Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2NPs), in the two crystalline forms, rutile and anatase, have been widely used in many industrial fields, especially in cosmetics. Therefore, a lot of details about ...their safety issues have been discussed by the scientific community. Many studies have led to a general agreement about TiO2NPs toxicity, in particular for anatase form, but no mechanism details have been proved yet. In this study, data confirm the different toxic potential of rutile and anatase TiO2NPs in two cell lines up to 5nM nanoparticles concentration. Moreover, we evaluated the role of titanium ions released by TiO2NPs in different conditions, at pH=4.5 (the typical lysosomal compartment pH) and at pH=5.5 (the skin physiological pH) in conditions of darkness and light, to mimic the dermal exposure of cosmetics. Anatase nanoparticles were proner to degradation both in the acidic conditions and at skin pH. Our study demonstrates that pH and sunlight are dominant factors to induce oxidative stress, TiO2NPs degradation and toxicity effects.
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•Anatase TiO2NPs were more cytotoxic than rutile titanium dioxide.•The degradation of anatase TiO2NPs in acid pH conditions was dramatically high.•The degradation of anatase TiO2NPs was also observed at skin pH and light exposure.
The exponential increase of waste derived from different human activities points out the importance of their reuse in order to create materials with specific properties that can be used for different ...applications. In this work, it was showed how the typical Mediterranean organic liquid waste, namely olive mill wastewater (OMWW), obtained during olive oil production, can be turned into an efficient reactive agent for the production of noble metals gold (Au) and silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) with very well-defined physico-chemical properties. More than that, it was demonstrated that this synthetic procedure also leads to a drastic decrease of the organic pollution load of the OMWW, making it safer for environmental disposal and plants irrigation. Then, using healthy hepatic cell line mitochondria, the biological effects induced by these green metal NPs surrounded by a polyphenols shell, with the same NPs synthetized through a standard chemical colloidal reduction process, were compared, finding out that the green NPs are much safer.
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The widespread use of nanoparticles (NPs) in medical devices has opened a new scenario in the treatment and prevention of many diseases and infections owing to unique physico-chemical properties of ...NPs. In this way, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are known to have a strong antimicrobial activity, even at low concentrations, due to their ability to selectively destroy cellular membranes. In particular, in the field of dental medicine, the use of AgNPs in different kinds of dental prosthesis matrixes could be a fundamental tool in immunodepressed patients that suffer of different oral infections.
(
), an opportunistic pathogenic yeast with high colonization ability, is one of the causative agents of oral cavity infection. In our work, we added monodispersed citrate-capping AgNPs with a size of 20 nm at two concentrations (3 wt% and 3.5 wt%) in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), the common resin used to develop dental prostheses. After AgNPs characterization, we evaluated the topographical modification of PMMA and PMMA with the addition of AgNPs by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM), showing the reduction of surface roughness. The
colonization on PMMA surfaces was assessed by the Miles and Misra technique as well as by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) at 24 h and 48 h with encouraging results on the reduction of yeast viability after AgNPs exposure.
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•m-SPL techniques allow the patterning at the nanoscale with unprecedented precision.•Nanoindentation is the easiest m-SPL, permitting the realization of nanoholes array.•AFM Plowing ...lithographies allow for patterning in contact and semicontact modes.•Static and Dynamic Plowing lithography stands for advanced m-SPL techniques.•Coupled m-SPL enhances the patterning capability and the properties of nanostructures.
In recent years, the scientific community’s interest in nanoscience and nanotechnology stems from the increasing capability to manipulate matter at the nanoscale. Nanotechnology development is closely linked to fabricating and characterizing structures below 100 nm, driven by technological advancements enabling their in-depth analysis. Up to now, several top-down and bottom-up nanofabrication approaches have been developed to realize a plethora of nanostructures. Although effective, these methods have many drawbacks like high costs and limitations in feature size. In this scenario, Scanning Probe-based Lithography (SPL) emerges as a very promising alternative to conventional nanofabrication techniques, overcoming their main method limitations with versatility, flexibility, low cost, and nanoscale resolution. This review focuses on mechanical Scanning Probe-based Lithography (m-SPL), tracing its evolution from inception to recent advances. Different m-SPL methods, such as Nanoindentation, Static and Dynamic Plowing lithography, Nanomilling, and their variants are discussed in-depth, emphasizing their advantages and drawbacks, and highlighting their application. Moreover, this review explores the effects of combining m-SPL with other energy sources, such as heat and electric energy, and outlines future perspectives in the field. Overall, m-SPL stands out as a promising avenue in nanofabrication, offering sub-nanometer resolution and diverse material manipulation capabilities.
Besides the study and the medical application of iron oxide nanoparticles, ferrites produced with zinc and manganese are of particular interest for their properties. The introduction of these ...elements into the crystalline structure of the magnetic particle generates some changes in the material properties, enhancing their potential use in theranostic applications. This review will cover the most important aspects of the preparation of these materials, taking into account the different methods of synthesis, and will analyze the most promising results in their use in MRI, magnetic hyperthermia and other emerging applications.
In this review we will overview novel nanotechnological nanocarrier systems for cancer therapy focusing on recent development in polyelectrolyte capsules for targeted delivery of antineoplastic drugs ...against cancer cells. Biodegradable polyelectrolyte microcapsules (PMCs) are supramolecular assemblies of particular interest for therapeutic purposes, as they can be enzymatically degraded into viable cells, under physiological conditions. Incorporation of small bioactive molecules into nano-to-microscale delivery systems may increase drug's bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy at single cell level giving desirable targeted therapy. Layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembled PMCs are efficient microcarriers that maximize drug's exposure enhancing antitumor activity of neoplastic drug in cancer cells. They can be envisaged as novel multifunctional carriers for resistant or relapsed patients or for reducing dose escalation in clinical settings.
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Carnosine is an endogenous dipeptide abundant in the central nervous system, where by acting as intracellular pH buffering molecule, Zn/Cu ion chelator, antioxidant and anti-crosslinking agent, it ...exerts a well-recognized multi-protective homeostatic function for neuronal and non-neuronal cells. Carnosine seems to counteract proteotoxicity and protein accumulation in neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD). However, its direct impact on the dynamics of AD-related fibril formation remains uninvestigated. We considered the effects of carnosine on the formation of fibrils/aggregates of the amyloidogenic peptide fragment Aβ1-42, a major hallmark of AD injury. Atomic force microscopy and thioflavin T assays showed inhibition of Aβ1-42 fibrillogenesis in vitro and differences in the aggregation state of Aβ1-42 small pre-fibrillar structures (monomers and small oligomers) in the presence of carnosine. in silico molecular docking supported the experimental data, calculating possible conformational carnosine/Aβ1-42 interactions. Overall, our results suggest an effective role of carnosine against Aβ1-42 aggregation.
In the last decades, the increase in global industrialization and the consequent technological progress have damaged the quality of the environment. As a consequence, the high levels of hazardous ...compounds such as metals and gases released in the atmosphere and water, have raised several concerns about the health of living organisms. Today, many analytical techniques are available with the aim to detect pollutant chemical species. However, a lot of them are not affordable due to the expensive instrumentations, time-consuming processes and high reagents volumes. Last but not least, their use is exclusive to trained operators. Contrarily, colorimetric sensing devices, including paper-based devices, are easy to use, providing results in a short time, without particular specializations to interpret the results. In addition, the colorimetric response is suitable for fast detection, especially in resource-limited environments or underdeveloped countries. Among different chemical species, transition and heavy metals such as iron Fe(II) and copper Cu(II) as well as volatile compounds, such as ammonia (NH3) and acetaldehyde (C2H4O) are widespread mainly in industrialized geographical areas. In this work, we developed a colorimetric paper-based analytical device (PAD) to detect different contaminants, including Fe2+ and Cu2+ ions in water, and NH3 and C2H4O in air at low concentrations. This study is a “proof of concept” of a new paper sensor in which the intensity of the colorimetric response is proportional to the concentration of a detected pollutant species. The sensor model could be further implemented in other technologies, such as drones, individual protection devices or wearable apparatus to monitor the exposure to toxic species in both indoor and outdoor environments.
Lauric acid is a green derivate that is abundant in some seeds such as coconut oil where it represents the most relevant fatty acid. Some studies have emphasized its anticancer effect due to ...apoptosis induction. In addition, the lauric acid is a Phase Change Material having a melting temperature of about 43.2 °C: this property makes it a powerful tool in cancer treatment by hyperthermal stress, generally induced at 43 °C. However, the direct use of lauric acid can have some controversial effects, and it can undergo degradation phenomena in the extracellular environment. For this reason, we have encapsulated lauric acid in a silica shell with a one-step and reproducible synthetic route in order to obtain a monodispersed SiO
@LA NPs with a good encapsulation efficiency. We have used these NPs to expose breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7) at different concentrations in combination with hyperthermal treatment. Uptake, viability, oxidative stress induction, caspases levels, and morphometric parameters were analyzed. These nanovectors showed double action in anticancer treatments thanks to the synergic effect of temperature and lauric acid activity.
Neurodegenerative disorders (NDs) affect a great number of people worldwide and also have a significant socio-economic impact on the aging population. In this context, nanomedicine applied to ...neurological disorders provides several biotechnological strategies and nanoformulations that improve life expectancy and the quality of life of patients affected by brain disorders. However, available treatments are limited by the presence of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and the blood–cerebrospinal fluid barrier (B–CSFB). In this regard, nanotechnological approaches could overcome these obstacles by updating various aspects (e.g., enhanced drug-delivery efficiency and bioavailability, BBB permeation and targeting the brain parenchyma, minimizing side effects). The aim of this review is to carefully explore the key elements of different neurological disorders and summarize the available nanomaterials applied for neurodegeneration therapy looking at several types of nanocarriers. Moreover, nutraceutical-loaded nanoparticles (NPs) and synthesized NPs using green approaches are also discussed underling the need to adopt eco-friendly procedures with a low environmental impact. The proven antioxidant properties related to several natural products provide an interesting starting point for developing efficient and green nanotools useful for neuroprotection.
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