Brave new world revisited: Focus on nanomedicine

The application of nanomedicine in clinical settings

As nanotechnology develops in the fields of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, information and communication, and medical care, it has shown great promises. In recent years, medical nanorobots have made significant progress in terms of the selection of materials, fabrication methods, driving force sources, and clinical applications, such as nanomedicine. It involves bypassing biological tissues and delivering drugs directly to lesions and target cells using nanorobots, thus increasing concentration. It has also proved useful for monitoring disease progression, complementary diagnosis, and minimally invasive surgery. Also, we examine the development of nanomedicine and its applications in medicine, focusing on the use of nanomedicine in the treatment of various major diseases, including how they are generalized and how they are modified. The purpose of this review is to provide a summary and discussion of current research for the future development in nanomedicine.

Die hard: cell death mechanisms and their implications in nanotoxicology

Cell death is a fundamental biological process, and its fine-tuned regulation is required for life. However, the complexity of regulated cell death is often reduced to a matter of live-dead discrimination. Here, we provide a perspective on programmed or regulated cell death, focusing on apoptosis, pyroptosis, necroptosis, and ferroptosis (the latter three cell death modalities are examples of regulated necrosis). We also touch on other, recently described manifestations of (pathological) cell death including cuproptosis. Furthermore, we address how engineered nanomaterials impact on regulated cell death. We posit that an improved understanding of nanomaterial-induced perturbations of cell death may allow for a better prediction of the consequences of human exposure and could also yield novel approaches by which to mitigate these effects. Finally, we provide examples of the harnessing of nanomaterials to achieve cancer cell killing through the induction of regulated cell death.

Surface engineered mesoporous silica carriers for the controlled delivery of anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil: Computational approach for the drug-carrier interactions using density functional theory

Introduction: Drug delivery systems are the topmost priority to increase drug safety and efficacy. In this study, hybrid porous silicates SBA-15 and its derivatives SBA@N and SBA@3N were synthesized and loaded with an anticancer drug, 5-fluorouracil. The drug release was studied in a simulated physiological environment. Method: These materials were characterized for their textural and physio-chemical properties by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), small-angle X-ray diffraction (SAX), and nitrogen adsorption/desorption techniques. The surface electrostatics of the materials was measured by zeta potential. Results: The drug loading efficiency of the prepared hybrid materials was about 10%. In vitro drug release profiles were obtained in simulated fluids. Slow drug release kinetics was observed for SBA@3N, which released 7.5% of the entrapped drug in simulated intestinal fluid (SIF, pH 7.2) and 33% in simulated body fluid (SBF, pH 7.2) for 72 h. The material SBA@N presented an initial burst release of 13% in simulated intestinal fluid and 32.6% in simulated gastric fluid (SGF, pH 1.2), while about 70% of the drug was released within the next 72 h. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have also supported the slow drug release from the SBA@3N material. The release mechanism of the drug from the prepared carriers was studied by first-order, second-order, Korsmeyer-Peppas, Hixson-Crowell, and Higuchi kinetic models. The drug release from these carriers follows Fickian diffusion and zero-order kinetics in SGF and SBF, whereas first-order, non-Fickian diffusion, and case-II transport were observed in SIF. Discussion: Based on these findings, the proposed synthesized hybrid materials may be suggested as a potential drug delivery system for anti-cancer drugs such as 5-fluorouracil.

[Nanotechnologies in ophthalmology]

Application of new materials and methods in the diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases is one of the promising research areas in modern ophthalmology. Significant progress has been made in understanding the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases using nanotechnologies and nanomaterials. This paper presents the main achievements and results of original research on this issue. It has been shown that nanoparticles are able to overcome biological barriers, deliver drugs to the target site, and provide the required drug release rate. Modern nanotechnological approaches in tissue engineering are also being actively introduced into ophthalmology, making it possible to create nanoframeworks for growing three-dimensional cellular structures, including arrays of pigment epithelium cells and retinal ganglion cells for the treatment of retinal damage caused by degenerative diseases, injuries and infections.

Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles using extracts of Stevia rebaudiana and evaluation of antibacterial activity

The present study reveals a simple, non-toxic and eco-friendly method for the "green" synthesis of Ag-NPs using hydroponic and soil medicinal plant Stevia rebaudiana extracts, the characterization of biosynthesized nanoparticles, as well as the evaluation of their antibacterial activity. Transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) analysis confirmed that biosynthesized Ag-NPs are in the nano-size range (50-100 nm) and have irregular morphology. Biogenic NPs demonstrate antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli BW 25,113, Enterococcus hirae ATCC 9790, and Staphylococcus aureus MDC 5233. The results showed a more pronounced antibacterial effect on E. coli growth rate, in comparison with Gram-positive bacteria, which is linked to the differences in the structure of bacterial cell wall. Moreover, the Ag-NPs not only suppressed the growth of bacteria but also changed the energy-dependent H⁺-fluxes across the bacterial membrane. The change of H⁺-fluxes in presence of H⁺-translocating systems inhibitor, N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD), proves the effect of Ag-NPs on the structure and permeability of the bacterial membrane. Overall, our findings indicate that the Ag-NPs synthesized by medicinal plant Stevia extracts may be an excellent candidate as an alternative to antibiotics against the tested bacteria.

Nanoparticle therapy for head and neck cancers

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The current review focuses on the therapeutic use of nanoparticles in head and neck cancer (HNC), highlighting nanoparticles at the most advanced clinical development stages.

RECENT FINDINGS

Literature review covers the three main approaches for therapeutic use of nanoparticles in HNC: first, enhancing radiotherapy effect; second, performing targeted delivery of chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or genome editing molecules; third, photothermal therapy.

SUMMARY

Nanoparticles are spherical nanoscale objects that have application in cancer therapies. Nanoparticles have diverse and often composite structure composition to ensure their function, increase their bioavailability in tumor tissues, and decrease off-target effects, sometimes by means of activating internal or external stimuli. Hafnium oxide nanoparticles are being tested in phase I to III trials for radiotherapy enhancement. Nanoparticle-based delivery of paclitaxel, cisplatin, and of the immune activator CpG-A DNA is being evaluated in phase II trials. No nanoparticle is currently approved for HNC treatment.

Nanoantibiotics to fight multidrug resistant infections by Gram-positive bacteria: hope or reality?

The spread of antimicrobial resistance in Gram-positive pathogens represents a threat to human health. To counteract the current lack of novel antibiotics, alternative antibacterial treatments have been increasingly investigated. This review covers the last decade's developments in using nanoparticles as carriers for the two classes of frontline antibiotics active on multidrug-resistant Gram-positive pathogens, i.e., glycopeptide antibiotics and daptomycin. Most of the reviewed papers deal with vancomycin nanoformulations, being teicoplanin- and daptomycin-carrying nanosystems much less investigated. Special attention is addressed to nanoantibiotics used for contrasting biofilm-associated infections. The status of the art related to nanoantibiotic toxicity is critically reviewed.

3D Printing in Development of Nanomedicines

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is gaining numerous advances in manufacturing approaches both at macro- and nanoscales. Three-dimensional printing is being explored for various biomedical applications and fabrication of nanomedicines using additive manufacturing techniques, and shows promising potential in fulfilling the need for patient-centric personalized treatment. Initial reports attributed this to availability of novel natural biomaterials and precisely engineered polymeric materials, which could be fabricated into exclusive 3D printed nanomaterials for various biomedical applications as nanomedicines. Nanomedicine is defined as the application of nanotechnology in designing nanomaterials for different medicinal applications, including diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, prevention, and control of diseases. Nanomedicine is also showing great impact in the design and development of precision medicine. In contrast to the "one-size-fits-all" criterion of the conventional medicine system, personalized or precision medicines consider the differences in various traits, including pharmacokinetics and genetics of different patients, which have shown improved results over conventional treatment. In the last few years, much literature has been published on the application of 3D printing for the fabrication of nanomedicine. This article deals with progress made in the development and design of tailor-made nanomedicine using 3D printing technology.

From Single-Core Nanoparticles in Ferrofluids to Multi-Core Magnetic Nanocomposites: Assembly Strategies, Structure, and Magnetic Behavior

Iron oxide nanoparticles are the basic components of the most promising magnetoresponsive nanoparticle systems for medical (diagnosis and therapy) and bio-related applications. Multi-core iron oxide nanoparticles with a high magnetic moment and well-defined size, shape, and functional coating are designed to fulfill the specific requirements of various biomedical applications, such as contrast agents, heating mediators, drug targeting, or magnetic bioseparation. This review article summarizes recent results in manufacturing multi-core magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) systems emphasizing the synthesis procedures, starting from ferrofluids (with single-core MNPs) as primary materials in various assembly methods to obtain multi-core magnetic particles. The synthesis and functionalization will be followed by the results of advanced physicochemical, structural, and magnetic characterization of multi-core particles, as well as single- and multi-core particle size distribution, morphology, internal structure, agglomerate formation processes, and constant and variable field magnetic properties. The review provides a comprehensive insight into the controlled synthesis and advanced structural and magnetic characterization of multi-core magnetic composites envisaged for nanomedicine and biotechnology.