Modulating Fingolimod (FTY720) Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Activity Using a PLGA-Based Drug Delivery System.

COVID-19 has resulted in more than 490 million people being infected worldwide, with over 6 million deaths by April 05th, 2022. Even though the development of safe vaccine options is an important step to reduce viral transmission and disease progression, COVID-19 cases will continue to occur, and for those cases, efficient treatment remains to be developed. Here, a drug repurposing strategy using nanotechnology is explored to develop a therapy for COVID-19 treatment.

Cancer cell membrane-derived nanoparticles block the expression of immune checkpoint proteins on cancer cells and coordinate modulatory activity on immunosuppressive macrophages.

Cancer is the most recurrent chronic disease in the world, with human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) being the second leading cause of death among neoplasias. The high frequency of HCC relapse and metastasis warrants the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. In advanced stages, neoplastic cells can evade immune surveillance and express immunosuppressive proteins and cytokines at tumor sites.

Toxicity of gold nanorods on Ceriodaphnia dubia and Danio rerio after sub-lethal exposure and recovery.

Gold nanorods (AuNRs) are rod-shaped nanoparticles (NPs) with special optical properties that allow their application in several areas including photothermal therapy, diagnosis, drug and gene delivery, cellular imaging, and biosensors. Their high potential for many applications increases the possibility of release in aquatic environments, which can cause risks to organisms. In this study, we evaluated toxic effects of AuNRs on cladoceran and fish (Ceriodaphnia dubia and Danio rerio) and their recovery after post-exposure periods.

Differences in the Aspect Ratio of Gold Nanorods that Induce Defects in Cell Membrane Models.

Understanding the interactions between biomolecules and nanomaterials is of great importance for many areas of nanomedicine and bioapplications. Although studies in this area have been performed, the interactions between cell membranes and nanoparticles are not fully understood. Here, we investigate the interactions that occur between the Langmuir monolayers of dipalmitoylphosphatidyl glycerol (DPPG) and dipalmitoylphosphatidyl choline (DPPC) with gold nanorods (NR)-with three aspect ratios-and gold nanoparticles.