A novel facile one-pot synthesis of photothermally responsive carbon polymer dots as promising drug nanocarriers

A luminescent and photothermic carbon-based nanomaterial composed of a carbonized polymer core and polymer cross-linked chains: a promising nanocarrier for effective thermo-/photo-induced drug release activity.

Blood Compatibility of Amphiphilic Phosphorous Dendrons—Prospective Drug Nanocarriers

Dendrons are branched synthetic polymers suitable for preparation of nanosized drug delivery systems. Their interactions with biological systems are mainly predetermined by their chemical structure, terminal groups, surface charge, and the number of branched layers (generation). Any new compound intended to be used, alone or in combination, for medical purposes in humans must be compatible with blood. This study combined results from in vitro experiments on human blood and from laboratory experiments designed to assess the effect of amphiphilic phosphorous dendrons on blood components and model membranes, and to examine the presence and nature of interactions leading to a potential safety concern. The changes in hematological and coagulation parameters upon the addition of dendrons in the concentration range of 2–10 µM were monitored. We found that only the combination of higher concentration and higher generation of the dendron affected the selected clinically relevant parameters: it significantly decreased platelet count and plateletcrit, shortened thrombin time, and increased activated partial thromboplastin time. At the same time, occasional small-sized platelet clumps in blood films under the light microscope were observed. We further investigated aggregation propensity of the positively charged dendrons in model conditions using zwitterionic and negatively charged liposomes. The observed changes in size and zeta potential indicated the electrostatic nature of the interaction. Overall, we proved that the low-generation amphiphilic phosphorous dendrons were compatible with blood within the studied concentration range. However, interactions between high-generation dendrons at bulk concentrations above 10 µM and platelets and/or clotting factors cannot be excluded.

Silk Fibroin Nanoparticles: Synthesis and Applications as Drug Nanocarriers

The use of nanoparticles in biomedical fields is a very promising scientific area and has aroused the interest of researchers in the search for new biodegradable, biocompatible and non-toxic materials. This chapter is based on the features of the biopolymer silk fibroin and its applications in nanomedicine. Silk fibroin, obtained from the Bombyx mori silkworm, is a natural polymeric biomaterial whose main features are its amphiphilic chemistry, biocompatibility, biodegradability, excellent mechanical properties in various material formats, and processing flexibility. All of these properties make silk fibroin a useful candidate to act as nanocarrier. In this chapter, the structure of silk fibroin, its biocompatibility and degradability are reviewed. In addition, an intensive review on the silk fibroin nanoparticle synthesis methods is also presented. Finally, the application of the silk fibroin nanoparticles for drug delivery acting as nanocarriers is detailed.

Loading efficiency of doxorubicin into the micelle-like structures formed by function-spacer-lipid constructs self-assembly depends on constructs’ functional part

Supramolecular self-assemble systems based on neoglycolipids: Galili-Ad-CMG2-Ad-DOPE, A(type2)-Ad-CMG2-Ad-DOPE are studied here and compared with the well-studied Biotin-CMG2-Ad-DOPE, as well as with their combinations with NH2-CMG2-Ad-DOPE. They are function-spacer-lipid constructs with unique structure that allows them to form micelle-like supramers and be stable, what makes them a potential drug nanocarriers. The structural properties of the obtained supramolecular systems are studied depending on their functional part, and the loading efficiency of doxorubicin into the supramers is determined to reveal the influence of the functional part. The resulting supramers were separated from the unbound molecules by dialysis, the nanoparticles morphology were studied by atomic force microscopy, and the loading efficiency was calculated based on spectrophotometry data. The encapsulation of doxorubicin was confirmed based on changes in the size and shape of the supramers, as well as a decrease in the ratio of unbound molecules. According to the loading efficiency calculations, it was estimated that supramers formed by A(type2)-Ad-CMG2-Ad-DOPE are the most efficient nanocarriers with loading efficiency of 82 %. Supramers formed by NH2-CMG2-Ad-DOPE (no functional part) showed 1.5 times less efficiency. Finally, the least efficient carriers are supramers formed by Biotin-CMG2-Ad-DOPE (14%).

Au-O-MWCNTs and TiO2-O-MWCNTs as Efficient Nanocarriers for Dexamethasone: Adsorption Isotherms and Kinetic Studies

In this research, the fabrication of drug delivery systems based on oxidized multiwall carbon nanotubes (O-MWCNTs) was studied. Herein, TiO2 and Au were conjugated with O-MWCNTs to prepare efficient nanocarriers for dexamethasone (dex). The samples were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). In addition, dex loading was studied using adsorption isotherms including Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Dubinin–Radushkevich. The results show that dex adsorption agreed well with the Freundlich isotherm. Increasing the TiO2 to O-MWCNT ratio from (1 : 4) to (1 : 2) can improve the adsorption capacity from 290 mg ⋅ g − 1 to 320 320 mg ⋅ g − 1 . The increasing Au amount increases the adsorption capacity from 437.78 mg ⋅ g − 1 (SA1) to maximum 476.19 mg ⋅ g − 1 (SA6). The maximum equilibrium binding energy A T 1.67 L ⋅ mg − 1 was obtained for SA2, and SA7 shows high binding strength between dex and the nanoadsorbent. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) show good affinity with high loading capabilities for dexamethasone adsorption. The synthesized TiO2-O-MWCNTs:1/2 with the maximum removal percent (80%) was proposed as an appropriate nanocarrier for dexamethasone. Pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, Elovich, and intraparticle diffusion models were investigated for all synthesized drug nanocarriers. According to regression coefficients, experimental data are in good agreement with the pseudo-second order model for all adsorbents except O-MWCNT/CTAB. Experimental results revealed that the Elovich model could account for the O-MWCNT/CTAB adsorbent.