Journal of Cluster Science最新文献

Candidiasis is a fungal infection caused by several species of the Candida genus. These fungi are pleomorphic, and some of them make up the human microbiota, colonizing mucous areas and the skin. The interaction between the host immune system and the microbiota is crucial for maintaining homeostasis, but dysregulation can lead to fungal adaptation and pathogenesis. Candidiasis encompasses a diverse spectrum of clinical forms, including vulvovaginal, mucocutaneous and systemic infections. The need for early diagnosis, preventive measures and effective therapeutic approaches is urgent, considering the increase in resistant biofilm-producing fungi. In this sense, nanotechnology emerges as a promising therapeutic strategy against fungal infections caused by Candida spp. Nanostructures such as liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles and metallic nanoparticles, metal oxides, nanocomposites or quantum dots stand out for demonstrating advantages including maintaining the plasma concentration of active ingredients, reducing toxicity, increasing bioavailability and enhancing antifungal effects. This work focuses on Candida species of high priority for global public health, exploring how nanotechnology can improve current treatments, offering new avenues for the management of candidiasis.

Pharmaceutical experts have focused on the Self-Nano Emulsifying Drug Delivery System (SNEDDS) in recent years as a promising strategy to enhance the bioavailability of poorly absorbed drugs. Using famotidine, a drug with low bioavailability—as a model, this study aimed to evaluate the potential of SNEDDS for improving drug absorption. Fish oil-based SNEDDS formulations incorporating Tween 80 (surfactant) and propylene glycol (co-surfactant) were developed using pseudo-ternary phase diagrams and optimized via Box-Behnken design. The formulations underwent thermodynamic stability testing, physicochemical characterization, as well as in vitro and in vivo evaluations. SNEDDS revealed excellent thermodynamic stability and desired particle’s size characteristics. The formulations showed a sustained release pattern after initial burst release. The FTIR-spectrum confirmed the incorporation and stability of FM in SNEDDS. The cell uptake study in Caco2 cells showed significantly higher uptake for SNEDDS as compared to control, providing proof of concept to improve bioavailability. The ex vivo data displayed the thoroughgoing infiltration of SNEDDS in the mucus layers. The in vivo results declared desirable hemocompatibility of SNEDDS and decidedly enhanced passage of hydrophobic drug into the systemic circulation, improving its bioavailability. The formulations showed excellent elevation of in vivo oral bioavailability, proving that the designed oral dosage form can be a potent clinical slant regarding oral delivery of low soluble drugs for clinicians.

In this study, Foeniculum vulgare seed-mediated AgNPs were deposited onto the surface of MOF-derived CeO₂. The structural, elemental, chemical, functional, and morphological properties of the Ag-CeO₂ NC were characterized using XRD, EDX, FTIR, SEM, and HR-TEM techniques. XRD results indicate the presence of AgNPs and CeO₂ NPs in the composite. FTIR studies revealed seven different functional groups in the composite. SEM and TEM results indicate the spherical-shaped AgNPs are well distributed on the CeO₂ flakes. EDS analysis confirms the presence of Ce, Ag, and O in the synthesized composite. Ag-CeO₂ nanocomposite exhibited significant antibacterial activity against S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, B. substilis, and E. coli. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were achieved at concentrations of 60–80 µg/mL, with optimal activity observed at 80 µg/mL, resulting in zone of clearance values of 10.23 ± 0.46 mm against Staphylococcus aureus, 6.09 ± 0.13 mm against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 11.29 ± 0.39 mm against Bacillus subtilis and 11.25 ± 0.45 mm against E. coli. These results suggest that the Ag-CeO₂ nanocomposite has potential as an effective antibacterial agent. Furthermore, the anticancer potential of the Ag-CeO₂ NC was assessed on MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. The MTT assay showed that cell viability decreased with increasing Ag-CeO₂ NC concentrations, ranging from 2.5 to 50 µg/mL. Overall, the synthesized Ag-CeO₂ NC demonstrates promise as an effective agent against bacterial infections and cancer cell proliferation.

Enhancing the visible light response activity of semiconductor photocatalytic materials is a core challenge in the field of environmental catalysis. Transition metal doping has become an effective modification strategy due to its tunable electronic structure characteristics. In this study, aiming at the problems of high carrier recombination rate and insufficient visible light response of Bi₂WO₆ photocatalyst, a Fe³⁺ doping modification strategy was proposed. Fe³⁺-doped Bi₂WO₆ (Fe³⁺-Bi₂WO₆) was synthesized by hydrothermal-calcination method, and its visible light photocatalytic degradation performance for tetracycline (TC) was systematically evaluated. Based on the ion radius matching characteristics of Fe³⁺ (0.0645 nm) and W⁶⁺ (0.060 nm), Fe³⁺ directionally replaces the W⁶⁺ site in the Bi₂WO₆ lattice and induces the formation of oxygen vacancies. The characterization results show that the specific surface area of Fe³⁺-Bi₂WO₆ is increased to 29.82 m²/g (the original phase is 24.00 m²/g). The response range of its absorption spectrum in the visible region has been significantly expanded (the band gap is reduced from 2.90 eV to 2.58 eV), and the photocurrent density reaches 0.835 × 10^− 3 mA/cm² (the original phase is 0.356 × 10^− 3 mA/cm²). When the doping ratio was optimized (Fe³⁺: Bi₂WO₆ = 0.26:100), the degradation rate of TC reached 85.97% within 60 min, and the reaction rate constant (0.03027 min⁻¹) was 1.53 times higher than that of the original phase. The mechanism investigation reveals that the abundance of oxygen vacancies not only significantly enhances the separation of photogenerated charge carriers but also effectively increases the number of active sites; at the same time, Fe³⁺ acts as an electron trap to inhibit recombination, and the dominant active species (·O₂⁻ and h⁺) synergistically achieve efficient degradation. This work provides new insights for designing cost-effective transition metal-doped bismuth-based photocatalysts.

Global challenges in water pollution and sustainable energy demand innovative solutions. This study presents a novel nickel-decorated silver ferrite (Ni-AGF) nanocomposite synthesized via a sol-gel method. The composite's structural, morphological, and compositional features were analyzed using techniques including TEM, SEM, BET, FTIR, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Structural and morphological analyses revealed uniform dispersion of Ni nanoparticles (~ 4.3 nm) on AgFeO₂ (~ 23.2 nm) with increased surface area (110.7 m²/g) at 6 wt% Ni loading. SEM and EDX confirmed the presence of Ni, Ag, Fe, and O elements, and TEM images suggested uniform dispersion of Ni nanoparticles on the AgFeO₂ surface. While, UV-VIS spectroscopy allowed calculation of the band gap energies, showing that the nickel nanoparticles influence the composite's optical properties. Photocatalytic experiments demonstrated that the 6 wt% Ni-AGF achieved a 97% degradation of Rhodamine B within 90 minutes and exhibited the highest first-order rate constant (0.0178 min⁻¹). Under visible light, this composition also yielded the maximum hydrogen evolution rate of 0.475 mmol h⁻¹ g⁻¹ using ethylene glycol as a sacrificial agent. The catalyst retained 88.1% of its activity after five cycles, enabled by its magnetic recoverability. These findings highlight the potential of Ni-AGF as a cost-effective, dual-functional material for wastewater treatment and sustainable energy applications.

In recent years, chemotherapy has been widely reported as a treatment for cancer. However, most patients experience side effects of chemotherapy due to direct exposure of drugs such as doxorubicin to body tissues. This work seeks an effective magnetic-based drug delivery system, where the system can maximally load the drug and is able to release the drug in a controlled manner. In this study, the magnetite/hydroxyapatite/chitosan nanocomposite was synthesized through the coprecipitation route, utilizing the natural resources of iron sand and serai snail shells. The crystals formed are sized 9.22–9.63 nm for magnetite and 7.94–8.70 nm for hydroxyapatite. Infrared analysis has shown the presence of M–O, OH^–, PO₄^3–, and NH₂. Additionally, morphology of the magnetite/hydroxyapatite/chitosan nanocomposite consists of spherical particles with a size of 28.1–32.3 nm. Composition of chitosan reducing the band gap energy. The nanocomposites showed superparamagnetic with a saturation magnetization of 8.9–11.1 emu.g^–1. Antibacterial activity investigations revealed that the nanocomposites formed an inhibition zone diameter of 2–8 mm. Doxorubicin was successfully loaded with a drug loading efficiency ranging from 76 to 82%. Based on the release kinetics, doxorubicin demonstrated a rapid release with maximum value within the first 135 min. Therefore, this study has successfully developed a drug delivery system responsive to magnetic fields, capable of loading high-capacity drugs and releasing them at target sites, thereby positioning this material as a promising candidate in cancer treatment systems.

Potent Magnesium-Carbon Fullerene nanocomposite was created by a plasma reactor that vaporizes the Magnesium anode, and carbon cathode in the dielectric media (distilled water) by applying a powerful electric field between them. The Magnesium-Carbon Fullerene nanocomposite was characterized to examine its stability, shape, size, and crystal phase structure. Characterization analysis such as High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope (HR-TEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Zeta potential, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) confirmed that the Synthesized Magnesium-Carbon Fullerene nanocomposite was successfully prepared with the nano with average polygonal Mg particle diameter 35 ± 5 nm combined with carbon nano sheets with − 24.1 mv zetapotential indicating high stability. The 50% cell cytotoxic concentration equaled 201.85 ± 3.94 µg/ml. The synthesized yield showed a potent antibacterial effect against the test microbes, reaching 150 µg/ml minimum inhibitory concentration against Staphylococcus aureus while completely eradicating the bacterial growth after 20 h of incubation. Moreover, Magnesium-Carbon Fullerene had a surprisingly high anti-inflammatory effect. Notably, Mg@C Fullerene nanocomposite demonstrated pronounced and specific inhibition of COX-2, with an IC₅₀ of 0.092 µM and a SI of 135.86.

The transformation of well-characterized, ligand-protected gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) is a promising approach for the targeted synthesis of novel AuNCs. Our group has previously reported that [MAu₈(PPh₃)₈]²⁺ (M = Au⁺, Pd) in methanol was transformed into unprecedented NCs by incorporating one or two AuCN units through atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) irradiation. In order to broaden the scope of the APP-based transformation, the reaction on a prototypical thiolate-protected AuNCs [Au₂₅(SR)₁₈]^– was studied. APP irradiation of [Au₂₅(4-PyET)₁₈]^– (4-PyET = 4-pyridineethanethiol) resulted in a transformation to [Au₂₀(4-PyET)₁₄CN]^–, accompanied by oxidation, while [Au₂₅(p-MBA)₁₈]^– (p-MBA = 4-mercaptobenzoic acid) was transformed into larger plasmonic Au nanoparticles. The geometric and electronic structures of a simplified model [Au₂₀(SCH₃)₁₄CN]^– were investigated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. It was proposed that [Au₂₀(SCH₃)₁₄CN]^– has an oblate Au₁₀ superatomic core protected by two Au₂(4-PyET)₃ and two Au₃(4-PyET)₄ oligomers.

Gastric cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide, posing significant therapeutic challenges due to its aggressive nature and limited treatment efficacy. Resveratrol (Res), a natural polyphenol, has demonstrated promising anti-gastric cancer properties by inducing apoptosis, inhibiting proliferation, and suppressing metastasis. However, its clinical application is hindered by poor water solubility and low physicochemical stability. To improve and maintain the anti-gastric cancer activity and stability of Res, this study developed a novel sustained-release nano formulation of resveratrol using polyethylene glycol–poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PEG-PLGA) as a nanocarrier. The formulation was optimized via a Box–Behnken design to enhance drug encapsulation efficiency and control release kinetics. Compared with free resveratrol, Res-PEG-PLGA nanoparticles exhibited sustained release for nearly 10 hours. Furthermore, MTT assays demonstrated that Res-PEG-PLGA nanoparticles significantly enhanced the cytotoxicity and growth inhibition of resveratrol against SGC-7901 gastric cancer cells. This innovative approach offers a promising strategy for enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of resveratrol in gastric cancer treatment.

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A simple and cost-effective method—the ‘Vial Method’ was utilized to develop niosomes incorporating luliconazole, offering a convenient alternative to the traditional thin-layer hydration method. Niosomes were prepared using the ‘Vial Method’ with nonionic surfactants and cholesterol. The method was optimized using the Design-Expert® software to refine particle size and the entrapment efficiency, with the morphology of niosomes analyzed through Transmission Electron Microscopy. The compatibility and stability of the components and their physical mixture were assessed using infrared spectroscopy and Differential Scanning Calorimetry. Antifungal activity was determined by the disc diffusion method, with in vitro drug release studies, and cytocompatibility testing, and acute skin irritation tests performed in vivo. The optimized niosomes were spherical, with a size of ~221.0 nm, drug entrapment efficiency of ~94%, and drug loading capacity of approximately 28%. In comparison, the conventional method produced vesicles of ~275.0 nm size and a drug entrapment efficiency of ~97%. The niosomes developed using the simple method showed an initial burst release followed by sustained release, with release data fitting best with zero order kinetics. The optimized niosomes demonstrated significant antifungal potential against Candida strains (p < 0.05), and in vivo skin irritation tests confirmed their safety. Luliconzole niosomes were efficiently prepared using the ‘Vial Method’ and demonstrated for its non-irritancy, and possibility of effective management of tinea infections caused by Candida species.

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