Three-Dimensional Printability of an ECM-Based Gelatin Methacryloyl (GelMA) Biomaterial for Potential Neuroregeneration.

The current study introduces two novel, smart polymer three-dimensional (3D)-printable interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) hydrogel biomaterials with favorable chemical, mechanical, and morphological properties for potential applications in traumatic brain injury (TBI) such as potentially assisting in the restoration of neurological function through closure of the wound deficit and neural tissue regeneration. Additionally, removal of injury matter to allow for the appropriate scaffold grafting may assist in providing a TBI treatment. Furthermore, due to the 3D printability of the IPN biomaterials, complex structures can be designed and fabricated to mimic the native shape and structure of the injury sight, which can potentially assist with neural tissue regeneration after TBI.

Synthesis and therapeutic delivery approaches for praziquantel: a patent review (2010-present).

Introduction: : Among all the anti-schistosomal drugs, praziquantel has been the most widely used. However, some major challenges have been faced using the drug in the treatment of schistosome infections.

Areas Covered: : Several approaches used in the synthesis of praziquantel aimed at reducing the time and cost of production, the toxicity and experimental harsh conditions are discussed.

Macroporous chitosan/methoxypoly(ethylene glycol) based cryosponges with unique morphology for tissue engineering applications.

Three-dimensional porous scaffolds are widely employed in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine for their ability to carry bioactives and cells; and for their platform properties to allow for bridging-the-gap within an injured tissue. This study describes the effect of various methoxypolyethylene glycol (mPEG) derivatives (mPEG (-OCH functionality), mPEG-aldehyde (mPEG-CHO) and mPEG-acetic acid (mPEG-COOH)) on the morphology and physical properties of chemically crosslinked, semi-interpenetrating polymer network (IPN), chitosan (CHT)/mPEG blend cryosponges. Physicochemical and molecular characterization revealed that the -CHO and -COOH functional groups in mPEG derivatives interacted with the -NH functionality of the chitosan chain.

An Injectable Nano-Enabled Thermogel to Attain Controlled Delivery of p11 Peptide for the Potential Treatment of Ocular Angiogenic Disorders of the Posterior Segment.

This investigation focused on the design of an injectable nano-enabled thermogel (nano-thermogel) system to attain controlled delivery of p11 anti-angiogenic peptide for proposed effective prevention of neovascularisation and to overcome the drawbacks of the existing treatment approaches for ocular disorders characterised by angiogenesis, which employ multiple intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) antibodies. Synthesis of a polyethylene glycol-polycaprolactone-polyethylene glycol (PEG-PCL-PEG) triblock co-polymer was undertaken, followed by characterisation employing Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to ascertain the chemical stability and integrity of the co-polymer instituted for nano-thermogel formulation. The p11 anti-angiogenic peptide underwent encapsulation within poly(lactic--glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles via a double emulsion solvent evaporation method and was incorporated into the thermogel following characterisation by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), zeta size and zeta-potential analysis.

Fouling in ocular devices: implications for drug delivery, bioactive surface immobilization, and biomaterial design.

The last 30 years has seen a proliferation of research on protein-resistant biomaterials targeted at designing bio-inert surfaces, which are prerequisite for optimal performance of implantable devices that contact biological fluids and tissues. These efforts have only been able to yield minimal results, and hence, the ideal anti-fouling biomaterial has remained elusive. Some studies have yielded biomaterials with a reduced fouling index among which high molecular weight polyethylene glycols have remained dominant.

Curcumin-loaded niosomes downregulate mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory markers involved in asthma: an study.

In this study, curcumin was encapsulated in niosomes (Nio-Curc) to increase its effectiveness for the treatment of asthma. The formulation underwent various physicochemical characterization experiments, an release study, molecular simulations and was evaluated for anti-inflammatory activity. Results showed that Nio-Curc had a mean particle size of 284.

Repositioning -Acetylcysteine (NAC): NAC-Loaded Electrospun Drug Delivery Scaffolding for Potential Neural Tissue Engineering Application.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) presents a serious challenge for modern medicine due to the poor regenerative capabilities of the brain, complex pathophysiology, and lack of effective treatment for TBI to date. Tissue-engineered scaffolds have shown some experimental success in vivo; unfortunately, none have yielded consummate results of clinical efficacy. N-acetylcysteine has shown neuroprotective potential.

Synthesis and Properties of CurNQ for the Theranostic Application in Ovarian Cancer Intervention.

Synthesis of a novel theranostic molecule for targeted cancer intervention. A reaction between curcumin and lawsone was carried out to yield the novel curcumin naphthoquinone (CurNQ) molecule (2,2'-((((1E,3Z,6E)-3-hydroxy-5-oxohepta-1,3,6-triene-1,7-diyl) bis(2-methoxy-4,1-phenylene))bis(oxy))bis(naphthalene-1,4-dione). CurNQ's structure was elucidated and was fully characterized.

Comparative Nanofabrication of PLGA-Chitosan-PEG Systems Employing Microfluidics and Emulsification Solvent Evaporation Techniques.

Poor circulation stability and inadequate cell membrane penetration are significant impediments in the implementation of nanocarriers as delivery systems for therapeutic agents with low bioavailability. This research discusses the fabrication of a biocompatible poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) based nanocarrier with cationic and hydrophilic surface properties provided by natural polymer chitosan and coating polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG) for the entrapment of the hydrophobic drug disulfiram. The traditional emulsification solvent evaporation method was compared to a microfluidics-based method of fabrication, with the optimisation of the parameters for each method, and the PEGylation densities on the experimental nanoparticle formulations were varied.

Self-accelerating HO-responsive Plasmonic Nanovesicles for Synergistic Chemo/starving therapy of Tumors.

Nanoscale vehicles responsive to abnormal variation in tumor environment are promising for use in targeted delivery of therapeutic drugs specifically to tumor sites. Herein, we report the design and fabrication of self-accelerating HO-responsive plasmonic gold nanovesicles (GVs) encapsulated with tirapazamine (TPZ) and glucose oxidase (GOx) for synergistic chemo/starving therapy of cancers. Gold nanoparticles were modified with HO-responsive amphiphilic block copolymer PEG--PABE by ligand exchange.

Discovery of Novel Tankyrase Inhibitors through Molecular Docking-Based Virtual Screening and Molecular Dynamics Simulation Studies.

Tankyrase enzymes (TNKS), a core part of the canonical Wnt pathway, are a promising target in the search for potential anti-cancer agents. Although several hundreds of the TNKS inhibitors are currently known, identification of their novel chemotypes attracts considerable interest. In this study, the molecular docking and machine learning-based virtual screening techniques combined with the physico-chemical and ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity) profile prediction and molecular dynamics simulations were applied to a subset of the ZINC database containing about 1.

Three-dimensional printing of extracellular matrix (ECM)-mimicking scaffolds: A critical review of the current ECM materials.

The loss of tissues and organs through injury and disease has stimulated the development of therapeutics that have the potential to regenerate and replace the affected tissue. Such therapeutics have the benefit of reducing the reliance and demand for life-saving organ transplants. Of the several regenerative strategies, 3D printing has emerged as the forerunner in regenerative attempts due to the fact that biologically and anatomically correct 3D structures can be fabricated according to the specified need.

Platelet-inspired therapeutics: current status, limitations, clinical implications, and future potential.

Recent research has been successful in demonstrating the importance of the addition of platelets to the field of cell-mediated therapeutics, by making use of different platelet forms to design modalities able to positively impact a wide range of diseases. A key obstacle hindering the success of conventional therapeutic interventions is their inability to produce targeted treatment, resulting in a number of systemic side effects and a longer duration for the onset of action to occur. An additional challenge facing current popular therapeutic interventions is biocompatibility of the system, resulting in the decline of patient compliance to treatment.

Hydrogel Biomaterials for Application in Ocular Drug Delivery.

There are many challenges involved in ocular drug delivery. These are a result of the many tissue barriers and defense mechanisms that are present with the eye; such as the cornea, conjunctiva, the blinking reflex, and nasolacrimal drainage system. This leads to many of the conventional ophthalmic preparations, such as eye drops, having low bioavailability profiles, rapid removal from the administration site, and thus ineffective delivery of drugs.

Carbon Dots as Nanotherapeutics for Biomedical Application.

Carbon nanodots are zero-dimensional spherical allotropes of carbon and are less than 10nm in size (ranging from 2-8nm). Based on their biocompatibility, remarkable water solubility, eco- friendliness, conductivity, desirable optical properties and low toxicity, carbon dots have revolutionized the biomedical field. In addition, they have intrinsic photo-luminesce to facilitate bio-imaging, bio-sensing and theranostics.

Functionalized, Vertically Super-Aligned Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes for Potential Biomedical Applications.

Currently, there is a lack of ultrasensitive diagnostic tool to detect some diseases such as ischemic stroke, thereby impacting effective and efficient intervention for such diseases at an embryonic stage. In addition to the lack of proper detection of the neurological diseases, there is also a challenge in the treatment of these diseases. Carbon nanotubes have a potential to be employed in solving the theragnostic challenges in those diseases.

Proteosaccharide combinations for tissue engineering applications.

Biomaterials that function as tissue surrogates ought to form three dimensional structures which are conducive to cell proliferation and regeneration. Since the extracellular matrix (ECM) is composed of proteoglycans (long chain polysaccharides) and proteins, the combination of proteins and polysaccharides presents a logical strategy to mimic the ECM and guide cell growth and proliferation. Polysaccharides are distinctive scaffold materials for regeneration due to their biocompatibility, hydrophilicity, biodegradability and functional groups which may be modified to improve mechanical properties and cell signalling.

The Design of Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) Nanocarriers for Medical Applications.

Polymeric biomaterials have found widespread applications in nanomedicine, and poly(lactide-co-glycolide), (PLGA) in particular has been successfully implemented in numerous drug delivery formulations due to its synthetic malleability and biocompatibility. However, the need for preconception in these formulations is increasing, and this can be achieved by selection and elimination of design variables in order for these systems to be tailored for their specific applications. The starting materials and preparation methods have been shown to influence various parameters of PLGA-based nanocarriers and their implementation in drug delivery systems, while the implementation of computational simulations as a component of formulation studies can provide valuable information on their characteristics.

Nanotechnology-Based Biopolymeric Oral Delivery Platforms for Advanced Cancer Treatment.

Routes of drug administration and their corresponding physiochemical characteristics play major roles in drug therapeutic efficiency and biological effects. Each route of delivery has favourable aspects and limitations. The oral route of delivery is the most convenient, widely accepted and safe route.

A Review of Nanotechnology for Targeted Anti-schistosomal Therapy.

Schistosomiasis is one of the major parasitic diseases and second most prevalent among the group of neglected diseases. The prevalence of schistosomiasis may be due to environmental and socio-economic factors, as well as the unavailability of vaccines for schistosomiasis. To date, current treatment; mainly the drug praziquantel (PZQ), has not been effective in treating the early forms of schistosome species.

A 3D Bioprinted Pseudo-Bone Drug Delivery Scaffold for Bone Tissue Engineering.

A 3D bioprinted pseudo-bone drug delivery scaffold was fabricated to display matrix strength, matrix resilience, as well as porous morphology of healthy human bone. Computer-aided design (CAD) software was employed for developing the 3D bioprinted scaffold. Further optimization of the scaffold was undertaken using MATLAB software and artificial neural networks (ANN).

Synthesis of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles Using Various Methods: Implications for Biomedical Applications.

Cerium oxide nanoparticles have been used in a number of non-medical products over the years. The therapeutic application of these nanoparticles has mainly been due to their oxidative stress ameliorating abilities. Their enzyme-mimetic catalytic ability to change between the Ce and Ce species makes them ideal for a role as free-radical scavengers for systemic diseases as well as neurodegenerative diseases.

Nanodrug Delivery Systems for the Treatment of Ovarian Cancer.

Despite advances achieved in medicine, chemotherapeutics still has detrimental side effects with ovarian cancer (OC), accounting for numerous deaths among females. The provision of safe, early detection and active treatment of OC remains a challenge, in spite of improvements in new antineoplastic discovery. Nanosystems have shown remarkable progress with impact in diagnosis and chemotherapy of various cancers, due to their ideal size; improved drug encapsulation within its interior core; potential to minimize drug degradation; improve in vivo drug release kinetics; and prolong blood circulation times.

Bioplatform Fabrication Approaches Affecting Chitosan-Based Interpolymer Complex Properties and Performance as Wound Dressings.

Chitosan can form interpolymer complexes (IPCs) with anionic polymers to form biomedical platforms (BMPs) for wound dressing/healing applications. This has resulted in its application in various BMPs such as gauze, nano/microparticles, hydrogels, scaffolds, and films. Notably, wound healing has been highlighted as a noteworthy application due to the remarkable physical, chemical, and mechanical properties enabled though the interaction of these polyelectrolytes.

Multifunctional Magnetic Nanowires: Design, Fabrication, and Future Prospects as Cancer Therapeutics.

Traditional cancer therapeutics are limited by factors such as multi-drug resistance and a plethora of adverse effect. These limitations need to be overcome for the progression of cancer treatment. In order to overcome these limitations, multifunctional nanosystems have recently been introduced into the market.