High pressure homogenization to boost the technological functionality of native pea proteins.

Pea proteins are being increasingly used for the formulation of plant-based products, but their globular structure and the presence of aggregates can affect their technological properties. In this study, the effect of high pressure homogenization (HPH) at different intensities (60 and 100 MPa) was investigated as a pre-treatment to modulate the techno-functional properties of a pea protein isolate (IP) extracted through an alkaline extraction/isoelectric precipitation process. SDS-PAGE, circular dichroism, thermal properties, total free sulfhydryl groups, antioxidant capacity and reducing properties were evaluated along with technological indices as solubility, WHC and OHC, interfacial tension and emulsifying capacity.

Negatively charged silver nanoparticles with potent antibacterial activity and reduced toxicity for pharmaceutical preparations.

Background: The discovery of new solutions with antibacterial activity as efficient and safe alternatives to common preservatives (such as parabens) and to combat emerging infections and drug-resistant bacterial pathogens is highly expected in cosmetics and pharmaceutics. Colloidal silver nanoparticles (NPs) are attracting interest as novel effective antimicrobial agents for the prevention of several infectious diseases.

Methods: Water-soluble, negatively charged silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized by reduction with citric and tannic acid and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, zeta potential, differential centrifuge sedimentation, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy.

Tumour homing and therapeutic effect of colloidal nanoparticles depend on the number of attached antibodies.

Active targeting of nanoparticles to tumours can be achieved by conjugation with specific antibodies. Specific active targeting of the HER2 receptor is demonstrated in vitro and in vivo with a subcutaneous MCF-7 breast cancer mouse model with trastuzumab-functionalized gold nanoparticles. The number of attached antibodies per nanoparticle was precisely controlled in a way that each nanoparticle was conjugated with either exactly one or exactly two antibodies.

Delivering colloidal nanoparticles to mammalian cells: a nano-bio interface perspective.

Understanding the behavior of multifunctional colloidal nanoparticles capable of biomolecular targeting remains a fascinating challenge in materials science with dramatic implications in view of a possible clinical translation. In several circumstances, assumptions on structure-activity relationships have failed in determining the expected responses of these complex systems in a biological environment. The present Review depicts the most recent advances about colloidal nanoparticles designed for use as tools for cellular nanobiotechnology, in particular, for the preferential transport through different target compartments, including cell membrane, cytoplasm, mitochondria, and nucleus.

One-pot phase transfer and surface modification of CdSe-ZnS quantum dots using a synthetic functional copolymer.

We present a facile, one-pot procedure for the organic-to-water phase transfer and biofunctionalization of semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots, or QDs) which employs a synthetic functional copolymer, namely poly(DMA-NAS-MAPS), consisting of three components: a surface interacting monomer, N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA), a chemically reactive monomer, N-acryloyloxysuccinimide (NAS), and a silane monomer, [3-(methacryloyloxy)-propyl]-trimethoxysilane (MAPS). The nanocrystals were transferred to water by exploiting the amphiphilic character of the copolymer backbone. Hydrolyzed MAPS units contributed to improve the solubility of QDs in water, whereas NAS exhibited reactivity toward biomolecules.