Banana Peel-Derived Dendrite-Shaped Au Nanomaterials with Dual Inhibition Toward Tumor Growth and Migration.

PURPOSE: In order to prepare functional Au nanoparticles with low toxicity and high antitumor properties, we have used fruit waste (banana peel) to synthesize a new dendrite-shaped gold nanoparticle and used it for the treatment of tumors. METHODS: Dendrite-shaped gold nanoparticle (Au-dendrite) was synthesized through a facile hydrothermal process. The banana peel was used as both the reducing agent and the protective agent for reducing chloroauric acid to obtain Au-dendrite. The safety assessment of the Au-dendrite was conducted by H&E staining of the mouse's eyelid skin and CCK-8 assay. The antitumor effects were evaluated through in vitro tumor cytotoxicity experiments and in vivo treatment of animal tumors. RESULTS: In this work, a new type of gold nanomaterial (Au-dendrite) was synthesized by using a common agricultural waste (banana peel) through a facile hydrothermal process without any extra chemical reducing agent or protective agent. Subsequent experiments showed that, compared with some classical Au nanomaterials, the as-synthesized gold nanocomposites have superior biocompatibility and impressive characteristics of dual inhibition toward tumor growth and migration. CONCLUSION: We successfully synthesized a dendrite-shaped gold nanocomposite which was derived from a common agricultural waste (banana peel). A facile and environmentally friendly synthetic process was proposed accordingly without regular chemical additives. The as-prepared Au-dendrite nanocomposites not only had better biocompatibility than some classical gold nanoparticles but also exhibited unique advantages in tumor inhibition.

"The return of ceramic implants": Rose stem inspired dual layered modification of ceramic scaffolds with improved mechanical and anti-infective properties.

Nowadays, traditional ceramics for bone implants have considerably replaced by metal based biomedical materials, attributing to the friability of ceramics. However, ceramic implants possess excellent biocompatibility and longtime abrasion resistance. They should be more desirable for long-term uses of implants in case their fragility had been overcome. In the present work, inspired from natural rose, a dual-layer-modified ceramic scaffold was constructed by coating a superplastic layer of isocyanate (ISO) resin and a nano Zinc Oxide (nano-ZnO) layer on the ceramic scaffold. The ISO resin modification layer with 1 mm thickness, improved the mechanical properties of ceramic implants 2-3 times, and protect the ceramic implants from broken even drop from 1 m high. Moreover, such dual layered modification exhibited broad spectrum antibacterial behavior. In vivo biocompatible studies demonstrated that there was no obvious noticeable tissue damage in all major organs of mice after the implant surgeries.