Development of dihydrochalcone-functionalized gold nanoparticles for augmented antineoplastic activity.

Background: Phloridzin, an antidiabetic and antineoplastic agent usually found in fruit trees, is a dihydrochalcone constituent that has a clinical/pharmaceutical significance as a sodium-glucose linked transport 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor. While the aglycone metabolite of phloridzin, phloretin, displays a reduced capacity of SGLT2 inhibition, this nutraceutical displays enhanced antineoplastic activity in comparison to phloridzin.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to develop gold nanoparticle (AuNP) mediated delivery of phloridzin and phloretin and explore their anticancer mechanism through conjugation of the dihydrochalcones and the AuNP cores.

Novel Synthesis of Kanamycin Conjugated Gold Nanoparticles with Potent Antibacterial Activity.

With a sharp increase in the cases of multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria all over the world, there is a huge demand to develop a new generation of antibiotic agents to fight them. As an alternative to the traditional drug discovery route, we have designed an effective antibacterial agent by modifying an existing commercial antibiotic, kanamycin, conjugated on the surface of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). In this study, we report a single-step synthesis of kanamycin-capped AuNPs (Kan-AuNPs) utilizing the combined reducing and capping properties of kanamycin.

Nanotechnology's Impact on Medicinal Chemistry.

Nanotechnology has intrigued a large number of researchers the world over owing to its unique properties as compared to bulk materials, and the novelty of applications made possible across many fields of science. Researchers, taking advantage of the unique properties of particles in nano (1-100 nm) form, have been developing nanoformulations of various medicinal compounds to enhance drug solubility, dissolution, and bioavailability. There are various methods by which drug compounds are conjugated to nanoparticles, and some bioactive compounds are attached by intermediary agents which are themselves usually part of the formation reaction of nanoparticles.