Journal of Nanoparticle Research最新文献

This study aimed to prepare core–shell structural PLGA nanoparticles of astaxanthin (ASTA-PLGA@M) via micelle template for sustained release in vitro and long-term hepatoprotective effects in vivo. The morphology, mean particle size, zeta potential, polydispersity index (PDI), and drug loading efficiency of optimized formulation were investigated. Meanwhile, the physicochemical characterizations including X-ray diffraction (XRD) and attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) of ASTA-PLGA@M were evaluated to prove the successful encapsulation of astaxanthin. The in vitro release of astaxanthin from ASTA-PLGA@M in four different media was sustained slowly for 120 h. An in vivo release study also demonstrated that ASTA-PLGA@M nanoparticles enhanced oral bioavailability significantly. In addition, the hepatoprotective effects of astaxanthin on oxidative stress (OS) accompanied by apoptosis in acute hepatic damage caused by carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) in mice were investigated. ASTA-PLGA@M nanoparticles provide a clear elevating effect on the activity of SOD and inhibit the increase of MDA during acute liver damage caused by CCl4. Moreover, histopathological analysis was conducted to study the long-term hepatoprotective effects of ASTA-PLGA@M for further application of astaxanthin in functional food or clinical use.

Design of chemically bonded heterojunction with oxygen vacancies is a serviceable method to facilitate the performance of metal-organic framework (MOFs). Herein, Bi–MOF as bismuth source and frame, chemically bonded close-contact Bi/BiOBr@Bi–MOF heterojunction with intact backbone was successfully developed by two-step easy in situ halogenation and photoreduction of Bi–MOF. The halide amount and photoreduction time regulate the BiOBr and metal Bi loading amount and oxygen defects concentration. Bi/BiOBr@Bi–MOF-5-1 revealed the best photocatalytic efficiency (rate constant) of 97.1% (0.0607 min⁻¹) toward chlortetracycline (CTC) after full-spectrum light irradiation for 60 min. The rate constants were 7.2, 2.2, and 2.2 times higher than Bi–MOF, BiOBr, and Bi/BiOBr-5 without MOF structure, respectively, which is owing to the synergistic effect among Bi–MOF framework, OVs, and mediator-based Z-scheme heterojunction by chemically bonding with metal Bi as carrier transfer bridge. This study provides a broad prospect for reasonable design and flexible synthesis of semiconductor/MOF heterojunction with Bi–MOF as nice precursor.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a worldwide health emergency that requires creative solutions beyond the use of traditional antibiotics. Nanotechnology is a viable substitute that offers fresh methods to fight resilient microbial strains. Unfortunately, there is currently a lack of information available regarding the use of nanotechnology to lessen the AMR challenge worldwide. This review examined the present application of nanotechnology to combat AMR. Different nanomaterials, such as metallic, polymeric, and lipid-based nanoparticles, are highlighted, along with their mechanisms of action, which include rupturing microbial membranes and producing reactive oxygen species. The review also looks at how nanotechnology is used in medical device coatings, drug delivery systems, and improving the effectiveness of current antibiotics. Notwithstanding its potential, issues like environmental effects, regulatory barriers, and safety concerns need to be addressed. Future directions should focus on the need for international collaboration as well as the application of nanotechnology into various antimicrobial tactics like bacteriophage and antimicrobial peptides. This review highlights the significant role that nanotechnology can play in combating AMR.

Monometallic and bimetallic core–shell nanoparticles (MCSNPs and BCSNPs) exhibit excellent stability, electronic, magnetic and the surface chemical properties due to their combination of metallicity and unique core–shell structure. BCSNPs further has synergistic effects. In this study, we systematically studied the geometrical structure, stability, charge transfer, electronic, and magnetic properties of the 13-, 33- and 55-atom Ni-Ru CSNPs using the density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The results show that Ru@Ni BCSNPs with a Ni surface shell are thermodynamically more favorable than the Ni@Ru BCSNPs with a Ru surface shell. Bader charge analysis illustrates that the Ru surface shell of the Ni@Ru BCSNPs displays a negative charge, while the Ni surface shell of the Ru@Ni BCSNPs exhibits a positive charge or approximately electrically neutral. Charge transfer leads to the shift of the d-band centers and further affects the reactivity. Ru@Ni and Ni@Ru BCSNPs have a higher chemical activity than the corresponding Ni or Ru MCSNPs except Ni@Ru₁₂. In addition, the Ni@Ru BCSNPs have significantly stronger magnetism when the Ru atoms segregate on surface region. For the MCSNPs of Ru, the size of the particles has an impact on their total magnetic moments.

Microplastics (MPs) in environmental matrices, particularly aquatic ecosystems, pose an emerging threat to diverse biological systems. Coagulation-flocculation processes have garnered attention for their potential to mitigate MP contamination in wastewater treatments and may help to limit these particles ending in water bodies. This study explores a sustainable way to precipitate PS nanoparticles (PS NPs), utilising a protein bioflocculant from Alcaligenes sp. IS02 as an alternative to chemical and synthetic flocculants. The cell-free culture supernatant demonstrated a substantial turbidity clearance of 85% in prepared PS suspension, signifying its efficacy in removing the PS-NPs. The protein bioflocculant was precipitated and extracted with 10% trichloroacetic acid, and the purified flocculant displayed a flocculation activity (FA) of 84.1%. The role of proteins in flocculation was confirmed by desorbing the multiple proteins from the precipitated PS NPs and separated through SDS-PAGE and also validated the presence of proteins by FTIR. It was also observed that the suspension’s zeta potential increased from − 49.16 mV to − 31.9 mV after the addition of the bioflocculant, indicating the role of charged residues in flocculation. The possible mechanism for flocculation was presumed as protein corona formation, where electrostatic interactions between negatively charged PS NPs and charged amino acid residues in proteins lead to aggregation and precipitation.

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The degradation efficiency of photocatalysts is severely restricted by the rapid recombination of photogenerated carriers. To solve this problem, ZnO/BiOCl nanocomposites with piezo-phototronic effect were successfully prepared. The results show that the piezo-phototronic effect–enhanced photocatalytic degradation efficiency of ZnO/BiOCl-1:4 can be increased by 2.00 times compared with the degradation efficiency under only light condition, confirming the effectiveness of piezo-phototronic effect–enhanced photocatalytic performance. Subsequently, ZnO/BiOCl nanocomposites were coated on the surface of cement-based materials with polydimethylsiloxane as the matrix. It can be found that with the increase of the amount of BiOCl, the dispersion is significantly improved. Due to the addition of nanomaterials, the hydrophobic properties of the coatings are improved to a certain extent, but the adhesion strength decreased slightly. Noteworthy, the piezo-photocatalytic cement-based material coating based on ZnO/BiOCl nanocomposites can only degrade 45.4% of methylene blue for 5 h under light condition, but can degrade 81.1% for 100 min under ultrasound and light conditions. Therefore, the piezo-phototronic effect enhanced photocatalytic coating based on ZnO/BiOCl can improve the degradation ability of organic pollutants on cement-based materials’ surface, which provides an effective method for the inevitable corrosion problems facing structures of cement-based materials.

The scaffolds used for treatment of cardiovascular disease generally require good hemocompatibility and endothelialization. Incorporating the bioactive material and the formation of biomimetic structure are the main effective methods to ensure good hemocompatibility and rapid endothelialization. Herein, in this work, the bacterial cellulose (BC)/hydroxyapatite (HAp)-polyethersulfone (PES) scaffold (BC/HPES) is developed by the combination of electrospinning of PES solution with nano HAp and step-by-step in situ biosynthesis. The scaffold is composed of PES microfibers loaded with HAp (fiber diameters ranging from 0.8 to 2.6 µm) and BC nanofibers with diameters of 20 to 60 nm. Hemocompatibility results show that the micro-nano fiber structure is the main factor to influence the platelet adhesion number, hemolysis rate, and various static clotting times of the scaffolds, while the dynamic clotting time and plasma recalcification time (PRT) are affected by both the micro-nano fiber structure and HAp. Thus, the BC/HPES scaffold shows the longest dynamic clotting time (72 ± 3 min) and PRT (5.8 ± 0.3 min) among all the scaffolds. Moreover, this scaffold exhibits improved endothelialization over PES, HPES, BC, and BC/PES scaffolds according to the results of cell morphology, NO release amounts, and expression levels of platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule (CD31), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and von Willebrand factor (VWF). This scaffold with micro-nano-fibrous structure and loaded with HAp in microfibers shows the improved hemocompatibility and endothelialization and thus has high potential for cardiovascular disease treatment.

The past decades have seen significant progress in organic solar cells based on asymmetric non-fullerene acceptors with power conversion efficiency (PCE) increasing from ≈1 to ≈19%. The Gaussian 09W was utilized to modify a reference acceptor molecule by end groups such as four fluorides, bromides, carbon trifluorides, and carbon tribromides. The DFT and TD-DFT methods were employed to calculate the optical and electronic characteristics of modified acceptor compounds and compare them to the reference compound. The key properties such as frontier molecular orbitals analysis, energy gap, electron affinity (EA), ionization potential (IP), chemical softness (S), chemical hardness (η), chemical potential (µ), electronegativity (χ), fill factor (FF), open circuit voltage (Voc), exciton binding energy, absorption maxima, and light harvesting efficiency (LHE) for acceptor molecules are calculated. The substitution of end groups in the acceptor molecules leads to a decrease in the energy gap from (R = 2.056 eV) to (R-4CBr₃ = 1.969 eV) and an increase in maximum absorption wavelength from (R = 664.416 nm) to (R-4CBr₃ = 699.083 nm). The behavior of our results is consistent with the experimental results, which helps to increase the efficiency of non-fullerene acceptors-based organic solar cells.

Although depleting amino acids is a useful strategy for suppressing tumor growth, the amino acid-degrading enzymes used for this purpose are degraded in vivo, and they must be stabilized and rapidly introduced into target cells. The aim of this study was to explore novel strategies for suppressing cancer cell proliferation while minimizing off-target effects. Specifically, we focused on an amino acid deprivation approach, targeting the essential amino acids arginine and asparagine, which are integral to the proliferation and survival of cancer cells. Here, we report the stabilization and functional expression of amino acid-degrading enzymes using a developed nanoparticle with a network structure, which could be rapidly (in 20 min) introduced into the cell. Using this system, depending on the mesh size, macromolecules (as enzymes) are blocked, whereas small molecules (as amino acids) can freely pass through. This facilitates the introduction of enzymes into cells, along with nanoparticles, to degrade amino acids in a stable state. These results suggest that this system has the potential to be utilized for purposes other than amino acid depletion therapy, as its application enables multiple enzymes to function within cells in a stabilized state.

The difficulty in treating cancer has led to several studies on the development of systems that perform targeted drug delivery, with the aim of increasing the effectiveness of treatment and reducing adverse effects. In this study, a series of chalcones were tested for cytotoxic action on gastric adenocarcinoma cells (AGS) and breast cancer cells (MCF-7) using the MTT-tetrazolium method, and significant cytotoxicity was demonstrated for 3-hydroxychalcone (CHO). The synthesis of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) and their surface modification with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) were carried out, and 3-hydroxychalcone was then incorporated into these nanomaterials. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), elemental analysis (CHN), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), zeta potential, and nitrogen adsorption. In addition, in vitro release tests were carried out to verify the release profile of 3-hydroxychalcone from mesoporous silica samples. The results obtained showed that the mesoporous silica nanoparticles exhibited a gradual and prolonged release profile. In the cytotoxicity test with silica samples incorporated with 3-hydroxychalcone, significant cytotoxic activity was observed against AGS and MCF-7 cells, with the MSN-CHO sample exhibiting a better cytotoxic effect (IC₅₀ of 12.93 to 22.30 μM) than 3-hydroxychalcone (IC₅₀ of 47.58 to 47.97 μM). The results showed that the nanoparticles positively influenced the interaction of 3-hydroxychalcone with tumor cells. This is therefore an unprecedented study on the incorporation of 3-hydroxychalcone into mesoporous silica nanoparticles and its promising results in terms of cytotoxic activity against breast and gastric cancer cells.