Nanotechnology-based approaches for targeted drug delivery for the treatment of respiratory tract infections.

Background: Nanotechnology has emerged as a promising field for the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of respiratory tract infections (RTIs). By leveraging the unique properties of nanoscale delivery systems, nanotechnology can significantly enhance the selectivity and efficacy of antimicrobials, thereby reducing off-target effects.

Objective: This review explores the development and application of targeted nanosystems in combating viral, bacterial, and fungal RTIs.

A Multiresonant Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescent Dendrimer with Intramolecular Energy Transfer: Application for Efficient Host-Free Green Solution-Processed Organic Light-emitting Diodes.

The development of narrowband emissive, bright, and stable solution-processed organic light-emitting diodes (SP-OLEDs) remains a challenge. Here, a strategy is presented that merges within a single emitter a TADF sensitizer responsible for exciton harvesting and an MR-TADF motif that provides bright and narrowband emission. This emitter design also shows strong resistance to aggregate formation and aggregation-cause quenching.

Dendrimers, Dendrons, and the Dendritic State: Reflection on the Last Decade with Expected New Roles in Pharma, Medicine, and the Life Sciences.

This perspective begins with an overview of the major impact that the dendron, dendrimer, and dendritic state (DDDS) discovery has made on traditional polymer science. The entire DDDS technology is underpinned by an unprecedented new polymerization strategy referred to as step-growth, amplification-controlled polymerization (SGACP). This new SGACP paradigm allows for routine polymerization of common monomers and organic materials into precise monodispersed, dendritic macromolecules (i.

A Slimming/Excavating Strategy for Enhanced Intratumoral Penetration of Acid-Disassemblable NO-Releasing Nanomedicines.

Poor tumor penetration is the major predicament of nanomedicines that limits their anticancer efficacy. The dense extracellular matrix (ECM) in the tumor is one of the major barriers against the deep penetration of nanomedicines. In this work, a slimming/excavating strategy is proposed for enhanced intratumoral penetration based on an acid-disassemblable nanomicelles-assembled nanomedicine and the NO-mediated degradation of ECM.

Progress in Nanotechnology for Treating Ocular Surface Chemical Injuries: Reflecting on Advances in Ophthalmology.

Ocular surface chemical injuries often result in permanent visual impairment and necessitate complex, long-term treatments. Immediate and extensive irrigation serves as the first-line intervention, followed by various therapeutic protocols applied throughout different stages of the condition. To optimize outcomes, conventional regimens increasingly incorporate biological agents and surgical techniques.

Double network hydrogels encapsulating genetically modified dedifferentiated chondrocytes for auricular cartilage regeneration.

Microtia profoundly affects patients' appearance and psychological well-being. Tissue engineering ear cartilage scaffolds have emerged as the most promising solution for ear reconstruction. However, constructing tissue engineering ear cartilage scaffolds requires multiple passaging of chondrocytes, resulting in their dedifferentiation and loss of their special phenotypes and functions.

Current research trends and hotspots of boron neutron capture therapy: a bibliometric and visualization analysis.

Purpose: This study aimed to describe the trends, current hotspots, and future directions in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) through a bibliometric analysis.

Methods: Articles related to BNCT published before 2023-12-31 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database. VOSviewer, R, and CiteSpace were used for bibliometric analysis and visualization.

Current Updates on Nanotechnology-based Drug Delivery Platforms for Treating Alzheimer's with Herbal Drugs.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an irreversible brain disorder that led to memory loss and disrupts daily life. Earlier strategies to treat AD such as acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI) drugs are not showing effectiveness due to the inability to cross the blood-brain barrier. Moreover, traditional AChEI provides limited efficacy in terms of bioavailability and solubility for treating AD treatment.

A shielded cascade of targeted nanocarriers spanning multiple microenvironmental barriers for inflammatory disease therapy.

Background: The multi-biological barriers present in the inflammatory microenvironment severely limit the targeted aggregation of anti-inflammatory drugs in the lesion area. However, conventional responsive drug carriers inevitably come into contact with several pro-responsive stimulatory mediators simultaneously, leading to premature drug release and loss of most therapeutic effects. Breaking through the multi-level barriers of the inflammatory microenvironment is essential to improve the enrichment and bioavailability of drugs.

A 11B-NMR Method for the In Situ Monitoring of the Formation of Dynamic Covalent Boronate Esters in Dendrimers.

The in situ monitoring of dynamic covalent macromolecular boronate esters represents a difficult task. In this report, we present an in situ method using fluoride coordination and B NMR spectroscopy to determine the amount of boronate esters in a mixture of boronic acids and cis-diols. With fluoride coordination, the boronic acid and boronate esters afforded trifluoroborate and fluoroboronate esters, giving identical resonances at 3 and 9 ppm in the B NMR spectra.

Resistance mechanisms of non-small cell lung cancer and improvement of treatment effects through nanotechnology: a narrative review.

Background And Objective: Lung cancer continues to be the leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for approximately 85% of lung cancer cases. Although targeted therapies and immune checkpoint inhibitors have improved clinical outcomes for NSCLC patients, primary and acquired resistance remain significant obstacles to effective treatment.

Development of TiF4-Dendrimer complex gel as an anti-demineralization agent for dentin: An in vitro study.

Objective: The anti-caries effects of titanium tetrafluoride (TiF4) are well-documented, but its low pH challenges clinical application. This study evaluated PEG-citrate dendrimer as a carrier to enhance TiF4 stability and efficacy.

Methods: PEG-citrate dendrimer and TiF4-dendrimer gel were synthesized, and their structures confirmed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Hydrogen Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR), and Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS).

Self-Assembled Peptide Sheet-Mediated Multivalent Capture of Cells with Enhanced Tunability.

We report the creation of multivalent ligand surfaces for cell capture by conjugation of ligand-appended 2D peptide assemblies on an antifouling glass substrate. The sheet-like structures organize ligands into non-uniform, patchy patterns, enhancing multivalent cell targeting. A 155 % increase in captured cells was achieved compared to the presentation of the ligands on surfaces lacking the peptide sheets.

Prospects of nano-theranostic approaches against breast and cervical cancer.

The bottleneck on therapeutics and diagnostics is removed by an alternate approach known as theranostics which combines both therapeutics and diagnostics within a single platform. Due to this "all in one" nature of theranostics, it is now extensively applied in the medicinal field mainly in cancer treatment over the conventional therapy. Recently, FDA approval of lutetium 177 (177Lu) DOTATATE and 177Lu-PSMA-based radionuclide theranostics are clinically used and very few theranostics specific to breast cancer are in clinical trials.

Supramolecular Chiral Assembly of Dendritic Amphiphiles in Aqueous Media.

Dendritic amphiphiles are a promising class of topological blocks for self-assembly to construct chiral supramolecular aggregates in aqueous media. Their unique dendritic geometry, structure variability and multivalence can mediate the assemblies with versatile morphologies and functions. The bulky dendritic moieties also enable the appropriate association-repulsion balance to control supramolecular growth, and simultaneously shield the assemblies with enhanced stabilities.

Hypocrellin: A Natural Photosensitizer and Nano-Formulation for Enhanced Molecular Targeting of PDT of Melanoma.

Nano-formulation has generated attention in the battle against cancer, because of its great flexibility, reduced adverse side effects, and accuracy in delivering drugs to target tissues dependent on the size and surface characteristics of the disease. The field of photodynamic treatment has advanced significantly in the past years. Photodynamic techniques that use nano-formulations have surfaced to further the field of nanotechnology in medicine, especially in cancer treatment.

Machine learning-assisted pattern recognition and imaging of multiplexed cancer cells a porphyrin-embedded dendrimer array.

Early cancer detection plays a vital role in improving the survival rate of cancer patients, underscoring the importance of developing cancer detection methods. However, it is a great challenge to achieve simple, rapid, and accurate methods for simultaneously discerning various cancers. Herein we developed a 5-element porphyrin-embedded dendrimer-based sensor array, targeting the parallel discrimination of multiple cancers.

SAXS, DLS, and MD studies of the Rg/Rh ratio for swollen and collapsed dendrimers.

The radius of gyration, Rg, and the hydrodynamic radius, Rh, are the main experimental parameters that characterize the size of linear and branched macromolecules. In the case of dendrimers in solution, the ratio Rg/Rh, depending on the global conformation, varies from 1 (for a Gaussian soft sphere) to 3/5 (for a hard sphere). However, for high-generation dendrimers, this ratio may be less than the limiting value for a hard sphere.

Liver Regeneration Following Thermal Ablation Using Nanocarrier Mediated Targeted Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy.

Purpose: To test the efficacy of nanocarrier (NC) mediated mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy for liver regeneration following thermal ablation of porcine livers.

Materials And Methods: Liver radiofrequency ablation was performed in 18 swines divided into MSC, MSC + NC and control groups. The test groups received infusion of MSC or MSC + NC labeled with enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) via hepatic artery.

Enhancing BMP-2-mediated osteogenesis with a synthetic heparan sulfate mimetic.

Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) is an osteoinductive protein and a potent inducers of bone formation, playing an essential role during bone fracture repair. Heparan sulfate (HS), a highly charged and linear polysaccharide, is known to interact with and enhance BMP-2 bioactivity. Despite showing potential as a potent adjuvant of the endogenous bone healing response, commercially available HS is derived from animal sources which are less desirable when considering translation into the clinic.

A size-switchable nanocluster remodels the immunosuppressive microenvironment of tumor and tumor-draining lymph nodes for improved cancer immunotherapy.

Remodeling the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) by immunomodulators has been well studied in the past years. However, strategies that enable concurrent modulation of both the immunosuppressive TME and tumor-draining lymph nodes (TDLNs) are still in the infancy. Here, we report a pH-sensitive size-switchable nanocluster, SPN-R848, to achieve simultaneous accumulation in tumor and TDLNs for immune activation.

Nano-based approaches for the treatment of neuro-immunological disorders: a special emphasis on multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neuroimmunological disorder which causes axonal damage, demyelination and paralysis. Although numerous therapeutics have been developed for the effective treatment of MS and a few have been approved in recent decades, complete remission and treatment of MS remain a matter of concern. Nanotechnology is a potential approach for manipulating the properties of materials at the molecular level to attain desired properties.