Advanced Materials for Biomedical Applications, Editorial Article.

Advanced materials (AMs) encompass materials that feature improved properties compared to common counterparts [...].

Chitosan microparticles as entrapment system for trans- cinnamaldehyde: Synthesis, drug loading, and in vitro cytotoxicity evaluation.

The ionic gelation method was used to study the effect of the crosslinking agent, sodium tripolyphosphate on average particle size (Dp) and zeta potential (ζp) of chitosan microparticles (CSMP) unloaded and loaded with trans-cinnamaldehyde (TCIN). The obtained values of Dp and ζp trend as 117.6 ±â€¯0.4 ≤ Dp ≤ 478.5 ±â€¯3.5 nm and +27.8 ±â€¯1.3 ≤ ζp ≤ +103.5 ±â€¯4.2 mV, respectively. The entrapment efficiency of TCIN in CSMP was 9.1 ±â€¯2.0% and 71.5 ±â€¯2.9% was released after 360 min (pH = 6.5) which reveals a potential anti-cancer activity in acidic environment. Cytotoxicity of TCIN in DMSO (0-50 µM) was evaluated on MDCK and HeLa cell lines and exhibited low effect at either 24 or 48 h of exposure; whereas TCIN-loaded CSMP (0-50 µM) showed, after 24 h of exposure, 67.6 ±â€¯7.0 and 64.5 ±â€¯3.9% cytotoxicity for MDCK and HeLa cell lines, respectively. At 48 h of exposure, TCIN-loaded CSMP achieved 81.1 ±â€¯0.26 and 77.9 ±â€¯4.2% cytotoxicity for MDCK and HeLa cell lines, respectively.

Folate-grafted boron nitride nanotubes: possible exploitation in cancer therapy.

Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) have generated considerable interest among the scientific community because of their unique physical and chemical properties. They present good chemical inertness, high thermal stability, and optimal resistance to oxidation, that make them ideal candidates for biomedical applications, in particular as nanovectors for drug, gene and protein delivery into the cells. In this study, BNNTs were prepared through a synthesis based on a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, and thereafter chemically functionalized with folic acid. The obtained nanostructures have been characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The characterization showed efficiently functionalized BNNTs of length of about 1 µm. Furthermore, confocal laser microscopy demonstrated that our nanotubes can be fluorescently-traced under appropriate excitation. Thanks to this property, it has been possible to investigate their internalization by HeLa cells through confocal microscopy, demonstrating that the BNNT up-take clearly increases after the functionalization with folate, a result confirmed by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) assessment of boron content inside the treated cell cultures.