Development and Characterization of Quercetin-Loaded Polymeric Liposomes with Gelatin-Poly(ethylene glycol)-Folic Acid Coating to Increase Their Long-Circulating and Anticancer Activity.

Liposomes as drug-delivery systems have been researched and applied in multiple scientific reports and introduced as patented products with interesting therapeutic properties. Despite various advantages, this drug carrier faces major difficulties in its innate stability, cancer cell specificity, and control over the release of hydrophobic drugs, particularly quercetin, a naturally derived drug that carries many desirable characteristics for anticancer treatment. To improve the effectiveness of liposomes to deliver quercetin by tackling and mitigating the mentioned hurdles, we developed a strategy to establish the ability to passively target cancerous cells, as well as to increase the bioavailability of loaded drugs by incorporating poly(ethylene glycol), gelatin, and folic acid moieties to modify the liposomal system's surface. This research developed a chemically synthesized gelatin, poly(ethylene glycol), and folic acid as a single polymer to coat drug-loaded liposome systems. Liposomes were coated with gelatin-poly(ethylene glycol)-folic acid by electrostatic interaction, characterized by their size, morphology, ζ potential, drug loading efficiency, infrared structures, differential scanning calorimetry spectra, and drug-releasing profiles, and then evaluated for their cytotoxicity to MCF-7 breast cancer cells, as well as cellular uptake, analyzed by confocal imaging to further elaborate on the in vitro behavior of the coated liposome. The results indicated an unusual change in size with increased coating materials, followed by increased colloidal stability, ζ potential, and improved cytotoxicity to cancer cells, as shown by the cellular viability test with MCF-7. Cellular uptake also confirmed these results, providing data for the effects of biopolymer coating, while confirming that folic acid can increase the uptake of liposome by cancer cells. In consideration of such results, the modified gelatin-poly(ethylene glycol)-folic acid-coated liposome can be a potential system in delivering the assigned anticancer compound. This modified biopolymer showed excellent properties as a coating material and should be considered for further practical applications in the future.

A Facile Synthesis Process and Evaluations of α-Calcium Sulfate Hemihydrate for Bone Substitute.

Alpha-calcium sulfate hemihydrate (α-HH) has been used effectively in grafting through its desired features to support bone regeneration. In recent years, many synthetic methods have been proposed. Among them, the autoclave method for manufacturing α-HH is best suited for cost-savings due to its simple operation and limited use of additives. Despite these advantages, the synthesis of surgical grade products without the use of any additives has not yet been clearly discussed. In this study, surgical grade α-HH was successfully produced from calcium sulfate dihydrate (DH) using the autoclave method at an elevated temperature and pressure. The synthesized powder had a high purity of about 98.62% α-HH with a prismatic morphology (20.96 ± 8.83 µm in length and 1.30 ± 0.71 µm in diameter). The screening tests, in simulated body fluid (SBF) solution, for the product properties showed no bioactivity, and fast degradation accompanied by a slight decrease in pH. The lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay showed good biocompatibility of the material, however, its potential for cytotoxicity was also observed in NIH 3T3 cells. Briefly, despite some unfavorable properties, the autoclave-synthesized α-HH is a promising bone graft substitute that can be applied in orthopedic and maxillofacial surgeries.

Combination of Mycorrhizal Symbiosis and Root Grafting Effectively Controls Nematode in Replanted Coffee Soil.

Replanting for sustainable development is one of the critical missions of the coffee industry in the Daklak province, Vietnam. However, this plan has been faced with many difficulties including poor survival and growth rates due to the low nematode tolerance of young coffee plants in replanted fields. Mycorrhizal symbiosis and grafting have been applied separately but not yet resulted in the expected results of the replanting plan. Whether the combination of them would help managing nematode in the soil and consequently enhance the replanted efficiency is largely unknown. Mycorrhizal symbiosis was applied to Coffea canephora plants or/and grafted onto Coffea liberica rootstock, which were grown and compared to the untreated ones in both net-house-pots and the replanted plantation. The survival rate, growth indicators and the soil pathogens were monitored during the experimental periods. The combination of grafting and mycorrhiza symbiotic techniques significantly decreased the nematode densities in the replanted soil. As a result, the survival rate and growth indicators of the coffee in the replanted soil treated by the combined technique were better than treated by the two separate techniques. The results suggested that the combination of grafting and mycorrhiza symbiotic techniques would propose a potentially effective Pratylenchus coffeae and Meloidogyne incognita nematode management in replanted coffee fields in the Daklak province, Vietnam.

Potential Application of Gold Nanospheres as a Surface Plasmon Resonance Based Sensor for In-Situ Detection of Residual Fungicides.

It is essential to develop a simple and sensitive method to rapidly detect residual fungicides in agricultural products to protect human health. So far, little studies have been reported on potential application of gold nanospheres (AuNSps) as a surface plasmon resonance based sensor for in-situ detection of residual fungicides. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the potential application of AuNSps as a surface plasmon resonance based sensor for in-situ detection of fungicides. AuNSps were successfully synthesized via a seed-mediated method with some modifications. Firstly, gold nanoseeds were made during the reduction of chloroauric acid by trisodium citrate dihydrate (TSC). Then, AuNSps were grown from the seeds by using HAuCl4, TSC and EDTA. AuNSps were subsequently dropped on a glass substrate before covered by thiophanate methyl, a broad-spectrum systemic fungicide. The AuNSps coated glass substrate was subsequently dried in the air for further surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) measurements. Optical properties, shape and size of AuNSps were confirmed by UV-vis spectroscopy, XRD, SEM-EDX and TEM. The results showed that AuNSps were successfully synthesized with the size of 53 nm, and their resonance peak was located at 560 nm. The Raman signal intensity of thiophanate methyl covered on AuNSps is higher than that without AuNSps, indicating SERS effects of AuNSps deposited glass substrate.

Recent Progress and Advances of Multi-Stimuli-Responsive Dendrimers in Drug Delivery for Cancer Treatment.

Despite the fact that nanocarriers as drug delivery systems overcome the limitation of chemotherapy, the leakage of encapsulated drugs during the delivery process to the target site can still cause toxic effects to healthy cells in other tissues and organs in the body. Controlling drug release at the target site, responding to stimuli that originated from internal changes within the body, as well as stimuli manipulated by external sources has recently received significant attention. Owning to the spherical shape and porous structure, dendrimer is utilized as a material for drug delivery. Moreover, the surface region of dendrimer has various moieties facilitating the surface functionalization to develop the desired material. Therefore, multi-stimuli-responsive dendrimers or 'smart' dendrimers that respond to more than two stimuli will be an inspired attempt to achieve the site-specific release and reduce as much as possible the side effects of the drug. The aim of this review was to delve much deeper into the recent progress of multi-stimuli-responsive dendrimers in the delivery of anticancer drugs in addition to the major potential challenges.

Soy Lecithin-Derived Liposomal Delivery Systems: Surface Modification and Current Applications.

The development of natural phospholipids for nanostructured drug delivery systems has attracted much attention in the past decades. Lecithin that was derived from naturally occurring in soybeans (SL) has introduced some auspicious accomplishments to the drug carrying aspect, like effectual encapsulation, controlled release, and successful delivery of the curative factors to intracellular regions in which they procure these properties from their flexible physicochemical and biophysical properties, such as large aqueous center and biocompatible lipid, self-assembly, tunable properties, and high loading capacity. Despite the almost perfect properties as a drug carrier, liposome is known to be quite quickly eliminated from the body systems. The surface modification of liposomes has been investigated in many studies to overcome this drawback. In this review, we intensively discussed the surface-modified liposomes that enhancing the targeting, cellular uptake, and therapeutic response. Moreover, the recent applications of soy lecithin-derived liposome, focusing on cancer treatment, brain targeting, and vaccinology, are also summarized.

Evaluation of Factors Affecting Antimicrobial Activity of Bacteriocin from Lactobacillus plantarum Microencapsulated in Alginate-Gelatin Capsules and Its Application on Pork Meat as a Bio-Preservative.

Antimicrobial compounds from traditional fermented foods have shown activity against a wide range of pathogen and spoilage microorganisms for several years. In this study, a Lactic acid bacteria (LAB), isolated from Vietnamese traditional fermented yogurt (Lactobacillus plantarum SC01), was encapsulated in alginate-gelatin (ALG-GEL) and the effect of incubation temperature, medium pH and surfactants were assessed. The aims of this research were to evaluate antimicrobial activity of bacteriocin produced by L. plantarum SC01. Another aim the research was to study the quality of pork meat treated with its Bacteriocin in 2 h as a bio-preservative at different storage times (0 h, 12 h, 24 h and 48 h) in room temperature, compared to control (treated with salt 40.0%). The antimicrobial activity of L. plantarum SC01 was identified through the inhibition rate of five indicator organisms, including Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp., Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Bacillus subtilis by co-culture method. The results showed that L. plantarum SC01 microencapsulated in ALG-GEL (2.5% alginate and 6.0% gelatin, w/v) and 3.0% bacteria supplied into modified MRS medium (MRSOPTSC01) produced highly active compound inhibited the growth of indicator organisms at a density of 104⁻108 CFU/mL. Antibacterial compounds were highly active in a treatment at 80 °C; not to be affected by pH; affected by surfactant as Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and Tween. Moreover, LAB obtained from this study show the potent Bacteriocin in its usage as a preservative in food.

Preparation, Characterization and Antifungal Properties of Chitosan-Silver Nanoparticles Synergize Fungicide Against Pyricularia oryzae.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the major staple food crops of nearly two-third of the world's population. However, rice blast caused by fungus Pyricularia oryzae is generally considered the most serious disease of cultivated rice worldwide due to its extensive distribution and destructiveness under favourable climatic conditions. In this report, the combination between chitosan (CS) and silver (Ag), Ag@CS, was introduced for antifungal activity against Pyricularia oryzae extracted from blast-infected leaves. In detail, Ag@CS nanoparticles (NPs) were first synthesized and further mixed with Trihexad 700 WP (Tri), Ag@CS-Tri, against the fungus by agar diffusion method. The prepared Ag@CS-Tri NPs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). In aqueous condition, Ag@CS-Tri NPs were successfully prepared and existed as spherical NPs with particle size of 17.26 ± 0.89 nm, which is an ideal size for their uptake into plant cells, indicating that the size of their parentally Ag@CS NPs is small enough to combine Tri, and their diameter is large enough to effectively penetrate the cellular membrane and kill fungi. More importantly, the antifungal property of Ag@CS-Tri NPs was significantly increased with inhibition zone around 25 nm compared with only around 12 nm of Ag@CS at the same concentration of Ag (2 ppm) and CS (4000 ppm). These results demonstrated that the synergistic effect of Tri and Ag@CS NPs can be a potential candidate with high antifungal activity for the use of antibiotics in agriculture.