Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 216 in total

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  1. Characterization and effect on skin hydration of engkabang-based emulsions
    Abd Gani SS, Basri M, Rahman MB, Kassim A, Abd Rahman RN, Salleh AB, et al.
    Biosci Biotechnol Biochem, 2010;74(6):1188-93.
    PMID: 20530909
    Formulations containing engkabang fat and engkabang fat esters, F10 and E15 respectively were prepared using a high-shear homogenizer, followed by a high-pressure homogenizer. Both formulations were stable at room temperature, at 45 degrees C, and after undergoing freeze-thaw cycles. The particle sizes of F10 and E15 after high pressure were 115.75 nm and 148.41 nm respectively. The zeta potentials of F10 and E15 were -36.4 mV and -48.8 mV respectively, while, the pH values of F10 and E15 were 5.59 and 5.81 respectively. The rheology of F10 and E15 showed thixotropy and pseudoplastic behavior respectively. There were no bacteria or fungal growths in the samples. The short-term moisturizing effect on 20 subjects analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA), gave p-values of 7.35 x 10(-12) and 2.77 x 10(-15) for F10 and E15 respectively. The hydration of the skins increased after application of F10 and E15 with p-value below 0.05.
    Matched MeSH terms: Nanotechnology
  2. Carbopol 934, 940 and Ultrez 10 as viscosity modifiers of palm olein esters based nano-scaled emulsion containing ibuprofen
    Abdullah GZ, Abdulkarim MF, Mallikarjun C, Mahdi ES, Basri M, Sattar MA, et al.
    Pak J Pharm Sci, 2013 Jan;26(1):75-83.
    PMID: 23261730
    Micro-emulsions and sometimes nano-emulsions are well known candidates to deliver drugs locally. However, the poor rheological properties are marginally affecting their acceptance pharmaceutically. This work aimed to modify the poor flow properties of a nano-scaled emulsion comprising palm olein esters as the oil phase and ibuprofen as the active ingredient for topical delivery. Three Carbopol ® resins: 934, 940 and Ultrez 10, were utilized in various concentrations to achieve these goals. Moreover, phosphate buffer and triethanolamine solutions pH 7.4 were used as neutralizing agents to assess their effects on the gel-forming and swelling properties of Carbopol ® 940. The addition of these polymers caused the produced nano-scaled emulsion to show a dramatic droplets enlargement of the dispersed globules, increased intrinsic viscosity, consistent zeta potential and transparent-to-opaque change in appearance. These changes were relatively influenced by the type and the concentration of the resin used. Carbopol ® 940 and triethanolamine appeared to be superior in achieving the proposed tasks compared to other materials. The higher the pH of triethanolamine solution, the stronger the flow-modifying properties of Carbopol ® 940. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the formation of a well-arranged gel network of Carbopol ® 940, which was the major cause for all realized changes. Later in vitro permeation studies showed a significant decrease in the drug penetration, thus further modification using 10% w/w menthol or limonene as permeation promoters was performed. This resulted in in vitro and in vivo pharmacodynamics properties that are comparably higher than the reference chosen for this study.
    Matched MeSH terms: Nanotechnology
  3. Functionalized fullerene (C₆₀) as a potential nanomediator in the fabrication of highly sensitive biosensors
    Afreen S, Muthoosamy K, Manickam S, Hashim U
    Biosens Bioelectron, 2015 Jan 15;63:354-364.
    PMID: 25125029 DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2014.07.044
    Designing a biosensor for versatile biomedical applications is a sophisticated task and how dedicatedly functionalized fullerene (C60) can perform on this stage is a challenge for today and tomorrow's nanoscience and nanotechnology. Since the invention of biosensor, many ideas and methods have been invested to upgrade the functionality of biosensors. Due to special physicochemical characteristics, the novel carbon material "fullerene" adds a new dimension to the construction of highly sensitive biosensors. The prominent aspects of fullerene explain its outstanding performance in biosensing devices as a mediator, e.g. fullerene in organic solvents exhibits five stages of reversible oxidation/reduction, and hence fullerene can work either as an electrophile or nucleophile. Fullerene is stable and its spherical structure produces an angle strain which allows it to undergo characteristic reactions of addition to double bonds (hybridization which turns from sp(2) to sp(3)). Research activities are being conducted worldwide to invent a variety of methods of fullerene functionalization with a purpose of incorporating it effectively in biosensor devices. The different types of functionalization methods include modification of fullerene into water soluble derivatives and conjugation with enzymes and/or other biomolecules, e.g. urease, glucose oxidase, hemoglobin, myoglobin (Mb), conjugation with metals e.g. gold (Au), chitosan (CS), ferrocene (Fc), etc. to enhance the sensitivity of biosensors. The state-of-the-art research on fullerene functionalization and its application in sensor devices has proven that fullerene can be implemented successfully in preparing biosensors to detect glucose level in blood serum, urea level in urine solution, hemoglobin, immunoglobulin, glutathione in real sample for pathological purpose, to identify doping abuse, to analyze pharmaceutical preparation and even to detect cancer and tumor cells at an earlier stage. Employing fullerene-metal matrix for the detection of tumor and cancer cells is also possible by the inclusion of fullerene in single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) known as peapods as well as in double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs), to augment the effectiveness of biosensors. This review discusses various approaches that have been reported for functionalizing fullerene (C60) derivatives and their application in different types of biosensor fabrication.
    Matched MeSH terms: Nanotechnology/methods*
  4. Fulltext Investigating the effectiveness of nanotechnologies in environmental health with an emphasis on environmental health journals
    Aghalari Z, Dahms HU, Sillanpää M
    Life Sci Soc Policy, 2021 Sep 13;17(1):8.
    PMID: 34511108 DOI: 10.1186/s40504-021-00116-8
    OBJECTIVE: The use of nanotechnologies is important to reduce environmental health problems in Iran, so the present study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of nanotechnologies in environmental health. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study for 11-year periods (2008-2018) on all articles published in three specialized journals of environmental health with emphasis on the use of nanotechnologies in various fields of environmental health (water, air, sewage, waste, food, radiation, etc).

    RESULTS: In this study, 774 articles related to 114 issues of 3 specialized environmental health journals were reviewed. A review of 774 articles showed that 80 articles (10.3%) were published in the field of nanotechnologies. Out of 80 articles published in the field of nanotechnology, 66 articles (82.5%) were published on the subject of water, 9 articles (11.3%) on wastewater and 5 articles (6.2%) on air pollution. Subject review of articles showed that articles using carbon nanotubes to remove natural organic pollutants, surfactants, hydroxybenzenes, phenol, dimethyl phthalates, use of titanium dioxide nanoparticles, iron-magnesium nanoparticles for wastewater treatment, Silver nanoparticles were used to remove air pollution. The results showed that published articles on nanotechnology in the field of environmental health were few.

    Matched MeSH terms: Nanotechnology
  5. The role of pH in nanofiltration of atrazine and dimethoate from aqueous solution
    Ahmad AL, Tan LS, Abd Shukor SR
    J Hazard Mater, 2008 Jun 15;154(1-3):633-8.
    PMID: 18055106
    This study examined the performance of nanofiltration membranes to retain atrazine and dimethoate in aqueous solution under different pH conditions. Four nanofiltration membranes, NF90, NF200, NF270 and DK are selected to be examined. The operating pressure, feed pesticide and stirring rate were kept constant at 6x10(5) Pa, 10 mg/L and 1000 rpm. It was found that increasing the solution's pH increased atrazine and dimethoate rejection but reduced the permeate flux performance for NF200, NF270 and DK. However, NF90 showed somewhat consistent performance in both rejection and permeate flux regardless of the solution's pH. NF90 maintained above 90% of atrazine rejection and approximately 80% of dimethoate rejection regardless of the changes in solution's pH. Thus, NF90 is deemed the more suitable nanofiltration membrane for atrazine and dimethoate retention from aqueous solution compared to NF200, NF270 and DK.
    Matched MeSH terms: Nanotechnology/instrumentation
  6. Synthesis and characterization of polymeric V2O5/AlO(OH) with nanopores on alumina support
    Ahmad AL, Abd Shukor SR, Leo CP
    J Nanosci Nanotechnol, 2006 Dec;6(12):3910-4.
    PMID: 17256351
    Polymeric vanadium pentoxide gel was formed via the reaction of V2O5 powder with hydrogen peroxide. The polymeric vanadium pentoxide gel was then dispersed in alumina gel. Different vanadium loading composites were coated on alumina support and calcined at 500 degrees C for 1 hr. These composite layers were characterized using TGA, FT-IR, XRD, SEM, and Autosorb. It was found that the lamellar structure of polymerized vanadium pentoxide was retained in the inorganic matrix. Crystalline alumina in gamma phase was formed after calcinations. However, the vanadium-alumina mixed oxides are lack of the well defined PXRD peaks for polycrystalline V2O5. This is possibly because the vanadia species are highly dispersed in the alumina matrix or the vanadia species are dispersed as crystalline which is smaller than 4 nm. In addition, the imbedded polymeric vanadium oxide improved the specific area and average pore diameter of the composite layer.
    Matched MeSH terms: Nanotechnology/methods*
  7. Fulltext Comparison of in situ polymerization and solution-dispersion techniques in the preparation of Polyimide/Montmorillonite (MMT) Nanocomposites
    Ahmad MB, Gharayebi Y, Salit MS, Hussein MZ, Shameli K
    Int J Mol Sci, 2011;12(9):6040-50.
    PMID: 22016643 DOI: 10.3390/ijms12096040
    In this paper, Polyimide/Montmorillonite Nanocomposites (PI/MMT NCs), based on aromatic diamine (4-Aminophenyl sulfone) (APS) and aromatic dianhydride (3,3',4,4'-benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride) (BTDA) were prepared using in situ polymerization and solution-dispersion techniques. The prepared PI/MMT NCs films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The XRD results showed that at the content of 1.0 wt % Organo Montmorillonite (OMMT) for two techniques and 3.0 wt % OMMT for the in situ polymerization technique, the OMMT was well-intercalated, exfoliated and dispersed into polyimide matrix. The OMMT agglomerated when its amount exceeded 10 wt % and 3.0 wt % for solution-dispersion and in situ polymerization techniques respectively. These results were confirmed by the TEM images of the prepared PI/MMT NCs. The TGA thermograms indicated that thermal stability of prepared PI/MMT NCs were increased with the increase of loading that, the effect is higher for the samples prepared by in situ polymerization technique.
    Matched MeSH terms: Nanotechnology/methods*
  8. Nanofork for single cells adhesion measurement via ESEM-nanomanipulator system
    Ahmad MR, Nakajima M, Kojima M, Kojima S, Homma M, Fukuda T
    IEEE Trans Nanobioscience, 2012 Mar;11(1):70-8.
    PMID: 22275723 DOI: 10.1109/TNB.2011.2179809
    In this paper, single cells adhesion force was measured using a nanofork. The nanofork was used to pick up a single cell on a line array substrate inside an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM). The line array substrate was used to provide small gaps between the single cells and the substrate. Therefore, the nanofork could be inserted through these gaps in order to successfully pick up a single cell. Adhesion force was measured during the cell pick-up process from the deflection of the cantilever beam. The nanofork was fabricated using focused ion beam (FIB) etching process while the line array substrate was fabricated using nanoimprinting technology. As to investigate the effect of contact area on the strength of the adhesion force, two sizes of gap distance of line array substrate were used, i.e., 1 μm and 2 μm. Results showed that cells attached on the 1 μm gap line array substrate required more force to be released as compared to the cells attached on the 1 μm gap line array substrate.
    Matched MeSH terms: Nanotechnology/instrumentation
  9. Synthesis of enriched boron nitride nanocrystals: A potential element for biomedical applications
    Ahmad P, Khandaker MU, Muhammad N, Rehman F, Ullah Z, Khan G, et al.
    Appl Radiat Isot, 2020 Dec;166:109404.
    PMID: 32956924 DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2020.109404
    The shortcomings in Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) and Hyperthermia for killing the tumor cell desired for the synthesis of a new kind of material suitable to be first used in BNCT and later on enable the conditions for Hyperthermia to destroy the tumor cell. The desire led to the synthesis of large band gap semiconductor nano-size Boron-10 enriched crystals of hexagonal boron nitride (10BNNCs). The contents of 10BNNCs are analyzed with the help of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and counter checked with Raman and XRD. The 10B-contents in 10BNNCs produce 7Li and 4He nuclei. A Part of the 7Li and 4He particles released in the cell is allowed to kill the tumor (via BNCT) whereas the rest produce electron-hole pairs in the semiconductor layer of 10BNNCs suggested to work in Hyperthermia with an externally applied field.
    Matched MeSH terms: Nanotechnology
  10. Fulltext Analytical calculation of sensing parameters on carbon nanotube based gas sensors
    Akbari E, Buntat Z, Ahmad MH, Enzevaee A, Yousof R, Iqbal SM, et al.
    Sensors (Basel), 2014;14(3):5502-15.
    PMID: 24658617 DOI: 10.3390/s140305502
    Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) are generally nano-scale tubes comprising a network of carbon atoms in a cylindrical setting that compared with silicon counterparts present outstanding characteristics such as high mechanical strength, high sensing capability and large surface-to-volume ratio. These characteristics, in addition to the fact that CNTs experience changes in their electrical conductance when exposed to different gases, make them appropriate candidates for use in sensing/measuring applications such as gas detection devices. In this research, a model for a Field Effect Transistor (FET)-based structure has been developed as a platform for a gas detection sensor in which the CNT conductance change resulting from the chemical reaction between NH3 and CNT has been employed to model the sensing mechanism with proposed sensing parameters. The research implements the same FET-based structure as in the work of Peng et al. on nanotube-based NH3 gas detection. With respect to this conductance change, the I-V characteristic of the CNT is investigated. Finally, a comparative study shows satisfactory agreement between the proposed model and the experimental data from the mentioned research.
    Matched MeSH terms: Nanotechnology/instrumentation*; Nanotechnology/methods*
  11. Formulation and stability of whitening VCO-in-water nano-cream
    Al-Edresi S, Baie S
    Int J Pharm, 2009 May 21;373(1-2):174-8.
    PMID: 19429303 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2009.02.011
    Virgin coconut oil (VCO)-in-water, nano-emulsion in the form of cream stabilized by Emulium Kappa as an emulsifier, was prepared by using the Emulsion Inversion Point method. A nano-emulsion with droplet size <300 nm was then obtained. VCO has recently become a more popular new material in the cosmetic industries. Emulium Kappa is an ionic emulsifier that contains sodium stearoyl lactylate, the active whitening ingredient was Kojic Dipalmitate. Ostwald ripening is the main destabilizing factor for the nano-emulsion. This decline can be reduced by adding non-soluble oil, namely squalene, to the virgin coconut oil. We tested VCO:squalene in the ratios of 10:0, 9.8:0.2, 9.6:0.4, 9.4:0.6, 9.2:0.8, 9:1 and 8:2 and discovered that squalene's higher molecular weight (above critical molecular weight) resulted in low polarity and insolubility in the continuous phase. The continuous partitioning between the droplets results in the decline of Ostwald ripening. Furthermore, flocculation may occur due to the instability of nano-emulsion, especially for the preparations with little or no squalene at all. The stability of the nano-emulsion was evaluated by the electrophoretic properties of the emulsion droplets. The zeta potential values for the emulsion increased as the percentage of squalene oil increased.
    Matched MeSH terms: Nanotechnology/instrumentation; Nanotechnology/methods*
  12. Nanoparticles approach to eradicate bacterial biofilm-related infections: A critical review
    Al-Wrafy FA, Al-Gheethi AA, Ponnusamy SK, Noman EA, Fattah SA
    Chemosphere, 2022 Feb;288(Pt 2):132603.
    PMID: 34678351 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132603
    Biofilm represents one of the crucial factors for the emergence of multi-drug resistance bacterial infections. The high mortality, morbidity and medical device-related infections are associated with biofilm formation, which requires primarily seek alternative treatment strategies. Recently, nanotechnology has emerged as a promising method for eradicating bacterial biofilm-related infection. The efficacy of nanoparticles (NPs) against bacterial infections interest great attention, and the researches on the subject are rapidly increasing. However, the majority of studies continue to focus on the antimicrobial effects of NPs in vitro, while only a few achieved in vivo and very few registered as clinical trials. The present review aimed to organize the scattered available information regarding NPs approach to eradicate bacterial biofilm-related infections. The current review highlighted the advantages and disadvantages associated with this approach, in addition to the challenges that prevent reaching the clinical applications. It was appeared that the production of NPs either as antimicrobials or as drug carriers requires further investigations to overcome the obstacles associated with their kinetic and biocompatibility.
    Matched MeSH terms: Nanotechnology
  13. Fulltext Engineered Nanomaterials: The Challenges and Opportunities for Nanomedicines
    Albalawi F, Hussein MZ, Fakurazi S, Masarudin MJ
    Int J Nanomedicine, 2021;16:161-184.
    PMID: 33447033 DOI: 10.2147/IJN.S288236
    The emergence of nanotechnology as a key enabling technology over the past years has opened avenues for new and innovative applications in nanomedicine. From the business aspect, the nanomedicine market was estimated to worth USD 293.1 billion by 2022 with a perception of market growth to USD 350.8 billion in 2025. Despite these opportunities, the underlying challenges for the future of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in nanomedicine research became a significant obstacle in bringing ENMs into clinical stages. These challenges include the capability to design bias-free methods in evaluating ENMs' toxicity due to the lack of suitable detection and inconsistent characterization techniques. Therefore, in this literature review, the state-of-the-art of engineered nanomaterials in nanomedicine, their toxicology issues, the working framework in developing a toxicology benchmark and technical characterization techniques in determining the toxicity of ENMs from the reported literature are explored.
    Matched MeSH terms: Nanotechnology/methods*
  14. Development, characterization and pharmacokinetics of mupirocin-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) for intravascular administration
    Alcantara KP, Zulfakar MH, Castillo AL
    Int J Pharm, 2019 Nov 25;571:118705.
    PMID: 31536765 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2019.118705
    Mupirocin is a promising broad-spectrum antibiotic that is effective in treating MRSA infections. However, due to its rapid elimination and hydrolysis following injection and high protein binding, current therapeutic use is limited to topical administration. Nanotechnology-driven innovations provide hope for patients and practitioners in overcoming the problem of drug degradation by encapsulation. The objective of this research is to develop and characterize Mupirocin-Loaded Nanostructured Lipid Carriers (M-NLC) for intravascular administration. The MNLC was produced by a combination of high shear homogenization and high pressure homogenization of solid (cetyl palmitate) and liquid (caprylic/caprylic acid) biocompatible lipids in 5 different ratios. The mean particle size, polydispersity index (PDI) and the zeta potential (ZP) of the MNLC formulations were between 99.8 and 235 nm, PDI lower than 0.164, ZP from -25.96 to -19.53 and pH ranging from 6.28-6.49. The MNLC formulation also enhances the anti-bacterial activity of mupirocin. All formulation showed sustained drug release and good physical characteristics for three months storage under 25 °C. It also revealed that the MNLC 1 is safe at 250 mg/kg dose in rats. The MNLC 1 also showed a significant increase in plasma concentration in rabbits following IV administration thus, demonstrating an enhancement on its pharmacokinetic profile as compared to free mupirocin.
    Matched MeSH terms: Nanotechnology
  15. Lung cancer: active therapeutic targeting and inhalational nanoproduct design
    Alhajj N, Chee CF, Wong TW, Rahman NA, Abu Kasim NH, Colombo P
    Expert Opin Drug Deliv, 2018 12;15(12):1223-1247.
    PMID: 30422017 DOI: 10.1080/17425247.2018.1547280
    INTRODUCTION: Pulmonary drug delivery is organ-specific and benefits local drug action for lung cancer. The use of nanotechnology and targeting ligand enables cellular-specific drug action. Combination approaches increase therapeutic efficacy and reduce adverse effects of cancer chemotherapeutics that have narrow therapeutic index window and high cytotoxicity levels. The current progress of inhaled cancer chemotherapeutics has not been examined with respect to targeting strategy and clinical application potential.

    AREAS COVERED: This review examines the state of the art in passive (processing and formulation) and active (targeting ligand and receptor binding) technologies in association with the use of nanocarrier to combat lung cancer. It highlights routes to equip nanocarrier with targeting ligands as a function of the chemistry of participating biomolecules and challenges in inhalational nanoproduct development and clinical applications. Both research and review articles were examined using the Scopus, Elsevier, Web of Science, Chemical Abstracts, Medline, CASREACT, CHEMCATS, and CHEMLIST database with the majority of information retrieved between those of 2000-2018.

    EXPERT COMMENTARY: The therapeutic efficacy of targeting ligand-decorated nanocarriers needs to be demonstrated in vivo in the form of finished inhalational products. Their inhalation efficiency and medical responses require further examination. Clinical application of inhaled nanocancer chemotherapeutics is premature.

    Matched MeSH terms: Nanotechnology/methods*
  16. Armamentarium in Drug Delivery for Colorectal Cancer
    Ali A, Akhtar J, Ahmad U, Basheer AS, Jaiswal N, Jahan A
    Crit Rev Ther Drug Carrier Syst, 2022;40(1):1-48.
    PMID: 36374840 DOI: 10.1615/CritRevTherDrugCarrierSyst.2022039241
    Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cause of cancer related deaths in the United States. However, more than half of all incidence and mortality are caused by risk factors such as smoking, unhealthy diet, excessive alcohol consumption, inactivity, and excess weight, and thus can be protected. CRC morbidity and mortality can also be reduced by proper screening and monitoring. Over the last few years the amalgamation of nanotechnology with healthcare system has brought about the potential to administer the delivery of certain therapeutic drugs to cancer cells without affecting normal tissues. Recent strategies combine the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to improve the overall performance of cancer nanomedicines. Targeted cancer nanotherapeutics provides many more opportunities for the selective detection of toxic chemicals within cancer cells. The distinctive features of nanoparticles, such as their small size, large surface to volume ratio, and the ability of nanoparticles to achieve several interactions of ligands at surface, offer great benefits of nanomedicines to treat various types of cancers. This review highlights the molecular mechanisms of colorectal carcinogenesis and discusses various key concepts in the development of nanotherapeutics targeted for CRC treatment.
    Matched MeSH terms: Nanotechnology
  17. A stable hydrocortisone nanosuspension for improved dissolution: Preparation, characterization and in vitro evaluation
    Ali HS, Khan S, York P, Shah SM, Khan J, Hussain Z, et al.
    Pak J Pharm Sci, 2017 Sep;30(5):1635-1643.
    PMID: 29084684
    Drug nanosuspensions have gained tremendous attraction as a platform in drug delivery. In the present work, a nanosuspension was prepared by a wet milling approach in order to increase saturation solubility and dissolution of the water insoluble drug, hydrocortisone. Size of the generated particeles was 290 nm ± 9 nm having a zeta potential of -1.9 mV ± 0.6 mV. Nanosized particles were found to have a rod shape with a narrow particle size distribution (PDI =0.17). Results of differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction analyses revealed minor modifications of crystallinity of hydrocortisone following the milling process. Solubility of hydrocortisone was enhanced by nanonization to 875µg/ml ±2.5, an almost 2.9-fold compared to the raw hydrocortisone. Moreover, the nanosuspension formulation substabtially enhanced the dissolution rate of hydrocortisone where >97% of the hydrocortisone was dissolved within 10 minutes opposed to 22.3% for the raw 50% for the raw hydrocortisone and the commercial tablet, respectively. The bioavailability study resulted in AUC 0-9h for HC nanosuspensions (31.50±2.50), which is significantly (p<0.05) higher compared to the AUC 0-9h (14.85±3.25) resulted for HC solution. The nanosuspension was physically stable at room temperature for 24 months.
    Matched MeSH terms: Nanotechnology
  18. Nanoparticle sensor for label free detection of swine DNA in mixed biological samples
    Ali ME, Hashim U, Mustafa S, Man YB, Yusop MH, Bari MF, et al.
    Nanotechnology, 2011 May 13;22(19):195503.
    PMID: 21430321 DOI: 10.1088/0957-4484/22/19/195503
    We used 40 ± 5 nm gold nanoparticles (GNPs) as colorimetric sensor to visually detect swine-specific conserved sequence and nucleotide mismatch in PCR-amplified and non-amplified mitochondrial DNA mixtures to authenticate species. Colloidal GNPs changed color from pinkish-red to gray-purple in 2 mM PBS. Visually observed results were clearly reflected by the dramatic reduction of surface plasmon resonance peak at 530 nm and the appearance of new features in the 620-800 nm regions in their absorption spectra. The particles were stabilized against salt-induced aggregation upon the adsorption of single-stranded DNA. The PCR products, without any additional processing, were hybridized with a 17-base probe prior to exposure to GNPs. At a critical annealing temperature (55 °C) that differentiated matched and mismatched base pairing, the probe was hybridized to pig PCR product and dehybridized from the deer product. The dehybridized probe stuck to GNPs to prevent them from salt-induced aggregation and retained their characteristic red color. Hybridization of a 27-nucleotide probe to swine mitochondrial DNA identified them in pork-venison, pork-shad and venison-shad binary admixtures, eliminating the need of PCR amplification. Thus the assay was applied to authenticate species both in PCR-amplified and non-amplified heterogeneous biological samples. The results were determined visually and validated by absorption spectroscopy. The entire assay (hybridization plus visual detection) was performed in less than 10 min. The LOD (for genomic DNA) of the assay was 6 µg ml(-1) swine DNA in mixed meat samples. We believe the assay can be applied for species assignment in food analysis, mismatch detection in genetic screening and homology studies between closely related species.
    Matched MeSH terms: Nanotechnology/methods*
  19. Fulltext Thymoquinone, as a Novel Therapeutic Candidate of Cancers
    Almajali B, Al-Jamal HAN, Taib WRW, Ismail I, Johan MF, Doolaanea AA, et al.
    Pharmaceuticals (Basel), 2021 Apr 16;14(4).
    PMID: 33923474 DOI: 10.3390/ph14040369
    To date, natural products are widely used as pharmaceutical agents for many human diseases and cancers. One of the most popular natural products that have been studied for anticancer properties is thymoquinone (TQ). As a bioactive compound of Nigella sativa, TQ has shown anticancer activities through the inhibition of cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. The anticancer efficacy of TQ is being investigated in several human cancers such as pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, hepatic cancer, cervical cancer, and leukemia. Even though TQ induces apoptosis by regulating the expression of pro- apoptotic and anti-apoptotic genes in many cancers, the TQ effect mechanism on such cancers is not yet fully understood. Therefore, the present review has highlighted the TQ effect mechanisms on several signaling pathways and expression of tumor suppressor genes (TSG). Data from relevant published experimental articles on TQ from 2015 to June 2020 were selected by using Google Scholar and PubMed search engines. The present study investigated the effectiveness of TQ alone or in combination with other anticancer therapeutic agents, such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors on cancers, as a future anticancer therapy nominee by using nanotechnology.
    Matched MeSH terms: Nanotechnology
  20. Fulltext Nanoscale drug delivery systems and the blood-brain barrier
    Alyautdin R, Khalin I, Nafeeza MI, Haron MH, Kuznetsov D
    Int J Nanomedicine, 2014;9:795-811.
    PMID: 24550672 DOI: 10.2147/IJN.S52236
    The protective properties of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) are conferred by the intricate architecture of its endothelium coupled with multiple specific transport systems expressed on the surface of endothelial cells (ECs) in the brain's vasculature. When the stringent control of the BBB is disrupted, such as following EC damage, substances that are safe for peripheral tissues but toxic to neurons have easier access to the central nervous system (CNS). As a consequence, CNS disorders, including degenerative diseases, can occur independently of an individual's age. Although the BBB is crucial in regulating the biochemical environment that is essential for maintaining neuronal integrity, it limits drug delivery to the CNS. This makes it difficult to deliver beneficial drugs across the BBB while preventing the passage of potential neurotoxins. Available options include transport of drugs across the ECs through traversing occludins and claudins in the tight junctions or by attaching drugs to one of the existing transport systems. Either way, access must specifically allow only the passage of a particular drug. In general, the BBB allows small molecules to enter the CNS; however, most drugs with the potential to treat neurological disorders other than infections have large structures. Several mechanisms, such as modifications of the built-in pumping-out system of drugs and utilization of nanocarriers and liposomes, are among the drug-delivery systems that have been tested; however, each has its limitations and constraints. This review comprehensively discusses the functional morphology of the BBB and the challenges that must be overcome by drug-delivery systems and elaborates on the potential targets, mechanisms, and formulations to improve drug delivery to the CNS.
    Matched MeSH terms: Nanotechnology
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