The Role of Crosslinker Content of Positively Charged NIPAM Nanogels on the In Vivo Toxicity in Zebrafish.

Polymeric nanogels as drug delivery systems offer great advantages, such as high encapsulation capacity and easily tailored formulations; however, data on biocompatibility are still limited. We synthesized N-isopropylacrylamide nanogels, with crosslinker content between 5 and 20 mol%, functionalized with different positively charged co-monomers, and investigated the in vivo toxicity in zebrafish. Our results show that the chemical structure of the basic unit impacts the toxicity profile depending on the degree of ionization and hydrogen bonding capability. When the degree of crosslinking of the polymer was altered, from 5 mol% to 20 mol%, the distribution of the positively charged monomer 2-tert-butylaminoethyl methacrylate was significantly altered, leading to higher surface charges for the more rigid nanogels (20 mol% crosslinker), which resulted in >80% survival rate (48 h, up to 0.5 mg/mL), while the more flexible polymers (5 mol% crosslinker) led to 0% survival rate (48 h, up to 0.5 mg/mL). These data show the importance of tailoring both chemical composition and rigidity of the formulation to minimize toxicity and demonstrate that using surface charge data to guide the design of nanogels for drug delivery may be insufficient.

NIR-â ¡ window Triple-mode antibacterial Nanoplatform: Cationic Copper sulfide nanoparticles combined vancomycin for synergistic bacteria eradication.

The widespread use of antibiotics leads to the increasing drug resistance of bacteria and poses a threat to human health. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new antibacterial strategies. Herein, based on the good photothermal properties of Copper sulfide (CuS) nanoparticles under near infrared (NIR) laser, we developed a NIR-Ⅱ window triple-mode synergetic antibacterial cCuS (cationic CuS) @Vancomycin (Van) nanoplatform. In the proposed nanoplatform, the positive charge on the surface makes cCuS@Van nanoplatform show better bacterial uptake and membrane damage; vancomycin induces chemical sterilization and provides a targeting effect to the nanoplatform; combined with the strong photothermal effect and deep tissue penetration at the excitation of 1064 nm laser, cCuS@Van nanoplatform can effectively kill bacterial. The photothermal conversion efficiency of the nanoplatform can reach 49.12 % and in vitro experiments show a sterilizing rate of more than 99.5 % to staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) at the concentration of 3.0 µM, which also demonstrated the synergistic effect of cCuS@Van nanoplatform. In addition, low cytotoxicity to human cells conforms the good biocompatibility of the as-prepared cCuS@Van nanoplatform, which endows it a good application prospect in the field of antibacterial, such as wound healing and implant sterilization.

Investigation of Functionalized Surface Charges of Thermoplastic Starch/Zinc Oxide Nanocomposite Films Using Polyaniline: The Potential of Improved Antibacterial Properties.

Improving the antibacterial activity of biodegradable materials is crucial for combatting widespread drug-resistant bacteria and plastic pollutants. In this work, we studied polyaniline (PANI)-functionalized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) to improve surface charges. A PANI-functionalized ZnO NP surface was prepared using a simple impregnation technique. The PANI functionalization of ZnO successfully increased the positive surface charge of the ZnO NPs. In addition, PANI-functionalized ZnO improved mechanical properties and thermal stability. Besides those properties, the water permeability of the bionanocomposite films was decreased due to their increased hydrophobicity. PANI-functionalized ZnO NPs were applied to thermoplastic starch (TPS) films for physical properties and antibacterial studies using Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). The PANI-functionalized ZnO bionanocomposite films exhibited excellent antibacterial activity for both E. coli (76%) and S. aureus (72%). This result suggests that PANI-functionalized ZnO NPs can improve the antibacterial activity of TPS-based bionanocomposite films.

Adsorption of Se(IV) and Se(VI) species by iron oxy-hydroxides: Effect of positive surface charge density.

Batch and continuous mode experiments were used to determine the influence of physic-chemicals characteristics of iron oxy-hydroxides (FeOOHs) on selenium adsorption. Batch experiments and continuous flow rapid small-scale column tests (RSSCTs) at pH 7 and NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) water matrix, showed that the adsorption capacity of FeOOHs for Se(IV) is strongly related to positive surface charge density (PSCD), and gradually increases when synthesis pH is lowered. The highest PSCD value of 3.25 mmol [OH-]/g was observed at synthesis pH 2.5 (FeOOH/2.5) and the lowest, 0.45 mmol [OH-]/g, was observed at synthesis pH 9 (FeOOH/9). A thermodynamic study verified the endothermic (ΔΗ° 21.4 kJ/mol) chemisorption of Se(IV) by the qualified FeOOH/2.5. EXAFS data showed that Se(IV) is involved in three types of surface complexes: bidentate mononuclear edge-sharing (1E) and two types of binuclear inner-sphere (2C) linkage between the SeO32- pyramids, and Fe(O,OH)6 octahedra. The FeOOHs were evaluated by their adsorption capacity (Q10) at residual concentrations equal to the EU drinking water regulation limit of 10 µg/L, e.g. in conditions implemented in full-scale water treatment plants. The qualified FeOOH/2.5 was found to be the most effective for Se(IV) adsorption with a Q10 value 4.3 mg Se(IV)/g. In contrast, the Q10 value for Se(VI) was almost three orders of magnitude lower (10 µg Se(VI)/g) than that for Se(IV). Finally, regeneration experiments showed that FeOOHs reuse for Se(IV) removal is economically feasible and the recovery of selenium by precipitation as elemental Se contributes to green chemistry.