Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 14, Issue 6, 2014

In this work, we investigate the effect of chitosan hydrophobization on the internalization and cytotoxic effect of chitosan-based nanoparticles (NPs) on breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231), cervical cancer cells (HeLa) and noncancer cells (Arpe-19). We also analyzed the interaction of NPs with a phospholipid (DPPC) membrane model at the airwater interface. An alkylation procedure to insert 8 carbon chains along the chitosan m Read More

The aim of this work was to critically review recent results pertinent to fibrinogen adsorption at solid/electrolyte interfaces with the emphasis focused on a quantitative analysis of these processes in terms of the electrostatic interactions. Accordingly, in the first part, the primary chemical structure of fibrinogen is analyzed. Physicochemical data pertinent to the bulk properties derived from hydrodynamic, dynamic light sca Read More

Medicinal chemistry is intimately connected with basic science such as organic synthesis, chemical biology and biophysical chemistry among other disciplines. The reason of such connections is due to the power of organic synthesis to provide designed molecules; chemical biology to give tools to discover biological and/or pathological pathways and biophysical chemistry which provides the techniques to characterize and the theor Read More

The process of self-assembly is universal and lies at the heart of biological structures and function. Peptide aggregation, while considered a nuisance in peptide chemistry, soon gained interest with the discovery of pore-forming peptide toxins and had been an area of intense research during last century and even to date. This has also resulted in the increasing use of the more respectable term peptide self-assembly. Th Read More

Liquid systems containing droplets with size in the nanoscale range are attractive from both scientific and technological points of view as they have many current and potential applications in several industries and products. The formation and stabilization of nano-droplet systems are mostly based on the self-assembly of surfactant (amphiphilic) molecules at interfaces, driven by the solvophobic effect. Surfactants are involve Read More

In this review we summarize and discuss the different methods we can use to achieve reversible DNA compaction in vitro. Reversible DNA compaction is a natural process that occurs in living cells and viruses. As a result these process long sequences of DNA can be concentrated in a small volume (compacted) to be decompacted only when the information carried by the DNA is needed. In the current work we review t Read More

The formation of reverse micelles by nonionic alcohol ethoxylates surfactants in two “dry” non polar solvents, heptane and dibutoxymethane (DBM), has been studied. These surfactants are formed by a linear hydrocarbon chain consisting of i carbons, and a poly(ethylene oxide) chain with j ethoxylate units (EO) ending with a hydroxyl group, CiEOj. The study is focused on the determination of the critical micelle concentratio Read More

Recent advances in synthesis of functional poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) and its self-assembly behavior, as well as application in drug delivery have been reviewed. Three strategies including end group functionalization, postpolymerization modification and new monomer preparation have been summarized to show possibilities for PCL derivatives. Complex architectures like cyclic and multi-arm PCL have been emphasized. Both c Read More

The emergence of the new scientific field known as nanomedicine is being catalyzed by multiple improvements in nanoscience techniques and significant progress in materials science, especially as regards the testing of novel and sophisticated biomaterials. This conjuncture has furthered the development of promising instruments in terms of detection, bioanalysis, therapy, diagnostics and imaging. Some of the most innov Read More