Sharif Digital Repository

In order to extend our previous theoretical calculations that dealt with the thermochemistry of doping the single walled boron nitride nanotubes, BNNTs, and carbon nanotubes, CNTs, with alminium atoms [1], we have used the AM1, PM3, and PM6 semiempirical methods to investigate the interaction of the tacrine molecule (a drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease) with the side-walls of aluminum doped boron nitride and carbon nanotubes in thermodynamic views. At first, the frequency calculations were carried out to confirm the stability of the involved structures. In addition, the theoretical thermodynamic study of tacrine adsorption onto the considered nanotubes was performed and the... 

Diabetes can result when the accurate control of insulin levels fails in the body. As a result, insulin has been conventionally administered for the treatment of diabetes mainly through subcutaneous injection. There have been several attempts to administer insulin orally. However, the oral bioavailability of insulin is strictly limited, mainly by low permeability across biological membranes. Advances in biotechnology and nanotechnology have recently led to the discovery of several new approaches for the delivery of drugs. In this concept, nanobiomaterials have been shown to be promising candidates for oral insulin delivery. This chapter describes the recent advances and future prospects of... 

Graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were hybridized with Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) to form magnetic GO (MGO) and were further labeled by [68Ga]GaCl3 as a potential drug delivery system. Paper chromatography, Fourier transform infra red (FTIR) spectroscopy, low-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), CHN and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were utilized to characterize the trinary composite ([68Ga]@MGO). Biological evaluations of the prepared nanocomposite were performed in normal Sprague Dawley rats and it was found to be a possible host for theranostic radiopharmaceuticals. The results showed that the grafting of Fe3O4 NPs on nanocomposite reduced the unwanted liver and spleen uptakes and increased the... 

Targeted delivery by either passive or active targeting of therapeutics to the bone is an attractive treatment for various bone related diseases such as osteoporosis, osteosarcoma, multiple myeloma, and metastatic bone tumors. Engineering novel drug delivery carriers can increase therapeutic efficacy and minimize the risk of side effects. Developmnet of nanocarrier delivery systems is an interesting field of ongoing studies with opportunities to provide more effective therapies. In addition, preclinical nanomedicine research can open new opportunities for preclinical bone-targeted drug delivery; nevertheless, further research is needed to progress these therapies towards clinical... 

In this work, a green synthesis method was designed and practiced to develop bioactive and biocompatible carbon-based nanocomposites biomaterials. ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized in assistance of leaf extracts and added to a composite nanostructure composed of the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). The resulting green nanocomposite revealed ability to make π-π interactions, hydrogen bonding, and van der Waals interactions with the doxorubicin (DOX). Then, the surface morphology of the synthesized nanocomposite was investigated, and the interrelationship between the surface morphology, relative cell viability, and drug uptake and release behavior were... 

Background & Objective: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. One of the most effective treatments for breast cancer is chemotherapy, in which specific drugs destroy the mass and its proliferation is inhibited. Chemotherapy is the most effective adjunctive therapy when multiple medications are used concurrently. Also, combining the drugs with nanocarrier has become an important strategy in targeted therapy. This study is designed to assess the apoptosis induction, cell cycle arrest, and anti-cancer potential of Tamoxifen-Curcumin-loaded niosomes against MCF-7 Cancer Cells. Methods: A novel niosomal formulation of tamoxifen-curcumin with Span 80 and lipid to drug ratio of 20... 

Oral administration is a pillar of the pharmaceutical industry and yet it remains challenging to administer hydrophilic therapeutics by the oral route. Smart and controlled oral drug delivery could bypass the physiological barriers that limit the oral delivery of these therapeutics. Micro- and nanoscale technologies, with an unprecedented ability to create, control, and measure micro- or nanoenvironments, have found tremendous applications in biology and medicine. In particular, significant advances have been made in using these technologies for oral drug delivery. In this review, we briefly describe biological barriers to oral drug delivery and micro and nanoscale fabrication technologies.... 

Systematic delivery of therapeutic agents to specific sites, with a stimulus-responsive drug release profile is currently a rapidly growing area. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are the useful platforms as drug/gene delivery systems due to their unique properties including the ability to control the pore size, high porosity, and morphology, which can directly affect the mechanism and profile of drug release. The appropriate fabrication strategy can tailor the particle shape and size, leading to enhanced delivery and release mechanisms. The MSN surface can be modified by using either organic or inorganic molecules to induce smart and site-specific drug delivery and release.... 

Corticosteroids have been the mainstay of uveitis therapy. When intraocular inflammation is unresponsive to steroids, or steroid related side effects become a concern, steroid-sparing medications may be administered which can be classified into immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory agents. Uveitis treatment can be delivered systemically, topically, periocularly or intraocularly. All of the above mentioned medications can entail significant systemic side effects, particularly if administered for prolonged durations, which may become treatment-limiting. Some medications, particularly hydrophobic compounds, may poorly cross the blood-retinal barrier. Topical medications, which have the least... 

Highly fluorescent and water-soluble cadmium selenide quantum dots (QDs) functionalised by thio-cyclodextrin (HS-CD) and mercaptoacetic acid (MAA) as surface coating agents (QDs-CD-MAA) were synthesised successfully. The synthesised hybrid nanomaterials, QDs-CD-MAA, were able to form water-soluble complexes with paclitaxel and folic acid. QDs and their complexes were characterised by usual spectroscopy and microscopy methods. Size and morphology of functionalised QDs were dependent on their capping agents and guest molecules. Short-term in vitro cytotoxicity tests on mouse tissue connective fibroblast adhesive cells (L929) showed that conjugation of CD molecules onto the surface of QDs... 

Background: Smart stimulus-responsive nanocarriers represent a rapidly growing class of drug-delivery systems for cancer and other diseases. Objective: The alterations of redox potential between the intracellular environment and the extracellular space have been widely utilized as a trigger for delivery of therapeutic agents by smart stimulus-responsive nanocarriers. We set out to review the scientific literature. Method: Published papers between 1980 and the present day were surveyed. Results: The advantages of redox-activated smart delivery of drugs, genes, and imaging agents include: the amplitude of the redox-responsive signal; the simple chemical features needed to trigger the... 

Carbon nanotubes are among promising components for a wide range of applications, due to their unique properties; Specifically, They are a new alternative and efficient tool for transporting and translocating therapeutic molecules since they can translocate easily into the cytoplasm or nucleus of a cell through its membrane without generating an immunogenic response and toxic effects. While pristine carbon nanotubes are insoluble in all solvents, the organic functionalisation of carbon nanotubes is the prerequisite for their solubility profiles and their manipulation into biological systems. For this purpose, in this study, we first report the Amide-functionalization of CNTs which a direct... 

With the increased occurrence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, alternatives to classical antibiotics are urgently needed for treatment of various infectious diseases. Medicinal plant extracts are among the promising candidates due to their bioactive components. The aim of this study was to prepare niosome-encapsulated Echinacea angustifolia extract and study its efficacy against multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strains. Encapsulation was first optimized by Design of Experiments, followed by the empirical study. The obtained niosomes were further charac-terized for the size and morphology using dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning... 

The use of external fields such as magnet and ultrasound to enhance the targeted drug delivery (TDD) by nano-microcarriers could be a potential method. In this research, the drug delivery of magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) coated nanoliposomes and microbubbles (MBs) to the atherosclerosis plaque was investigated under magnetic and ultrasound fields in terms of their adhesion to the plaque through ligand–receptor binding. The Halbach arrangement enhanced the surface density of nanoliposomes and MBs adhered to the plaque by ∼ (Formula presented.) and ∼ (Formula presented.), respectively. A focused transducer at the power of (Formula presented.) led to better drug delivery performance and caused ∼... 

The use of external fields such as magnet and ultrasound to enhance the targeted drug delivery (TDD) by nano-microcarriers could be a potential method. In this research, the drug delivery of magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) coated nanoliposomes and microbubbles (MBs) to the atherosclerosis plaque was investigated under magnetic and ultrasound fields in terms of their adhesion to the plaque through ligand–receptor binding. The Halbach arrangement enhanced the surface density of nanoliposomes and MBs adhered to the plaque by ∼ (Formula presented.) and ∼ (Formula presented.), respectively. A focused transducer at the power of (Formula presented.) led to better drug delivery performance and caused ∼... 

Biodegradable polymers such as chitosan have been used extensively in biomedical fields in the form of sutures; wound dressing and as artificial skin. Colonic drug delivery for either local or systemic effects has been the subject of much research over the last decade. Chitosan exhibits poor solubility at pH values above 6 that prevent enhancing effects at sites of absorption of drugs. In the present work, N-diethyl methyl chitosan (DEMC) was prepared based on a modified two-step process via a 22 factorial design to optimize the preparative conditions. DEMC Polymer with different degrees of quaternization for pharmacological and pharmaceutical experiments was achieved. The reaction was... 

Throughout the world, cancer is one of the main causes of mortality, threatening the public health in many countries. As a result, cancer therapy researchers are paying increasing attention to biocompatible targeted drug delivery systems. Nanocarriers and co-delivery of active drugs is emerging as an essential research field for improving therapeutic efficiency. Although nutraceuticals are now being used to prevent and treat chronic illnesses such as cancers, some have shown limitations concerning solubility, bioavailability, and biodegradability. This review explores different types of nanostructures that can be used as drug delivery systems for curcumin, a biologically active polyphenol... 

Designing drug delivery systems for therapeutic compounds whose receptors are located in the cytosol of cells is challenging as a bilayer cell membrane is negatively charged. The newly designed drug delivery systems should assist the mentioned drugs in passing the membrane barriers and achieving their targets. This study concentrated on developing novel ionic liquids (ILs) that interact effectively with cell membranes. These ILs are based on glucose-containing choline and are expected to be non-toxic. The binding energies of the known pharmaceutically active ionic liquids were calculated at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level in the gas phase and compared with those of our newly designed... 

Astaxanthin (AXT) is one of the most important fat-soluble carotenoids that have abundant and diverse therapeutic applications namely in liver disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer treatment, protection of the nervous system, protection of the skin and eyes against UV radiation, and boosting the immune system. However, due to its intrinsic reactivity, it is chemically unstable, and therefore, the design and production processes for this compound need to be precisely formulated. Nanoencapsulation is widely applied to protect AXT against degradation during digestion and storage, thus improving its physicochemical properties and therapeutic effects. Nanocarriers are delivery systems with many...