Nanomaterials and Its Potential in Health Concern Treatment

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanomedicine and Nanotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 August 2024 | Viewed by 4127

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Departamento de Física, Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo 83000, Mexico
Interests: nanotechnology; nanomaterials; bionanomaterials; drug delivery nanoparticles; biopolymers; macromolecules; antibacterial

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Guest Editor
Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Sonora, Bordo Nuevo S/N, 85199 Ciudad Obregón, Mexico
Interests: materials science; biochemistry; chemistry; medicine; biological sciences; pharmacology; immunology and microbiology

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Programa Institucional de Fomento a la Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana (UTEM), Ignacio Valdivieso 2409, Santiago 8940577, Chile
Interests: nanoscience; nanotechnology; materials science and technology; biochemistry; chemistry; medicine; biological sciences; pharmacology; drug delivery
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Departamento de Fisiología y Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico
Interests: nanoscience; nanotechnology; microfluidics; materials science and technology; colloids; chemistry; biological Sciences; pharmacology; protein; immunology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nanomaterials are on the border of biomedicine since they bring a plethora of novel and potential treatments for a given disease. The nanomaterials consist of a support matrix, organic or inorganic in nature, able to load, entrap, transport, and deliver bioactive compounds of low molecular weight. The design and engineering of nanomaterials result from the intercorrelation of chemistry, physics, biology, science, and technology of material, among other disciplines. Nanomaterials have been proposed, thanks to their unique and intrinsic physicochemical properties, as diagnostic, therapeutic, and/or theragnostic agents to face front to health concern problems that afflict the world population.

In this regard, the present Special Issue aims to invite authors to submit papers or reviews to provide actual information on the current progress in nanomaterials development and their potential in health concerns treatment.

Dr. Josué Juárez
Dr. Marco A. López-Mata
Dr. Natalia Hassan
Dr. Antonio Topete Camacho
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nanomaterials
  • engineering nanomaterials
  • biomaterials
  • material science
  • functional nanomaterials
  • composite nanomaterials
  • hybrid nanomaterials
  • biological sciences
  • microbiology
  • antibacterial agents

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 6868 KiB  
Article
Theoretical—Experimental Approach of Chitosan/Quaternized Chitosan Nanofibers’ Behavior in Wound Exudate Media
by Bianca-Iustina Andreica, Alexandru Anisiei, Manuela-Maria Iftime, Razvan-Vasile Ababei, Lacramioara Ochiuz, Decebal Vasincu, Ingrid-Andrada Vasilache, Constantin Volovat, Diana Boboc, Vladimir Poroch, Lucian Eva, Maricel Agop, Dragos-Viorel Scripcariu and Simona Ruxandra Volovat
Pharmaceutics 2023, 15(12), 2722; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15122722 - 02 Dec 2023
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Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the behavior of chitosan/quaternized chitosan fibers in media mimicking wound exudates to understand their capacities as wound dressing. Fiber analysis of the fibers using dynamic vapor sorption proved their ability to adsorb moisture up to 60% and then [...] Read more.
This study aimed to investigate the behavior of chitosan/quaternized chitosan fibers in media mimicking wound exudates to understand their capacities as wound dressing. Fiber analysis of the fibers using dynamic vapor sorption proved their ability to adsorb moisture up to 60% and then to desorb it as a function of humidity, indicating their outstanding breathability. Dissolution analyses showed that quaternized chitosan leached from the fibers in water and PBS, whereas only small portions of chitosan were solubilized in water. In media containing lysozyme, the fibers degraded with a rate determined by their composition and pH, reaching a mass loss of up to 47% in media of physiologic pH. Notably, in media mimicking the wound exudate during healing, they adsorbed moisture even when their mass loss due to biodegradation was high, whereas they were completely degraded in the media of normal tissues, indicating bioabsorbable dressing capacities. A mathematical model was constructed, which characterized the degradation rate and morphology changes of chitosan/quaternized chitosan fibers through analyses of dynamics in scale space, using the Theory of Scale Relativity. The model was validated using experimental data, making it possible to generalize it to the degradation of other biopolymeric systems that address wound healing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanomaterials and Its Potential in Health Concern Treatment)
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22 pages, 6406 KiB  
Article
Targeted Delivery of 5-Fluorouracil and Sonidegib via Surface-Modified ZIF-8 MOFs for Effective Basal Cell Carcinoma Therapy
by Bharath Singh Padya, Gasper Fernandes, Sumukha Hegde, Sanjay Kulkarni, Abhijeet Pandey, Praful Balavant Deshpande, Sheikh F. Ahmad, Dinesh Upadhya and Srinivas Mutalik
Pharmaceutics 2023, 15(11), 2594; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15112594 - 07 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1307
Abstract
The therapeutic effectiveness of the most widely used anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is constrained by its high metabolism, short half-life, and rapid drug resistance after chemotherapy. Although various nanodrug delivery systems have been reported for skin cancer therapy, their retention, penetration and targeting [...] Read more.
The therapeutic effectiveness of the most widely used anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is constrained by its high metabolism, short half-life, and rapid drug resistance after chemotherapy. Although various nanodrug delivery systems have been reported for skin cancer therapy, their retention, penetration and targeting are still a matter of concern. Hence, in the current study, a topical gel formulation that contains a metal-organic framework (zeolitic imidazole framework; ZIF-8) loaded with 5-FU and a surface modified with sonidegib (SDG; acting as a therapeutic agent as well as a targeting ligand) (5-FU@ZIF-8 MOFs) is developed against DMBA-UV-induced BCC skin cancer in rats. The MOFs were prepared using one-pot synthesis followed by post drug loading and SDG conjugation. The optimized MOFs were incorporated into hyaluronic acid-hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose gel and further subjected to characterization. Enhanced skin deposition of the 5-FU@ZIF-8-SDG MOFs was observed using ex vivo skin permeation studies. Confocal laser microscopy studies showed that 5-FU@ZIF-8-SDG MOFs permeated the skin via the transfollicular pathway. The 5-FU@ZIF-8-SDG MOFs showed stronger cell growth inhibition in A431 cells and good biocompatibility with HaCaT cells. Histopathological studies showed that the efficacy of the optimized MOF gels improved as the epithelial cells manifested modest hyperplasia, nuclear pleomorphism, and dyskeratosis. Additionally, immunohistochemistry and protein expression studies demonstrated the improved effectiveness of the 5-FU@ZIF-8-SDG MOFs, which displayed a considerable reduction in the expression of Bcl-2 protein. Overall, the developed MOF gels showed good potential for the targeted delivery of multifunctional MOFs in topical formulations for treating BCC cancer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanomaterials and Its Potential in Health Concern Treatment)
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18 pages, 4478 KiB  
Article
Novel Gold Nanorods@Thiolated Pectin on the Killing of HeLa Cells by Photothermal Ablation
by Osvaldo Beltran, Mariangel Luna, Marisol Gastelum, Alba Costa-Santos, Adriana Cambón, Pablo Taboada, Marco A. López-Mata, Antonio Topete and Josue Juarez
Pharmaceutics 2023, 15(11), 2571; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15112571 - 02 Nov 2023
Viewed by 850
Abstract
Gold nanorods (AuNRs) have attracted attention in the field of biomedicine, particularly for their potential as photothermal agents capable of killing tumor cells by photothermic ablation. In this study, the synthesis of novel AuNRs stabilized with thiolated pectin (AuNR@SH-PEC) is reported. To achieve [...] Read more.
Gold nanorods (AuNRs) have attracted attention in the field of biomedicine, particularly for their potential as photothermal agents capable of killing tumor cells by photothermic ablation. In this study, the synthesis of novel AuNRs stabilized with thiolated pectin (AuNR@SH-PEC) is reported. To achieve this, thiolated pectin (SH-PEC) was obtained by chemically binding cysteamine motifs to the pectin backbone. The success of the reaction was ascertained using FTIR-ATR. Subsequently, the SH-PEC was used to coat and stabilize the surface of AuNRs (AuNR@SH-PEC). In this context, different concentrations of SH-PEC (0.25, 0.50, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, and 8.0 mg/mL) were added to 0.50 mL of AuNRs suspended in CTAB, aiming to determine the experimental conditions under which AuNR@SH-PEC maintains stability. The results show that SH-PEC effectively replaced the CTAB adsorbed on the surface of AuNRs, enhancing the stability of AuNRs without affecting their optical properties. Additionally, scanning electron and atomic force microscopy confirmed that SH-PEC is adsorbed into the surface of the AuNRs. Importantly, the dimension size (60 × 15 nm) and the aspect ratio (4:1) remained consistent with those of AuNRs stabilized with CTAB. Then, the photothermal properties of gold nanorods were evaluated by irradiating the aqueous suspension of AuNR@SH-PEC with a CW laser (808 nm, 1 W). These results showed that photothermal conversion efficiency is similar to the photothermal conversion observed for AuNR-CTAB. Lastly, the cell viability assays confirmed that the SH-PEC coating enhanced the biocompatibility of AuNR@SH-PEC. Most important, the viability cell assays subjected to laser irradiation in the presence of AuNR@SH-PEC showed a decrease in the cell viability relative to the non-irradiated cells. These results suggest that AuNRs stabilized with thiolated pectin can potentially be exploited in the implementation of photothermal therapy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanomaterials and Its Potential in Health Concern Treatment)
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