Journal articles on the topic 'Dye-loaded polymeric nanoparticles'

In the era of climate changes, harmful dinoflagellate outbreaks that produce potent algal toxins, odor, and water discoloration in aquatic environments have been increasingly reported. Thus, various treatments have been attempted for the mitigation and management of harmful blooms. Here, we report engineered nanoparticles that consist of two different types of rylene derivatives encapsulated in polymeric micelles. In addition, to avoid dissociation of the aggregate, the core of micelle was stabilized via semi-interpenetrating network (sIPN) formation. On two types of the marine red-tide dinoflagellates, Akashiwo sanguinea and Alexandrium pacificum, the nanoparticle uptake followed by fluorescence labeling and photothermal effect was conducted. Firstly, fluorescence microscopy enabled imaging of the dinoflagellates with the ultraviolet chromophore, Lumogen Violet. Lastly, near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation was exposed on the Lumogen IR788 nanoparticle-treated Ak. Sanguinea. The irradiation resulted in reduced cell survival due to the photothermal effect in microalgae. The results suggested that the nanoparticle, IR788-sIPN, can be applied for potential red-tide algal elimination.

Polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) find many uses in nanomedicine, from drug delivery to imaging. In this regard, poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) particles are the most widely applied types of nano-systems due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability. Here we developed novel fluorinated polymeric NPs as vectors for multi-modal nanoprobes. This approach involved modifying polymeric NPs with trifluoroacetamide (TFA) and loading them with a near-infrared (NIR) dye for different imaging modalities, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and optical imaging. The PLGA-PEG-TFA NPs generated were characterized in vitro using the C28/I2 human chondrocyte cell line and in vivo in a mouse model of osteoarthritis (OA). The NPs were well absorbed, as confirmed by confocal microscopy, and were non-toxic to cells. To test the NPs as a drug delivery system for contrast agents of OA, the nanomaterial was administered via the intra-articular (IA) administration method. The dye-loaded NPs were injected in the knee joint and then visualized and tracked in vivo by fluorine-19 nuclear magnetic resonance and fluorescence imaging. Here, we describe the development of novel intrinsically fluorinated polymeric NPs modality that can be used in various molecular imaging techniques to visualize and track OA treatments and their potential use in clinical trials.

TiO2-loaded poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-coHFP) membranes were produced by supercritical CO2-assisted phase inversion. Three different TiO2 loadings were tested: 10, 20, and 30 wt% with respect to the polymer. Increasing the TiO2 amount from 10 wt% to 20 wt% in the starting solution, the transition from leafy-like to leafy-cellular morphology was observed in the section of the membrane. When 30 wt% TiO2 was used, the entire membrane section showed agglomerates of TiO2 nanoparticles. These polymeric membranes were tested to remove Sudan Blue II (SB) dye from aqueous solutions. The adsorption/photocatalytic processes revealed that membrane morphology and TiO2 cluster size were the parameters that mainly affected the dye removal efficiency. Moreover, after five cycles of exposure of these membranes to UV light, SB removal was higher than 85%.

Biomedical applications of nanoparticles (NPs) have reached an increasing development in recent years. Recently, we demonstrated that newly synthesized poly (ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate) nanoparticles (PECA-NPs) are possible antitumor agents due to their cytotoxicity for cancer cells. Indocyanine green (ICG), an amphiphilic tricarbocyanine fluorescent dye, is widely used for the detection of tumoral extension in different organs during clinical surgery. Moreover, this fluorescent agent is unstable and it has a rapid clearance in physiological conditions in vivo. In this study, ICG was charged in PECA-NPs to improve its aqueous stability and make easier its use for the identification of tumor cells. Microscopic and ultrastructural aspects concerning the related in vitro interactions between ICG-loaded NPs and tumor cell culture were investigated. Obtained results showed an effective stabilization of ICG; furthermore, color inclusions inside the cells treated with ICG-loaded NPs demonstrated the internalization of NPs with associated ICG. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis demonstrated the cytoplasmic presence of coated vesicles (Ø ≤ 100 nm), hypothesizing their involvement in the mechanism of endocytosis. Therefore, ICG-loaded NPs could be proposed as agents for tumor diagnosis, hypothesizing also in the future a specific therapeutic treatment.

Background: In the past decade, researchers have focused on developing new biomaterials for cancer therapy that combine imaging and therapeutic agents. In our study, we use a new biocompatible and biodegradable polymer, termed poly(glycerol malate co-dodecanedioate) (PGMD), for the synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) and loading of near-infrared (NIR) dyes. IR820 was chosen for the purpose of imaging and hyperthermia (HT). HT is currently used in clinical trials for cancer therapy in combination with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. One of the potential problems of HT is that it can up-regulate hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) expression and enhance vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) secretion. Results: We explored cellular response after rapid, short-term and low thermal dose laser-IR820-PGMD NPs (laser/NPs) induced-heating, and compared it to slow, long-term and high thermal dose heating by a cell incubator. The expression levels of the reactive oxygen species (ROS), HIF-1 and VEGF following the two different modes of heating. The cytotoxicity of NPs after laser/NP HT resulted in higher cell killing compared to incubator HT. The ROS level was highly elevated under incubator HT, but remained at the baseline level under the laser/NP HT. Our results show that elevated ROS expression inside the cells could result in the promotion of HIF-1 expression after incubator induced-HT. The VEGF secretion was also significantly enhanced compared to laser/NP HT, possibly due to the promotion of HIF-1. In vitro cell imaging and in vivo healthy mice imaging showed that IR820-PGMD NPs can be used for optical imaging. Conclusion: IR820-PGMD NPs were developed and used for both imaging and therapy purposes. Rapid and short-term laser/NP HT, with a low thermal dose, does not up-regulate HIF-1 and VEGF expression, whereas slow and long term incubator HT, with a high thermal dose, enhances the expression of both transcription factors.

Abstract Nanoparticles based drug delivery systems have provided a befitted solution for the poor pharmacokinetic properties and systemic toxicity caused by the chemo drugs because of their ability to improve bioavailability of the drugs at the desired site and thereby decreasing extracellular toxicity. The present work investigates the single or dual chemo drugs loaded PLA-based biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles for improved anti-tumor efficacy as compared to free drug formulations. For the study, an amphiphilic block copolymer; mPEG PLA has been synthesized and characterized using Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) for its molecular weight and poly dispersity index as well as with Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Fourier-transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopies. Thereafter, two different chemo drugs Pirarubicin (PIRA, THP analogue of Doxorubicin) and Gemcitabine (GEM) have been chemically conjugated individually to mPEG PLA block copolymer via a linker molecule, Levulinic acid to give an acid labile polymer-drug conjugate and the % drug conjugation efficiency has been calculated using High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The synthesized polymer-drug conjugates have been employed to prepare PIRA/GEM single or dual-loaded nanoparticles via nanoprecipitation technique and the physiochemical properties including size, zeta potential, and stability were analyzed using Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). To carry out toxicity assessment of the mPEG PLA nanoparticles, both cytocompatibility and hemocompatibility were checked using MTT assay and Hemolysis assay respectively. Moreover, the cellular internalization studies of dye-loaded mPEG PLA nanoparticles were done using Confocal microscopy on SUM-149, breast cancer cells. Besides, the drug release kinetic studies of the free PIRA/GEM from the PIRA/GEM single or dual-loaded nanoparticles were carried out in different pH environments; pH 7.4 and pH 5.0. The in-vitro cell proliferation inhibition studies of PIRA/GEM or dual-loaded nanoparticles were carried out on different human and murine breast cancer cell lines including MCF-7, MDA-MB-468, SUM 149, MDA-MB-231 and 4T1 and half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50 values) were compared to that of respective free drug formulations. The overall results suggested that the prepared sub-nano sized PIRA/GEM single or dual-loaded particles are highly stable, uniformly spherical in size and biocompatible in nature. They were found to possess high cellular uptake, sustained drug release rate and synergistic efficacy and potential against both human and murine breast cancer cells in-vitro conditions. Citation Format: Priya Gupta. Development of poly lactic acid based biodegradable nanoparticles for co-delivery of pirarubicin and gemcitabine for synergistic anti-tumor efficacy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC Virtual International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2023 Oct 11-15; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2023;22(12 Suppl):Abstract nr A031.

The aim of this study was to prepare and evaluate α-mangostin-loaded polymeric nanoparticle gel (α-MNG-PLGA) formulation to enhance α-mangostin delivery in an epidermal carcinoma. The poly (D, L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) were developed using the emulsion–diffusion–evaporation technique with a 3-level 3-factor Box–Behnken design. The NPs were characterized and evaluated for particle size distribution, zeta potential (mV), drug release, and skin permeation. The formulated PLGA NPs were converted into a preformed carbopol gel base and were further evaluated for texture analysis, the cytotoxic effect of PLGA NPs against B16-F10 melanoma cells, and in vitro radical scavenging activity. The nanoscale particles were spherical, consistent, and average in size (168.06 ± 17.02 nm), with an entrapment efficiency (EE) of 84.26 ± 8.23% and a zeta potential of −25.3 ± 7.1 mV. Their drug release percentages in phosphate-buffered solution (PBS) at pH 7.4 and pH 6.5 were 87.07 ± 6.95% and 89.50 ± 9.50%, respectively. The release of α-MNG from NPs in vitro demonstrated that the biphasic release system, namely, immediate release in the initial phase, was accompanied by sustained drug release. The texture study of the developed α-MNG-PLGA NPs gel revealed its characteristics, including viscosity, hardness, consistency, and cohesiveness. The drug flux from α-MNG-PLGA NPs gel and α-MNG gel was 79.32 ± 7.91 and 16.88 ± 7.18 µg/cm2/h in 24 h, respectively. The confocal study showed that α-MNG-PLGA NPs penetrated up to 230.02 µm deep into the skin layer compared to 15.21 µm by dye solution. MTT assay and radical scavenging potential indicated that α-MNG-PLGA NPs gel had a significant cytotoxic effect and antioxidant effect compared to α-MNG gel (p < 0.05). Thus, using the developed α-MNG-PLGA in treating skin cancer could be a promising approach.

Herein, polymeric cryogels containing poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) were synthesized by cryo-polymerization at subzero temperature. The synthesized cryogels were loaded with silver and palladium nanoparticles by the chemical reduction method at room temperature using the reducing agent NaBH4. Moreover, for comparison with cryogels, pure poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogel and its silver hybrid were also prepared by the conventional method at room temperature. The chemical structure and functional group analysis of the pure cryogels was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The synthesis of hybrid cryogels was confirmed by the X-ray diffraction technique and energy dispersive X-ray. The pore size and surface morphology of the pure cryogels, their respective hybrid cryogels and of conventional hydrogels were studied by using the scanning electron microscopy technique. The hybrid cryogels were successfully used as a catalyst for the degradation of methyl orange dye. The degradation performance of the hybrid cryogels was much better than its counterpart hybrid hydrogel for methyl orange dye. The effect of temperature and amount of catalyst on catalytic performance was studied by UV-visible spectroscopy. The reduction follows pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics. In addition, the antibacterial activities of these cryogels were evaluated against Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, ATCC: 2593) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, ATCC: 25922). Both hybrid cryogels have shown much better antibacterial activity for these two strains of bacteria compared to pure cryogels. The results indicate that these cryogels are potential candidates for water purification systems as well as biomedical applications.

Identified as the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among American women after lung cancer, breast cancer of all types has been the focus of numerous research studies. Even though triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents 15–20% of the number of breast cancer cases worldwide, its existing therapeutic options are fairly limited. Due to the pivotal role of the presence/absence of specific receptors to luminal A, luminal B, HER-2+, and TNBC in the molecular classification of breast cancer, the lack of these receptors has accounted for the aforementioned limitation. Thereupon, in an attempt to participate in the ongoing research endeavors to overcome such a limitation, the conducted study adopts a combination strategy as a therapeutic paradigm for TNBC, which has proven notable results with respect to both: improving patient outcomes and survivability rates. The study hinges upon an investigation of a promising NPs platform for CD44 mediated theranostic that can be combined with JAK/STAT inhibitors for the treatment of TNBC. The ability of momelotinib (MMB), which is a JAK/STAT inhibitor, to sensitize the TNBC to apoptosis inducer (CFM-4.16) has been evaluated in MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468. MMB + CFM-4.16 combination with a combination index (CI) ≤0.5, has been selected for in vitro and in vivo studies. MMB has been combined with CD44 directed polymeric nanoparticles (PNPs) loaded with CFM-4.16, namely CD44-T-PNPs, which selectively delivered the payload to CD44 overexpressing TNBC with a significant decrease in cell viability associated with a high dose reduction index (DRI). The mechanism underlying their synergism is based on the simultaneous downregulation of P-STAT3 and the up-regulation of CARP-1, which has induced ROS-dependent apoptosis leading to caspase 3/7 elevation, cell shrinkage, DNA damage, and suppressed migration. CD44-T-PNPs showed a remarkable cellular internalization, demonstrated by uptake of a Rhodamine B dye in vitro and S0456 (NIR dye) in vivo. S0456 was conjugated to PNPs to form CD44-T-PNPs/S0456 that simultaneously delivered CFM-4.16 and S0456 parenterally with selective tumor targeting, prolonged circulation, minimized off-target distribution.

Fluorescent particles are of particular interest as probes and active agents for biomedical, pharmaceutical, and food applications. Here, we present two strategies for incorporation of core-shell acrylic fluorescent nanoparticles (NPs) with Rhodamine B (RhB) as a dye into a chitosan (CS) matrix. We selected two variants of NPsRhB immobilisation in a CS membrane and biopolymeric CS beads. Modification of the method for production of the biopolymer cover/transporter of nanoparticles allowed two series of hydrogels loaded with nanoparticles to be obtained with a similar concentration of the aqueous solution of the nanoparticles. Microscopic analysis showed that the NPs were nonuniformly distributed in millimetre-sized CS beads, as well as membranes, but the fluorescence signal was strong. The composition of CS layers loaded with nanoparticles (CS/NPsRhB) showed water vapour barrier properties, characterised by the contact angle of 71.8°. Finally, we incorporated NPsRhBCS beads into a gelatine matrix to check their stability. The results confirmed good stability of the NPsRhBCS complex system, and no dye leakage was observed from the beads and the membranes. The proposed complex system demonstrated promising potential for further use in bioimaging and, thus, for the development of advanced diagnostic tools.

The nanoprecipitation method was used to formulate ε-polycaprolactone (PCL) into fluorescent nanoparticles. Two methods of mixing the phases were evaluated: introducing the organic phase into the aqueous phase dropwise and via a specially designed microfluidic device. As a result of the nanoprecipitation process, fluorescein-loaded nanoparticles (NPs) with a mean diameter of 127 ± 3 nm and polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.180 ± 0.009 were obtained. The profiles of dye release were determined in vitro using dialysis membrane tubing, and the results showed a controlled release of the dye from NPs. In addition, the cytotoxicity of the NPs was assessed using an MTT assay. The PCL NPs were shown to be safe and non-toxic to L929 and MG63 cells. The results of the present study have revealed that PCL NPs represent a promising system for developing new drug delivery systems.

A huge amount of textile dyes are released as industrial waste into the environment each year, which alters the water’s natural appearance and causes toxicity and carcinogenicity in the human body. Peanut husk is considered an agro-waste and contains many valuable compounds, such as cellulose. Different concentrations of cellulose were extracted from peanut husk and then loaded with bio-silver nanoparticles, which were fabricated using neem leaves (Azadirachta indica) as a reducing agent to form Ag-cellulose nanocomposites (Ag-Cell-NCMs). Different devices were used to characterize Ag-Cell-NCMs. The TEM images displayed that the size of Ag-Cell-NCMs ranged between 13.4 and 17.4 nm after dye adsorption. The Ag-Cell-NCMs were used to adsorb toxic dyes such as crystal violet (CV). Different parameters were applied, such as the ratio of cellulose to Ag-NPs, pH, contact time, adsorbent dose, dye concentration, and the temperature required to reach the optimization conditions to remove CV dye from the aqueous solution. Different kinetics and isotherm models were applied to the experimental data to explain the mechanism of the adsorption process. The adsorption of CV on Ag-Cell-NCMs follows the pseudo-second order, and the best-fit isotherm was the Langmuir isotherm. The new composite was tested for the possibility of dye desorption and ability to be reused several times, and we found that the new nanocomposite can be reused for multiple adsorptions and there is a possibility of dye desorption.

The in-situ polymerization technology was used to successfully produce nanostructured binary nanocomposites (NCs) made from a poly (3-nitrothiophen) matrix (P3NT) that were loaded effectively with nanoparticles (NPs) of silver titanium dioxide (AgTiO2), of varying percentages (10%, 20%, and 30%). A uniform coating of P3NT covers the AgTiO2 NPs. Various methods were performed to confirm the fabrication of the binary P3NT/AgTiO2 NCs adsorbents, such as FTIR, XRD, SEM, and EDX. Both dyes (brilliant green (B.G.) and crystal violet (C.V.)) were removed from liquid media by using the binary P3NT/AgTiO2 NCs. A range of batch adsorption studies was used to optimize various factors that impact the elimination of B.G. or C.V. dyes, including the pH, weight of the binary P3NT/AgTiO2 NC, proportion of AgTiO2 NP, time, and temperature. The pseudo-second-order kinetics ( R 2 = 0.999 ) was better adapted for the adsorption procedure’s empirical data whereby the maximum adsorption capacity of the C.V. dye was 43.10 mg/g and ( R 2 = 0.996 ) the maximum adsorption potential was 40.16 mg/g for B.G. dye, succeeded by the pseudo-second-order kinetics. Moreover, the adhesion of B.G. and C.V. pigments on the layers of NCs involves an endothermic reaction. In addition, the concocted adsorbent not only exhibited strong adsorption characteristics during four consecutive cycles but also possessed a higher potential for its reuse. According to the findings, the NCs might possibly be used as a robust and reusable adsorbent to remove B.G. and C.V. pigments from an aqueous medium.

This work focuses on the preparation of aerogel composite beads based on Zn(II)-crosslinked alginate and loaded with different percentages of AgNPs using a simple approach. The obtained samples were evaluated in two different applications: the first application consists in their use as catalysts for the reduction of MB, MO, OG and CR dyes in a simple and binary system under the presence of NaBH4. For this, several parameters affecting the catalytic behavior of these catalysts have been investigated and discussed such as the catalyst mass, AgNPs content, dye nature, and the selectivity of the catalyst in a binary system. The second application concerns their antibacterial activities towards two Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), and a Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923). The physico-chemical properties of different samples were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM/EDS, and TGA analysis. The obtained results confirmed the presence of AgNPs on a highly porous alginate structure. The dispersion of a high percentage of AgNPs leads to the formation of nanoparticles on the outer surface of the alginate which led to their leaching after the catalytic test, while the composite having a low percentage of AgNPs showed good results through all dyes without leaching of AgNPs. For the antibacterial application of the different samples, it was shown that a composite with a higher percentage of AgNPs was the most effective against all bacteria.

Green gram (Vigna radiata) is considered the chief legume in Pakistan. Thus, current study was conducted to examine the ameliorating effect of phytohormones pre-treatments under salt stress on proteome profile of green gram by sodium-dodecyl-sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The soluble green gram seedlings proteins were resolved on 4% stacking and 12% resolving gels. The SDS-PAGE resolved 24 polypeptide bands ranging from 200 to 17kDa. Among these, 12 out of 24 bands of proteins were essentials house-keeping or growth proteins of green grams. While, 120, 114.6, 51.8, 29.1, and 22.8 kDa bands were over-expressed under 50 to 350mM salt with phytohormones treatments. The others 104.5 kDa, 99.8 kDa, 95.3 kDa, 91.0 kDa, 55 kDa, 46 kDa, and 17kDa bands were related to the GAᴣ, IAA, and SA induced tolerance. Overall 120 kDa, 114.6 kDa, 104.5 kDa, 99.8, 95.3 kDa, 51.8 kDa, 29.1 kDa and 22.8kDa bands were first time identified in the current study. The information retrieved from NCBI protein database, the resolved peptides were principally belonging to 7S and 8S vicilin, 2S, 8S, 11S, and 16.5S globulins. It is determined that seed priming with SA enhanced tolerance in green gram by rapidly synthesizing stress alleviating peptides.Key word: Cluster analysis, dendrogram, mungbean, salt stress, SDS-PAGEINTRODUCTIONVarious world-wide health concerning organization recommended the use of high graded plant protein such as legumes to prevent the risk of metabolic disorder (Hou et al., 2019). Legumes are most important protein crop on the earth. Among the legumes, the green gram is the major pulses. Its seeds are rich in superior quality storage protein, which account 85% of the total protein while, another 15% have not been broadly studied (Yi-Shen et al., 2018). The soluble storage protein comprises of 60% globulins, 25% albumin and 15% prolamins. Globulins are further divided into 3.4% basic-type (7S), 7.6% legumin-type (11S), and 89% vicilin-type (8S) (Mendoza et al., 2001; Itoh et al., 2006). Other than proteins, the green gram seeds also contain starch, fiber, phenolic compound, saponins, vitamins, calcium zinc, potassium, folate, magnesium, manganese and very low in fat that made it meager man’s meat (Hou et al., 2019). It is also a good source of green manure and fodder (El-Kafafi et al., 2015). Its root has ability to fix 30 to 50 Kg/ha atmospheric nitrogen in the soil which is essential for maintaining soil fertility (Chadha, 2010). The green gram is the valuable and the major Rabi pulse crop of Pakistan. Its cultivation area in 2016-2017 was about 179,000 hectares with seed yield of 130,000 tones. In comparison during 2017-2018, it was cultivated on 161,800 hectares land with 118,800 tones seed yield (GOP, 2018). One of the reasons of this 9% decrease in both land and productivity is the shortage of irrigated land due to soil salinity. The salinity induce oxidative bust in the mungbean cells, caused by responsive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydrogen peroxide, singlet oxygen, hydroxyl radical and superoxide radical. The ROS create hindrance in various metabolic processes of plant via interacting with macromolecules like proteins (Alharby et al., 2016). However, phytohormones like gibberellic acid (GAᴣ), indole acetic acid (IAA), and salicylic acid (SA) take part in the biosynthesis of salt tolerance proteins under salinity. These salt tolerance proteins acclimate plants under salinity stress. Application of biotechnology plays a significant role in agriculture (Khan et al., 2017). Therefore, production of particular proteins under salt stress is a specific response of cell which can be analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). SDS-PAGE is the simple, valid, and cost-effective biochemical marker (Mushtaq et al., 2018). This marker has been widely used to determine the extent of evolutionary variations in crops (El-Kafafi et al., 2015).OBJECTIVES The present study was directed first time with the aim to investigate the toxic effect of sodium chloride (0-350 mM) and stress acclimation by pre-treatment of GAᴣ, IAA, and SA on the proteome profile of NM-92 cultivar of a Pakistani green gram.MATERIALS AND METHODSThe present study was replicated thrice in the plant laboratory of Department of Genetics, Faculty of Science, and University of Karachi. The seeds of mung bean cultivar NM-92 were acquired from National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad. These freshly collected 15 seedsˉ1 treatment / replication were divided into two sets. The first was named as sodium chloride (SC) stress treatments were imbibed in sterile distilled water (DW) whereas, second set soaked in gibberellic acid (GAᴣ) (BDH Chemicals, England), indole acetic acid (IAA) (Fluka, Switzerland), and salicylic acid (SA) (J.T. Baker, Holland) in the separate beaker for 24 hours under dark condition. After 24 hours, given ample time to both the sets at room temperature. After recovery, all 20 treatments were sown in the 150 X 30 mm sized petri-dishes containing 0, 50, 150, 250, and 350 millimolar (mM) sodium chloride solution (Fisher Scientific, UK) for 72 hours.Protein extraction: Protein extraction was done by taking 0.3g of seedlings in an ice chilled mortar and crushed by adding 600µL 0.2 M Tris-HCl buffer having pH 7.5 contained 5% SDS (w/v) and 5% 2-mercaptoethanol (v/v). The homogenate was incubated at 0oC for 30 min., boiled in the water bath for 3 min. at 100oC. Samples were centrifuged in Heraeus Biofuge D-37520, Germany for 30 min. at 8000 rpm. The protein supernatant was saved at below 0°C for quantitative and qualitative determination with minor modifications. The total soluble protein content of the samples was estimated via “Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) standard curve” and explicit in µg protein milligramˉ1 fresh weight of mung seedlings.Bovine serum albumin standard curve (2000 μg/mL): Total protein standard curve was made by dissolving 0.05g of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) in 25mL of distilled water. Ten serial dilutions were made from 0.1 mL to 1mL by BSA solution then performed Lowry. A standard curve of total proteins was plotted by taking BSA absorbance at Y-axis and 2000 μg BSA / mL at X-axisSample preparation for SDS-PAGE: For qualitative assessment of total proteins; the 35μL of saved protein supernatant was combined with 15μL of sample diluting buffer (SDB). The SDB was made up of 0.0625 M Tris-HCl pH 6.8 with 2% of SDS, 10% of glycerol, 0.003% of bromophenol blue dye and 5% of 2-mercaptoethanol. Boil the 50μL protein SDB supernatant at 100oC in water bath for 3 min., centrifuged at 6000 rpm for 4 min. The supernatant was loaded on SDS-PAGE gel with the given formulae. The SDS- PAGE: Total proteins were fractionated via SDS-PAGE with 4% stacking and 12% resolving gel. The resolving gel of 12% was made by taking 6mL solution A, 1.8 mL 3 M Tris 1 M HCl buffer pH 8.8, 144μL 10% SDS, 5.74 mL sterile distilled water, 720μL 1.5% ammonium persulphate (APS) in deionized water and 10μL TEMED. While, stacking was composed of 1.25mL of solution A, 2.5mL of 0.5M Tris 1M HCl buffer pH 6.8, 100μL 10% SDS, 1.8 mL of distilled water, 500μL 1.5% APS and 12μL TEMED. Solution A was prepared by conjoining 30% acrylamide and 0.8% N, N’-methylene-bisacrylamide in deionized water. To avoid polymerization in the beaker; the prepared solution was quickly poured into the 3 mm thick gel plates after adding TEMED. The stacking was lined over resolving gel, then combs were inserted between the gel plates of SCIE-PLAS TV-100 separation system, UK, and allowed to polymerize for ½ an hour. After polymerization gel was placed in the tank which were filled with Tris-Glycine buffer (electrode buffer) pH 8.4 then combs were removed. The electrode buffer contained 0.3% Tris, 1.41% Glycine and 0.1% SDS in 2000mL d/w. The gel was pre-run for 15 min. at 60 volts and 120 mA currents. The prepared SDS-PAGE samples were loaded in wells with BlueStepTM Broad Range Protein Marker, AMRESCO, USA as standard and run at 60 volts & 120 mA for about 45 min. When samples entered in resolving gel, and then gave 100 volts and 200 mA currents for around 2.5 hours. Furthermore, electrophoresis was carried out at a constant watt.The Gel was washed with 30% ethanol on Uni Thermo Shaker NTS-1300 EYELA, Japan at the constant shaking for 30 min. Then gels were placed in 10% glacial acetic acid in 50% methanol solution (Fixative) for 24 hours. SDS Gel was stained until protein bands were visible thereat placed as 5% of Methanol in 7.5% acetic acid glacial solution to destain the bands background. SDS-PAGE stain composed of 0.125% coomassie brilliant blue R-250 dissolved in 40% of Methanol and 7% acetic acid glacial solution. The stain was stirred on Magnetic stirrer & hot plate M6/1, Germany for 6-10 hours before used. Photographs were taken by Sanyo digital camera VPC-T1284BL and bands were scored through numbering pattern. Gels preserved in 10% acetic acid solution at 4°C.Interpretation of bands and data analysis: The total soluble protein bands relative mobility calculated by below formulae and Dendrogram was constructed via SPSS v. 20Where,F=(Migrated distance of protein band)/(Migrated distance of dye front)Slop=(Log MW of protein marker lower limit band–log〖MW of protein marker upper limit band )/(RF protein marker lower limit band –RF of protein marker upper limit band)RESULTS:The total soluble proteins extracted from green gram were perceived by SDS-PAGE Blue StepTm broad range biochemical markers. The protein-based marker was used to evaluate the toxic effect of sodium chloride along with pre-treatments of GAᴣ, IAA, and SA on proteome assay. In the current work, seedlings total soluble proteome resolved 24 polypeptide bands ranging from 200 to 17.1 kDa were recognized by using SDS-PAGE. The figure 1 showed Dendrogram assay, which classified the 20 treatments of SC, GAᴣ, IAA and SA into two major clusters where, the cluster I was the largest one (figure 1). Cluster I consisted of 15 treatments that further divided into I-A, and I-B. The pre-treatments of SC50+SA, SC150+SA, SC250+SA, and SC350+IAA were grouped together into C-1 of sub-cluster I-A. The C-2 of sub-cluster I-A, pre-treatment SC350+SA was most diverse among 20 treatments. The C-1 treatments showed 99% homology when compared with each other while, it was 97% similar with C-2. The sub-cluster I-B comprised another 10 treatments, SC0+GAᴣ, SC50+GAᴣ, SC150+GAᴣ, SC250+GAᴣ, SC350+GAᴣ, SC0+IAA, SC50+IAA, SC150+IAA, SC250+IAA, and SC0+SA that were also 99% similar for total proteins. Sub-cluster I-B pre-treatments was exhibiting 94% homology with the sub-cluster I-A. The second cluster was the smallest one that was divided into two sub-clusters, II-A and II-B. The II-A was comprised of SC50, SC150, and SC250 while, sub-cluster II-B consisted of SC0 and SC350. Within each sub-cluster, pre-treatments expressed 99% homology whereas, II-A was 97 different from II-B. Furthermore, cluster I showed 75% similarities with cluster II (figure 1). The seedlings storage proteome profile of green gram was shown in table 1.The results showed that 120kDa, 114.6 kDa, 51.8 kDa, 29.1 kDa and 22.8 kDa proteins bands were not induced at 0 mM SC, GAᴣ, IAA, and SA. The table 1 depicted the presence of 120 kDa and 114.6 kDa bands only at 350 mM SC level with all phytohormones treatments. Similarly, 51.8 kDa protein bands were appearing at 150SC, 250SC and 350SC stress with phytohormones. Based on the information collected from the NCBI protein database, this peptide was related to the 8S globulin alpha subunits. The two other, 7S globulins sub-units having 29.1kDa and 22.8 kDa molecular weights bands were synthesized under 50mM, 150mM, 250mM, 350mM SC stress with phytohormones. Concerning protein polypeptide of molecular weight 104.5 kDa, 99.8 kDa, 91.0 kDa, 55.0 kDa, and 46.0 kDa, those were induced by GAᴣ, IAA and SA at 0 to 350 mM SC. While, 17kDa protein band was appearing in SA, and IAA treated samples and 95.3kDa band was only present in SA treatment. Other 12 protein bands were present in all treatments proved as house-keeping proteins of green gram (table 1).DISCUSSIONThe SDS-PAGE profiling for proteome is the reliable and applied biochemical approach that has been used as biochemical marker in various crop differentiation, and characterization. In the current study, first time SDS-PAGE was utilized to investigate the impact of GAᴣ, IAA, and SA pre-soaking on green gram under salt toxicity. The salt toxicity adversely affects all seed, seedling, and plant metabolic process (Parveen et al., 2016). At salt toxicity, the endogenous GAᴣ, IAA, and SA levels markedly decrease (El-Khallal et al., 2009). In such condition, exogenous application of GAᴣ, IAA, and SA enhance seedlings survival rate by increasing synthesis of seed storage proteins. Likewise, our Dendrogram characterization based on 20 treatments showed significant diversity under 0 to 350 mM SC stress. The salicylic acid treatments were grouped together except SC0+SA treatment, exhibiting a close relationship, which proved its acclimating role under salt stress. These findings will help plant breeder toward enhancing food quality and quantity of green gram in future breeding programme on saline sodic land.The SDS-PAGE assay revealed 200. kDa, 109.4 kDa, 77 kDa, 68 kDa, 49 kDa, 38 kDa, 33 kDa, 26 kDa, 24 kDa, 22 kDa, 21 kDa and 19 kDa fractions as essential green gram proteins. Among these, 68 kDa, 49 kDa, 33 kDa, 26 kDa, 24 kDa and 21 kDa peptides were seed biotinylated isoform protein (Riascos et al., 2009), putative NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase subunit H (Gostinčar et al., 2019), heat shock protein 33 (Hamidian et al., 2015), globulin protein, seed coat / maturation protein (Dhaubhadel et al., 2005), and protein for dimerization. While, 22 kDa proteins belonged to the class of prolamin alpha zein Z1C1_2, Z1C1_4, and Z1C1_8 precursors, and 19kDa peptide was related with Z1A1_2, Z1A2_2, and Z1B_6 precursors (Miclaus et al., 2011). Further, the 91 kDa peptide is sucrose synthase SS1 protein, and 77kDa protein is the NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase (Wang et al., 2004). Also, the phosphatase-associated two other proteins having 46 and 55 kDa molecular weight were reported earlier in Mucuna pruriens. Hameed et al. (2012) and Malviya et al. (2008) found 55 and 46kDa peptides as 7S vicilin small sub-units and 17kDa as 11S globulins sub-unit in the studied Vigna radiata. Some other molecular weight proteome such as 68 kDa and 49kDa are 7S vicilin, 33kDa is 8S vicilin, 38 and 26kDa 8S globulins, 24kDa 11S globulins, and 22kDa 16.5S globulins. These proteins required for germination and seed establishment of green gram plant (Hameed et al., 2012).The vast accumulation of 23kDa and 22kDa peptides under salt stress by salicylic acid, were reported previously in the mangrove Bruguiera parviffora and Zea mays (El-Khallal et al., 2009). Correspondingly, El-Kafafi et al. (2015) reported the presence of 115kDa, 23kDa, and 22kDa bands in the salt tolerant lines of green gram. These proteomes induced under salt stress may play a pivotal part in the stress acclimation and osmotic adjustment. Similarly, the induction of 104 kDa and 100kDa MW polypeptide by SC stress in the salt tolerant genotypes of green gram indicated the functional role of phytohormones in various metabolic and defense response El-Kafafi et al. (2015); Alharby et al. (2016), El-Khallal et al. (2009), Qados (2010). Ali et al. (2007), Alharby et al. (2016), and El-Kafafi et al. (2015) observed 17kDa, 26kDa, 33kDa and 77kDa bands involving in salt tolerance and can be considered as a positive biochemical marker for salt stress. Further, 26 kDa MW peptide also functions as osmotin under the salt stress that involved in enhancing the accumulation of glycine betaine and proline in the cells. Hence, proteome assay of green gram showed that GAᴣ, IAA, and SA could regulate the expression of salt stress proteins that are anticipated to play a crucial part in the salt tolerance mechanism. Likewise, the involvement of phytohormones in the induction of changes in the proteome profile pattern was attributed to their part in managing cell division by regulating some genes of apical meristems.CONCLUSIONFinally, the results revealed the presence of the ten new bands with MW of 200kDa, 120 kDa, 114.6 kDa, 109.4kDa, 104.5kDa, 99.8kDa, 95.3kDa, 51.8kDa, 29.1kDa and 22.8kDa have not reported previously under salt stress with phytohormones treatments in green gram. Furthermore, it was observed that phytohormones alleviate the negative impact of salt stress on green gram by enhancing synthesis of salt defense polypeptides. Hence, higher accumulation of proteins was observed in salicylic acid treated seedlings. Thus, present work recommended the pre-soaking of phytohormones to overcome the toxic impact of sodium chloride on green gram. 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AbstractThe development of nanozymes, artificial enzymes made from inorganic nanoparticles, is widely studied due to their affordability, durability, and strength. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are employed to imitate peroxidase, glucose oxidase, lactate oxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase. The last one transforms intracellular hydrogen peroxide into molecular oxygen, whose deficiency is characteristic of the hypoxic tumor microenvironment. Thus, gold nanoparticles are thought to enhance the overall effectiveness of photodynamic therapy. However, the enzyme‐like activity of nanoparticles rapidly decreases in biological media, due to the aggregation and formation of the so‐called “protein corona”. In this study, polymeric submicrocapsules loaded with AuNPs and a photodynamic dye are fabricated via Layer‐by‐Layer (LbL) assembly. The enhancement of photodynamic treatment efficacy by in situ production of oxygen by the catalase‐like effect of AuNPs is investigated. Polymeric capsules are thoroughly characterized in terms of physicochemical and catalytic properties, and as a proof of concept, their therapeutic potential is evaluated in vitro. Furthermore, encapsulated AuNPs shows significantly lower aggregation both upon storage and during the reaction course. The results shows that the polymer capsules, containing AuNPs and photodynamic dye, show significantly higher light‐induced cytotoxicity in comparison to the individual photodynamic dye, suggesting a synergistic effect between the formation of molecular oxygen by catalase‐like gold nanozymes and photodynamic action.

AbstractLight‐harvesting is a fundamental process in nature, which inspires researchers to develop artificial systems for photocatalysis, photovoltaics, and biosensing. A previously introduced light‐harvesting nanoantenna, based on polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) loaded with rhodamine dyes and bulky hydrophobic counterions, provides a record‐breaking antenna effect ≈1000. However, the high dye cooperativity of its thousands of encapsulated dyes causes energy losses by traces of self‐quenched dye aggregates. Here, it is found that these imperfections can be suppressed by blank hydrophobic salts (BHS) formed by the same bulky counterion (fluorinated tetraphenylborate) with an optically inactive cation, analogs of ionic liquids. The presence of BHS increases twofold the fluorescence quantum yields and fluorescence lifetimes of NPs and suppresses their fluorescence blinking. This study assumes that BHS provides an excess of bulky counterions that excludes traces of dye aggregates. As a result, an efficient Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is achieved from 40 000 dye donors to a single acceptor within a 70 nm particle, leading to the antenna effect of 4800, which is by far the highest value reported to date. Using this nanoantenna, a single‐molecule detection of the FRET acceptor is realized at low excitation power using an RGB camera of a smartphone.

AbstractBiofilms are ubiquitous in nature and in the man-made environment. Given their harmful effects on human health, an in-depth understanding of biofilms and the monitoring of their formation and growth are important. Particularly relevant for many metabolic processes and survival strategies of biofilms is their extracellular pH. However, most conventional techniques are not suited for minimally invasive pH measurements of living biofilms. Here, a fluorescent nanosensor is presented for ratiometric measurements of pH in biofilms in the range of pH 4.5–9.5 using confocal laser scanning microscopy. The nanosensor consists of biocompatible polystyrene nanoparticles loaded with pH-inert dye Nile Red and is surface functionalized with a pH-responsive fluorescein dye. Its performance was validated by fluorometrically monitoring the time-dependent changes in pH in E. coli biofilms after glucose inoculation at 37 °C and 4 °C. This revealed a temperature-dependent decrease in pH over a 4-h period caused by the acidifying glucose metabolism of E. coli. These studies demonstrate the applicability of this nanosensor to characterize the chemical microenvironment in biofilms with fluorescence methods.

AbstractThe mitochondrial enzyme arginase‐2 (Arg‐2) is implicated in the pathophysiology of contrast‐induced acute kidney injury (CI‐AKI). Therefore, Arg‐2 represents a candid target for CI‐AKI prevention. Here, we developed layer‐by‐layer (LbL) assembled renal‐targeting polymeric nanoparticles to efficiently deliver small interfering RNA (siRNA), knockdown Arg‐2 expression in renal tubules, and evaluated prevention of CI‐AKI. Firstly, near‐infrared dye‐loaded poly(lactic‐co‐glycolic acid) (PLGA) anionic cores were electrostatically‐coated with cationic chitosan (CS) to facilitate the adsorption and stabilization of Arg‐2 siRNA. Next, nanoparticles were coated with anionic hyaluronan (HA) to provide protection against siRNA leakage and shielding against early clearance. Sequential layering of electrostatically adsorbed CS and HA improved loading capacity of Arg‐2 siRNA and yielded LbL‐assembled nanoparticles. Renal targeting and accumulation was enhanced by modifying the outermost layer of HA with a kidney targeting peptide (HA‐KTP). The resultant PLGA/CS/HA‐KTP siRNA nanoparticles exhibited proprietary accumulation in kidneys and proximal tubular cells at 24 hours post‐tail vein injection. In iohexol‐induced in vitro and in vivo CI‐AKI models, PLGA/CS/HA‐KTP siRNA nanoparticles alleviated oxidative and nitrification stress, and rescued mitochondrial dysfunction while reducing apoptosis, thereby demonstrating a robust and satisfactory therapeutic effect. Thus, PLGA/CS/HA‐KTP siRNA nanoparticles offer a promising candidate therapy to protect against CI‐AKI.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

AbstractDriven by the visible band gap, silver bismuth selenide (AgBiSe2) was loaded in PVDF/PEO blend to enhance the photodegradation of Maxilon blue dye. AgBiSe2 nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by facile solvothermal approach and then loaded to PVDF/PEO (80/20) by 10, 20, and 30 wt%, by evaporative casting method. The X‐ray results in tandem with the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) established the successful fabrication of (PVDF/PEO)/x(AgBiSe2) polymer nanocomposites. The X‐ray analysis verified the formation of hexagonal AgBiSe2 of a crystallite size ranging from 14.3 to 23.24 nm. The FT‐IR results manifested an overlap between functional groups that corroborated the interaction between PVDF and PEO. Peaks of the AgSe, and SeO modes confirmed that the nanofiller and PVDF/PEO blend were successfully incorporated. The micrograph images by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) unraveled the high tendency of AgBiSe2 to form a uniform cluster. The optical band gap was found to be a direct band gap of 2.86 eV for 30 wt% AgBiSe2 proving its validity as visible‐light‐driven photocatalysts. The removal percentages of the prepared membrane are 4.1, 59, 82, and 98 for 0, 10%, 20%, and 30% AgBiSe2 after 300 min of irradiation under simulated sunlight at pH 6.

AbstractDue to their unique chemical and physical properties, nanobiomaterials (NBMs) are extensively studied for applications in medicine and drug delivery. Despite these exciting properties, their small sizes also make them susceptible to toxicity. Whilst nanomaterial immunotoxicity and cytotoxicity are studied in great depth, there is still limited data on their potential genotoxicity or ability to cause DNA damage. In the past years, new medical device regulations, which came into place in 2020, were developed, which require the assessment of long-term NBM exposure; therefore, in recent years, increased attention is being paid to genotoxicity screening of these materials. In this article, and through an interlaboratory comparison (ILC) study conducted within the Horizon 2020 REFINE project, we assess five different NBM formulations, each with different uses, namely, a bio-persistent gold nanoparticle (AuNP), an IR-780 dye-loaded liposome which is used in deep tissue imaging (LipImage™815), an unloaded PACA polymeric nanoparticle used as a drug delivery system (PACA), and two loaded PACA NBMs, i.e. the cabazitaxel drug-loaded PACA (CBZ-PACA) and the NR668 dye-loaded PACA (NR668 PACA) for their potential to cause DNA strand breaks using the alkaline comet assay and discuss the current state of genotoxicity testing for nanomaterials. We have found through our interlaboratory comparison that the alkaline comet assay can be suitably applied to the pre-clinical assessment of NBMs, as a reproducible and repeatable methodology for assessing NBM-induced DNA damage. Graphical abstract Workflow for assessing the applicability of the alkaline comet assay to determine nanobiomaterial (NBM)-induced DNA strand breaks, through an interlaboratory comparison study (ILC)

AbstractIn the present work, a magnetized multiwalled carbon nanotube dispersed in chemically cross‐linked gaur gum was developed as a nano‐composite adsorbent material for the removal of dye from wastewater. The gaur gum, a bio‐macromolecule was chemically modified by cross‐linking with methylene bis‐acrylamide in the presence of sodium hydroxide as a novel approach to prepare the gel matrix. The magnetite nanoparticles loaded multiwalled carbon nanotubes were dispersed in methylene bis‐acrylamide cross‐linked gaur gum gel during gelation. The nano‐composite was characterized for morphological, spectral, and analytical data. The solid form of the nano‐composite was evaluated as an adsorbent material for the treatment of water containing methylene blue dye molecules as pollutants by the spectrophotometric method. Adsorption isotherm studies suggested that the Freundlich model was the befitting model for adsorption, indicating the multilayered adsorption and the kinetic study revealed the adsorption to occur by a pseudo‐second‐order kinetic process. The novel nano‐composite is found to be a promising material for the adsorptive removal of dye molecules from dye‐contaminated wastewater. The adsorption capacity was observed to be 11 mg/g of the material.

Abstract In this study, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) were surface-modified with polymer poly(HEMA-co-PEGMA via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization and a multifunctional nanoplatform MSNP@poly(HEMA-co-PEGMA-g-doxorubicin (DOX)/ Rhodamine 6G (R6G) was developed to combine photothermal (PTT) and chemotherapy therapy effectively. PTT induced by near-infrared (NIR) radiations might further destroy gastric cancer cell lines while the small-dye molecule was co-loaded into the MSNP pores. A 65 % higher cumulative drug release over 50-h occurs when the cis-aconitic anhydride link breaks under low-pH stimulation (typical physiological environment). High temperatures accelerated reversible covalent bond breakage. The accumulative release of the drug increased by 24.3 %, illustrating that higher temperatures can decrease the time needed to complete blood drug concentrations by 24.3 %. More than 90% of gastric tumour cells were destroyed after 48 hours following exposure to NIR light irradiation with the prodrug delivery system, compared to DOX alone in vitro cytotoxicity tests. Because of this, rapidly reversible chemical bond breaking and photothermal activity in MSNP@poly(HEMA-co-PEGMA-g-DOX/R6G) increased the synergic impact of the chemotherapy, which offers tremendous promise in combination with the treatment and care of gastric cancer therapy.