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With the interventions of globalization, the human race is lagging behind in its health management. Some of the major health risks involved are cardiac arrest, loss of sleep, lack of concentration, regular muscular pain, arthritis, etc. Arthritis and its various forms lead to regular joint pain and are hampering the daily lives of human beings. Garlic is reported to be one of the best natural medicines for arthritis. The pungency of garlic is due to its various sulfur compounds. Studies have been carried out in determining the effect of these sulfur compounds as antiinflammatory compounds and their role in the signaling pathways of arthritis. Also, there is a scope for advanced level research such as incorporation of nanotechnology and biotechnology for exploiting the potential of this wonder drug garlic for the treatment of arthritis.

The advent of new drugs has resulted in cures for many neural, cancerous, muscular, musculoskeletal, cardiac, and pulmonary diseases that were found incurable in earlier times. Still, from ancient times through today, natural products have been seen as the best way to cure diseases. On the same path, for many decades curcumin has been reported as an alternative cure for various diseases, the major one being arthritis. In this chapter, we have compiled and discussed the potential and prospect of curcumin in alleviating arthritis. The promising results of curcumin's effect on arthritis signaling pathways have been experimentally proved on various natural and induced animal models, paving the way for clinical trials and finally reaching patients. The incorporation of nanotechnology with curcumin administration has increased both the bioavailability and absorption into the patient's body. Curcumin's derivatives and analogs also seem to play a vital role in strengthening the backbone of arthritis treatment.

Globally, increased dependence on fossil fuels for manufacturing plastics, scarcity of space for disposal, and ongoing environmental concerns for nonbiodegradable chemical-based plastics have fueled research toward sustainable process development of cost-effective, eco-friendly, and biodegradable polymers. In this context, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) have drawn much attention as a good candidate and are classified as both biodegradable and biocompatible polyesters which closely resemble conventional plastics. At present, though the technology for PHA and its copolymer production is on an industrial scale, its usage and distribution in varied industrial sectors are still limited due to the relatively high production cost. A high cost is incurred due to the use of expensive, chemically synthesized carbon sources (~ 40% of the total cost), which thereby make it difficult to compete with petroleum-based polymers. In this respect, efforts are being made to reduce cost and make it an environmentally benign process by the development of better bacterial strains, an efficient fermentation and recovery strategy, use of low cost, renewable resources (as carbon source) such as cheese whey, starch, cane molasses, industrial waste glycerol, wastewater, oil, and fats. In the past few years, renewable resources have attracted much interest in producing value-added products. In this review, the current developments in biodegradable polymers in term of their production process through the biotechnological route mainly by Gram-positive bacteria using renewable resources and the applications of widely studied PHA, i.e., poly-3-hydroxybutyrate in different industrial sectors with emphasis on the biomedical sector, will be explored.

Developing countries encounter huge economic losses due to frequent epidemics of infectious diseases. The major contributing factor is the indiscriminate use of antibiotics leading to the emergence of resistant strains that are unaffected by existing antibiotics. Moreover, infectious diseases associated with the formation of biofilms composed of a large number of bacterial communities are not easily penetrable by antibiotics at normal doses. Possible routes to the generation of new antimicrobial agents include finding new targets for antimicrobial activity, combination compounds showing simultaneous action on more than one target, and new delivery mechanisms to improve target specificity. Nanomaterials have opened a new avenue as antimicrobial agents owing to their unique properties, such as surface chemistry (functionalizable structure), chemical stability, appropriate size, high surface area to mass ratio, high reactivity, stability, robustness, durability, biosafety, and biocompatibility. Nanoparticles can be utilized to either enhance antimicrobial activity of existing antibiotics, as physical agents that cause cell damage (photothermal activity), or for encapsulating antimicrobial agents for efficient drug delivery. Nanomaterials studied for their compatibility as alternative medicine include metal nanoparticles (gold and silver nanoparticles), metal oxide nanoparticles (oxides of magnesium, titanium, zinc, calcium, copper, aluminium, cesium), and organic nanoparticles (poly-ɛ-lysine, quaternary ammonium compounds, cationic quaternary polyelectrolytes, N-halamine compounds, polysiloxanes, benzoic acid, phenol, and parahydroxybenzoate esters). Inorganic nanoparticles are preferred over organic nanoparticles owing to their stability in harsh process conditions. The modes of action of these nanoparticles are variable, depending on the types of nanoparticles conjugated. These actions include damage to cell membrane by altering permeability due to generation of reactive oxygen species, release of ions that react with cell constituents, such as DNA, and sulfur-containing proteins that inhibit DNA replication and enzyme functions, respectively, contact killing by cationic surfaces or photothermal damage. Although all these nanoparticles have tremendous applications as antimicrobial agents, extensive toxicity testing is required prior to their usage in order to ascertain their effects in a biological system. This chapter will highlight the recent advancements in applications of these antimicrobial nanoparticles, their unique properties, and modes of action along with their biocompatibility issues.

The remarkable properties of nanomaterials, such as their unique electrical, optical, and chemical properties as compared to macromaterials, make them ideal candidates for sensor design. Nanosensors offer unique advantages such as high sensitivity and accuracy, quick response, direct localized detection, and enhanced sensing surface area, which can be easily functionalized. Detection of contaminants in the food industry not only ensures safe storage and transportation within the sell-by period, but also reduces potential health risks involved due to presence of pathogenic microorganisms and the associated toxins. Additionally, contaminant sensors can be used to detect banned dyes and adulterants, pharmacological residues, such as antibiotics and hormones, and allergens. Advancements in the field of food nanosensing including novel nanosensory approaches called e-nose and e-tongue, lab-on-chip nanotechnology-based pathogen sensors, surface-enhanced Raman scattering-based sensors and aptamer-based sensors are discussed along with their current and potential applications

Nanodentistry has evolved as a new science of nanotechnology that helps in diagnosing, treating, preventing oral and dental disease, and improving dental health by using nanomaterials. These nanomaterials include clusters of atoms, grains, fibers, films, crystals, and nanoholes. The orientation of these nanomaterials can be in one dimension, for example, nanofilms and foils; two-dimensional, for example, carbon nanotubes or three-dimensional, for example, quantum dots; nanoshells, and dendrimers. The characteristic nanoscale pattern present on the surface and within the nanomaterials determines their dedicated functionalities. These nanostructures have wide applications in oral diagnosis and therapeutics, which can reduce dosage and side effects of drugs. Dentifrices with hydroxyapetite crystals provide protective coating on tooth enamel and restores surface of damaged teeth. Currently, dental materials have been replaced by nature-analog, surface-engineered dental implants, and anisotropic tooth restorations. Remineralization of damaged teeth has been achieved by using “sensitive” toothpastes containing nanoparticles. Nanostructure Ti products are used in dental implants because of high biocompatibility especially Grade 4 titanium. It has been shown that fabricating a nanostructured titanium implant can regulate the macrophage inflammatory response and improve the performance of the implant. The unique property of dendrimers and nanoshells make them promising tools to be used as therapeutics for oral cancer treatment. Graphene/zinc oxide nanocomposite (GZNC) acts as an effective coating agent for dental implants by inhibiting Streptococcus mutans , which is the primary agent in dental caries. A significant reduction in the formation of oral biofilms was found in the presence of GZNC. This chapter focuses on the role of nanostructures to keep teeth and oral tissues healthy and functioning. The challenges faced by this technology for the betterment of human health have also been discussed.