Biomedical Applications of Polymer-Based Nanomaterials

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomacromolecules, Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 September 2023) | Viewed by 9577

Special Issue Editors

Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
Interests: fungal nanotechnology; fungal biotechnology; bio-based nanomaterials; antifungals
Cellulose and Paper Department, National Research Centre, Cairo 12622, Egypt
Interests: material science; biotechnology; antimicrobial activity; biopolymers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
Interests: nanotechnology; green synthesis; biomaterials; microbial biotechnology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites evolve over time and become less drug-responsive, making infections more difficult to treat and raising the risk of sickness, severe illness, and death. Antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs are rendered ineffective by drug resistance, and infections are becoming increasingly difficult or impossible to treat. Therefore, it is necessary to design and develop new compounds that overcome these limitations. Nanotechnology is assumed to be the subsequent industrial revolution and considered to have tremendous effectiveness on the community, economics, and the common world. Recently, nanomaterials based on polymers have received much attention in the medical field. Their application in nanomedicine can improve bioavailability, pharmacokinetics, and, therefore, the effectiveness of various therapeutics agents. Thus, nanomaterials based on polymers can be used for various biomedical applications, such as antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and anticancer activities. The focus of this Special Issue will be on the synthesis, characterization, antimicrobial, anticancer, antiviral, and antioxidant activities of polymer-based nanomaterials.

Dr. Amr H. Hashem
Dr. Mohamed S. Hasanin
Dr. Salem S. Salem
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • polymers
  • nanomaterials
  • antimicrobial activity
  • anticancer activity
  • antiviral activity
  • antioxidant activity
  • drug delivery

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 56464 KiB  
Article
Phytochemical Characterization and Efficacy of Artemisia judaica Extract Loaded Chitosan Nanoparticles as Inhibitors of Cancer Proliferation and Microbial Growth
by Husam Qanash, Abdulrahman S. Bazaid, Abdu Aldarhami, Bandar Alharbi, Majed N. Almashjary, Mohannad S. Hazzazi, Hashim R. Felemban and Tarek M. Abdelghany
Polymers 2023, 15(2), 391; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15020391 - 11 Jan 2023
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 2582
Abstract
Despite the advanced development in the field of drug discovery and design, fighting infectious and non-infectious diseases remains a major worldwide heath challenge due to the limited activity of currently used drugs. Nevertheless, in recent years, the approach of designing nanoparticles for therapeutic [...] Read more.
Despite the advanced development in the field of drug discovery and design, fighting infectious and non-infectious diseases remains a major worldwide heath challenge due to the limited activity of currently used drugs. Nevertheless, in recent years, the approach of designing nanoparticles for therapeutic applications has gained more interest and promise for future use. Thus, the current study is focused on the evaluation of A. judaica extract and chitosan nanoparticles loaded extract (CNPsLE) for potential antimicrobial and anticancer activities. The HPLC analysis of the extract has shown the presence of various phenolic and flavonoid compounds, including kaempferol (3916.34 µg/mL), apigenin (3794.32 µg/mL), chlorogenic acid (1089.58 µg/mL), quercetin (714.97 µg/mL), vanillin (691.55 µg/mL), naringenin (202.14 µg/mL), and rutin (55.64 µg/mL). The extract alone showed higher MIC values against B. subtilis, E. coli, S. aureus, K. pneumonia, and C. albicans (62.5, 15.65, 15.62, 31.25, and 31.25 µg/mL, respectively), whereas lower MIC values were observed when the extract was combined with CNPsLE (0.97, 1.95, 3.9, 4.1, and 15.62 µg/mL, respectively). The extract exhibited low cytotoxicity against normal Vero cells with IC50 173.74 µg/mL in comparison with the cytotoxicity of the CNPsLE (IC50, 73.89 µg/mL). However, CNPsLE showed more selective toxicity against the human prostate cancer cell line (PC3) with IC50 of 20.8 µg/mL than the extract alone with 76.09 µg/mL. In the docking experiments, kaempferol and apigenin were revealed to be suitable inhibitors for prostate cancer (2Q7L). Overall, the obtained data highlighted the promising potential therapeutic use of CNPsLE as an anticancer and antimicrobial agent. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomedical Applications of Polymer-Based Nanomaterials)
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16 pages, 2842 KiB  
Article
Synthesis of Silver Nanocomposite Based on Carboxymethyl Cellulose: Antibacterial, Antifungal and Anticancer Activities
by Salem S. Salem, Amr H. Hashem, Al-Aliaa M. Sallam, Ahmed S. Doghish, Abdulaziz A. Al-Askar, Amr A. Arishi and Amr M. Shehabeldine
Polymers 2022, 14(16), 3352; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14163352 - 17 Aug 2022
Cited by 88 | Viewed by 2828
Abstract
Traditional cancer treatments include surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. According to medical sources, chemotherapy is still the primary method for curing or treating cancer today and has been a major contributor to the recent decline in cancer mortality. Nanocomposites based on polymers and metal [...] Read more.
Traditional cancer treatments include surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. According to medical sources, chemotherapy is still the primary method for curing or treating cancer today and has been a major contributor to the recent decline in cancer mortality. Nanocomposites based on polymers and metal nanoparticles have recently received the attention of researchers. In the current study, a nanocomposite was fabricated based on carboxymethyl cellulose and silver nanoparticles (CMC-AgNPs) and their antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer activities were evaluated. The antibacterial results revealed that CMC-AgNPs have promising antibacterial activity against Gram-negative (Klebsiella oxytoca and Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus). Moreover, CMC-AgNPs exhibited antifungal activity against filamentous fungi such as Aspergillus fumigatus, A. niger, and A. terreus. Concerning the HepG2 hepatocellular cancer cell line, the lowest IC50 values (7.9 ± 0.41 µg/mL) were recorded for CMC-AgNPs, suggesting a strong cytotoxic effect on liver cancer cells. As a result, our findings suggest that the antitumor effect of these CMC-Ag nanoparticles is due to the induction of apoptosis and necrosis in hepatic cancer cells via increased caspase-8 and -9 activities and diminished levels of VEGFR-2. In conclusion, CMC-AgNPs exhibited antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer activities, which can be used in the pharmaceutical and medical fields. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomedical Applications of Polymer-Based Nanomaterials)
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19 pages, 8105 KiB  
Article
Molecular Docking and Efficacy of Aloe vera Gel Based on Chitosan Nanoparticles against Helicobacter pylori and Its Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities
by Reham Yahya, Aisha M. H. Al-Rajhi, Saleh Zaid Alzaid, Mohamed A. Al Abboud, Mohammed S. Almuhayawi, Soad K. Al Jaouni, Samy Selim, Khatib Sayeed Ismail and Tarek M. Abdelghany
Polymers 2022, 14(15), 2994; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14152994 - 24 Jul 2022
Cited by 36 | Viewed by 3532
Abstract
The medicinal administration of Aloe vera gel has become promising in pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications particularly with the development of the nanotechnology concept. Nowadays, effective H. pylori treatment is a global problem; therefore, the development of natural products with nanopolymers such as chitosan [...] Read more.
The medicinal administration of Aloe vera gel has become promising in pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications particularly with the development of the nanotechnology concept. Nowadays, effective H. pylori treatment is a global problem; therefore, the development of natural products with nanopolymers such as chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) could represent a novel strategy for the treatment of gastric infection of H. pylori. HPLC analysis of A. vera gel indicated the presence of chlorogenic acid as the main constituent (1637.09 µg/mL) with other compounds pyrocatechol (1637.09 µg/mL), catechin (1552.92 µg/mL), naringenin (528.78 µg/mL), rutin (194.39 µg/mL), quercetin (295.25 µg/mL), and cinnamic acid (37.50 µg/mL). CSNPs and A. vera gel incorporated with CSNPs were examined via TEM, indicating mean sizes of 83.46 nm and 36.54 nm, respectively. FTIR spectra showed various and different functional groups in CSNPs, A. vera gel, and A. vera gel incorporated with CSNPs. Two strains of H. pylori were inhibited using A. vera gel with inhibition zones of 16 and 16.5 mm, while A. vera gel incorporated with CSNPs exhibited the highest inhibition zones of 28 and 30 nm with resistant and sensitive strains, respectively. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was 15.62 and 3.9 µg/mL, while the minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) was 15.60 and 7.8 µg/mL with MBC/MIC 1 and 2 indexes using A. vera gel and A. vera gel incorporated with CSNPs, respectively, against the resistance strain. DPPH Scavenging (%) of the antioxidant activity exhibited an IC50 of 138.82 μg/mL using A.vera gel extract, and 81.7 μg/mL when A.vera gel was incorporated with CSNPs. A.vera gel incorporated with CSNPs enhanced the hemolysis inhibition (%) compared to using A.vera gel alone. Molecular docking studies through the interaction of chlorogenic acid and pyrocatechol as the main components of A. vera gel and CSNPs with the crystal structure of the H. pylori (4HI0) protein supported the results of anti-H. pylori activity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomedical Applications of Polymer-Based Nanomaterials)
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