Current Nanomaterials - Volume 9, Issue 3, 2024

Background: For centuries, silver has been known for its anti-bacterial effects. It also helps in the prevention and control of various infections. Silver, when synthesized in nano-size, is much more effective, so the trend of using silver nanoparticles in treating mild bacterial diseases to deadly infectious diseases has increased rapidly. Methods: Silver nanoparticles can be synthesized by physical, chemical, and biological methods. Nanoparticles are developed in different shapes and have a wide range of sizes, with the purpose of controlling the release rate and content of the drug’s dose. The nanoparticles can be administered via oral, pulmonary, dermal, and intravenous routes. Results: Silver nanoparticles have been used in treating diseases, such as cancers, diabetes, etc., by targeted drug delivery and in cosmetics, wound healing, diagnostics, water purifying, bio-imaging, air purification, etc. The research on the novel applications of silver nanoparticles merits its medical application, and this utility aspect is granting patented technologies. The utilization of silver nanoparticles has enhanced in recent times due to their effectiveness in the specified diseased state. Conclusion: Studies have indicated that the drugs developed using silver nanoparticles manifest safety as they are biocompatible; thus, silver nanoparticles display a promising role in developing futuristic medical therapeutic strategies.

In the past decades, it has been evident that nano miniaturization technology plays a vital role in innovations, biomedical and industrial applications. Most importantly, the use of Lab on chip (LOC) is revolutionizing and highly replacing the use of conventional technologies due to its advantages that include reliability, biocompatibility, tunability, portability, controllability, cost-effective, low time, and energy consumption with more accurate results. The different nucleic acid structures formed by non-classical ways of pairing can result in highly stable structures, known as nano-oddities. These nucleic acid nano-oddities could be fabricated for a wide range of applications with unique properties. This review encompasses the major findings, advances, fabrication, miniaturization, applications, and the future prospects of nucleic acid assemblies in different kinds of nanodevices.

Background: A lot of work has been done by many researchers to develop a system that is targeted at a specific site. Nanosponges are one of the systems that serve this purpose and have several advantages over other methods. Objective: The article’s strategy is to provide access to data regarding the nanosponges system, including its preparation, evaluation, and advantages in various fields, such as the transportation of proteins, vaccines, biocatalysts, and drugs with enhanced bioavailability. Nanosponges also contribute significantly to the treatment of breast cancer, lung cancer, fungal infection, water treatment, and topical application than other approaches. Method: Nanosponges contain a solid, porous system in which hydrophilic or lipophilic drugs are loaded at their core in the nanocavity. All the information provided in this article was collected after analysing various reports on nanosponges available on Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct. It is concluded that the nanosponges have excellent aqueous solubility properties. Therefore, they can be used as carriers for drugs with poor water solubility. Moreover, greater bioavailability can be achieved by using the nanosponge approach. Conclusion: Nanosponges possess various outstanding properties that form the unique system of this approach. Nanosponges provide an effective carrier system for enzymes, proteins, vaccines, and therapeutic fields. This review provides a broad overview of the development of nanosponges, their evaluation, and the uses of nanosponges based on cyclodextrin for drug delivery.

In the present scenario, various novel delivery systems are available for drug delivery to systemic circulation. So, to accomplish a greater therapeutic effect, the nature of the drug delivery is very important. This delivery is one of the innovative approaches where the drug is targeted to the brain through the nasal cavity. As we know, the human brain is the most crucial part of the body that controls various functions of our system. So, safely reaching the targeted site of the brain is necessary to achieve brain specificity. This delivery system helps us to tackle the problems that may arise in the other delivery system and helps the drug reach the brain without any difficulties. The major obstacles we faced during this delivery were the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the brain-cerebrospinal fluid barrier. So, if we target the drug to the brain, then we have to overcome these challenges, and before that, we must have a clear understanding of the targeted site and the mechanism behind the drug targeting. Advancements in science and technology have helped discover many recent strategies and formulations available for intranasal delivery. The development of lipid nanoparticles is one of the primitive approaches for targeting any type of drug(hydrophilic/lipophilic) in the brain. So, the aim of this review mainly focused on the mechanism of intranasal delivery, the devices used, and some recent strategies like the development of lipid nanoparticles, surface-modified lipid nanocarriers, and noseto- brain patches. This review article also includes a few FDA-approved formulations for nose-to-brain delivery and their regulatory aspects related to clinical trials and future perspectives.

Aims: This study aimed to examine the effect of magnetite coating of salicylic acid and Cu metal nanoparticles on yield, cellular contents, and some biochemical constituents of wheat subjected to heat stress. Background: An applied experiment was conducted over two seasons at the Agricultural Experimental Station of Desert Research Center (DRC), which was supervised by the El Wadi El Gadeed Governorate in Egypt. The grains of wheat cultivars Sids1 (tolerant) and Gimmeza7 (sensitive) were treated with copper metal as NPs (Cu NPs) (0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0, and 10 ppm) and magnetite NPs (0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0 and 10 ppm) coated with salicylic acid at 100ppm (Fe NPs+SA). Objective: The objective of this study was to examine wheat tolerance to heat stress and subsequently yield by comparing two wheat cultivars under the same conditions. Methods: The chemically formulated nanoparticles were well characterized and applied in two wheat cultivars subjected to heat stress. Results: The results showed that all NPs treatments had a positive impact on all physiological parameters and grain yield. Sids1 surpassed Gemmeiza7 in the quality of wheat grains (essential, nonessential amino acids). However, Gimmeza7 exceeded Sids1 in yield quantity, especially with the application of SA+Fe NPs at 0.50 ppm. These effects were associated with heat tolerance and the best survival in wheat cultivars. There was an increase in glutathione content, antioxidant enzymes (Glutathione -S- Transferase), and/or a decline in malondialdehyde content. Conclusion: Fe NPs+SA (0.5ppm) helped the Gimmeza7 cultivar to mitigate the effects of heat stress through activating growth, glutathione, and glutathione S transferase, enhancing yield quantity in two wheat cultivars (Misr1 and Gimmeza11), and decreasing their MDA content.

Background: Magnetite is the most recognized iron oxide candidate used for various biological applications. Objective: This work is a complete study that addresses the synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles and investigates the feasibility of using green tea and ascorbic acid as capping agents. Methods: Synthesis of magnetite by two wet chemical methods namely: coprecipitation and solvothermal methods. The samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Results: The results reveal the impact of coating on the size and morphology of the particles. The study also proves that autoclaving the samples prepared by coprecipitation results in smaller particle size and narrower size distribution due to digestive ripening. In addition, a novel and facile methodology for coating magnetite with polyethylene glycol is presented. The potential of the particles to be used for magnetic fluid hyperthermia is assessed by measuring the specific absorption rate (SAR) of the samples. Conclusion: The results show that all the prepared magnetite samples showed a promising capacity to be used as magnetic fluid hyperthermia agents.

Introduction: Nilotinib is a BCS class-IV poorly water-soluble kinase inhibitor drug, that was used for this study to prepare the polymeric nanoparticles by nanoprecipitation technique using Eudragit RL-100 and RS-100 as polymers, Killophore P-188 as a surfactant, and PEG 400 used as a non-volatile, and nontoxic solvent for the improvement of the drug solubility and dissolution rate. Methods: The initial process and formulation variables are screened out based on the selected critical quality attributes such as drug release (%), particle size (nm), zeta potential (mV), and polydispersity index. The FT-IR and DSC studies reveal that the drug has no compatibility between the selected drug and the polymers and does not show any additional drug peaks after physical mixing and formulations. The prepared nanoparticles were further characterized to evaluate the particle size (nm), polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential (mV), entrapment efficiency (%), and in-vitro drug release (%). From the in vitro drug release study, Eudragit RL-100 and Killophore P-188-based formulations showed optimum drug entrapment efficiency with improved drug solubility and dissolution rate in PEG 400 compared to Eudragit RS-100-based formulations. The accelerated stability data for the optimized formulation batch (F6) before and after storage conditions at 40±2 ⁰C and 75±5% RH indicates that the optimized formulation (F6) is more stable for up to 6 months without changes in drug entrapment efficiency and in vitro dissolution rate. Dissolution kinetic data and diffusion exponent values suggested that optimized formulation followed the Higuchi model with a non-Fickian transport mechanism. Results: According to the results, the preparation method proposed in this study is the most suitable for generating polymeric nanoparticles of nilotinib for improved drug solubility and dissolution rate. Conclusion: The nilotinib-based polymeric nano-formulation proved a potential alternative for better drug release with an enhanced solubility rate.

Background: the performance of nano modified cement based materials is substantial in terms of their mechanical durability and other similar properties that are of great importance in the functional life of cement structures. The motivation of this study is to formulate conclusions concerning the anti-corrosive impact of Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) on the properties of mortar specimens and respectively on their service life. Methods: The nano additives performance, was investigated through Scanning methods, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) which analyze the microstructure of mortar specimens with 0.1 % wt addition of CNTs and 0.1 % wt addition of CNFs in their synthesis. In addition, other techniques such as total chloride content and gravimetric mass loss measurements, provide a consolidated assessment of the impact of the nano modified cement materials. In particular, (SEM) and (XRD) microstructure analysis results showed that nanoadditives are found as agglomerates in the cement paste, whereas their hydrophobic nature blocks the diffusion of corrosive factors into the cement paste. Additionally, the total chloride content in mortar specimens with CNFs is approximately 50% less than the relevant percentage of the specimens without additives, which is in compliance with the relevant percentages of porosity values. Furthermore, from the elemental analysis of all specimens, it is found that the samples that are corroded are the specimens without nano additives. Results: The addition of nanomodified materials affects the porosity and the microstructure of the mortar specimens. Conclusion: The addition of 0,1 % of CNTs or CNFs positively affects against corrosion impact while exposure in extremely corrosive conditions.

Introduction: In this study, a simple and facile route was employed to prepare a highly transparent and luminescent ultra-thin gallium doped ZnO film (GZO). Methods: The thin GZO film has been deposited using the simultaneously ultrasonic vibration and sol-gel spin-spray coating technique. The structural and optical properties of pure and doped thin films were investigated by various methods, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-Vis, and PL spectroscopy. Results: XRD results indicated that both pure and doped ZnO films had a hexagonal wurtzite structure with (101) preferred orientation. XPS and EDX studies confirmed the incorporation and presence of Ga ions into the ZnO lattice structure. The doped sample showed nearly 90% of transparency, and a strong blue-green emission in the visible region. Conclusion: The obtained results proved that the prepared thin film could be a novel candidate for optoelectronic applications.