Antipathogenic Activity of Betainized Polyethyleneimine Sprays Without Toxicity.

: The design of alternative antipathogenic sprays has recently attracted much attention due to the limitations of existing formulations, such as toxicity and low and narrow efficacy. Polyethyleneimine (PEI) is a great antimicrobial polymer against a wide range of pathogens, but toxicity limits its use. Here, betainized PEI (B-PEI) was synthesized to decrease the toxicity of PEI and protonated with citric acid (CA), boric acid (BA), and HCl to improve antimicrobial activity.

Drug-impregnated contact lenses via supercritical carbon dioxide: A viable solution for the treatment of bacterial and fungal keratitis.

Keratitis is a corneal infection caused by various bacteria and fungi. Eye drop treatment of keratitis involves significant challenges due to difficulties in administration, inefficiencies in therapeutic dosage, and frequency of drug applications. All these are troublesome and result in unsuccessful treatment, high cost, time loss, development of drug resistance by microorganisms, and a massive burden on human health and the healthcare system.

Fluorescent Graphitic Carbon Nitride (g-CN)-Embedded Hyaluronic Acid Microgel Composites for Bioimaging and Cancer-Cell Targetability as Viable Theragnostic.

Fluorescent graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN) doped with various heteroatoms, such as B, P, and S, named g-CN, g-CN, and g-CN, were synthesized with variable band-gap values as diagnostic materials. Furthermore, they were embedded within hyaluronic acid (HA) microgels as g-CN@HA microgel composites. The g-CN@HA microgels had a 0.

Rapid Pathogen Purge by Photosensitive Arginine-Riboflavin Carbon Dots without Toxicity.

Photo-activatable antipathogenic carbon dots (CDs) were prepared by carbonization of citric acid and arginine (Arg) via 3 min microwave treatment for use in the eradication of common microorganisms. Nitrogen-doped Arg CDs were spherical in shape with a size range of 0.5 to 5 nm.

B, P, and S heteroatom doped, bio- and hemo-compatible 2D graphitic-carbon nitride (-CN) with antioxidant, light-induced antibacterial, and bioimaging endeavors.

The synthesis of two-dimensional (2D) graphitic-CNand heteroatom-doped graphitic H@-CN(H: B, P, or S) particles were successfully done using melamine as source compounds and boric acid, phosphorous red, and sulfur as doping agents. The band gap values of 2D-CN, B@-CN, P@-CN, and S@-CNstructures were determined as 2.90, 3.

Super-Macroporous Pulluan Cryogels as Controlled Active Delivery Systems with Controlled Degradability.

Here, super-macroporous cryogel from a natural polysaccharide, pullulan was synthesized using a cryo-crosslinking technique with divinyl sulfone (DVS) as a crosslinker. The hydrolytic degradation of the pullulan cryogel in various simulated body fluids (pH 1.0, 7.

Physically Crosslinked Chondroitin Sulfate (CS)-Metal Ion (M: Fe(III), Gd(III), Zn(II), and Cu(II)) Particles for Versatile Applications and Their Biosafety.

Chondroitin sulfate (CS), a well-known glycosaminoglycan, was physically crosslinked with Fe(III), Gd(III), Zn(II), and Cu(II) ions to obtain CS-Fe(III), CS-Gd(III), CS-Zn(II), and CS-Cu(II) polymeric particles for multipurpose biological applications. The CS-metal ion-containing particles in the micrometer to a few hundred nanometer size range are injectable materials for intravenous administration. The CS-metal ion-containing particles are safe biomaterials for biological applications because of their perfect blood compatibility and no significant cytotoxicity on L929 fibroblast cells up to a 10 mg/mL concentration.

Nontoxic Natural Polymeric Particle Vehicles Derived from Hyaluronic Acid and Mannitol as Mitomycin C Carriers for Bladder Cancer Treatment.

Hyaluronic acid/mannitol (HA/MN)-based particles were designed as mitomycin c (MMC) delivery vehicles through the crosslinking of 1:0, 3:1, 1:3, and 0:1 mole ratios of HA/MN to investigate their potential use in bladder cancer therapy. The HA/MN-MMC particles prepared by the microemulsion crosslinking method were of 0.5-10 μm size with a zeta potential value of -36.

Polyelectrolyte Chondroitin Sulfate Microgels as a Carrier Material for Rosmarinic Acid and Their Antioxidant Ability.

Polyelectrolyte microgels derived from natural sources such as chondroitin sulfate (CS) possess considerable interest as therapeutic carriers because of their ionic nature and controllable degradation capability in line with the extent of the used crosslinker for long-term drug delivery applications. In this study, chemically crosslinked CS microgels were synthesized in a single step and treated with an ammonia solution to attain polyelectrolyte CS[NH] microgels via a cation exchange reaction. The spherical and non-porous CS microgels were injectable and in the size range of a few hundred nanometers to tens of micrometers.

Degradable and Non-Degradable Chondroitin Sulfate Particles with the Controlled Antibiotic Release for Bacterial Infections.

Non-degradable, slightly degradable, and completely degradable micro/nanoparticles derived from chondroitin sulfate (CS) were synthesized through crosslinking reactions at 50%, 40%, and 20% mole ratios, respectively. The CS particles with a 20% crosslinking ratio show total degradation within 48 h, whereas 50% CS particles were highly stable for up to 240 h with only 7.0 ± 2.

Fungal Keratitis Treatment Using Drug-Loaded Hyaluronic Acid Microgels.

Antifungal drug-loaded hyaluronic acid (HA) microgels using conjugation and encapsulation drug-loading techniques were utilized in the treatment of fungal keratitis. Natamycin (NAT) and amphotericin B (AMB) drugs were chemically linked to HA microgels by employing a chemical coupling agent to obtain conjugated (C-) HA:NAT and HA:AMB microgels. Also, these drugs were loaded into the HA microgel network during HA microgel preparation to attain encapsulated (E-) HA:NAT and HA:AMB microgels.

Thiourea-Isocyanate-Based Covalent Organic Frameworks with Tunable Surface Charge and Surface Area for Methylene Blue and Methyl Orange Removal from Aqueous Media.

A thiourea hexamethylene diisocyanate covalent organic framework (TH COF) was synthesized by adjusting the surface charge and surface area. The surface charge value of TH COF, −3.8 ± 0.

Titanium platelet-rich fibrin (T-PRF) as high-capacity doxycycline delivery system.

Objectives: Titanium platelet-rich fibrin (T-PRF), a second-generation autogenous blood concentrate with tough and thick fibrin meshwork activated by a titanium tube, was used as a drug carrier for doxycycline (Doxy) by injection. The objective of this study is to evaluate the loading capacity of T-PRF, release kinetics of doxycycline-loaded T-PRF, and its antibacterial effects against S. aureus and P.

Biocompatible poly(galacturonic acid) micro/nanogels with controllable degradation via tunable chemical crosslinking.

Here, one-pot labor-less preparation of two different polygalacturonic acid (PGA) micro/nanogel formulations, PGA-1 and PGA-2, by respectively crosslinking the PGA chains with divinyl sulfone (DVS) and trimethylolpropane triglycidyl ether (TMPGDE) were reported. Various crosslinker ratios, 2.5, 10, 50, and 100% were used for both crosslinkers to demonstrate the tunability of their degradation properties.

Hyaluronic acid (HA)-Gd(III) and HA-Fe(III) microgels as MRI contrast enhancing agents.

Hyaluronic acid (HA) was crosslinked with Gd(III) and Fe(III) ions rendering physically crosslinked HA-metal(III) microgels as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) enhancing contrast agents. These HA-Gd(III) and HA-Fe(III) microgels are injectable with size range, 50-5000 nm in water. The same isoelectric point, pH 1.

Improved Biomedical Properties of Polydopamine-Coated Carbon Nanotubes.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) due to their outstanding mechanical, thermal, chemical, and optical properties were utilized as a base material and were coated with polydopamine (PDA) (PDA@CNT) via the simple self-polymerization of dopamine (DA). Then, PDA@CNT coatings of up to five layers were examined for potential biomedical applications. The success of multiple coating of CNTs with PDA was confirmed via increased weight loss values with the increased number of PDA coatings of CNTs at 500 °C by thermogravimetric analysis.

Versatile Fluorescent Carbon Dots from Citric Acid and Cysteine with Antimicrobial, Anti-biofilm, Antioxidant, and AChE Enzyme Inhibition Capabilities.

Nanostructured fluorescent particles derived from natural molecules were prepared by a green synthesis technique employing a microwave method. The precursors citric acid (CA) and cysteine (Cys) were used in the preparation of S- and N-doped Cys carbon dots (Cys CDs). Synthesis was completed in 3 min.

Antimicrobial activity and biocompatibility of slow-release hyaluronic acid-antibiotic conjugated particles.

Here, the aim was to design and use a long-lasting antibiotic release system for prevention of postoperative infections in ophthalmic surgery. Ciprofloxacin and vancomycin-conjugated hyaluronic acid (HA) particles were prepared as drug carriers for sustained release of antibiotics. The antimicrobial effects of the released drugs were determined by disc-diffusion and macro-dilution tests at different times up to 2 weeks.

Nitrogen and Sulfur Doped Carbon Dots from Amino Acids for Potential Biomedical Applications.

Nitrogen (N-) and sulfur (S-) doped carbon dots (CDs) were synthesized in a single step in a few min, 1-4 min via microwave technique from five different types of amino acids viz. Arginine (A), Lysine (L), Histidine (H), Cysteine (C), and Methionine (M). These amino acid derived N- and/or S- doped CDs were found to be in spherical shapes with 5-20 nm particle size range determined by Transition Electron Microscope (TEM) images and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) measurements.

Enhancement of biocompatibility and carbohydrate absorption control potential of rosmarinic acid through crosslinking into microparticles.

Rosmarinic acid (RA), a bioflavonoid and antioxidant that exists in plants of the Lamiaceae family, was crosslinked into particles as poly(Rosmarinic Acid) (p(RA)) via an emulsion crosslinking method. The particles were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, solid state nuclear magnetic resonance C NMR spectroscopy, and thermal gravimetric analysis. The zeta potential values of p(RA) particles were determined at different pHs; the isoelectric point was estimated as pH 1.

Cryogel composites based on hyaluronic acid and halloysite nanotubes as scaffold for tissue engineering.

We present here preparation of mechanically strong and biocompatible cryogel composites based on hyaluronic acid (HA) and halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) of various compositions, and their applications as scaffold for different cell growing media. Uniaxial compression tests reveal that the incorporation of HNTs into HA cryogels leads to a ~2.5-fold increase in their Young moduli, e.

Mesoporous, degradable hyaluronic acid microparticles for sustainable drug delivery application.

Porous and degradable hyaluronic acid (HA) microparticles was synthesized in a single step using different ratio of crosslinker, divinylsulfone (DVS) ranging between 2.5 and 100% mole ratio of HA repeating unit. HA particles less than 25% (≤10%) crosslinker ratio were found to be mesoporous and provided the highest surface area, calculated as 21.