Sharif Digital Repository

Cellular internalization of inorganic, lipidic and polymeric nanoparticles is of great significance in the quest to develop effective formulations for the treatment of high morbidity rate diseases. Understanding nanoparticle–cell interactions plays a key role in therapeutic interventions, and it continues to be a topic of great interest to both chemists and biologists. The mechanistic evaluation of cellular uptake is quite complex and is continuously being aided by the design of nanocarriers with desired physico-chemical properties. The progress in biomedicine, including enhancing the rate of uptake by the cells, is being made through the development of structure–property relationships in... 

The ability to predict the cellular dynamics of intracellular transport has enormous potential to impact human health. A key transporter is kinesin-1, an ATP-driven molecular motor that shuttles cellular cargos along microtubules (MTs). The dynamics of kinesins depends critically on their unbinding rate from MT, which varies depending on the force direction applied on the motor, i.e. the force-unbinding rate relation is asymmetric. However, it remains unclear how changing the force direction from resisting (applied against the motion direction) to assisting (applied in the motion direction) alters the kinesin's unbinding and stepping. Here, we propose a theoretical model for the influence of... 

Gene therapy has emerged as a promising tool for treating different intractable diseases, particularly cancer or even viral diseases such as COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). In this context, various non-viral gene carriers are being explored to transfer DNA or RNA sequences into target cells. Here, we review the applications of the naturally occurring amino acid histidine in the delivery of nucleic acids into cells. The biocompatibility of histidine-enhanced gene delivery systems has encouraged their wider use in gene therapy. Histidine-based gene carriers can involve the modification of peptides, dendrimers, lipids or nanocomposites. Several linear polymers, such as polyethylenimine,... 

The increasing importance of nanotechnology in the field of biomedical applications has encouraged the development of new nanomaterials endowed with multiple functions. Novel nanoscale drug delivery systems with diagnostic, imaging and therapeutic properties hold many promises for the treatment of different types of diseases, including cancer, infection and neurodegenerative syndromes. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are both low-dimensional sp2 carbon nanomaterials exhibiting many unique physical and chemical properties that are interesting in a wide range of areas including nanomedicine. Since 2004, CNTs have been extensively explored as drug delivery carriers for the intracellular transport of...