Journal of Nanoparticle Research最新文献

The development of effective and targeted cancer therapies remains a significant challenge. Platinum-based drugs are widely used but often suffer from limitations such as systemic toxicity and resistance. This study presents a novel approach to address these limitations by developing water-soluble gelatin-based platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) for enhanced cancer therapy. The incorporation of gelatin and curcumin into these nanoparticles offers potential advantages in terms of biocompatibility, targeted delivery, and synergistic therapeutic effects. The PtNPs were conveniently synthesized using a nanosuspension technique, offering a potentially scalable and straightforward method for nanoparticle production. The synthesized PtNPs were thoroughly characterized using various techniques. The investigation assessed the cytotoxic properties of the PtNPs in MCF-7 (breast cancer) and HepG2 (liver cancer) cell lines. The average size of PtNPs was found to vary around 120–200 nm. The density of platinum metal was supported by EDS and metal mapping analysis. The IC₅₀ values of PtNPs in MCF-7 and HepG2 cancer cell lines were found to be 6.450 and 7.992 μL/mL, respectively. The incorporation of gelatin and curcumin into platinum nanoparticles represents a unique and innovative strategy for enhancing nanoparticle biocompatibility, targeting, and therapeutic efficacy.

The use of nanotechnology to make nanoformulations/nanocarriers is a rapidly evolving field of study with the potential to fundamentally improve the treatment outcomes for diverse disease states. The use of nanoformulations allows for targeted drug delivery to diseased sites and reduced unwanted side effects. There have been many FDA-approved nanoformulations for the treatment of complex disease states such as advanced non‐small cell lung cancer, secondary metastatic breast cancer, primary metastatic pancreatic cancer, Kaposi’s sarcoma related to AIDS, ovarian cancer, multiple myeloma, leukemia, amyloidosis, and age-related macular degeneration. While most nanoformulations are approved for cancer therapy, FDA-approved nanoformulations are effectively employed to treat autoimmune disorders, metabolic disorders, ophthalmic conditions, neurological diseases, hematological disorders, and inflammatory diseases. Further, novel nanoformulations are in various phases of clinical development for endocrine disorders, complex cancers, skin, ocular, blood, nervous system, cardiovascular, immune, and inflammatory disorders.

Bacterial infection of an implant can cause implant failure and lead to complications. Magnesium and its alloys have been selected as implant materials, since they are biodegradable and possess suitable elastic moduli. However, the rapid rate of degradation of magnesium and its alloys in the body, as well as attachment of bacterial cells on their surfaces, limits their application as implants. Therefore, this paper reports a superhydrophilic magnesium/gallium-layered double hydroxides (SH/Mg-Ga LDHs) coating. The SH/Mg-Ga LDHs coating exhibited excellent superhydrophilic properties and prevented bacterial attachment on the surface of magnesium alloy. Furthermore, the coating demonstrated outstanding antibacterial performance, with inhibition rates exceeding 99% against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). Additionally, the coating reduced the corrosion current density of the magnesium alloy from 7.49 × 10^–6 to 1.67 × 10^–7 A/cm², and increased the corrosion potential from − 1.55 V/SCE to − 0.35 V/SCE, thereby significantly improving the corrosion resistance of the magnesium alloy. The number of platelets adhering to the coating was nearly zero, and the thrombosis index increased from 92 to 96%, effectively preventing thrombus formation. Therefore, the Mg-Ga LDHs coating provided a feasible solution to improve the properties of magnesium alloy implant materials and promote the application of magnesium alloys.

Plant diseases pose a significant threat to global food security, necessitating innovative and sustainable strategies for disease management. Due to its numerous emerging and innovative applications, nanotechnology has garnered interest in a variety of sectors. Engineered nanoparticles are versatile materials with sizes ranging from 1 to 100 nm that can be used as fungicides, bactericides, and nano-fertilizers because of their high reactivity, wide surface area, and tiny size. In order to achieve the goals of sustainable farming, nano-bioformulations are being developed. Biopolymers, including cellulose, starch, alginate, chitin, and chitosan, with ecological endurability are employed for synthesizing nano-formulations. The second most prevalent biopolymer after cellulose is chitosan, which is utilized extensively because of its special qualities, which include non-toxicity, pH sensitivity, abundance, biodegradability, biocompatibility, low allergenicity, and bioabsorbability. Chitosan, a natural biopolymer derived from chitin, has gained attention for its antifungal, antibacterial, and elicitor properties. The combination of natural biopolymers with nanotechnology presents an opportunity to revolutionize agriculture and plant protection. High surface area, positive charge, and nanoscale size are some of the distinct physicochemical characteristics of nano-chitosan that boost its bioactivity and improve the interaction with plant tissues. Chitosan nanoparticles (ChNPs) have multifaceted modes of action, viz., direct antimicrobial activity, induction of plant defense, and modulation of microbial gene expression. It is broadly used in disease suppression and improving overall plant health. The techniques, viz., ionic gelation, emulsion cross-linking, and solvent evaporation, are commonly used to synthesize ChNPs, showing better control over particle size, stability, and biocompatibility. The present review highlights the synthesis of ChNPs, their potential applications in crop protection, their mechanism of action against plant pathogens, and their toxicity in plants.

The presence of bisphenol A (BPA) in the environment is becoming an increasingly serious threat to human health, and its removal is crucial. In the current study, a novel adsorbent based on C18 functionalized silica-coated iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄@SiO₂-C18) was prepared for the adsorptive removal of BPA from water. First, magnetic Fe₃O₄ NPs were prepared and coated with porous silica particles by the sol–gel method to prepare Fe₃O₄@SiO₂. Then, surface functionalization of Fe₃O₄@SiO₂ was carried out with octadecyl dimethyl chlorosilane to prepare Fe₃O₄@SiO₂-C18. The developed adsorbent was characterized by elemental analysis, FTIR spectroscopy, SEM, TEM, XRD analysis, BET, and BJH analysis. The effect of various parameters such as concentration, adsorbent dose, contact time, and pH on BPA adsorption was studied during batch adsorption experiments. Maximum adsorption capacity (473.224 mg/g) and removal efficiency (94%) were achieved with the following parameters: concentration (60 mg/L), sorbent dose (10 mg/L), pH (6), and contact time (90 min). The isotherm and kinetics studies show that the adsorption of BPA onto Fe₃O₄@SiO₂-C18 followed the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo 2nd-order model, respectively. The adsorbent was regenerated, and the removal efficiency dropped only by 20% after using it 30 times.

A CuO@ZnFe-LDH composite, prepared from the co-precipitation of Cu²⁺ with ZnFe-LDH, served as an environmentally friendly photocatalyst. This catalyst was implemented in the selective oxidation of various primary and secondary alcohols to aldehydes or ketones utilizing air as the oxidant, 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine 1-oxyl radical (TEMPO), and sunlight as the light source. The yields varied from low to excellent. It was notable that the oxidation process also allowed for very selective conversion of benzylic alcohols that had phenolic hydroxyl groups. Moreover, leaching of copper from the catalyst during the reaction was minimal. Also, CuO@ZnFe-LDH could be effectively reused, while maintaining its high catalytic activity.

Isorhamnetin (ISO) is a kind of flavonoid widely found in sea buckthorn, ginkgo biloba, and other plants. It has many pharmacological activities, but poor solubility in aqueous media has limited its clinical application. In order to increase the bioavailability of ISO, we employed a thin film dispersion method to prepare ISO-loaded Soluplus-TPGS mixed polymer micelle (ISO-STM) and subsequently conducted appropriate characterizations. The micelles prepared in this work were spherical nanoparticles with uniform distribution with respective particle size (PS) and dispersion coefficient (PDI) of 81.62 ± 1.23 nm and 0.115 ± 0.020. Meanwhile, the encapsulation rate (EE) was 91.37% ± 0.82%, whereas the drug loading (DL) was 5.91% ± 0.06%. Compared to free ISO, the dissolution rate of mixed micelles (MM) significantly increased in three media. After oral administration, the oral bioavailability of MM was nearly 3 times higher than free ISO’s. In addition, the results of the zebrafish experiment showed that the anti-aging of zebrafish in the administration group was significantly better than that in the model control group. In summary, ISO-STM is a promising method with the potential to improve the solubility, and bioavailability and enhance the clinical application value of ISO.

Non-enzymatic glucose has been detected using highly sensitive ZnO/Zn nanostructures produced with the cold atmosphere plasma (CAP) technique. Electrochemical nanobiosensors use an electrode as a transducer and a biological element as a diagnostic component. This work presents an interesting and novel method for the surface modification of Zn foil using dielectric barrier discharge (Ar/O) plasma at different exposure times, which leads to the formation of a thin layer of ZnO. Many tests were performed to characterise and ensure the efficiency of the samples as biological sensors. The photoluminescence (PL) test for ZnO/Zn nanostructures showed a shift at the vertex, confirming the reaction in all PL spectra with a strong UV emission peak. High-resolution XPS spectra contained Zn 2p_1/2, Zn 2p_3/2 and O s₁ peaks. The Raman spectra contained two strong peaks, E₁ high at 77.5 nm and E₂ low at 522 nm, and one weak peak, A₁ Low at 1524.8 nm. Distributed nanosheets were observed using FE-SEM at an exposure time of 30 s with thickness ranging from 16.3 to 80.7 nm and nanoparticles of different sizes ranging from 31 to 259.3 nm at an exposure time of 60 s. The shape of the nanoparticles changed from nanoparticles to a form resembling brain fibrosis with diameters between 75.7 and 189.8 nm at 90 s. The sensing current of the ZnO/Zn nanostructure biosensors increased with plasma exposure times of 30, 60, and 90 s to 1.99, 2.3, and 2.9 mA respectively. The response time changed with plasma exposure time (0.82, 0.32, and 0.48 s), as did the correlation coefficient (({R}^{2}) = 0.8922, 0.9432, and 0.9476).

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The extensive use of nanoparticles (NPs) increases the possibility of their deposition into water ecosystems and endangering aquatic life. Thus, this study aimed to assess the acute effect of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) on the freshwater clam, Corbicula fluminea. Biochemical, histopathological, and genotoxic biomarkers were examined to achieve this purpose. Clams were exposed to 1.8 and 6.6 mg/l of CuO NPs for 96 h. By comparison with control clams, a significant increase in both malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) levels occurred with a concomitant decrease in catalase (CAT) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities and reduced glutathione (GSH) content in clam’s tissues treated with both sub-lethal concentrations. Histopathological alterations were observed in the mantle, gills, digestive glands, and gonads of C. fluminea exposed to both sub-lethal concentrations and the histopathological indices for all the reaction patterns in the examined tissues were significantly higher in clams exposed to the higher concentration of CuO NPs (6.6 mg/l). DNA damage evaluated by changes in RAPD profiles. These findings revealed that CuO NPs have a toxicological impact on Corbicula fluminea even after a short period of exposure, thereby immense care should be taken regarding its use.

The synthesis of bismuth oxyiodide-oxychloride mixed phase (BiO-I_xCl_y) nanocomposites is reported. Their adsorption capacity and photocatalytic activity were evaluated in the removal of RhB dye from water under visible light illumination as a model system. The microstructure and optical properties of the obtained materials were studied in detail using several characterization techniques. It was found that the phase composition and resulting morphology depend on the nominal I:Cl molar ratio. The adsorption capacity/photocatalytic activity of the BiO-I_xCl_y nanocomposites tends to increase with the iodide/chloride content. Adsorption efficiencies as large as 80.0% were achieved for those nanocomposites with significant Bi₅O₇I content; however, their photocatalytic activity is moderate (>70%). The nanocomposite with intermediate chloride content showed the highest photocatalytic efficiency (89.3%). It is ascribed to a large active phase (Bi₃O₄Cl) content and the formation of in-built electric fields at Bi₅O₇I-Bi₃O₄Cl heterojunctions. The synergy of photocatalytic activity and moderate adsorption capacity allows Bi₅O₇I-Bi₃O₄Cl nanocomposites to achieve a total removal efficiency as high as 96.4%. Possible physicochemical mechanisms are proposed.

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