, including HAPs, raises concerns about potential effects on human health. It is essential that the effects of their use are carefully assessed and monitored to ensure safety and to mitigate any potential adverse effects., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The current study aimed to identify the molecular mechanisms of a metal mixture (cadmium, nickel, and lead) involved in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) development and the therapeutic effect of curcumin in this metal mixture-induced T2DM. To accomplish this, SwissADME assessed the physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties of curcumin and the Prediction of Activity Spectra for Substances evaluates its biological activities. The Comparative Toxicogenomics Database, Cytoscape, AutoDock Vina, and MicroRNA ENrichment TURned NETwork were used as tools to perform data-mining approaches and molecular docking. Curcumin properties were fitted within the acceptable range to be a promising drug candidate. The mixed metal altered 23 genes linked to T2DM development and targeted by curcumin. Curcumin had a dual-natured effect or antagonistic effect for most of the involved genes in T2DM and metal mixture. The most prominent biological processes were identified as ''response to external stimulus'', ''regulation of programmed cell death'', ''programmed cell death'', ''cell death'', and ''response to stress''. Three highly interacted miRNAs related to metal mixture-induced T2DM and targeted by curcumin (hsa-miR-98-5p, hsa-miR-34a-5p, and hsa-miR-155-5p) were identified. These findings could pave the way for further studies to evaluate the link between these genes and T2DM., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)