Search Results (8)

Stimuli-responsive controlled drug delivery systems have attracted the attention of researchers in recent decades due to their potential application in developing efficient drug carriers that are responsive to applied stimuli triggers. In this work, we present the synthesis of L-lysine (an amino acid that combines both amine and carboxylic acid groups in a single unit) modified mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MS@Lys NPs) for the delivery of the anticancer bioactive agent (curcumin, Cur) to cancer cells. To begin, mesoporous silica hybrid nanoparticles (MS@GPTS NPs) with 3-glycidoxypropyl trimethoxy silane (GPTS) were synthesized. The L-lysine groups were then functionalized onto the mesopore channel surfaces of the MS@GPTS NPs through a ring-opening reaction between the epoxy groups of the GPTS and the amine groups of the L-lysine units. Several instrumental techniques were used to examine the structural properties of the prepared L-lysine-modified mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MS@Lys NPs). The drug loading and pH-responsive drug delivery behavior of MS@Lys NPs were studied at different pH levels (pH 7.4, 6.5, and 4.0) using curcumin (Cur) as a model anticancer bioactive agent. The MS@Lys NPs’ in vitro cytocompatibility and cell uptake behavior were also examined using MDA-MB-231 cells. The experimental results imply that MS@Lys NPs might be used in cancer therapy as pH-responsive drug delivery applications. Full article

The development of dual-stimuli-responsive hydrogels attracts much research interest owing to its unique stimuli-responsive characteristics. In this study, a poly-N-isopropyl acrylamide-co-glycidyl methacrylate-based copolymer was synthesized by incorporating N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAm) and a glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) monomer. The synthesized copolymer, pNIPAm-co-GMA was further modified with L-lysine (Lys) functional units and further conjugated with fluorescent isothiocyanate (FITC) to produce a fluorescent copolymer pNIPAAm-co-GMA-Lys hydrogel (HG). The in vitro drug loading and dual pH- and temperature-stimuli-responsive drug release behavior of the pNIPAAm-co-GMA-Lys HG was investigated at different pH (pH 7.4, 6.2, and 4.0) and temperature (25 °C, 37 °C, and 45 °C) conditions, respectively, using curcumin (Cur) as a model anticancer drug. The Cur drug-loaded pNIPAAm-co-GMA-Lys/Cur HG showed a relatively slow drug release behavior at a physiological pH (pH 7.4) and low temperature (25 °C) condition, whereas enhanced drug release was achieved at acidic pH (pH 6.2 and 4.0) and higher temperature (37 °C and 45 °C) conditions. Furthermore, the in vitro biocompatibility and intracellular fluorescence imaging were examined using the MDA-MB-231 cell line. Therefore, we demonstrate that the synthesized pNIPAAm-co-GMA-Lys HG system with temperature- and pH-stimuli-responsive features could be promising for various applications in biomedical fields, including drug delivery, gene delivery, tissue engineering, diagnosis, antibacterial/antifouling material, and implantable devices. Full article

In clinical applications for cancer treatment, chemotherapy coupled with thermotherapy is highly considered. The development of multifunctional nanocomposite materials is an appealing strategy for use in various applications including biomedical applications. We present the preparation of dopamine-modified mesoporous silica material, in which magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (FeNP) were grown onto the outer surface via the complexation of iron (Fe(III) and Fe(II)) ions with the dopamine groups modified on the silica hybrid and subsequent chemical reduction approaches. The prepared magnetic iron oxide incorporated with mesoporous silica hybrid composite nanoparticles (FeNP@MSHC NPs) had a large surface area (346 m²/g), pore size (3.2 nm), and pore volume (0.048 cm³/g). The formation of FeNP on the outer surface of the FeNP@MSHC NPs results in superparamagnetic characteristics. Furthermore, the prepared FeNP@MSHC NPs have a high drug (Dox) loading capacity (~62%) as well as pH- and temperature-responsive drug release efficiency. In addition, the MTT assay result shows the biocompatibility of the prepared FeNP@MSHC NPs. As a result, the FeNP@MSHC NPs could be utilized in cancer treatment for pH and temperature-sensitive delivery of chemotherapeutic agents to the target sites. Full article

A mesoporous silica-based drug delivery system (MS@PNIPAm-PAAm NPs) was synthesized by conjugating the PNIPAm-PAAm copolymer onto the mesoporous silica (MS) surface as a gatekeeper that responds to temperature and pH changes. The drug delivery studies are carried out in vitro at different pH (7.4, 6.5, and 5.0) and temperatures (such as 25 °C and 42 °C, respectively). The surface conjugated copolymer (PNIPAm-PAAm) acts as a gatekeeper below the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) (<32 °C) and as a collapsed globule structure above LCST (>32 °C), resulting in controlled drug delivery from the MS@PNIPAm-PAAm system. Furthermore, the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and cellular internalization results support the prepared MS@PNIPAm-PAAm NPs being biocompatible and readily taken up by MDA-MB-231 cells. The prepared MS@PNIPAm-PAAm NPs, with their pH-responsive drug release behavior and good biocompatibility, could be used as a drug delivery vehicle where sustained drug release at higher temperatures is required. Full article

Chitosan is a prominent biopolymer in research for of its physicochemical properties and uses. Each year, the number of publications based on chitosan and its derivatives increases. Because of its comprehensive biological properties, including antibacterial, antioxidant, and tissue regeneration activities, chitosan and its derivatives can be used to prevent and treat soft tissue diseases. Furthermore, chitosan can be employed as a nanocarrier for therapeutic drug delivery. In this review, we will first discuss chitosan and chitosan-based hydrogel polymers. The structure, functionality, and physicochemical characteristics of chitosan-based hydrogels are addressed. Second, a variety of characterization approaches were used to analyze and validate the physicochemical characteristics of chitosan-based hydrogel materials. Finally, we discuss the antibacterial, antibiofilm, and antifungal uses of supramolecular chitosan-based hydrogels. This review study can be used as a base for future research into the production of various types of chitosan-based hydrogels in the antibacterial and antifungal fields. Full article

The therapeutic delivery system with dual stimuli-responsiveness has attracted attention for drug delivery to target sites. In this study, we used free radical polymerization to develop a temperature and pH-responsive poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide)-co-poly(acrylamide) (PNIPAM-co-PAAm). PNIPAm-co-PAAm copolymer by reacting with N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAm) and acrylamide (Am) monomers. In addition, the synthesized melamine-glutaraldehyde (Mela-Glu) precursor was used as a cross-linker in the production of the melamine cross-linked PNIPAm-co-PAAm copolymer hydrogel (PNIPAm-co-PAAm-Mela HG) system. The temperature-responsive phase transition characteristics of the resulting PNIPAM-co-PAAm-Mela HG systems were determined. Furthermore, the pH-responsive drug release efficiency of curcumin was investigated under various pH and temperature circumstances. Under the combined pH and temperature stimuli (pH 5.0/45 °C), the PNIPAm-co-PAAm-Mela HG demonstrated substantial drug loading (74%), and nearly complete release of the loaded drug was accomplished in 8 h. Furthermore, the cytocompatibility of the PNIPAm-co-PAAm-Mela HG was evaluated on a human liver cancer cell line (HepG2), and the findings demonstrated that the prepared PNIPAm-co-PAAm-Mela HG is biocompatible. As a result, the PNIPAm-co-PAAm-Mela HG system might be used for both pH and temperature-stimuli-responsive drug delivery. Full article

In this manuscript, we present the synthesis of gadolinium orthoferrite nanoparticles using the sol–gel auto-combustion technique. The obtained gadolinium orthoferrite nanoparticles were annealed at various temperatures, such as 800 °C, 900 °C, 1000 °C, and 1100 °C. The synthesized materials were analyzed by various instrumental characterizations. The vibrational characteristics of the synthesized samples were verified by FTIR. The surface morphology of the gadolinium orthoferrite nanoparticles was analyzed by FE-SEM and HR-TEM, revealing their spherical structural morphology and uniform particle structure. The presence of the elemental features was analyzed in the gadolinium orthoferrite nanoparticles by EDAX. The surface analysis of the core ranges of the XPS-recorded spectra were obtained for the elemental states of the Gd, Fe, and O factors in the samples, and it additionally characterized the different levels of oxidative states by fitting the levels of the high-resolution parameters of Gd 4d, Fe 2p, and O 1s. The magnetic properties of the samples were investigated by VSM. The measurement of the magnetic parameters revealed that gadolinium orthoferrite nanoparticles exhibit a ferromagnetic nature. Full article

Stimuli-response polymeric nanoparticles have emerged as a carrier system for various types of therapeutic delivery. In this study, we prepared a dual pH- and thermo-sensitive copolymer hydrogel (HG) system (PNIPAm-co-PAAm HG), using N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAm) and acrylamide (AAm) as comonomers. The synthesized PNIPAm-co-PAAm HG was characterized using various instrumental characterizations. Moreover, the PNIPAm-co-PAAm HG’s thermoresponsive phase transition behavior was investigated, and the results showed that the prepared HG responds to temperature changes. In vitro drug loading and release behavior of PNIPAm-co-PAAm HG was investigated using Curcumin (Cur) as the model cargo under different pH and temperature conditions. The PNIPAm-co-PAAm HG showed pH and temperature-responsive drug release behavior and demonstrated about 65% Cur loading efficiency. A nearly complete release of the loaded Cur occurred from the PNIPAm-co-PAAm HG over 4 h at pH 5.5 and 40 °C. The cytotoxicity study was performed on a liver cancer cell line (HepG2 cells), which revealed that the prepared PNIPAm-co-PAAm HG showed good biocompatibility, suggesting that it could be applied as a drug delivery carrier. Moreover, the in vitro cytocompatibility test (MTT assay) results revealed that the PNIPAm-co-PAAm HG is biocompatible. Therefore, the PNIPAm-co-PAAm HG has the potential to be useful in the delivery of drugs in solid tumor-targeted therapy. Full article