Hydroxyapatite-Based Magnetic Bionanocomposite as Pharmaceuticals Carriers in Chitosan Scaffolds

Aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES)-Modified Nanohydroxyapatite (nHAp) Incorporated with Iron Oxide (IO) Nanoparticles Promotes Early Osteogenesis, Reduces Inflammation and Inhibits Osteoclast Activity

Due to its increased prevalence, osteoporosis (OP) represents a great challenge to health care systems and brings an economic burden. To overcome these issues, treatment plans that suit the need of patients should be developed. One of the approaches focuses on the fabrication of personalized biomaterials, which can restore the balance and homeostasis of disease-affected bone. In the presented study, we fabricated nanometer crystalline hydroxyapatite (nHAp) and iron oxide (IO) nanoparticles stabilized with APTES and investigated whether they can modulate bone cell metabolism and be useful in the fabrication of personalized materials for OP patients. Using a wide range of molecular techniques, we have shown that obtained nHAp@APTES promotes viability and RUNX-2 expression in osteoblasts, as well as reducing activity of critical proinflammatory cytokines while inhibiting osteoclast activity. Materials with APTES modified with nHAp incorporated with IO nanoparticles can be applied to support the healing of osteoporotic bone fractures as they enhance metabolic activity of osteoblasts and diminish osteoclasts' metabolism and inflammation.

Adsorption of cupric, cadmium and cobalt ions from the aqueous stream using the composite of iron(II,III) oxide and zeolitic imidazole framework-8

In recent research, the composite of Fe₃O₄ and metal-organic frameworks have shown great potential in removing potentially toxic metals from water. We conducted the adsorption studies of potentially toxic metal ions (Cu²⁺, Co²⁺ and Cd²⁺) using the composite of Fe₃O₄ and zeolitic imidazole framework-8 (Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8) for the first time. The solvothermal technique was used to synthesize the Fe₃O₄. The magnetic ZIF-8 offers high thermal stability, greater adsorption surface, good removability, and high chemical and thermal stability. Characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to characterize the synthesized samples. The SEM and XRD results revealed the high purity and structural integrity of ZIF-8 crystallites. To remove potentially toxic metals (Cu²⁺, Co²⁺ and Cd²⁺), the influence of adsorbent dosage, contact time, pH, and adsorbate concentration on the adsorption performance of Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8 was investigated. The Langmuir isotherm accurately represented the adsorption processes, with absorption magnitudes of Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8 determined to be 46.82 mg g^-1, 71.29 mg g^-1 and 54.49 mg g^-1 for Cu²⁺, Co²⁺ and Cd²⁺, respectively. According to the adsorption mechanism analysis, the primary Cu²⁺, Co²⁺ and Cd²⁺ removal methods of Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8 were ion exchange and coordination bonds. The uptake capacity of Cu²⁺, Co²⁺ and Cd²⁺ solution by Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8 were not significantly affected by the presence of counter ions. The material exhibited superior regenerative properties for Cu²⁺, Co²⁺ and Cd²⁺ ions from water for up to three cycles. This study concluded that the Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8 could be a viable candidate for eliminating potentially toxic metals (Cu²⁺, Co²⁺ and Cd²⁺).