Differential response of Candida species morphologies and isolates to fluconazole and boric acid

Candida albicans is the most prevalent cause of vulvovaginal candidiasis ('yeast infection') and recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis, though the incidence of non-albicans yeast species is increasing. The azole fluconazole is the primary antifungal drug used to treat R/VVC yet isolates from some species have intrinsic resistance to fluconazole, and recurrent infection can occur even with fluconazole-susceptible populations. The second-line broad-spectrum antimicrobial drug, boric acid, is an alternative treatment that has been found to successfully treat complicated VVC infections. Far less is known about how boric acid inhibits growth of yeast isolates in different morphologies compared to fluconazole. We found significant differences in drug resistance and drug tolerance (the ability of a subpopulation to grow slowly in high levels of drug) between C. albicans, C. glabrata, and C. parapsilosis isolates, with the specific relationships dependent on both drug and phenotype. Population-level variation for both susceptibility and tolerance was broader for fluconazole than boric acid in all species. Unlike fluconazole, which neither prevented hyphal formation nor disrupted mature biofilms, boric acid inhibited C. albicans hyphal formation and reduced mature biofilm biomass and metabolic activity in all isolates in a dose-dependent manner. Variation in planktonic response did not generally predict biofilm phenotypes. Overall, our findings illustrate that boric acid is broadly effective at inhibiting growth across many isolates and morphologies, which could explain why it is an effective treatment for R/VVC.

The Energy and Exergy Analysis of the Reactor Unit of Boric Acid Production Process with ChemCAD Simulation

Energy and exergy analysis of systems are of great importance to enhance the energy and exergy efficiency of industrial production facilities. With the energy and exergy analyses performed, the energy dependency of the production facilities and their energy consumption can be reduced, the price of the product can decrease, and the profit margin can increase. Additionally, it is ensured that the energy produced based on fossil fuels is used in a controlled way. In the present study, the analysis of energy and exergy has been performed for the production reactor unit of the Boric Acid from Colemanite. The first law of thermodynamics and ChemCAD simulation program was used for energy analysis calculations, and the calculations of exergy analysis were carried out by using the second law of thermodynamics. The total energy loss of the reactor unit and the calculated energy loss per 100 kcal input steam were calculated as 110880 kcal/h and 3.724%, and the losses of total exergy in the reactor units and the losses of exergy calculated per 100 kcal input steam were calculated as 225058.86 kcal/h and 30.095%, respectively. Exergy efficiency for the reactor unit has been determined as 3.3 %. Some suggestions were given for the reactor units of boric acid production plants to minimize system losses.

Efficient Degradation of Reactive Brilliant Red on the First Open-Framework Borate-Rich Cadmium Borophosphate

A novel open-framework borate-rich cadmium borophosphate has been obtained by the boric acid reflux method. The compound exhibits a complicated network which is composed of CdO6 octahedra and interesting 1D...