A Bioinspired, Sustained-Release Material in Response to Internal Signals for Biphasic Chemical Sensing in Wound Therapy

Composite Microgels Loaded with Doxorubicin-Conjugated Amine-Functionalized Zinc Ferrite Nanoparticles for Stimuli-Responsive Sustained Drug Release

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to address the need for efficient drug delivery with high drug encapsulation efficiency and sustained drug release. We aim to create nanoparticle-loaded microgels for potential applications in treatment development.

Methods

We adopted the process of ionic gelation to generate microgels from sodium alginate and carboxymethyl cellulose. These microgels were loaded with doxorubicin-conjugated amine-functionalized zinc ferrite nanoparticles (AZnFe-NPs). The systems were characterized using various techniques. Toxicity was evaluated in MCF-7 cells. In vitro release studies were conducted at different pH levels at 37 oC, with the drug release kinetics being analyzed using various models.

Results

The drug encapsulation efficiency of the created carriers was as high as 70%. The nanoparticle-loaded microgels exhibited pH-responsive behavior and sustained drug release. Drug release from them was mediated via a non-Fickian type of diffusion.

Conclusion

Given their high drug encapsulation efficiency, sustained drug release and pH-responsiveness, our nanoparticle-loaded microgels show promise as smart carriers for future treatment applications. Further development and research can significantly benefit the field of drug delivery and treatment development.

Nanotechnology for brain tumor imaging and therapy based on π-conjugated materials: state-of-the-art advances and prospects

In contemporary biomedical research, the development of nanotechnology has brought forth numerous possibilities for brain tumor imaging and therapy. Among these, π-conjugated materials have garnered significant attention as a special class of nanomaterials in brain tumor-related studies. With their excellent optical and electronic properties, π-conjugated materials can be tailored in structure and nature to facilitate applications in multimodal imaging, nano-drug delivery, photothermal therapy, and other related fields. This review focuses on presenting the cutting-edge advances and application prospects of π-conjugated materials in brain tumor imaging and therapeutic nanotechnology.

Cross-linked chitosan/lysozyme hydrogels with inherent antibacterial activity and tuneable drug release properties for cutaneous drug administration

Gels with high drug release sustainability and intrinsic antibacterial properties are of high practical potential for cutaneous drug administration, particularly for wound care and skin disease treatment. This study reports the generation and characterization of gels formed by 1,5-pentanedial-mediated crosslinking between chitosan and lysozyme for cutaneous drug delivery. Structures of the gels are characterized by using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. An increase in the mass percentage of lysozyme leads to an increase in the swelling ratio and erosion susceptibility of the resulting gels. The drug delivery performance of the gels can be changed simply by manipulating the chitosan/lysozyme mass-to-mass ratio, with an increase in the mass percentage of lysozyme leading to a decline in the encapsulation efficiency and drug release sustainability of the gels. Not only do all gels tested in this study show negligible toxicity in NIH/3T3 fibroblasts, they also demonstrate intrinsic antibacterial effects against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, with the magnitude of the effect being positively related to the mass percentage of lysozyme. All these warrant the gels to be further developed as intrinsically antibacterial carriers for cutaneous drug administration.

ROS-generating, pH-responsive and highly tunable reduced graphene oxide-embedded microbeads showing intrinsic anticancer properties and multi-drug co-delivery capacity for combination cancer therapy

The development of effective carriers enabling combination cancer therapy is of practical importance due to its potential to enhance the effectiveness of cancer treatment. However, most of the reported carriers are monofunctional in nature. The carriers that can be applied to concomitantly mediate multiple treatment modalities are highly deficient. This study fills this gap by reporting the design and fabrication of ROS-generating carbohydrate-based pH-responsive beads with intrinsic anticancer therapy and multidrug co-delivery capacity for combination cancer therapy. Sodium alginate (SA) microspheres and reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-embedded chitosan (CS) beads are developed via emulsion-templated ionic gelation for a combination therapy involving co-delivery of curcumin (CUR) and 5-fluororacil (5-FU). Drug-encapsulated microbeads are characterized by FTIR, DSC, TGA, XRD, and SEM. 5-FU and CUR-encapsulated microbeads are subjected to in vitro drug release studies at pH 6.8 and 1.2 at 37 °C. Various release kinetic parameters are evaluated. The results show that the Korsmeyer-Peppas model and non-Fickian release kinetics are best suited. The microspheres and microbeads are found to effectively act against MCF7 cells and show intrinsic anticancer capacity. These results indicate the promising performance of our beads in mediating combination drug therapy to improve the effectiveness of cancer treatment.

Design and Practical Considerations for Active Polymeric Films in Food Packaging

Polymeric films for active food packaging have been playing an important role in food preservation due to favorable properties including high structural flexibility and high property tunability. Over the years, different polymeric active packaging films have been developed. Many of them have found real applications in food production. This article reviews, using a practical perspective, the principles of designing polymeric active packaging films. Different factors to be considered during materials selection and film generation are delineated. Practical considerations for the use of the generated polymeric films in active food packaging are also discussed. It is hoped that this article cannot only present a snapshot of latest advances in the design and optimization of polymeric active food packaging films, but insights into film development to achieve more effective active food packaging can be attained for future research.

Advances in analysis of pharmaceuticals by using graphene-based sensors

Safe and effective use of drugs relies on proper pharmaceutical analysis. Graphene has been extensively used to construct sensors for this purpose. Over the years, a large variety of pharmaceutical sensors have been developed from graphene or its derivatives. This articles reviews the current status of sensor development from graphene and its derivatives, and discusses the use of graphene-based sensors in pharmaceutical analysis. It is hoped that this article cannot only offer a snapshot of recent advances in the fabrication and use of graphene-based sensors, but can also provide insights into future engineering and optimization of the sensors for effective pharmaceutical analysis.

Edible Clusteroluminogenic Films Obtained from Starch of Different Botanical Origins for Food Packaging and Quality Management of Frozen Foods

Starch is a naturally occurring material showing high potential for use in food packaging because of its low cost, natural abundance and high biodegradability. Over the years, different starch-based packaging films have been developed, but the impact of botanical sources on film performance has rarely been exploited. Efforts devoted to exploiting the role played by the clusteroluminescence of starch in food packaging are also lacking. This study fills these gaps by comparing the properties of edible starch films generated from different botanical sources (including water chestnuts, maize and potatoes) in food packaging. Such films are produced by solution casting. They are highly homogeneous, with a thickness of 55–65 μm. Variations in the botanical sources of starch have no significant impact on the color parameters (including L*, a* and b*) and morphological features of the films but affect the water vapor permeability, maximum tensile strength and elongation at break. Starch films from water chestnut show the highest percentage of transmittance, whereas those from potatoes are the opaquest. No observable change in the intensity of clusteroluminescence occurs when a packaging bag generated from starch is used to package fresh or frozen chicken breast meat; however, a remarkable decline in the intensity of luminescence is noted when the frozen meat is thawed inside the bag. Our results reveal the impact of starch sources on the performance of starch films in food packaging and demonstrate the possibility of using the clusteroluminescence of starch as an indicator to reveal the state of packaged frozen food.

ROS-Generating Amine-Functionalized Magnetic Nanoparticles Coupled with Carboxymethyl Chitosan for pH-Responsive Release of Doxorubicin

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusion

The Effective Combination between 3D Cancer Models and Stimuli-Responsive Nanoscale Drug Delivery Systems

Stimuli-responsive drug-delivery systems (DDSs) have emerged as a potential tool for applications in healthcare, mainly in the treatment of cancer where versatile nanocarriers are co-triggered by endogenous and exogenous stimuli. Two-dimensional (2D) cell cultures are the most important in vitro model used to evaluate the anticancer activity of these stimuli-responsive DDSs due to their easy manipulation and versatility. However, some limitations suggest that these in vitro models poorly predict the outcome of in vivo studies. One of the main drawbacks of 2D cell cultures is their inadequate representation of the 3D environment's physiological complexity, which sees cells interact with each other and the extracellular matrix (ECM) according to their specific cellular organization. In this regard, 3D cancer models are a promising approach that can overcome the main shortcomings of 2D cancer cell cultures, as these in vitro models possess many peculiarities by which they mimic in vivo tumors, including physiologically relevant cell-cell and cell-ECM interactions. This is, in our opinion, even more relevant when a stimuli-responsive DDS is being investigated. In this review, we therefore report and discuss endogenous and exogenous stimuli-responsive DDSs whose effectiveness has been tested using 3D cancer cell cultures.