Multiphysics simulation of liposome release from hydrogels for cavity filling following patient-specific breast tumor surgery.

Several studies have recommended the use of hydrogels for localized targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs following tumor removal surgery. This approach aims to both fill the cavity and prevent cancer recurrence. The use of Multiphysics-based simulation emerges as a valuable strategy for minimizing experimental work, providing detailed insights into how drug release occurs in the tissue, and enabling the optimization of the design.

Multi-physics numerical simulation study on thermo-sensitive gel delivery for a local post-tumor surgery treatment.

Numerous studies in the literature have proposed the use of thermo-responsive hydrogels for filling cavities after tumor resection. However, optimizing the injection process is challenging due to the complex interplay of various multi-physics phenomena, such as the coupling of flow and heat transfer, multi-phase interactions, and phase-change dynamics. Therefore, gaining a fundamental understanding of these processes is crucial.

Controlling particle size of levan in powder form with different technologies.

Levan is a fructose polysaccharide with multiple applications in different fields, but its obtaining in powdered form with a narrow particle size distribution is a complicated task. Two techniques, electrospraying and supercritical antisolvent (SAS) precipitation, were used to process levan that was first obtained enzymatically. The SAS process was able to micronize the polymer (at experimental conditions far above the mixture critical point of the solvent-antisolvent system) to obtain spherical particles between 0.

Development of a thermosensitive hydrogel based on Polaxamer 407 and gellan gum with inclusion complexes (Sulfobutylated-β-cyclodextrin-Farnesol) as a local drug delivery system.

This work proposes the development of a thermosensitive local drug release system based on Polaxamer 407, also known as Pluronic® F-127 (PF-127), Gellan Gum (GG) and the inclusion complex Sulfobutylated-β-cyclodextrin (CD) with Farnesol (FOH). Rheological properties of the hydrogels and their degradation were studied. According to the rheological results, a solution of 20% w/v of PF-127 forms a strong gel with a gelling temperature of about 25 °C (storage modulus of 15,000 Pa).

A Synergistic Approach Therapy for Colorectal Cancer Based on Exosomes and Exploitation of Metabolic Pathways.

In order to reduce the side effects of traditional chemotherapy in the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC), a new drug delivery system has been developed in this work, based on exosomes that can host two drugs that act synergistically: farnesol (that stops the cell cycle) and paclitaxel (prevents microtubule system depolymerization). Firstly, exosomes were isolated from different cell cultures (from colorectal cancer and from fibroblast as example of normal cell line) by different methods and characterized by western blot, TEM and DLS, and results showed that they express classical protein markers such as CD9 and HSP-70 and they showed spherical morphology with sizes from 93 nm to 129 nm depending on the source. These exosomes were loaded with both drugs and its effect was studied in vitro.

Supercritical impregnation of starch aerogels with quercetin: Fungistatic effect and release modelling with a compartmental model.

This work proposes the use of supercritical CO to impregnate starch (potato and corn) aerogels with quercetin for a potential fungistatic application. Starch aerogels were successfully produced with supercritical drying, but different results were found depending on the amylose/amylopectin ratio. A higher amount of amylose increases aerogels' specific surface area (with a structure with nanofibrils and nodes) due to the linear and amorphous character of this polymer, whereas a higher amount of amylopectin decreases this property until values of only 25 m·g, obtaining an aerogel with a rough surface.

Engineering Alginate-Based Dry Powder Microparticles to a Size Suitable for the Direct Pulmonary Delivery of Antibiotics.

The inhaled route is regarded as one of the most promising strategies as a treatment against pulmonary infections. However, the delivery of drugs in a dry powder form remains challenging. In this work, we have used alginate to form microparticles containing an antibiotic model (colistin sulfate).

Validation of a compartmental model to predict drug release from porous structures produced by ScCO techniques.

A global release model is proposed to study the drug release from porous materials for pharmaceutical applications. This model is defined by implementing a compartmental model where the release profile could be explained as the combination of mass transfer phenomena through three compartments as well as a desorption process or dissolution process from the support. This model was validated with five different systems produced with supercritical CO (aerogels, membranes, and fibers), showing different release processes.

An Approach to Minimize Tumour Proliferation by Reducing the Formation of Components for Cell Membrane.

Isoprenoids are natural compounds essential for a great number of cellular functions. One of them is farnesol (FOH), which can reduce cell proliferation, but its low solubility in aqueous solvents limits its possible clinical use as a pharmacological tool. One alternative is the use of cyclodextrins (CDs) which house hydrophobic molecules forming inclusion complexes.

Tuning Alginate Microparticle Size via Atomization of Non-Newtonian Fluids.

A new approach based on the atomization of non-Newtonian fluids has been proposed to produce microparticles for a potential inhalation route. In particular, different solutions of alginate were atomized on baths of different crosslinkers, piperazine and barium chloride, obtaining microparticles around 5 and 40 microns, respectively. These results were explained as a consequence of the different viscoelastic properties, since oscillatory analysis indicated that the formed hydrogel beads with barium chloride had a higher storage modulus (1000 Pa) than the piperazine ones (20 Pa).

Steady and Oscillatory Shear Flow Behavior of Different Polysaccharides with Laponite.

The rheological behavior, in terms of steady and oscillatory shear flow, of Laponite with different polysaccharides (alginate, chitosan, xanthan gum and levan) in salt-free solutions was studied. Results showed that a higher polymer concentration increased the zero-rate viscosity and decreased the critical strain rate (Cross model fit) as well as increasing the elastic and viscous moduli. Those properties (zero-rate viscosity and critical strain rate) can be a suitable indicator of the effect of the Laponite on the shear flow behavior for the different solutions.

A comprehensive study on levan nanoparticles formation: Kinetics and self-assembly modeling.

Levan nanoparticles formation is a complicated phenomenon involving simultaneously polymeric reaction kinetics and nanoparticles self-assembly theory. These phenomena are studied in this work with experimental and computational methodologies. Specifically, the effect of different parameters on levan kinetics and nanoparticles production in a cell-free system environment have been studied.

Differences in levan nanoparticles depending on their synthesis route: Microbial vs cell-free systems.

Differences between the levan obtained from bacteria and from cell-free systems were studied in this work. Results showed that both polymers are non-porous solids (type II isotherm with 20 m/g) with a main thermal decomposition at 200 °C and a negligible value of protein adsorption. Microbial levan produced nanoparticles of 90 nm in diameter whereas nanoparticles of 110 nm were obtained with the polymer obtained from a cell-free system.

Levan-Capped Silver Nanoparticles for Bactericidal Formulations: Release and Activity Modelling.

An environmentally friendly technique was used to produce levan-capped silver nanoparticles of about 30 nm (with a loading of 30%) that showed bactericide effect, for and . That effect was mathematically studied with a dose-response model (lethal dose of 12.4 ppm and 6.

Effect of bacteria type and sucrose concentration on levan yield and its molecular weight.

Background: Levan has been traditionally produced from microorganism. However, there is a continuous effort in looking for new strains that improve levan production yield and uses alternative sugar sources for growth. Despite having a wide range of data about levan yield, there are not papers which allow controlling molecular weight, and that plays an essential role for further applications.

Development of a nanoparticle system based on a fructose polymer: Stability and drug release studies.

New drug delivery systems (DDSs) with levan or its carboxymethylated form, as carriers, and 5-fluorouracil as a drug, are produced in this work. Levan is obtained after cultivating A. nectaris and polymer nanoparticles are created in water by a self-assembled process.

Understanding and optimizing the addition of phytohormones in the culture of microalgae for lipid production.

Some studies have described the use of phytohormones in microalgal culture for the production of biodiesel or selected fatty acids. However, no study has determined the amount of phytohormones that maximizes lipid yield. We determined the optimal concentration of auxins and gibberellins (which is between 40 and 60 μM) in two strains (Scenedemus abundans and Chlorella ellipsoidea) suitable for biodiesel production.

Effect of nitrogen source on growth and lipid accumulation in Scenedesmus abundans and Chlorella ellipsoidea.

Discovering microalgae strains containing a high lipid yield and adequate fatty acid composition is becoming a crucial fact in algae-oil factories. In this study, two unknown strains, named Scenedesmus abundans and Chlorella ellipsoidea, have been tested for their response to different nitrogen sources, in order to determine its influence in the production of lipids. For S.