Surface-functionalized UIO-66-NH for dual-drug delivery of vancomycin and amikacin against vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Background: Conventional antibacterial compounds can inhibit the growth of microorganisms, but their adverse effects and the development of drug limit their widespread use. The current study aimed to synthesize PEG-coated UIO-66-NH nanoparticles loaded with vancomycin and amikacin (VAN/AMK-UIO-66-NH@PEG) and evaluate their antibacterial and anti-biofilm activities against vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) clinical isolates.

Methods: The VAN/AMK-UIO-66-NH@PEG were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and dynamic light scattering (DLS) to determine their size, polydispersity index (PDI), encapsulation efficiency (EE%), zeta-potential, drug release profile, and physical stability.

Recent advances in γH2AX biomarker-based genotoxicity assays: A marker of DNA damage and repair.

The phosphorylation of histone variant H2AX and formation of γH2AX is a primary response to the DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Detection of γH2AX is a robust and sensitive tool for diagnosis of DNA damage and repair in pre-clinical drug discovery investigations. In addition, the replication stress also leads to the formation of γH2AX and cell death and so γH2AX can serve as a surrogate marker of drug-induced cytotoxicity.

Doxorubicin and doxorubicin-loaded nanoliposome induce senescence by enhancing oxidative stress, hepatotoxicity, and in vivo genotoxicity in male Wistar rats.

The senescence phenomenon is historically considered as a tumor-suppressing mechanism that can permanently arrest the proliferation of damaged cells, and prevent tumor eradication by activating cell cycle regulatory pathways. Doxorubicin (DX) as an antineoplastic agent has been used for the treatment of solid and hematological malignancies for a long time, but its clinical use is limited due to irreversible toxicity on off-target tissues. Thereby, the encapsulation of plain drugs in a vehicle may decrease the side effects while increasing their permeability and availability in target cells.

Recent trends in targeted therapy of cancer using graphene oxide-modified multifunctional nanomedicines.

Rapid progresses in nanotechnology fields have led us to use a number of advanced nanomaterials (NMs) for engineering smart multifunctional nanoparticles (NPs)/nanosystems (NSs) for targeted diagnosis and therapy of various diseases including different types of malignancies. For the effective therapy of any type of solid tumor, the treatment modality should ideally solely target the aberrant cancerous cells/tissue with no/trivial impacts on the healthy cells. One approach to achieve such unprecedented impacts can be fulfilled through the use of seamless multimodal NPs/NSs with photoacoustic properties that can be achieved using advanced NMs such as graphene oxide (GO).

Nano graphene oxide: a novel carrier for oral delivery of flavonoids.

The interesting physical and chemical properties of graphene oxide (GO) have led to much excitement among biomedical scientists in recent years. It is known that many potent, often aromatic medicines are water insoluble, and this has hindered their administration to treat diseases. Nano GO was synthesized and investigated for its biological application as a carrier for quercetin, a focused bioactive flavonoid widely used as a health supplement and a drug candidate.