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Nanotechnology 2021 Apr 15. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran (the Islamic Republic of).

In this work, a multifunctional theranostic nanocomposite based on CoFe2O4@polyacrylic acid (PAA)‑Folic Acid (FA) Doxorubicin (Dox)load NPs was designed for the multifunctional cancer treatment. Several techniques such as TEM, DLS, ζ‑potential, vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), XRD, and UV‑Vis spectrophotometer were applied for investigating physicochemical properties of the nanosystem. The percentage of the loaded drug, loading efficiency, in vitro release (pH 5. Read More

Curr Opin Immunol 2021 Apr 12;72:65-71. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Department of Basic and Translational Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, School of Dental Medicine, 240 South 40th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Electronic address:

Anaphylaxis is caused by a variety of triggers including Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved antibiotics, contrast media and neuromuscular blocking drugs (NMBDs). Traditionally, drug-induced anaphylaxis was thought to result mainly from IgE-mediated histamine release from mast cells. Recently, a G protein-coupled receptor known as MRGPRX2 has been identified and shown to be highly expressed on human skin but not lung mast cells. Read More

Eur J Pharm Sci 2021 Apr 12:105849. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Department of Health Sciences, University "Magna Græcia" of Catanzaro, Campus Universitario "S Venuta", I-88100, Catanzaro, Italy. Electronic address:

Natural polymers have been widely investigated as materials for the delivery of active compounds as a consequence of their biocompatibility, low-cost and the opportunity they furnish to obtain micro- and nanostructures. In this investigation, commercial wheat gliadin was used as raw material with the aim of obtaining a vegetal protein-based nanoformulation to be used for various applications. The influence of non-ionic and anionic surfactants on the physico-chemical properties of gliadin nanoparticles was evaluated in order to propose a suitable candidate able to stabilize the colloidal structure. Read More

J Control Release 2021 Apr 12. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Therapeutics Research Group, The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, QLD 4102, Australia; Therapeutics Research Centre, University of South Australia Division of Clinical and Health Sciences, Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Medical Research, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woodville, SA 5011, Australia.

Increasing emphasis is being placed on using in vitro permeation test (IVPT) results for topical products as a surrogate for their in vivo behaviour. This study sought to relate in vivo plasma concentration - time pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles after topical application of drug products to IVPT findings with mechanistic diffusion and compartment models that are now widely used to describe permeation of solutes across the main skin transport barrier, the stratum corneum. Novel in vivo forms of the diffusion and compartment-in-series models were developed by combining their IVPT model forms with appropriate in vivo disposition functions. Read More

Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2021 Apr 12. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P. R. China. Electronic address:

Cervical cancer or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) remain a major public health problem among women globally. Traditional methods such as surgery are often associated with possible complications which may impact future pregnancies and childbirth especially for young female patients. Vagina with a high contact surface is a suitable route for the local and systemic delivery of drugs but its abundant mucus in continuous exchange presents a barrier for the popularization of conventional vaginal formulations including suppositories, gel, patch, creams and so on. Read More

Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2021 Apr 12. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Centre of Reproduction, Development and Aging, Institute of Translational Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China. Electronic address:

Diabetic retinopathy is a frequent microvascular complication of diabetes and a major cause of visual impairment. In advanced stages, the abnormal neovascularization can lead to fibrosis and subsequent tractional retinal detachment and blindness. The low bioavailability of the drugs at the target site imposed by the anatomic and physiologic barriers within the eye, requires long term treatments with frequent injections that often compromise patient's compliance and increase the risk of developing more complications. Read More

Int J Biol Macromol 2021 Apr 12. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Industry 4.0 Convergence Bionics Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea; New-senior Healthcare Innovation Center (BK21 Plus), Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea; Ohlabs Corp., Busan 48513, Republic of Korea; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea. Electronic address:

In recent years, suitable bioactive materials coated nanoparticles have attracted substantial attention in the field of biomedical applications. The present study emphasizes experimental details for the synthesis of boiling rice starch extract (BRE) coated iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) to treat cancer by photoacoustic imaging (PAI)-guided chemo-photothermal therapy. The solvothermal method was used to synthesize IONPs. Read More

Int J Biol Macromol 2021 Apr 12. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Centro NanoMat, DETEMA, Instituto Polo Tecnológico de Pando, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay. Electronic address:

The aim of this work was to evaluate the physicochemical and biological properties of docetaxel (DCX) loaded chitosan nanocapsules (CS Nc) functionalized with the monoclonal antibody Chi-Tn (CS-PEG-ChiTn mAb Nc) as a potential improvement treatment for cancer therapy. The Tn antigen is highly specific for carcinomas, and this is the first time that such structure is targeted for drug delivery. The nanocapsules (Ncs), formed as a polymeric shell around an oily core, allowed a 99. Read More

Int J Biol Macromol 2021 Apr 12. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

College of Bioresources Chemical and Materials Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi'an 710021, China. Electronic address:

The present work aimed to assemble a simple, portable and economical L-junction microfluidic device to realize the adjustment and tunability of homogeneous round-shaped particles synthesis. In this study, we synthesize two kind of microparticles, including magnetic alginate microparticles (MAM) and chitosan-coated magnetic alginate (CMAM) used for controlling the drug release under a mild condition. Comparing to the traditional method, the MAM synthesized via this microfluidic approach has uniform size distribution, adjustable diameter as well as tunable magnetism. Read More

J Am Chem Soc 2021 Apr 15. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States.

Stimuli-responsive multifunctional mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have been studied intensively during the past decade. A large variety of mesopore capping systems have been designed, initially to show that it could be done and later for biomedical applications such as drug delivery and imaging. On-command release of cargo molecules such as drugs from the pores can be activated by a variety of stimuli. Read More

Adv Biol (Weinh) 2021 Apr 15:e2000540. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Fischell Department of Bioengineering and Program in Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Maryland, 3116 A. James Clark Hall, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.

Bacterial extracellular vesicles (BEVs) have emerged as candidate signaling vectors for long-distance interkingdom communication within the gut-microbiota brain axis. Most bacteria release these nanosized vesicles, capable of signaling to the brain via their abundant protein and small RNA cargo, possibly directly via crossing the blood-brain barrier. BEVs have been shown to regulate brain gene expression and induce pathology at most stages of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, and thus they may play a causal role in diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and depression/anxiety. Read More

Annu Rev Chem Biomol Eng 2021 Apr 15. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA; email:

Magnetic nanoparticles are of interest for biomedical applications because of their biocompatibility, tunable surface chemistry, and actuation using applied magnetic fields. Magnetic nanoparticles respond to time-varying magnetic fields via physical particle rotation or internal dipole reorientation, which can result in signal generation or conversion of magnetic energy to heat. This dynamic magnetization response enables their use as tracers in magnetic particle imaging (MPI), an emerging biomedical imaging modality in which signal is quantitative of tracer mass and there is no tissue background signal or signal attenuation. Read More

AAPS J 2021 Apr 15;23(3):56. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, The State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA.

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) rely on high expression of target antigens on cancer cells to effectively enter the cell and release a cytotoxic payload. Previous studies have shown that ADC efficacy is not always tied to antigen expression. However, our recent in vitro study suggests a linear relationship between antigen expression and the intracellular levels of the ADC payload. Read More

Nucleic Acids Res 2021 Apr 15. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, Mattenstrasse 26, CH-4058 Basel, Switzerland.

Antibiotic-resistant pathogens often escape antimicrobial treatment by forming protective biofilms in response to quorum-sensing communication via diffusible autoinducers. Biofilm formation by the nosocomial pathogen methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is triggered by the quorum-sensor autoinducer-2 (AI-2), whose biosynthesis is mediated by methylthioadenosine/S-adenosylhomocysteine nucleosidase (MTAN) and S-ribosylhomocysteine lyase (LuxS). Here, we present a high-throughput screening platform for small-molecular inhibitors of either enzyme. Read More

ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2021 Apr 15. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Department of Pathology, Institute of Pathology "Victor Babes", Splaiul Independentei nr. 99-101, Sector 5, 050096 Bucharest, Romania.

Magnetic nano- and microparticles (MNMPs) belong to a highly versatile class of colloids with actuator and sensor properties that have been broadly studied for their application in theranostics such as molecular imaging and drug delivery. The use of advanced biocompatible, biodegradable polymers and polyelectrolytes as MNMP coating materials is essential to ensure the stability of MNMPs and enable efficient drug release while at the same time preventing cytotoxic effects. In the past years, huge progress has been made in terms of the design of MNMPs. Read More

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2021 Apr 15. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Department of Clinical Laboratory, Institute of Translational Medicine, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210002, China.

The in-depth development of biological materials, especially natural polymer materials, has injected strong vitality into clinical wound treatment. Here, a new type of controllable responsive microparticles composed of several natural polymer materials was presented for drug release and wound healing. These hybrid microparticles consisted of silk fibroin, gelatin, agarose, and black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs) and were loaded with growth factors and antibacterial peptides. Read More

Clin Pharmacol Drug Dev 2021 Apr 14. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Medicine Clinical Research Center, Beijing, China.

Cardiotoxicity has been one of the most common causes of withdrawal of drugs from the market, and prolongation of the QT interval is one of the manifestations of drug cardiotoxicity. Iptakalim hydrochloride (ITKL) is a selective ATP-sensitive potassium channel opener used to treat hypertension. It is crucial to assess the risk of cardiac repolarization of ITKL in clinical trials. Read More

AAPS PharmSciTech 2021 Apr 14;22(3):134. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

Department of Pharmacy, Fuzong Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University (900 Hospital of the Joint Logistics Team), Fuzhou, 350025, People's Republic of China.

Acta Chim Slov 2020 Jun;67(2):462-468

Inorganic structures with functionalized polymers play essential roles in diverse biological trends. Herein, thermal and CO2 dual-stimuli nanomaterials composed of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) anchored with two grafted copolymers: poly(3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane) "PMPS" & poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) "PDMAEMA" were synthesized via one-step reaction and characterized by BET as well as BJH methods to estimate pore sizes, pore volumes, and surface areas. The smart PDMAEMA acted as an active gatekeeper to adjust the loading or in vitro release processes of a fungicidal drug-loaded inside the mesopores by altering temperature or CO2 of the tested environment. Read More

Front Med (Lausanne) 2021 29;8:640799. Epub 2021 Mar 29.

Department of Liver Diseases, The Fifth Medical Center of Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, China.

Chronic drug-induced liver injury (DILI) occurs in up to 20% of all DILI patients. It presents a chronic pattern with persistent or relapsed episodes and may even progress to cirrhosis. However, its underlying development mechanism is poorly understood. Read More

Front Chem 2021 29;9:637754. Epub 2021 Mar 29.

Department of Oncology, Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.

Cinobufagin is used as a traditional Chinese medicine for cancer therapy. However, it has some disadvantages, such as poor water solubility, short circulating half-life, and low bioavailability. In the present study, a targeted delivery and smart responsive polydopamine (PDA)-based nanomedicine for delivering cinobufagin was rationally designed to improve the anticancer efficacy of the compound for the treatment of lung cancer. Read More

Transl Clin Pharmacol 2021 Mar 23;29(1):65-72. Epub 2021 Mar 23.

Department of Medical Science, College of Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Korea.

Histamine acts by binding to four histamine receptors (H1 to H4), of which the H1 is known to participate in dilate blood vessels, bronchoconstriction, and pruritus. Olopatadine hydrochloride blocks the release of histamine from mast cells and it inhibits H1 receptor activation. Olopatadine hydrochloride is anti-allergic agent that is effectively used. Read More

Adv Sci (Weinh) 2021 Apr 18;8(7):2004213. Epub 2021 Feb 18.

Sorbonne Université CNRS, UMR 7574, Laboratoire de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Paris Paris F-75005 France.

Associating collagen with biodegradable hydrophobic polyesters constitutes a promising method for the design of medicated biomaterials. Current collagen-polyester composite hydrogels consisting of pre-formed polymeric particles encapsulated within a low concentrated collagen hydrogel suffer from poor physical properties and low drug loading. Herein, an amphiphilic composite platform associating dense collagen hydrogels and up to 50 wt% polyesters with different hydrophobicity and chain length is developed. Read More

Front Physiol 2021 29;12:636485. Epub 2021 Mar 29.

Department of Cardiology, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Provincial Clinical Medicine College of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.

Aim: The aim was to study the effect of Allitridum (Allicin) on the heterologous expression of the late sodium current on the ΔKPQ-SCN5A mutations in HEK293 cells, with a view to screening new drugs for the treatment of long QT syndrome type 3 (LQT3).

Methods And Results: The ΔKPQ-SCN5A plasmid was transiently transferred into HEK293 cells by liposome technology and administered by extracellular perfusion, and the sodium current was recorded by whole-cell patch-clamp technology. Application of Allicin 30 μM reduced the late sodium current ( ) of the Nav1. Read More

Int J Nanomedicine 2021 7;16:2703-2714. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Department of Pharmacy, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, 646000, People's Republic of China.

Macrophages have been extensively used in the development of drug delivery systems, as they can prolong the circulation and release of drugs, extend their half-life, increase their stability and targeting ability, and reduce immunogenicity. Moreover, they have good biocompatibility and degradability and offer abundant surface receptors for targeted delivery of a wide variety of drugs. Macrophage-mediated drug delivery systems can be prepared by loading drugs or drug-loaded nanoparticles into macrophages, macrophage membranes or macrophage-derived vesicles. Read More

Int J Nanomedicine 2021 7;16:2667-2687. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, 11562, Egypt.

Purpose: The goal was to directly deliver curcumin, a natural polyphenolic anticancer and anti-inflammatory compound, to the lung tissues with minimal systemic exposure through the fabrication of proliposomes, overcoming its poor aqueous solubility and oral bioavailability.

Methods: Nano-spray drying was employed to prepare proliposomes using hydroxypropyl beta-cyclodextrin as a carrier. Lecithin and cholesterol were used as lipids, stearylamine and Poloxamer 188 were added as positive charge inducer and a surfactant, respectively. Read More

Nat Commun 2021 04 14;12(1):2238. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.

Disrupted homeostasis of the microtubule binding protein tau is a shared feature of a set of neurodegenerative disorders known as tauopathies. Acetylation of soluble tau is an early pathological event in neurodegeneration. In this work, we find that a large fraction of neuronal tau is degraded by chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) whereas, upon acetylation, tau is preferentially degraded by macroautophagy and endosomal microautophagy. Read More

Cancer Immunol Res 2021 Apr 14. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

CCR, National Cancer Institute.

This study examined the ability of a papillomavirus-like particle drug-conjugate, belzupacap sarotalocan (AU-011) to eradicate subcutaneous tumors after intravenous injection and to subsequently elicit long-term anti-tumor immunity in the TC-1 syngeneic murine tumor model. Upon in vitro activation with near-infrared light (NIR), AU-011-mediated cell killing was pro-immunogenic in nature, resulting in the release of damage-associated molecular patterns such as DNA, ATP, and HMGB-1, activation of caspase-1, and surface re-localization of calreticulin and HSP70 on killed tumor cells. A single in vivo administration of AU-011 followed by NIR caused rapid cell death, leading to long-term tumor regression in ~50% of all animals. Read More

J Biosci Bioeng 2021 Apr 11. Epub 2021 Apr 11.

Department of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Kagoshima University, 1-21-40 Korimoto, Kagoshima 890-0065, Japan. Electronic address:

This research reports the success of the fabrication of hydrophobically modified chitosan cryogel. Chitosan was modified with alkyl groups through reductive animation. By varying the alkyl chain length and the substitution degree, the resulting cryogel could be optimized for strength, and the adsorption and release of hydrophobic dye, a model for hydrophobic medicines. Read More

Nanotechnology 2021 Apr 14. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

Jiangsu University School of Food and Biological Engineering, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, CHINA.

Despite the major medical advancements in recent decades, treating infected wounds successfully remains a challenge. In this research, a functional blend of Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and Chitosan (Cs) was developed for wound infection mitigation with tailored biological and physicochemical properties. Water insoluble kaempferol (KPF) was pre-formulated to water soluble KPF nanocrystals (KPF-NCs) with fine particle size of 145±11 nm, and high colloidal stability (-31±0. Read More