A novel approach on poly(ionic liquid)-based poly(vinyl alcohol) as a hydrophilic/hydrophobic conductive polymer electrolytes

Assessment of the cytotoxic effect of carboxymethyl chitosan-loaded amygdalin nanoparticles against human normal and cancer cell lines

In recent years, the development of antitumor drugs has been dedicated to natural products. Amygdalin is a natural herbal cyanoglycoside that has anticarcinogenic effect on many types of cancers once hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is released. The main objective of the present study is to synthesize and investigate the potential of carboxymethyl chitosan nanoparticles (CMC NPs) as drug delivery agents for amygdalin encapsulation and its delivery to cancer and normal cell lines. In this study, carboxymethyl chitosan nanoparticles encapsulated with amygdalin (CMC-Am NPs) were prepared and characterized through their particle size, surface charge, chemical structure and dielectric properties. Also, the invitro drug release of amygdalin from CMC NPs was studied. Additionally, the cytotoxcity of the amygdalin and CMC-loaded amygdalin NPs were evaluated through MTT assay. The results showed that the prepared CMC-loaded amygdalin NPs exhibited a small particle size of 129 nm, high zeta potential value of - 43 mV and confirmed the amygdalin stability and compatibility with CMC NPs. Furthermore, the CMC NPs demonstrated sustained release of amygdalin during 24 h. Moreover, compared to free amygdalin, amygdalin-loaded CMC NPs have significant anti-cancerous effect on human colon HCT-116 and breast MCF-7 cancer cell lines while being safe on normal cells BJ1. In conclusion, CMC NPs can be employed as an efficient drug delivery vehicle for controlled and sustained amygdalin release with enhanced cytotoxicity on malignant cells without harming normal cells.

Physical and mechanical investigation for polyionic liquid/poly(vinyl alcohol) blends

Purpose

This study aims to polymerize of 1-butyl-3-vinylimidazolium bromide (PIL). PIL was embedded into PVA with a different content ratio by casting method. This research also deals with the effect of adding PIL in different proportions to PVA on the electrical and mechanical properties properties in addition to the morphology of the prepared samples.

Design/methodology/approach

1-Butyl-3-vinylimidazolium bromide was synthesized through quaternization and free radical polymerization. The resulting polymer was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. In addition to the morphology of PVA, PVA/PIL was investigated by polarizing microscope. Also, the effect of PIL content on the electrical and mechanical properties was evaluated.

Findings

The findings of this study might lead to new applications for PVA and PILs in electrical and dielectrics. The mechanical results revealed that the tensile strength increased slightly with increasing polyionic liquid (PIL) content and decreased above 10% PIL. While the elongation at break increased significantly with increasing PIL content and begin to decrease above 10% PIL. Also, the electrical property of the poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/PIL blends was improved because of the strong plasticizing effect of PIL. Also, the electrical conductivity of these polymer electrolytes is greatly increased. This indicates that the imidazolium-based PIL has an effective approach that leads to an increase in the conductivity of the polymer. The PILs/PVA design will not only enrich the chemical structure but also will contribute to green manufacturing techniques and a processing methodology that enables green membrane manufacture.

Originality/value

This study contributes to green manufacturing techniques and a processing methodology that enables “green” membrane manufacture.

Preparation and characterisation of gallic acid loaded carboxymethyl chitosan nanoparticles as drug delivery system for cancer treatment

Gallic acid (GA) is a natural phenolic compound with antioxidant, anti-proliferative, and anticancer effects. However, the potential of GA as an anticancer agent is restricted by its poor absorption, rapid elimination, and low bioavailability. Nanostructure-drug carriers have opened up a new field in cancer therapy by improving the efficacy of drugs. In this work, we developed a nanoformulation of GA in carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC). The particle size, surface charge and molecular structure of the CMC NPs loaded and unloaded with GA were measured using TEM, DLS and FTIR spectroscopy, respectively. The dielectric parameters (permittivity ε′ and dielectric loss ε″) were measured in the frequency range (0.1 Hz–5 MHz) at room temperature. Additionally, the in-vitro anti-cancer effects of the GA, CMC NPs, and GA-CMC NPs were tested against human colon carcinoma (HCT-116), human breast carcinoma (MCF-7), and normal skin fibroblast cells (BJ1) using MTT assay. TEM confirmed that the NPs have a spherical morphology within the size range of 15 nm. DLS studies revealed NPs with a mean diameter of 31.06 nm. The zeta potential results indicated the high suspension stability of the prepared nanoformulation. The FTIR results indicated the interaction between GA and CMC NPs. The dielectric study showed a decrease within the ε″ and conductivity values of GA-CMC NPs which confirmed the successful encapsulation of GA within the CMC NPs. Cytotoxicity studies indicated that the GA-CMC NPs showed specific toxicity towards cancer cells and non-toxicity to normal cells. Overall, these results indicate that the GA-CMC NPs will be an efficient nanocarrier for delivering gallic acid to cancer cells.

The Impact of Reactive Ionic Liquids Addition on the Physicochemical and Sorption Properties of Poly(Vinyl Alcohol)-Based Films

A new type of hybrid polymeric-based film containing 1-(1,3-diethoxy-1,3-dioxopropan-2-ylo)-3-methylimidazolium bromide (RIL1_Br) and 1-(2-etoxy-2-oxoethyl)-3-methylimidazolium bromide (RIL2_Br) reactive ionic liquids was elaborated. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-based films with 9–33 wt % of RILs were subsequently characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and TGA-FTIR. PVA-RIL films were also studied in tensile tests, contact angle and sorption measurements. RIL incorporation enhanced thermal and mechanical stability of PVA membranes due to the hydrogen bonds between RILs and polymer chains. Membrane swelling behavior in water (H₂O), ethanol (EtOH), and propan-2-ol (IPA) and the kinetics of water sorption process revealed that PVA-RILs membranes possess the highest affinity towards water. It was pointed out that both the RIL type and the RIL amount in the polymer matrix have significant influence on the membrane swelling behavior and the water sorption kinetics.