Validation of an In Vitro Diagnostic Test for Endometriosis: Impact of Confounding Medical Conditions and Lesion Location.

With the aim to shorten the time for diagnosis and accelerate access to correct management, a non-invasive diagnostic test for endometriosis was developed and validated. The IVD test combines an ELISA test kit to quantify CA125 and BDNF concentrations in serum and a data treatment algorithm hosted in medical software processing results from the ELISA test and responses to six clinical variables. Serum samples and clinical variables extracted from psychometric questionnaires from 77 patients were collected from the Oxford Endometriosis CaRe Centre biobank (UK).

Intracellular responsive dual delivery by endosomolytic polyplexes carrying DNA anchored porous silicon nanoparticles.

Bioresponsive cytosolic nanobased multidelivery has been emerging as an enormously challenging novel concept due to the intrinsic protective barriers of the cells and hardly controllable performances of nanomaterials. Here, we present a new paradigm to advance nano-in-nano integration technology amenable to create multifunctional nanovehicles showing considerable promise to overcome restrictions of intracellular delivery, solve impediments of endosomal localization and aid effectual tracking of nanoparticles. A redox responsive intercalator chemistry comprised of cystine and 9-aminoacridine is designed as a cross-linker to cap carboxylated porous silicon nanoparticles with DNA.

Microfluidics platform for glass capillaries and its application in droplet and nanoparticle fabrication.

The accessibility to microfluidics of a broader scientific community is often limited by the costly and complex manufacture of the chips. In this respect, we present a simple and reusable platform for the flexible and easy assembly of glass capillaries to create a microfluidics chip within minutes, with excellent chemical compatibility and durability, and without the need of using specialized infrastructure. To demonstrate the application of the proposed platform, we have used it to produce microparticles by the double emulsion approach, nanoparticles by nanoprecipitation, and screened the nanoparticles' size and polydispersity obtained upon modification of various parameters.

pH-Switch Nanoprecipitation of Polymeric Nanoparticles for Multimodal Cancer Targeting and Intracellular Triggered Delivery of Doxorubicin.

Theranostic nanoparticles are emerging as potent tools for noninvasive diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of solid tumors. Herein, an advanced targeted and multistimuli responsive theranostic platform is presented for the intracellular triggered delivery of doxorubicin. The system consists of a polymeric-drug conjugate solid nanoparticle containing encapsulated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (IO@PNP) and decorated with a tumor homing peptide, iRGD.

Microfluidic Assembly of a Multifunctional Tailorable Composite System Designed for Site Specific Combined Oral Delivery of Peptide Drugs.

Multifunctional tailorable composite systems, specifically designed for oral dual-delivery of a peptide (glucagon-like peptide-1) and an enzymatic inhibitor (dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4)), were assembled through the microfluidics technique. Both drugs were coloaded into these systems for a synergistic therapeutic effect. The systems were composed of chitosan and cell-penetrating peptide modified poly(lactide-co-glycolide) and porous silicon nanoparticles as nanomatrices, further encapsulated in an enteric hydroxypropylmethylcellulose acetylsuccinate polymer.

Microfluidic assisted one-step fabrication of porous silicon@acetalated dextran nanocomposites for precisely controlled combination chemotherapy.

An advanced nanocomposite consisting of an encapsulated porous silicon (PSi) nanoparticle and an acid-degradable acetalated dextran (AcDX) matrix (nano-in-nano), was efficiently fabricated by a one-step microfluidic self-assembly approach. The obtained nano-in-nano PSi@AcDX composites showed improved surface smoothness, homogeneous size distribution, and considerably enhanced cytocompatibility. Furthermore, multiple drugs with different physicochemical properties have been simultaneously loaded into the nanocomposites with a ratiometric control.

Fabrication of a multifunctional nano-in-micro drug delivery platform by microfluidic templated encapsulation of porous silicon in polymer matrix.

A multifunctional nano-in-micro drug delivery platform is developed by conjugating the porous silicon nanoparticles with mucoadhesive polymers and subsequent encapsulation into a pH-responsive polymer using microfluidics. The multistage platform shows monodisperse size distribution and pH-responsive payload release, and the released nanoparticles are mucoadhesive. Moreover, this platform is capable of simultaneously loading and releasing multidrugs with distinct properties.

Microfluidic assembly of monodisperse multistage pH-responsive polymer/porous silicon composites for precisely controlled multi-drug delivery.

We report an advanced drug delivery platform for combination chemotherapy by concurrently incorporating two different drugs into microcompoistes with ratiometric control over the loading degree. Atorvastatin and celecoxib were selected as model drugs due to their different physicochemical properties and synergetic effect on colorectal cancer prevention and inhibition. To be effective in colorectal cancer prevention and inhibition, the produced microcomposite contained hypromellose acetate succinate, which is insoluble in acidic conditions but highly dissolving at neutral or alkaline pH conditions.

Microfluidic assembly of multistage porous silicon-lipid vesicles for controlled drug release.

A reliable microfluidic platform for the generation of stable and monodisperse multistage drug delivery systems is reported. A glass-capillary flow-focusing droplet generation device was used to encapsulate thermally hydrocarbonized porous silicon (PSi) microparticles into the aqueous cores of double emulsion drops, yielding the formation of a multistage PSi-lipid vesicle. This composite system enables a large loading capacity for hydrophobic drugs.

Microfluidic templated mesoporous silicon-solid lipid microcomposites for sustained drug delivery.

A major challenge for a drug-delivery system is to engineer stable drug carriers with excellent biocompatibility, monodisperse size, and controllable release profiles. In this study, we used a microfluidic technique to encapsulate thermally hydrocarbonized porous silicon (THCPSi) microparticles within solid lipid microparticles (SLMs) to overcome the drawbacks accompanied by THCPSi microparticles. Formulation and process factors, such as lipid matrixes, organic solvents, emulsifiers, and methods to evaporate the organic solvents, were all evaluated and optimized to prepare monodisperse stable SLMs.

Co-delivery of a hydrophobic small molecule and a hydrophilic peptide by porous silicon nanoparticles.

Nanoparticulate drug delivery systems offer remarkable opportunities for clinical treatment. However, there are several challenges when they are employed to deliver multiple cargos/payloads, particularly concerning the synchronous delivery of small molecular weight drugs and relatively larger peptides. Since porous silicon (PSi) nanoparticles (NPs) can easily contain high payloads of drugs with various properties, we evaluated their carrier potential in multi-drug delivery for co-loading of the hydrophobic drug indomethacin and the hydrophilic human peptide YY3-36 (PYY3-36).