Design and synthesis of a novel nanocomposite based on magnetic dopamine nanoparticles for purification of α-amylase from the bovine milk

Nanocomposite Hydrogels-A Promising Approach towards Enhanced Bioavailability and Controlled Drug Delivery

Nanotechnology has emerged as the eminent focus of today's research to overcome challenges related to conventional drug delivery systems. A wide spectrum of novel delivery systems has been investigated to improve the therapeutic outcomes of drugs. The polymer-based nanocomposite hydrogels (NCHs) that have evolved as efficient carriers for controlled drug delivery are of particular interest in this regard. Nanocomposites amalgamate the properties of both nanoparticles (NPs) as well as hydrogels, exhibiting superior functionalities over conventional hydrogels. This multiple functionality is based upon advanced mechanical, electrical, optical as well as magnetic properties. Here is a brief overview of the various types of nanocomposites, such as NCHs based on Carbon-bearing nanomaterials, polymeric nanoparticles, inorganic nanoparticles, and metal and metal-oxide NPs. Accordingly, this article will review numerous ways of preparing these NCHs with particular emphasis on the vast biomedical applications displayed by them in numerous fields such as tissue engineering, drug delivery, wound healing, bioprinting, biosensing, imaging and gene silencing, cancer therapy, antibacterial therapy, etc. Moreover, various features can be tuned, based on the final application, by controlling the chemical composition of hydrogel network, which may also influence the released conduct. Subsequently, the recent work and future prospects of this newly emerging class of drug delivery system have been enlisted.

Challenges and prospects of microbial α-amylases for industrial application: a review

α-Amylases are essential biocatalysts representing a billion-dollar market with significant long-term global demand. They have varied applications ranging from detergent, textile, and food sectors such as bakery to, more recently, biofuel industries. Microbial α-amylases have distinct advantages over their plant and animal counterparts owing to generally good activities and better stability at temperature and pH extremes. With the scope of applications expanding, the need for new and improved α-amylases is ever-growing. However, scaling up microbial α-amylase technology from the laboratory to industry for practical applications is impeded by several issues, ranging from mass transfer limitations, low enzyme yields, and energy-intensive product recovery that adds to high production costs. This review highlights the major challenges and prospects for the production of microbial α-amylases, considering the various avenues of industrial bioprocessing such as culture-independent approaches, nutrient optimization, bioreactor operations with design improvements, and product down-streaming approaches towards developing efficient α-amylases with high activity and recyclability. Since the sequence and structure of the enzyme play a crucial role in modulating its functional properties, we have also tried to analyze the structural composition of microbial α-amylase as a guide to its thermodynamic properties to identify the areas that can be targeted for enhancing the catalytic activity and thermostability of the enzyme through varied immobilization or selective enzyme engineering approaches. Also, the utilization of inexpensive and renewable substrates for enzyme production to isolate α-amylases with non-conventional applications has been briefly discussed.

A novel nanocomposite containing zinc ferrite nanoparticles embedded in carboxymethylcellulose hydrogel plus carbon nitride nanosheets with multifunctional bioactivity

A novel and biologically active nanobiocomposite is synthesized based on carbon nitride nanosheet (g-C3N4) based carboxymethylcellulose hydrogels with embedded zinc ferrite nanoparticles. Physical-chemical aspects, morphological properties, and their multifunctional biological properties have been considered in the process of evaluation of the synthesized structure. The hydrogels' compressive strength and compressive modulus are 1.98 ± 0.03 MPa and 3.46 ± 0.05 MPa, respectively. Regarding the biological response, it is shown that the nanobiocomposite is non-toxic and biocompatible, and hemocompatible (with Hu02 cells). In addition, the developed material offers a suitable antibacterial activity for both Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli).

pH-Responsive Nanocomposite Based Hydrogels for the Controlled Delivery of Ticagrelor; In Vitro and In Vivo Approaches

Background

Ticagrelor (TG), an antiplatelet drug is employed to treat patients with acute coronary syndrome, but its inadequate oral bioavailability due to poor solubility and low permeability restricts its effectiveness.

Purpose

This contemporary work was aimed to design a novel pH-sensitive nanocomposite hydrogel (NCH) formulation incorporating thiolated chitosan (TCH) based nanoparticles (NPs) of Ticagrelor (TG), to enhance its oral bioavailability for effectively inhibiting platelet aggregation.

Methods

NCHs were prepared by free radical polymerization technique, using variable concentrations of chitosan (CH) as biodegradable polymer, acrylic acid (AA) as a monomer, N,N-methylene bisacrylamide (MBAA) as cross-linker, and potassium persulphate (KPS) as initiator.

Results

The optimum hydrogel formulation was selected for fabricating NCHs, considering porosity, sol-gel fraction, swelling studies, drug loading capacity, and TG’s in vitro release as determining factors. Outcomes of the studies have shown that the extent of hydrogel swelling and drug release was comparatively greater at higher pH (7.4). Moreover, an amplifying trend was observed for drug loading and hydrogel swelling by increasing AA content, while it declined by increasing MBAA. The NCHs were evaluated by various physicochemical techniques and the selected formulation was subjected to in vivo bioavailability studies, confirming enhancement of bioavailability as indicated by prolonged half-life and multifold increase in area under the curve (AUC) as compared to pure TG.

Conclusion

The results suggest that NCHs demonstrated a pH-responsive, controlled behavior along with enhanced bioavailability. Thus NCHs can be effectively utilized as efficient delivery systems for oral delivery of TG to reduce the risk of myocardial infarction.