Abstract: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) causes AIDS, a life-threatening disease characterized by immunosuppressive, opportunistic infections and malignancies. Although many drugs have been approved over the past decade as suitable for use in the treatment of individuals with HIV, the need for antiviral drugs of greater efficiency is still pressing. One valuable source for antiviral bioactivity has been proven to be the natural products of a wide range of plants. In this study, we investigated the anti-reverse transcriptase (RT)-HIV-1 potential activity of Avicennia marina (gray mangrove) collected from the Red Sea shore, Saudi Arabia. Metabolites from A. marina were extracted using organic solvents followed by solid phase extraction (SPE) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was applied to assess the active HPLC fractions and to establish a correlation between the fractions' chemical composition and biological activity.

Abstract: Cell-based phenotypic profiling and image based high-content screening are used to gain insight into the mode of action and potential cellular targets of plants historically used to determine anti-cancer activity of Saudi Arabian plants Juniperus phoenicea (Arar), Anastatica hierochuntica (Kaff Maryam), and Citrullus colocynthis (Hanzal). The cytological profiles of fractions taken from the plants were compared with a set of reference compounds with known modes of action. Cluster analyses of the cytological profiles were performed, which revealed detailed information on the modes of action of the tested compounds as potential topoisomerase inhibitors. Cytological profiles showed that some of these compounds inhibited cell proliferation causing cell cycle disruption.

Abstract: Magnetic nanowires can be used as an alternative method overcoming the limitations of current cancer treatments that lack specificity and are highly cytotoxic. Nanowires are developed so that they selectively attach to cancer cells via antibodies, potentially destroying them when a magnetic field induces their vibration. This will transmit a mechanical force to the targeted cells, which is expected to induce apoptosis on the cancer cells.