J. Funct. Biomater. 2012, 3(2), 269-282; doi:10.3390/jfb3020269
Article

Quercetin-Imprinted Nanospheres as Novel Drug Delivery Devices

Manuela Curcio* email, Giuseppe Cirilloemail, Ortensia Ilaria Parisiemail, Francesca Iemmaemail, Nevio Picciemail and Francesco Puociemail
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Calabria, Arcavacata di Rende (CS) 87036, Italy
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 29 February 2012; in revised form: 21 March 2012 / Accepted: 22 March 2012 / Published: 29 March 2012
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecularly Imprinted Polymers in Biomedical Applications)
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Abstract: In this work, molecularly imprinted nanospheres for controlled/sustained release of quercetin were synthesized employing methacrylic acid and ethylene glycoldymethacrylate as functional monomer and crosslinking agent, respectively. One pot precipitation polymerization was chosen as polymerization technique to obtain nanosized materials with spherical shape. Morphological and hydrophilic properties by scanning electron microscopy and water content measurements were determined, and recognition and selectivity properties of the imprinted materials were tested using the template quercetin and its structural analogue, the flavonoid catechin. Finally, the applicability of the obtained materials as drug delivery devices was evaluated by performing in vitro release studies in plasma simulating fluids and cytotoxicity testson HeLa cells.
Keywords: molecularly imprinted polymers; quercetin; drug delivery; cytotoxicity test; nanomaterials

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MDPI and ACS Style

Curcio, M.; Cirillo, G.; Parisi, O.I.; Iemma, F.; Picci, N.; Puoci, F. Quercetin-Imprinted Nanospheres as Novel Drug Delivery Devices. J. Funct. Biomater. 2012, 3, 269-282.

AMA Style

Curcio M, Cirillo G, Parisi OI, Iemma F, Picci N, Puoci F. Quercetin-Imprinted Nanospheres as Novel Drug Delivery Devices. Journal of Functional Biomaterials. 2012; 3(2):269-282.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Curcio, Manuela; Cirillo, Giuseppe; Parisi, Ortensia Ilaria; Iemma, Francesca; Picci, Nevio; Puoci, Francesco. 2012. "Quercetin-Imprinted Nanospheres as Novel Drug Delivery Devices." J. Funct. Biomater. 3, no. 2: 269-282.

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