Effects of coupled-/soluble- Copper generating from Copper-doped Titanium Dioxide Nanotubes on Cell Response

Background: Endothelialization in vitro is a very common method for surface modification of cardiovascular materials. However, mature endothelial cells are not suitable because of the difficulty in obtaining and immunogenicity. Methods: In this work, we determined the appropriate amount of copper by constructing a copper-loaded titanium dioxide nanotube array that can catalyze the release of nitric oxide, compared the effects of coupled-/soluble- copper on stem cells, and then induced stem cells to differentiate into endothelial cells. Results: The results showed that it had a strong promotion effect on the differentiation of stem cells into endothelial cells which might be used for endothelialization in vitro Conclusions: SEM and EDS results prove that a high content of copper ions are indeed doped onto the surface of nanotubes with small amounts of Cu release. The release of NO confirms that the release of several samples within a period of time is within the physiological concentration

Enhanced Anti-Proliferative Effect of Carboplatin in Ovarian Cancer Cells Exploiting Chitosan – Poly (lactic glycolic acid) Nanoparticles.

Objective: The aim of the present article was to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of carboplatin (CP) using the formulation of chitosan – poly (lactic glycolic acid) nanoparticles (CS-PLGA NPs). Methods: Nanoparticles were synthesized by an ionic gelation method and were characterized for their morphology, particle size, and surface potential measurements by TEM and zeta sizer. This study was highlighted for the evaluation of drug entrapment, loading and in vitro drug release capabilities of the prepared nanoparticles by spectrophotometric analysis. The stability study was also conducted after 3 months for their particle size, zeta potential, drug loading and encapsulation efficiencies. Further, ovarian cancer cell line PEO1 were used to evaluate the toxicity and efficacy of nano-formulation by MTT assay. Further, the study was evaluated for apoptosis using flow cytometric analysis. Result: The CS-PLGA-CP NPs were uniform and spherical in shape. The particle size and zeta potential of CS-PLGA-CP NPs were measured 156 ± 6.8 nm and +52 ± 2.4 mV, respectively. High encapsulation (87.4 ± 4.5 %) and controlled retention capacities confirmed the efficiency of the prepared nanoparticles in a time and dose dependant manner. The cytotoxicity assay results also showed that CS-PLGA-CP NPs has high efficiency on PEO1 cells compared to the free drug. The flow cytometric result showed 64.25 % of the PEO1 cells were apoptotic and 8.42 % were necrotic when treated with CS-PLGA-CP NPs. Conclusion: Chitosan-PLGA combinational polymeric nanoparticles were not only steady but also non-toxic. Our experiments revealed that the chitosan- PLGA nanoparticles could be used as a challenging vehicle candidate for drug delivery for the therapeutic treatment of ovarian cancer.

Nanomaterial gas sensors for biosensing applications: A Review

Background: Nanomaterial is one of the most used materials for various gas sensing application to detect toxic gases, human breath, and other specific gas sensing. One of the most important applications of nanomaterial based gas sensors is as biosensing applications. In this review article, the gas sensors for biosensing are discussed by classifying gas sensors on the basis of crystalline structure and different categories of nanomaterial. Methods: In this paper, firstly rigorous efforts has been made to find out research questions by going through structured and systematic survey of available peer reviewed high quality articles in this field. The papers related to nanomaterial based biosensors are then reviewed qualitatively to provide substantive findings from the recent developments in this field. Results: In this review article, firstly classifications of nanomaterial gas sensors have been presented on the basis of crystalline structure of nanomaterial and different types of nanomaterial available for biosensing applications. Further, the gas sensors based on nanomaterial for biosensing applications are collected and reviewed in terms of their performance parameters such as sensing material used, target gas component, detection ranges (ppm-ppb), response time, operating temperature and method of detection etc. The different nanomaterials possess slightly different sensing and morphological properties due to their structure, therefore, it can be said that a nanomaterial must be selected carefully for particular application. The 1D nanomaterials show best selectivity and sensitivity for gases available in low concentration ranges due to their miniaturised structure as compared to 2D and 3D nanomaterials. However, these 2D and 3D nanomaterials also so good sensing properties compared to bulk semiconductor materials. The polymer and nanocomposites have opened door for future research and have great potential for new generation gas sensor for detecting biomolecules. Conclusion: These nanomaterials extend great properties towards sensing application of different gases for lower concentration of particular gas particles. Nano polymer and nano composites have great potential to be used gas sensor for detection of biomolecules.

Development of Itraconazole Loaded Transethosomes for improved transdermal delivery

Objective: The objective of the present work was to develop, optimize and characterize itraconazole loaded transethosomes for enhanced transdermal delivery. In this study, screening of formulation and process variables was conducted by using Box-Behnken design approach to observe significant and insignificant influence on the transethosomes. Methods: The transethosomes was developed by homogenization technique (hot method). The optimized itraconazole loaded transethosomes were evaluated for its vesicle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, loading capacity and entrapment efficiency. Characterization was done by P-XRD, DSC and TEM. Further, in-vitro drug release study, stability study and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) study were also performed. Results: The itraconazole loaded transethosomes are developed by using soya lecithin as phospholipid, oleic acid as edge activator and cholesterol as stabilizer. Developed transethosomes showed acceptable desired vesicle size (207-409 nm), excellent colloidal dispersion characteristics (polydispersity index- 0.131 to 0.312, zeta potential -16.12to -21.96 mV) and high drug entrapment (63.37-73.02%). P-XRD and DSC results suggested that itraconazole encapsulated in amorphous state within transethosomes. In-vitro drug release study show prolonged release of itraconazole for 24 hr and confocal laser scanning microscopy confirmed accumulation of transethosomes in deeper layers of the skin. Results of stability studies showed optimized transethosomes are more stable in refrigerated temperature (4°C) as compared to room temperature (25°C). Conclusion: The results suggested that transethosomes could be better alternative to deliver drugs across the skin and potential carrier for efficient transdermal drug delivery.

Copper and Zinc Co-doped Titanium Dioxide Nanotubes Arrays on Controlling Nitric Oxide Releasing and Regulating the Inflammatory Responses for Cardiovascular Biomaterials

Background: Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotubes arrays have shown tremendous application foreground due to their unique characters of structure and performance. However, the single bio-function is still the limit on cardiovascular biomaterials. Methods: The loadability function provides the possibility for the TiO2 nanotubes arrays to realize composite multifunction. The copper can catalyze the release of nitric oxide to promote the proliferation of endothelium cells, and improve the anticoagulant. Also, zinc can adjust the inflammatory responses to improve anti-inflammation. Results and Conclusion: In this work we co-doped the copper and zinc onto TiO2 nanotubes arrays to estimate the hemocompatibility, cytocompatibility and responses of inflammation. The results showed that the copper and zinc could introduce better multi-biofunctions to the TiO2 nanotubes arrays for the application in cardiovascular biomaterials.

Controlled growth of indium oxide nanowires for gas sensing application

Background: The In2O3 nanowires have attracted enormous attention for gas sensor application due to their advantageous features. However, the controlled synthesis of In2O3 nanowires for gas sensors is vital and challenging because the gas sensing performance of the nanowires is strongly dependent on their characteristics. Methods: Here, we fabricated In2O3 nanowires on SiO2/Si substrate via a simple thermal vapor deposition method with the Au thin film as the catalyst. The growth temperatures were controlled to obtain desired nanowires of small size. The grown In2O3 nanowires were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The ethanol gas sensing properties were tested under the dynamic flow of dry air and analytic gas. The synthesized In2O3 nanowires have the potential for use in ethanol gas sensor application. Results: In2O3 nanostructures grown at different temperatures ranging from 600 to 900oC have different morphologies. The sample grown at 600oC had a morphology of nanowire, with a diameter of approximately 80 nm and a length of few micrometers. Nanowires grown at 600 °C were composed of oxygen (O) and indium (In) elements, with the atomic ratio of [O]/[In] = 3/5. The nanowire was a single phase cubic structure of In2O3 crystal. The In2O3 nanowire sensor showed typical n-type semiconducting sensing properties. The response decreased from 130 to 75 at 100 ppm when the working temperature decreased from 450 °C to 350 °C. Conclusion: The nanowires grown at 600 °C by the thermal vapor deposition method had the best morphology with a small diameter of about 80 nm and a length of few micrometers. The In2O3 nanowires had a good ability to sense ethanol at varying concentrations in the range of 20 ppm to 100 ppm. The In2O3 nanowires can be used as building blocks for future nanoscale gas sensors.