The contamination of water by per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) is a pressing global issue due to their harmful effects on health and the environment. This study explores a cationic covalent organic framework (COF), TG-PD COF, for the efficient detection and removal of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) from water. Synthesized via a simple sonochemical method, TG-PD COF shows remarkable selectivity and sensitivity to PFOA, with a detection limit as low as 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study presents the use of nanoscale covalent organic frameworks (nCOFs) conjugated with tumor-targeting peptides for the targeted therapy of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). While peptides have previously been used for targeted delivery, their conjugation with COFs represents an innovative approach in this field. In particular, we have developed alkyne-functionalized nCOFs chemically modified with cyclic RGD peptides (Alkyn-nCOF-cRGD).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMembrane technology plays a central role in advancing separation processes, particularly in water treatment. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have transformative potential in this field due to their adjustable structures and robustness. However, conventional COF membrane synthesis methods are often associated with challenges, such as time-consuming processes and limited control over surface properties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComplications associated with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) have complex origins that revolve around chronic hyperglycemia; these complications involve hemostasis disorders, coagulopathies, and vascular damage. Our study aims to develop innovative approaches to minimize these complications and to compare the outcomes of the new approach with those of traditional methods. To achieve our objective, we designed novel nanoparticles comprising covalent organic frameworks (nCOF) loaded with insulin, termed nCOF/Insulin, and compared it to subcutaneous insulin to elucidate the influence of insulin delivery methods on various parameters, including bleeding time, coagulation factors, platelet counts, cortisol plasma levels, lipid profiles, and oxidative stress parameters.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVisual sensing of humidity and temperature by solids plays an important role in the everyday life and in industrial processes. Due to their hydrophobic nature, most covalent organic framework (COF) sensors often exhibit poor optical response when exposed to moisture. To overcome this challenge, the optical response is set out to improve, to moisture by incorporating H-bonding ionic functionalities into the COF network.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF2-Thienylbenzimidazole (TBI)/cucurbit[7]uril (CB7) host-guest complex was used as a motif to significantly improve the turnover of γ-FeO magnetic nanoparticles for potential application in the separation of toxic mercuric ions in polluted water samples. The mechanism of restoring the original solid materials is based on applying the pH-controlled preferential binding of the CB7 host to the TBI guest. The analytical application of this concept has not been realized in the literature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTwo calix[4]arene systems, C23 and C24 - where 2 corresponds to the number of viologen units and 3-4 corresponds to the number of carbon atoms connecting the viologen units to the macrocyclic core - have been synthesized and led to the formation of [3]pseudorotaxanes when combined with either CB[7] or CB[8]. The [3]pseudorotaxanes spontaneously dissociate upon reduction of the bipyridinium units as the result of intramolecular dimerization of the two face-to-face viologen radical cations. CB[7] and CB[8]-based [2]pseudorotaxanes containing monomeric viologen guest model compounds, MC3 and MC, do not undergo decomplexation and dimerization following electrochemical reduction of their bipyridinium units.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Drug Deliv Sci Technol
December 2020
Hollow particles have been extensively used in bioanalytical and biomedical applications for almost two decades due to their unique and tunable optoelectronic properties as well as their significantly high loading capacities. These intrinsic properties led them to be used in various bioimaging applications as contrast agents, controlled delivery (. drugs, nucleic acids and other biomolecules) platforms and photon-triggered therapies (.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith diabetes being the 7th leading cause of death worldwide, overcoming issues limiting the oral administration of insulin is of global significance. The development of imine-linked-covalent organic framework (nCOF) nanoparticles for oral insulin delivery to overcome these delivery barriers is herein reported. A gastro-resistant nCOF was prepared from layered nanosheets with insulin loaded between the nanosheet layers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanoscale imine-linked covalent organic frameworks (nCOFs) were first loaded with the anticancer drug Doxorubicin (Dox), coated with magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (γ-FeO NPs), and stabilized with a shell of poly(l-lysine) cationic polymer (PLL) for simultaneous synergistic thermo-chemotherapy treatment and MRI imaging. The pH responsivity of the resulting nanoagents (γ-SD/PLL) allowed the release of the drug selectively within the acidic microenvironment of late endosomes and lysosomes of cancer cells (pH 5.4) and not in physiological conditions (pH 7.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA host-guest complex of 6-mercaptonicotinic acid (MNA) and cucurbit[7]uril (CB7) was prepared and conjugated to γ-FeO nanoparticles (NPs) to detect toxic cadmium ions in water as a solid-state sensor. The formation of an inclusion host-guest complex with CB7 was confirmed by UV-vis absorption and proton NMR spectroscopy. CB7 preferentially binds the protonated MNA form compared to the neutral form, demonstrated by a binding constant for the protonated form that is four orders of magnitude higher than that of the neutral form.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA set of metal-organic trefoil knots (M-TKs) generated by metal-templated self-assembly of a simple pair of chelating ligands were well tolerated by non-cancer cells but were significantly more potent than cisplatin in both human cancer cells--including those resistant to cisplatin--and in zebrafish embryos. In cultured cells, M-TKs generated reactive oxygen species that triggered apoptosis the mitochondrial pathway without directly disrupting the cell-membrane or damaging nuclear DNA. The cytotoxicity and wide scope for structural variation of M-TKs indicate the potential of synthetic metal-organic knots as a new field of chemical space for pharmaceutical design and development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCucurbit[7]uril modified iron oxide nanoparticles (CB[7]NPs) were loaded with palladium to form nano-catalysts (Pd@CB[7]NPs) that, with microwave heating, catalysed Suzuki-Miyaura, Sonogashira, and Mizoroki-Heck cross-coupling reactions. Reactions were run in environmentally benign 1:1 ethanol/water solvent under convenient aerobic conditions. In a preliminary screening, conversions and yields were uniformly high with turn over frequencies (TOF) ranging from 64 to 7360 h .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDrug-loaded magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized and used for the sequential delivery of the antiresorptive agent zoledronic acid (Zol) and the cytotoxic drug doxorubicin (Dox) to breast cancer cells (MCF-7). Zol was attached to bare iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) via phosphonate coordination to form Z-NPs. The unbound imidazole of Zol was then used to complex the organic macrocycle CB[7] to obtain CZ-NPs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPaul Ehrlich's vision of a "magic bullet" cure for disease inspires the modern design of nanocarriers whose purpose is to deliver drug cargo to specific sites in the body while circumventing endogenous immunological clearance mechanisms. Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have emerged as particularly promising nanocarriers because of their biodegradability, ability to be guided magnetically to sites of pathology, mediation of hyperthermic therapy, and imaging capabilities. In this review, we focus on the design and drug-delivery aspects of IONPs coated with organic macrocycles (crown ethers, cyclodextrins, calix[n]arenes, cucurbit[n]urils, or pillar[n]arenes), which, by means of reversible complexation, allow for the convenient loading and release of drug molecules.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMesoporous iron-oxide nanoparticles (mNPs) were prepared by using a modified nanocasting approach with mesoporous carbon as a hard template. mNPs were first loaded with doxorubicin (Dox), an anticancer drug, and then coated with the thermosensitive polymer Pluronic F108 to prevent the leakage of Dox molecules from the pores that would otherwise occur under physiological conditions. The Dox-loaded, Pluronic F108-coated system (Dox@F108-mNPs) was stable at room temperature and physiological pH and released its Dox cargo slowly under acidic conditions or in a sudden burst with magnetic heating.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSulfonated surface patches of poly(styrene)-based colloidal particles (CPs) were functionalized with cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]). The macrocycles served as recognition units for diphenyl viologen (DPV(2+)), a rigid bridging ligand. The addition of DPV(2+) to aqueous suspensions of the particles triggered the self-assembly of short linear and branched chainlike structures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInspired by the discovery of graphene and its unique properties, we focused our research to develop a scheme to create nacre like lamellar structures of molecular sheets of CaCO3 interleaved with an organic material, namely carbon. We developed a facile, chemical template technique, using a formulation of poly(acrylic) acid (PAA) and calcium acetate to create lamellar stacks of single crystal sheets of CaCO3, with a nominal thickness of 17 Å, the same as a unit-cell dimension for calcite (c-axis = 17.062 Å), interleaved with amorphous carbon with a nominal thickness of 8 Å.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMagnetic and fluorescent assemblies of iron-oxide nanoparticles (NPs) were constructed by threading a viologen-based ditopic ligand, DPV(2+), into the cavity of cucurbituril (CB[7]) macrocycles adsorbed on the surface of the NPs. Evidence for the formation of 1:2 inclusion complexes that involve DPV(2+) and two CB[7] macrocycles was first obtained in solution by (1)H NMR and emission spectroscopy. DPV(2+) was found to induce self-assembly of nanoparticle arrays (DPV(2+)⊂CB[7]NPs) by bridging CB[7] molecules on different NPs.
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