Synchronized Chemotherapy/Photothermal Therapy/Sonodynamic Therapy of Human Triple-Negative and Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer Cells Using a Doxorubicin-Gold Nanoclusters-Albumin Nanobioconjugate.

OBJECTIVE: Novel strategies for treating triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) are ongoing because of the lack of standard-of-care treatment. Nanoframed materials with a protein pillar are considered a valuable tool for designing multigoals of energy-absorbing/medication cargo and are a bridge to cross-conventional treatment strategies. METHODS: Nanobioconjugates of gold nanoclusters-bovine serum albumin (AuNCs-BSA) and doxorubicin-AuNCs-BSA (Dox-AuNCs-BSA) were prepared and employed as a simultaneous double photosensitizer/sonosensitizer and triple chemotherapeutic/photosensitizer/sonosensitizer, respectively. RESULTS: The highly stable AuNCs-BSA and Dox-AuNCs-BSA have ζ potentials of -29 and -18 mV, respectively, and represent valuable photothermal and sonodynamic activities for the combination of photothermal therapy and sonodynamic therapy (PTT/SDT) and synchronized chemotherapy/photothermal therapy/sonodynamic therapy (CTX/PTT/SDT) of human TNBC cells, respectively. The efficiency of photothermal conversion of AuNCs-BSA was calculated to be a promising value of 32.9%. AuNCs-BSA and Dox-AuNCs-BSA were activated on either laser light irradiation or ultrasound exposure with the highest efficiency on the combination of both types of radiation. CTX/PTT/SDT of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines by Dox-AuNCs-BSA were evaluated with the MTT cell proliferation assay and found to progress synergistically. CONCLUSION: Results of the MTT assay, detection of the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species and occurrence of apoptosis in the cells confirmed that CTX/PTT/SDT by Dox-AuNCs-BSA was attained with lower needed doses of the drug and improved tumor cell ablation, which would result in the enhancement of therapeutic efficacy and overcoming of therapeutic resistance.

A ß-Amyloid(1-42) Biosensor Based on Molecularly Imprinted Poly-Pyrrole for Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease.

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common form of dementia, characterized by production and deposition of ß-amyloid peptide in the brain. Thus, ß-amyloid peptide is a potentially promising biomarker used to diagnose and monitor the progression of AD. OBJECTIVE: The study aims to develop a biosensor based on a molecularly imprinted poly-pyrrole for detection of ß-amyloid. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this experimental study, an imprinted poly-pyrrole was employed as an artificial receptor synthesized by electro-polymerization of pyrrole on screen-printed carbon electrodes in the presence of ß-amyloid. ß-amyloid acts as a molecular template within the polymer. The biosensor was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry using ferro/ferricyanide marker. The parameters influencing the biosensor performance, including electro-polymerization cycle umbers and ß-amyloid binding time were optimized to achieve the best biosensor sensitivity. RESULTS: The ß-amyloid binding affinity with the biosensor surface was evaluated by the Freundlich isotherm, and Freundlich constant and exponent were obtained as 0.22 ng mL-1 and 10.60, respectively. The biosensor demonstrated a detection limit of 1.2 pg mL-1. The biosensor was applied for ß-amyloid determination in artificial cerebrospinal fluid. CONCLUSION: The biosensor is applicable for early Alzheimer's disease detection.

Synthesis of Flower-like Nickel Hydroxide Nanosheets and Application in Electrochemical Determination of Famotidine.

An electrochemical sensor was designed and fabricated for electrocatalytic oxidation and determination of famotidine in pharmaceutical forms. The electrochemical oxidation process and its kinetics were investigated using cyclic voltammetry, steady-state polarization measurements, and chronoamperometry techniques, and also the analytical measurements were performed by amperometry. Upon addition of the drug into the solution, cyclic voltammograms of the fabricated sensor exhibited an increased anodic peak current associated with a decrease in the corresponding cathodic current. These results suggested an electrocatalytic EC' oxidation mechanism for famotidine on the oxyhydroxide species immobilized on the electrode surface. Accordingly, a mechanism involving generation of Ni3+ active sites and their subsequent consumption by the drug was proposed. Moreover, the corresponding rate law under the control of charge transfer was developed and kinetic parameters were derived. A sensitive and time-saving amperometric procedure was also developed for the analysis of famotidine with a detection limit of 5.91 mmol L-1. Using the developed amperometric procedure, famotidine was successfully analyzed in the presence of ibuprofen. The developed sensor in this study displayed enhanced sensitivity and selectivity, compared to some other reported methods.