Journal of Biomaterials Science, Polymer Edition最新文献

There have been studies published on the composition and coating uses of raw lacquers following enzymatic oxidative polymerization. The change of urushiol' thermal stability and biological activity following polymerization to create oligomer, however, has received little attention. This work using silica gel column chromatography to separate urushiol and urushiol oligomer from polymerized raw lacquer and assessed its antibacterial, antioxidant, and thermal stability in an effort to decrease the allergenicity of urushiol and increase its application. By using gel chromatography, the urushiol oligomer were discovered to be polymers with 2-5 degrees of polymerization. According to characterization results from techniques like UV, FT-IR, and ¹H NMR, urushiol was converted into urushiol oligomer by addition reactions, and C-C coupling. The findings demonstrated that the urushiol oligomer' IC₅₀ values for scavenging DPPH and ABTS free radicals were 40.8 and 27.4 μg/mL, respectively, and that their minimum inhibitory concentrations against Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis were 250 and 125 μg/mL. The urushiol oligomer's thermogravimetric differential curve peak temperature (461.8 °C) was higher than urushiol's (239.5 °C), indicating that urushiol undergoes polymerization with enhanced thermal stability. The study's findings establish a foundation for the use of polymerized urushiol and urushiol oligomer in applications including functional materials and additives.

Itraconazole (ITZ) is one of the broad-spectrum antifungal agents for treating fungal keratitis. In clinical use, ITZ has problems related to its poor solubility in water, which results in low bioavailability when administered orally. To resolve the issue, we formulated ITZ into the inclusion complex (ITZ-IC) system using β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), which can potentially increase the solubility and bioavailability of ITZ. The molecular docking study has confirmed that the binding energy of ITZ with the β-CD was -5.0 kcal/mol, indicating a stable conformation of the prepared inclusion complex. Moreover, this system demonstrated that the inclusion complex could significantly increase the solubility of ITZ up to 4-fold compared to the pure drug. Furthermore, an ocular drug delivery system was developed through dissolving microneedle (DMN) using polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as polymeric substances. The evaluation results of DMN inclusion complexes (ITZ-IC-DMN) showed excellent mechanical strength and insertion ability. In addition, ITZ-IC-DMN can dissolve rapidly upon application. The ex vivo permeation study revealed that 75.71% (equivalent to 3.79 ± 0.21 mg) of ITZ was permeated through the porcine cornea after 24 h. Essentially, ITZ-IC-DMN exhibited no signs of irritation in the HET-CAM study, indicating its safety for application. In conclusion, this study has successfully developed an inclusion complex formulation containing ITZ using β-CD in the DMN system. This approach holds promise for enhancing the solubility and bioavailability of ITZ through ocular administration.

This study aimed to synthesize and characterize chitosan-coated noisomal doxorubicin for the purpose of enhancing its medical application, particularly in the field of cancer treatment. Doxorubicin, a potent chemotherapeutic agent, was encapsulated within noisomes, which are lipid-based nanocarriers known for their ability to efficiently deliver drugs to target sites. Chitosan, a biocompatible and biodegradable polysaccharide, was used to coat the surface of the noisomes to improve their stability and enhance drug release properties. The synthesized chitosan-coated noisomal doxorubicin was subjected to various characterization techniques to evaluate its physicochemical properties. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed a spherical structure with a diameter of 500-550 ± 5.45 nm and zeta potential of +11 ± 0.13 mV with no aggregation or agglomeration. Chitosan-coated noisomes can loaded doxorubicin with entrapping efficacy 75.19 ± 1.45%. While scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed well-defined pores within a fibrous surface. It is observed that chitosan-coated niosomes loading doxorubicin have optimum roughness (22.88 ± 0.71 nm). UV spectroscopy was employed to assess the drug encapsulation efficiency and release profile. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) helped determine the thermal behavior, which indicated a broad endotherm peak at 52.4 °C, while X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis provided information about the crystallinity of the formulation with an intense peak at 23.79°. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) indicated the formation of new bonds between the drug and the polymer. The findings from this study will contribute to the knowledge of the physical and chemical properties of the synthesized formulation, which is crucial for ensuring its stability, drug release kinetics, and biological activity. The enhanced chitosan-coated noisomal doxorubicin has the potential to improve the effectiveness and safety of doxorubicin in cancer treatment, offering a promising strategy for enhanced medical applications.

Innovation chemotherapeutic nano drug delivery systems (NDDSs) with various pharmacological achievement have become one of the hopeful therapeutic strategies in cancer therapy. This study focused on low pH, and high levels of glutathione (GSH) as two prominent characteristics of the tumor microenvironment (TME) to design a novel TME-targeted pH/redox dual-responsive P (AMA-co-DMAEMA)-b-PCL-SS-PCL-b-P (AMA-co-DMAEMA) nanoparticles (NPs) for deep tumor penetration and targeted anti-tumor therapy. The positively charged NPs exhibit strong electrostatic interactions with negatively charged cell membranes, significantly enhancing cellular uptake. Moreover, these NPs possess the unique size-shrinkable property, transitioning from 98.24 ± 27.78 to 45.56 ± 20.62 nm within the TME. This remarkable size change fosters an impressive uptake of approximately 100% by MDA-MB-231 cells within just 30 min, thereby greatly improving drug delivery efficiency. This size switchability enables passive targeting through the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, facilitating deep penetration into tumors. The NPs also demonstrate improved pH/redox-triggered drug release (∼70% at 24 h) within the TME and exhibit no toxicity in cell viability test. The cell cycle results of treated cells with docetaxel (DTX)-loaded NPs revealed G2/M (84.6 ± 1.16%) arrest. The DTX-loaded NPs showed more apoptosis (62.6 ± 3.7%) than the free DTX (51.8 ± 3.2%) in treated cells. The western blot and RT-PCR assays revealed that apoptotic genes and proteins expression of treated cells were significantly upregulated with the DTX-loaded NPs vs. the free DTX (P_value<.001). In conclusion, these findings suggest that this novel-engineered NPs holds promise as a TME-targeted NDDS.

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have garnered the interest of researchers in the drug delivery due to their advantages, such as exceptional durability, stability, and selectivity. In this study, a biocompatible MIP drug adsorption and delivery system with high loading capacity and controlled release, was prepared based on chitosan (CS) and graphene quantum dots (GQDs) as the matrix, and the anticancer drug oxaliplatin (OXAL) as the template. Additionally, samples without the drug (non-imprinted polymers, NIPs) were created for comparison. GQDs were produced using the hydrothermal method, and samples underwent characterization through FTIR, XRD, FESEM, and TGA. Various experiments were conducted to determine the optimal pH for drug adsorption, along with kinetic and isotherm studies, selectivity assessments, in vitro drug release and kinetic evaluations. The highest drug binding capacity was observed at pH 6.5. The results indicated the Lagergren-first-order kinetic model (with rate constant of 0.038 min^-1) and the Langmuir isotherm (with maximum adsorption capacity of 17.15 mg g^-1) exhibited better alignment with the experimental data. The developed MIPs displayed significant selectivity towards OXAL, by an imprinting factor of 2.88, in comparison to two similar drugs (cisplatin and carboplatin). Furthermore, the analysis of the drug release profile showed a burst release for CS-Drug (87% within 3 h) at pH 7.4, where the release from the CS-GQD-Drug did not occur at pH 7.4 and 10; instead, the release was observed at pH 1.2 in a controlled manner (100% within 28 h). Consequently, this specific OXAL adsorption and delivery system holds promise for cancer treatment.

Cancer is ranked among the top causes of mortality throughout the world. Conventional therapies are associated with toxicity and undesirable side effects, rendering them unsuitable for prolonged use. Additionally, there is a high occurrence of resistance to anticancer drugs and recurrence in certain circumstances. Hence, it is essential to discover potent anticancer drugs that exhibit specificity and minimal unwanted effects. Curcumin, a polyphenol derivative, is present in the turmeric plant (Curcuma longa L.) and has chemopreventive, anticancer, radio-, and chemo-sensitizing activities. Curcumin exerts its anti-tumor effects on cancer cells by modulating the disrupted cell cycle through p53-dependent, p53-independent, and cyclin-dependent mechanisms. This review provides a summary of the formulations of curcumin based on nanospheres, since there is increasing interest in its medicinal usage for treating malignancies and tumors. Nanospheres are composed of a dense polymeric matrix, and have a size ranging from 10 to 200 nm. Lactic acid polymers, glycolic acid polymers, or mixtures of them, together with poly (methyl methacrylate), are primarily used as matrices in nanospheres. Nanospheres are suitable for local, oral, and systemic delivery due to their minuscule particle size. The majority of nanospheres are created using polymers that are both biocompatible and biodegradable. Previous investigations have shown that the use of a nanosphere delivery method can enhance tumor targeting, therapeutic efficacy, and biocompatibility of different anticancer agents. Moreover, these nanospheres can be easily taken up by mammalian cells. This review discusses the many curcumin nanosphere formulations used in cancer treatment.

Protein-based wound dressings have garnered increasing interest in recent years owing to their distinct physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. The intricate molecular composition of proteins gives rise to unique characteristics, such as exceptional biocompatibility, biodegradability, and responsiveness, which contribute to the promotion of wound healing. Wound healing is an intricate and ongoing process influenced by multiple causes, and it consists of four distinct phases. Various treatments have been developed to repair different types of skin wounds, thanks to advancements in medical technology and the recognition of the diverse nature of wounds. This review has literature reviewed within the last 3-5 years-the recent progress and development of protein in wound dressings and the fundamental properties of an ideal wound dressing. Herein, the recent strides in protein-based state-of-the-art wound dressing emphasize the significant challenges and summarize future perspectives for wound healing applications.

In this study, a novel bio-composite material that allow sustained release of plant derived antimicrobial compound was developed for the biomedical applications to prevent the infections caused by microorganisms resistant to commercial antimicrobials agents. With this aim, bacterial cellulose (BC)-p(HEMA) nanocomposite film that imprinted with eugenol (EU) via metal chelated monomer, MAH was prepared. Firstly, characterization studies were utilized by FTIR, SEM and BET analysis. Then antimicrobial assays, drug release studies and in vitro cytotoxicity test were performed. A significant antimicrobial effect against both Gram (+) Staphylococcus aureus and Gram (-) Escherichia coli bacteria and a yeast Candida albicans were observed even in low exposure time periods. When antimicrobial effect of EU compared with commercially used agents, both antifungal and antibacterial activity of EU were found to be higher. Then, sustained drug release studies showed that approximately 55% of EU was released up to 50 h. This result proved the achievement of the molecular imprinting for an immobilization of molecules that desired to release on an area in a long-time interval. Finally, the in vitro cytotoxicity experiment performed with the mouse L929 cell line determined that the synthesized EU-imprinted BC nanocomposite was biocompatible.

The objective of this work was to design a new drug nanoparticle (NP) composed of chitosan/β-cyclodextrin/sodium tripolyphosphate/alginate (CS/βCD/TPP/AL) loaded with a clove extract (CE) for potential anticancer effects. The extract was prepared by two extraction methods: hydroalcoholic maceration (MAC) with 80% MeOH and supercritical fluid (SCF). The MACCE and SCFCE CE NPs had particle sizes of 71 nm and 20 nm, respectively with irregular spherical shapes. The nanocarriers achieved entrapment efficiencies of over 90%. MACCE-NPs and SCFCE-NPs released 18.35% and 10.12% of the extract after 6 h, respectively. Cell viability decreased to 54%, 7%, and 12% in HeLa, U87, and KB cell lines, respectively, after a 48-hour treatment with SCFCE-NPs and 75%, 8%, and 17% after treatment with MACCE-NPs, significantly reduced compared to the control. It is concluded that NPs containing CE exhibit a higher degree of toxicity due to better penetration into cells.

A key strategy in enhancing the efficacy of collagen-based hydrogels involves incorporating polysaccharides, which have shown great promise for wound healing. In this study, semi-interpenetrating polymeric network (semi-IPN) hydrogels comprised of collagen (Col) with the macrocyclic oligosaccharide β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) (20-80 wt.%) were synthesised. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed the successful fabrication of these Col/β-CD hydrogels, evidenced by the presence of characteristic absorption bands, including the urea bond band at ∼1740 cm^-1, related with collagen crosslinking. Higher β-CD content was associated with increased crosslinking, higher swelling, and faster gelation. The β-CD content directly influenced the morphology and semi-crystallinity. All Col/β-CD hydrogels displayed superabsorbent properties, enhanced thermal stability, and exhibited slow degradation rates. Mechanical properties were significantly improved with contents higher than β-CD 40 wt.%. These hydrogels inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli bacteria and facilitated the controlled release of agents, such as malachite green, methylene blue, and ketorolac. The chemical composition of the Col/β-CD hydrogels did not induce cytotoxic effects on monocytes and fibroblast cells. Instead, they actively promoted cellular metabolic activity, encouraging cell growth and proliferation. Moreover, cell signalling modulation was observed, leading to changes in the expression of TNF-α and IL-10 cytokines. In summary, the results of this research indicate that these novel hydrogels possess multifunctional characteristics, including biocompatibility, super-swelling capacity, good thermal, hydrolytic, and enzymatic degradation resistance, antibacterial activity, inflammation modulation, and the ability to be used for controlled delivery of therapeutic agents, indicating high potential for application in advanced wound dressings.