Advanced biopolymeric materials and nanosystems for RNA/DNA vaccines: a review.

The post COVID-19 pandemic era has emerged with more efficient vaccines, all based on genetic materials. However, to expand the use of nucleic components as vaccines, a new generation of nanosystems particularly constructed to increase RNA/DNA stability, half-life and facilitate administration are still required. This review highlights novel developments in mRNA and pDNA vaccines formulated into nanostructures exclusively composed by biopolymeric materials.

Dulaglutide as a demethylating agent to improve the outcome of breast cancer.

Dulaglutide emerged as a promising therapeutic option for diabetes mellitus Type 2 (DM2). Owing to epigenetic similarities between the pathophysiology of DM2 and breast cancer (BC), we investigated the antitumor effect of dulaglutide. To investigate the effect of dulaglutide, we analyzed the expression of methylated gene promoter regions in BC (, and ).

Towards epigenetic regulation of triple-negative breast cancer via ligand-mediated nanoparticles.

Develop and analyze triple-negative breast cancer targeted nanoparticles loaded with the demethylating agent decitabine. The polymers were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of D,L-lactide and formulated into nanoparticles via emulsion-evaporation method. The nanoparticles were characterized by physicochemical analysis as well as using breast cancer cell lineages.

Oxygen therapy alternatives in COVID-19: From classical to nanomedicine.

Around 10-15% of COVID-19 patients affected by the Delta and the Omicron variants exhibit acute respiratory insufficiency and require intensive care unit admission to receive advanced respiratory support. However, the current ventilation methods display several limitations, including lung injury, dysphagia, respiratory muscle atrophy, and hemorrhage. Furthermore, most of the ventilatory techniques currently offered require highly trained professionals and oxygen cylinders, which may attain short supply owing to the high demand and misuse.

Ligand-mediated nanomedicines against breast cancer: a review.

Ligand-mediated targeting represents the cutting edge in precision-guided therapy for several diseases. Surface engineering of nanomedicines with ligands exhibiting selective or tailored affinity for overexpressed biomolecules of a specific disease may increase therapeutic efficiency and reduce side effects and recurrence. This review focuses on newly developed approaches and strategies to improve treatment and overcome the mechanisms associated with breast cancer resistance.

COVID-19 pathophysiology and ultrasound imaging: A multiorgan review.

COVID-19 is a dynamic disease and may affect different tissues and organs as it progresses. Therefore, the impact generated by the disease in all its stages and organs requires a functional and versatile imaging technique able to detect particularities or artifacts dynamically. Ultrasonography fulfills all these requirements and exhibit several advantages relative to other imaging modalities, including portability, lower cost and biosafety.

Morphological study of electrospun chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol)/glycerol nanofibres for skin care applications.

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of formulation and procedure parameters in obtaining thick and continuous chitosan/PVA/glycerol nanofibres to be applied in skin care. For that, the polymers were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and size-exclusion chromatography. After this, 96 chitosan/PVA/glycerol nanofibre scaffolds were prepared by electrospinning method, using factorial designs.

Antitumoral activity of liraglutide, a new DNMT inhibitor in breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequently diagnosed female cancer and second leading cause of death. Despite the discovery of many antineoplastic drugs for BC, the current therapy is not totally efficient. In this study, we investigated the potential of repurposing the well-known diabetes type II drug liraglutide to modulate epigenetic modifications in BC cells lines in vitro and in vivo via Ehrlich mice tumors models.

S-nitrosothiol-terminated Pluronic F127: Influence of microstructure on nitric oxide release.

Hypothesis: Nitric oxide (NO)-releasing Pluronic F127 hydrogels (F127) containing dissolved S-nitrosothiols or pendant N-diazeniumdiolate (NONOate) groups have been described. The NO charging of these hydrogels is usually limited by their low stability or disruption of the micellar packing. S-nitrosothiol-terminated F127 may emerge as a new strategy for allowing NO delivery at different rates in biomedical applications.

Wound healing action of nitric oxide-releasing self-expandable collagen sponge.

Mounting evidence showing that local nitric oxide (NO) delivery may significantly improve the wound healing process has stimulated the development of wound dressings capable of releasing NO topically. Herein, we describe the preparation of a self-expandable NO-releasing hydrolyzed collagen sponge (CS), charged with the endogenously found NO donor, S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO). We show that cold pressed and GSNO-charged CS (CS/GSNO) undergo self-expansion to its original 3D shape upon water absorption to a swelling degree of 2,300 wt%, triggering the release of free NO.

S-nitrosothiol-terminated poly(vinyl alcohol): Nitric oxide release and skin blood flow response.

Polymeric biomaterials capable of delivering nitric oxide (NO) topically can be used to enhance skin blood flow (SkBF) and accelerate wound healing. Herein, we used reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer radical (RAFT) polymerization to synthesize the first poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) functionalized with terminal NO-releasing S-nitrosothiol (RSNO) groups for topical NO delivery. This strategy was based on the synthesis of a precursor amino-terminated PVA (PVA-NH), which was next functionalized with iminothiolane yielding 4-imino-4-amino-PVA-butane-1-thiol (PVA-SH), and finally S-nitrosated yielding S-nitroso 4-imino-4-amino-PVA-butane-1-thiol (PVA-SNO).

Influence of Pluronic F127 microenvironments on the photochemical nitric oxide release from S-nitrosoglutathione.

Poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO) (F127) hydrogels have been used to deliver nitric oxide (NO) topically in biomedical applications. Here, the effect of F127 microenvironments on the photochemical NO release from S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) was investigated in F127 solutions 7.6 wt% 15 wt% and 22.

Influence of mechanical pretreatment to isolate cellulose nanocrystals by sulfuric acid hydrolysis.

The mechanical pretreatments intensities on characteristics of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) prior to acid hydrolysis was evaluated. The cellulose was submitted to mechanical pretreatment as: magnetic stirring (CNC), blending (CNC) or grinding by 20 (CNC) and 40 (CNC) passages in a super mass colloid mill. Then, all samples were submitted to HSO hydrolysis and the CNC were evaluated by total mass yield (TMY%), rheological behavior, size distribution for width/length (WD), crystallinity index (CI%), OSO substitution degree (SD) and zeta potential (ζ).

Long-term decomposition of aqueous S-nitrosoglutathione and S-nitroso-N-acetylcysteine: Influence of concentration, temperature, pH and light.

Primary S-nitrosothiols (RSNOs) have received significant attention for their ability to modulate NO signaling in many physiological and pathophysiological processes. Such actions and their potential pharmaceutical uses demand a better knowledge of their stability in aqueous solutions. Herein, we investigated the effects of concentration, temperature, pH, room light and metal ions on the long-term kinetic behavior of two representative primary RSNOs, S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) and S-nitroso-N-acetylcysteine (SNAC).

Effect of Different Tensoactives on the Morphology and Release Kinetics of PLA-b-PEG Microcapsules Loaded With the Natural Anticancer Compound Perillyl Alcohol.

Perillyl alcohol is a natural compound that has attracted a significant interest due to its potent antitumor activity. However, clinical trials have exhibited poor tolerance by oral administration, mainly due to gastrointestinal side effects. We propose the entrapment of perillyl alcohol into poly(D,L-lactic acid)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) (PLA-b-PEG) as delivery platform (entrapment efficiency of 63%-68%).

Comb-Like Fluorophilic-Lipophilic-Hydrophilic Polymers for Nanocapsules as Ultrasound Contrast Agents.

Imaging the enhanced permeation and retention effect by ultrasound is hindered by the large size of commercial ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs). To obtain nanosized UCAs, triblock copolymers of poly(ethylene glycol)-polylactide-poly(1 H,1 H,2 H,2 H-heptadecafluorodecyl methacrylate) (PEG-PLA-PFMA) with distinct numbers of perfluorinated pendant chains (5, 10, or 20) are synthesized by a combination of ring-opening polymerization and atom transfer radical polymerization. Nanocapsules (NCs) containing perfluorooctyl bromide (PFOB) intended as UCAs are obtained with a 2-fold increase in PFOB encapsulation efficiency in fluorinated NCs as compared with plain PEG-PLA NCs thanks to fluorous interactions.

Engineered biomarkers for leprosy diagnosis using labeled and label-free analysis.

The biotechnological evolution towards the development of antigens to detect leprosy has been progressing. However, the identification of leprosy in paucibacillary patients, based solely on the antigen-antibody interaction still remains a challenge. The complexity of clinical manifestations requires innovative approaches to improve the sensitivity of assays to detect leprosy before the onset of symptoms, thus avoiding disabilities and contributing, indirectly, to reduce transmission.

Supramolecular poly(acrylic acid)/F127 hydrogel with hydration-controlled nitric oxide release for enhancing wound healing.

Unlabelled: Topical nitric oxide (NO) delivery has been shown to accelerate wound healing. However, delivering NO to wounds at appropriate rates and doses requires new biomaterial-based strategies. Here, we describe the development of supramolecular interpolymer complex hydrogels comprising PEO-PPO-PEO (F127) micelles embedded in a poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) matrix, with S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) molecules dissolved in the hydrophilic domain.

Echogenicity enhancement by end-fluorinated polylactide perfluorohexane nanocapsules: Towards ultrasound-activable nanosystems.

Unlabelled: Polylactide (PLA) polymers containing five distinct lengths of fluorinated (from CF to CF) and non-fluorinated (CH) end-groups were successfully synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of d,l-lactide. Fluorination was expected to increase the encapsulation efficiency of perfluorohexane (PFH). 150 nm nanocapsules were obtained and F nuclear magnetic resonance revealed that nanocapsules formulated with fluorinated polymers increased by 2-fold the encapsulation efficiency of PFH compared with non-fluorinated derivatives, without any effect of fluorine chain length.

Bacterial cellulose in biomedical applications: A review.

Bacterial cellulose (BC) derived materials represents major advances to the current regenerative and diagnostic medicine. BC is a highly pure, biocompatible and versatile material that can be utilized in several applications - individually or in the combination with different components (e.g.

Piezoelectric immunochip coated with thin films of bacterial cellulose nanocrystals for dengue detection.

Low-cost piezoelectric devices, such as simple frequency monitoring quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) devices, have good clinical utility as fast diagnostic tools for the detection of several diseases. However, unspecific antigen recognition, poor molecular probe adsorption and the need for sample dilution are still common drawbacks that hinder their use in routine diagnosis. In this work, piezoelectric sensors were previously coated with thin films of bacterial cellulose nanocrystals (CN) to provide a more sensitive and adapted interface for the attachment of monoclonal immunoglobulin G (IgGNS1) and to favor specific detection of non-structural protein 1 (NS1) of dengue fever.

Chitosan-coated microvesicles: Effect of polysaccharide-phospholipid affinity on decafluorobutane dissolution.

The stability of perfluorinated microvesicles is mainly determined by the presence of interfacial materials and their ability to hinder the gas component diffusibility into the bloodstream. The goal of this study is to increase the persistence of the gaseous-core by introducing chitosan-coated 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DSPC) microvesicles, reducing gas diffusion from microvesicles, and increasing for a long time ultrasonic signals. Our hypothesis was based on the irreversible adhesion of chitosan towards DSPC head groups observed in thin-films models.

Lysozyme-triggered epidermal growth factor release from bacterial cellulose membranes controlled by smart nanostructured films.

A novel wound-dressing biodevice, sensitive to lysozyme, an enzyme commonly found at infected skin wounds, was assembled by the layer-by-layer deposition of nanopolymeric chitosan and alginate films onto oxidized bacterial cellulose membranes incorporated with epidermal growth factor (EGF). Distinct EGF release profiles were obtained according to specific stimuli caused by infection. In in vitro conditions simulating noninfected wounds, the EGF rate and burst release effect were reduced by three deposited layers (Mt /M∞ of 0.