Azomethine ylide addition impact on functionalized [60]Fullerene and [60]Boron-Nitride: Anticancer Doxorubicin and Boronic Chalcone drugs binding characteristics with mono- and bis-nanocarriers

A Review on the Recent Advancements on Therapeutic Effects of Ions in the Physiological Environments

This review focuses on the therapeutic effects of ions when released in physiological environments. Recent studies have shown that metallic ions like Ag+, Sr2+, Mg2+, Mn2+, Cu2+, Ca2+, P+5, etc., have shown promising results in drug delivery systems and regenerative medicine. These metallic ions can be loaded in nanoparticles, mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles (MBGNs), hydroxyapatite (HA), calcium phosphates, polymeric coatings, and salt solutions. The metallic ions can exhibit different functions in the physiological environment such as antibacterial, antiviral, anticancer, bioactive, biocompatible, and angiogenic effects. Furthermore, the metals/metalloid ions can be loaded into scaffolds to improve osteoblast proliferation, differentiation, bone development, fibroblast growth, and improved wound healing efficacy. Moreover, different ions possess different therapeutic limits. Therefore, further mechanisms need to be developed for the highly controlled and sustained release of these ions. This review paper summarizes the recent progress in the use of metallic/metalloid ions in regenerative medicine and encourages further study of ions as a solution to cure diseases.

Unveiling the nonadiabatic photoisomerization mechanism of hemicyanines for UV photoprotection

In this work, the nonadiabatic energy relaxation mechanism of hemicyanines for UV photoprotection were investigated by using the density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) method for the first time. The absorption spectra and potential energy surfaces (PESs) of four hemicyanines with different positions of substituents were presented. The maximum absorption peaks of the four hemicyanines are located in the UVA region. In addition, all these hemicyanine molecules also have light absorption in both the UVB and UVC regions. At the same time, we found that the trans-cis photoisomerization PESs of all these hemicyanines have a significant conical intersection (CI) point between the first excited state and the ground state. Herein, it was first demonstrated that the UV energy absorbed by the hemicyanines could be dissipated nonadiabatically through the CI point by using the trans-cis photoisomerization dynamics mechanism. This work proves that hemicyanines have the possibility to be applied for UV photoabsorbers, and provides important basis for designing new type of hemicyanines for UV photoprotection.

Improving the self-assembly of bioresponsive nanocarriers by engineering doped nanocarbons: a computational atomistic insight

Here, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were employed to explore the self-assembly of polymers and docetaxel (DTX) as an anticancer drug in the presence of nitrogen, phosphorous, and boron-nitrogen incorporated graphene and fullerene. The electrostatic potential and the Gibbs free energy of the self-assembled materials were used to optimize the atomic doping percentage of the N- and P-doped formulations at 10% and 50%, respectively. Poly lactic-glycolic acid (PLGA)- polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based polymeric nanoparticles were assembled in the presence of nanocarbons in the common (corresponding to the bulk environment) and interface of organic/aqueous solutions (corresponding to the microfluidic environment). Assessment of the modeling results (e.g., size, hydrophobicity, and energy) indicated that among the nanocarbons, the N-doped graphene nanosheet in the interface method created more stable polymeric nanoparticles (PNPs). Energy analysis demonstrated that doping with nanocarbons increased the electrostatic interaction energy in the self-assembly process. On the other hand, the fullerene-based nanocarbons promoted van der Waals intramolecular interactions in the PNPs. Next, the selected N-doped graphene nanosheet was utilized to prepare nanoparticles and explore the physicochemical properties of the nanosheets in the permeation of the resultant nanoparticles through cell-based lipid bilayer membranes. In agreement with the previous results, the N-graphene assisted PNP in the interface method and was translocated into and through the cell membrane with more stable interactions. In summary, the present MD simulation results demonstrated the success of 2D graphene dopants in the nucleation and growth of PLGA-based nanoparticles for improving anticancer drug delivery to cells, establishing new promising materials and a way to assess their performance that should be further studied.

Recent advances in carbon nanomaterials for biomedical applications: A review

With the emergence of new pathogens like coronavirus disease 2019 and the prevalence of cancer as one of the leading causes of mortality globally, the effort to develop appropriate materials to address these challenges is a critical research area. Researchers around the world are investigating new types of materials and biological systems to fight against various diseases that affect humans and animals. Carbon nanostructures with their properties of straightforward functionalization, capability for drug loading, biocompatibility, and antiviral properties have become a major focus of biomedical researchers. However, reducing toxicity, enhancing biocompatibility, improving dispersibility, and enhancing water solubility have been challenging for carbon-based biomedical systems. The goal of this article is to provide a review on the latest progress involving the use of carbon nanostructures, namely fullerenes, graphene, and carbon nanotubes, for drug delivery, cancer therapy, and antiviral applications.

TD-DFT Studies on sp- and sp2-Hybridized Single Vacancy-Defected [60]Fullerene: Electronic Excitation and Nonlinear Optical Properties of C59 [9-4] and C59 [8-5] Isomers

By removing one carbon atom from [60]Fullerene (C60), two different isomers (C59 [9-4] and C59 [8-5]) are generated for the C59 cluster. Inspired by their structural and electronic properties, we, theoretically, studied the static and frequency-dependent electronic (hyper)polarizabilities of sp- and sp²-hybridized isomers in vacuum by TD-DFT calculations. The simulated absorption spectra showed that all absorption bands of C59 [9-4] and C59 [8-5] are attributed to π → π* and n → π* transitions. Regarding their nonlinear optical properties, it is found that the frequency-dependent polarizability anisotropy α_anisotropy(λ = 1064.80 nm) of C59 [8-5] is 4 times larger than the static regime, revealing a notable polarization anisotropy, due to the delocalized π electrons around the vacancy defect. By decreasing the incident wavelengths from λ = 1908 nm to λ =589.08 nm, the dispersion of optical nonlinearity of C59 [8-5] has achieved the maximum at β_xxx (λ = 1064.8 nm) = 38.150 au and (γ_xxxx (λ = 589.08 nm) = -9.896 × 10⁷ au), indicating that the resonance effect of the hyperpolarizability amplified with the decrease of incident wavelengths. Hyperpolarizability density analyses in X and Z directions displayed that the conspicuous negative ρ_xxx⁽³⁾(r⃗) and -zρ_zzz⁽³⁾(r⃗) are more expanded on the C59 [8-5] cage when the main contributions stem from the π electrons instead to the sp-hybridized carbon.

Functionalization of [60]Fullerene through photochemical reaction for fulleropyrrolidine nanovectors synthesis: Experimental and theoretical approaches

To develop novel carbon-based nanocarriers, we proposed grafting on the [60]Fullerene (C60) biologically active molecules. In this process, the formed derivatives described another approach to use photo-cycloaddition reactions for developing the third nanovector generation. As a result, the photoexcitation of C60 and azomethine ylide (AZMYtrp), with visible light, was considered as the most promising pathway to synthesize fulleropyrrolidine (FPL). After complexation with sodium cation (Na⁺), the error masses of FPL mono-, bis- and tris-adducts were remarkably decreased to -85.93 %, -53.99 % and -99.42 %, respectively. The formed FPL-Na⁺ complexes presented a significant capacity for trapping OH and OOH free radicals. In fact, their antiradical properties increased when Na⁺ was bonded with FPL-Na⁺ mono-adduct carbonyl oxygens. Comparing FPL bis-adducts regioisomers, under three different AZMYtrp forms, the neutral and anionic-neutral forms of FPL cis1 isomer were considered as the most reactive bis-nanocarriers with mole fractions of about 61 % and 46 %, respectively, in contrast to FPL-Na⁺, when the mixture was dominated by the anionic-neutral form of cis2 isomer with 50.34 %.