Iulia Lungu - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Iulia Lungu

Applied Surface Science Advances

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Oxidative stress has been linked with a variety of diseases, being involved in the debut and/or p... more Oxidative stress has been linked with a variety of diseases, being involved in the debut and/or progress of several neurodegenerative disorders. This review intends to summarize some of the findings that correlate the overproduction of reactive oxygen species with the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Oxidative stress was also noted to modify the inflammatory response. Even though oxidative stress and neuroinflammation are two totally different pathological events, they are linked and affect one another. Nonetheless, there are still several mechanisms that need to be understood regarding the onset and the progress of neurodegenerative diseases in order to develop efficient therapies. As antioxidants are a means to alter oxidative stress and slow down the symptoms of these neurodegenerative diseases, the most common antioxidants, enzymatic as well as non-enzymatic, have been mentioned in this paper as...

Applied Sciences, 2021

The study of magnetism in materials without partially filled d or f bands has gained much attenti... more The study of magnetism in materials without partially filled d or f bands has gained much attention in the past years. Even though it has challenged the understanding of traditional magnetism, there is a wide range of studies debating the nature of magnetism in such materials. Theories on whether the exhibited ferromagnetic behavior is due to sample impurities or intrinsic structural defects have been published throughout the years. Materials such as hexaborides, non-magnetic oxides, and carbon nanostructures have been of great interest due to their potential applications. For a better understanding, herein, we present a literature review combining past and up-to-date studies on these materials.

In the last decade, nanobiotechnology has evolved rapidly with an extensive impact on biomedical ... more In the last decade, nanobiotechnology has evolved rapidly with an extensive impact on biomedical area. In order to improve bioavailability and minimize adverse effects, drug delivery systems based on magnetic nanocomposites are under development mainly for cancer imaging and antitumor therapy. In this regard, pH sensitive core-shell magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) with accurate controlled size and shape are synthesized by various modern methods, such as homogeneous precipitation, coprecipitation, microemulsion or polyol approaches, high temperature and hydrothermal reactions, sol-gel reactions, aerosol/vapor processes and sonolysis. Due to their unique combined physicochemical and biological properties (such as higher dispensability, chemical and thermal stability, biocompatibility), pH responsive core-shell magnetic NPs are widely investigated for controlled release of cytostatic drugs into the tumor site by means of pH change: magnetite@silicon dioxide (Fe3O4@SiO2), Fe3O4@titanium dioxide (TiO2), β-thiopropionate-polyethylene glycol (PEG)-modified Fe3O4@mSiO2, Fe3O4 NPs core coated with SiO2 with an imidazole group modified PEG-polypeptide (mPEG-poly-L-Asparagine), polyacrylic acid (PAA) and folic acid (FA) coating of the iron oxide NP core, methoxy polyethylene glycol-block-polymethacrylic acid-block-polyglycerol monomethacrylate (MPEGb-PMAA-b-PGMA) attached by a PGMA block to a Fe3O4 core, PEG-modified polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer shell with Fe3O4 core and mesoporous silica coated on Fe3O4, mostly coated with an anticancer drug. This review paper highlights the modern research directions currently employed to demonstrate the utility of the pH responsive core-shell magnetic NPs in diagnosis and treatment of oncological diseases.

Trends in Beverage Packaging, 2019

Abstract At the moment, beverage and food packaging is an important element in contemporary trade... more Abstract At the moment, beverage and food packaging is an important element in contemporary trade of any goods, which guarantees preserving the quality of the goods and ensures a longer shelf life. Main role of the package is in protecting the product from external conditions and negative factors, such as chemical, biological, and physical contaminants. Other functions include insuring the intact quality, health, storage, and dispensing of the products in an easier way. Traditional packaging only protect food products from the degradation process that is performed by environmental factors such as oxygen, light, moisture, etc., it contains the food, and provides ingredients and nutritional information to the customers. Active packaging refers to the solution in which the packaging, the product, and the environment interact. The chemical, physical, and biological activities result in a change of the conditions of the packed good, causing a more sustainable shelf life and it guarantees or improves significantly the biological safety and sensory properties, all these while maintaining the product quality. Intelligent packaging uses materials that are able to monitor the changes occurred in the packaged food. The systems used in intelligent packaging have the capacity to distinguish, recognize, and document the environmental changes happening in the packed food. There are three different types of intelligent packaging systems, viz., sensors, indicators, and radio-frequency identification systems.

Nanostructures for Antimicrobial Therapy, 2017

Abstract Zinc oxide (ZnO) has been intensively researched because of its unique properties, which... more Abstract Zinc oxide (ZnO) has been intensively researched because of its unique properties, which make it adequate in various applications in industry, health, and research. In the biomedical field, nanostructurated ZnO particles proved to be efficiently utilized not only in the management of cancer therapy and imaging, but also in the development of various antimicrobial products. Despite their proven impact in biomedicine, their wide practical use is still restricted because of a number of undeciphered properties and biocompatibility aspects. This chapter reveals the main synthesis routes that offer particular properties to biomedical ZnO nanoparticles and how they can be modulated to obtain suitable agents for therapy, prophylaxis, and management of particular diseases, highlighting the progress made in antimicrobial therapy.

Pharmaceutics, 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness in photodynamic therapy of iron ox... more The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness in photodynamic therapy of iron oxide nanoparticles (γ-Fe2O3 NPs), synthesized by laser pyrolysis technique, functionalized with 5,10,15,20-(Tetra-4-sulfonatophenyl) porphyrin tetraammonium (TPPS) on human cutaneous melanoma cells, after only 1 min blue light exposure. The efficiency of porphyrin loading on the iron oxide nanocarriers was estimated by using absorption and FTIR spectroscopy. The singlet oxygen yield was determined via transient characteristics of singlet oxygen phosphorescence at 1270 nm both for porphyrin functionalized nanoparticles and rose bengal used as standard. The irradiation was performed with a LED (405 nm, 1 mW/cm2) for 1 min after melanoma cells were treated with TPPS functionalized iron oxide nanoparticles (γ-Fe2O3 NPs_TPPS) and incubated for 24 h. Biological tests revealed a high anticancer effect of γ-Fe2O3 NPs_TPPS complexes indi-cated by the inhibition of tumor cell proliferation, reducti...

Materials for Biomedical Engineering, 2019

In the last few decades, nanomaterials have been intensively researched for numerous biomedical a... more In the last few decades, nanomaterials have been intensively researched for numerous biomedical applications, including targeted drug delivery, due to their unique properties such as dimensions, biocompatibility, surface chemistry, stability in physiological conditions, and modifiable toxicity. The toxicity of nanomaterials can prove to be a challenging subject, however changing different physicochemical properties of nanomaterials can alter their toxic behavior. Further research needs to be done on in vivo toxicity based on the physiological effect of acute and chronic adverse effects caused by nanoparticles. In order to properly and safely design future nanotechnologies, there is a need for a fundamental understanding of the interactions between nanomaterials and biological tissues.

Medicina, 2021

Muscular disorders are mainly characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness. There are se... more Muscular disorders are mainly characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness. There are several aspects that can be monitored, which are used to differentiate between the types of muscular disorders, ranging from the targeted muscle up to the mutated gene. An aspect that holds critical importance when managing muscular dystrophies is that most of them exhibit cardiac abnormalities. Therefore, cardiac imaging is an essential part of muscular disorder monitoring and management. In the first section of the review, several cardiac abnormalities are introduced; afterward, different muscular dystrophies’ pathogenesis is presented. Not all muscular dystrophies necessarily present cardiac involvement; however, the ones that do are linked with the cardiac abnormalities described in the first section. Moreover, studies from the last 3 years on muscular disorders are presented alongside imaging techniques used to determine cardiac abnormalities.

Materials for Biomedical Engineering, 2019

Abstract Core–shell nanoparticles (NPs) are progressively attracting more attention, since the af... more Abstract Core–shell nanoparticles (NPs) are progressively attracting more attention, since the aforementioned NPs have arisen at the border between applied materials chemistry and nanotechnology. The particles display distinctive properties of the diverse materials combined. This is particularly true in terms of the inherent ability to influence the surface functions to meet the varied application needs. Nanomaterials possess well-known antimicrobial activity against several microorganisms and have been thoroughly investigated in terms of cancer research. A lot of antimicrobial nanostructures, such as zinc oxide, silver, gold, and iron oxide NPs, have been technologically engineered recently in order to kill or prevent the growth of pathogenic microbes. Even though there has been a lot of improvement in the understanding of cancer, this condition is still a main leading cause of mortality and morbidity. Because of the several disadvantages of conventional treatments, such as severe side effects and lack of specificity, core–shell NPs–based therapies have been intensely investigated over the last several years. Therapies such as hyperthermia, targeted drug delivery, and a combination of radiotherapy and photothermal therapy are still under research and show promising results when aided by core–shell NPs. Given the versatility in the synthesis of these NPs, numerous types of materials can be used in order to manufacture core–shell nanosystems that are biocompatible and have specific properties, depending on the applications in which they are used.

Biomedical Engineering International, 2019

This review is an introduction into the world of organ-on-chip models. By briefly explaining the ... more This review is an introduction into the world of organ-on-chip models. By briefly explaining the concept of microfluidics and ‘lab-on-chip’, the main focus is on organs-on-chip and body-on-a-chip. The usual method to test the toxicity of a drug is through animal testing. However, the results do not always correlate to humans. In order to avoid animal testing, but also attain useful results, human-derived cell cultures using microfluidics have gained attention. Among all the different types of organ-on-chip devices, this review focuses on three distinct organs: heart, skin and liver. The main requirements for each organ-on-chip, as well as recent researches are presented. There have been considerable advancements with organ-on-chip models; however, even these have their limitations. Due to the fact that the system mimics a single organ, the systemic effect of drugs cannot be fully tested. Therefore, body-on-a-chip systems have been developed; which basically are a composed of a singl...

Molecules, 2019

The disadvantages that come with traditional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiothe... more The disadvantages that come with traditional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, generated a research shift toward nanotechnology. However, even with the important advancements regarding cancer therapy, there are still serious stepping stones that need to be addressed. The use of both nanotechnology and nanomedicine has generated significant improvements in nano-sized materials development and their use as therapeutic, diagnosis, and imaging agents. The biological barriers that come from the healthy body, as well from the tumorous sites, are important parameters that need to be taken into consideration when designing drug delivery systems. There are several aspects of extreme importance such as the tumor microenvironment and vasculature, the reticuloendothelial system, the blood–brain barrier, the blood–tumor barrier, and the renal system. In order to achieve an effective system for cancer therapy, several characteristics of the nanoparticles have been outlined...

International journal of molecular sciences, Jan 12, 2018

Wound healing involves a complex interaction between immunity and other natural host processes, a... more Wound healing involves a complex interaction between immunity and other natural host processes, and to succeed it requires a well-defined cascade of events. Chronic wound infections can be mono- or polymicrobial but their major characteristic is their ability to develop a biofilm. A biofilm reduces the effectiveness of treatment and increases resistance. A biofilm is an ecosystem on its own, enabling the bacteria and the host to establish different social interactions, such as competition or cooperation. With an increasing incidence of chronic wounds and, implicitly, of chronic biofilm infections, there is a need for alternative therapeutic agents. Nanotechnology shows promising openings, either by the intrinsic antimicrobial properties of nanoparticles or their function as drug carriers. Nanoparticles and nanostructured coatings can be active at low concentrations toward a large variety of infectious agents; thus, they are unlikely to elicit emergence of resistance. Nanoparticles m...

Nanostructures for Novel Therapy, 2017

Nanomedicine plays an important role in the medical field for applications as drug delivery and d... more Nanomedicine plays an important role in the medical field for applications as drug delivery and diagnosis. The requirement for the development of multiple systems, which can precisely and specifically deliver the pharmaceutical agent into the desired site, has increased over the last decade. These systems have a great impact in medical fields, such as oncology, cardiology, and immunology. In this regard, smart drug delivery systems with response to stimuli, such as pH, temperature, light, ultrasounds, electrical, and magnetical fields have been developed. Many nanoparticles have been investigated for drug targeting as nanocarriers, including gold NPs, silver NPs, magnetic NPs, quantum dots, and mesoporous silica NPs.

ChemPlusChem, 2020

Even today, breast cancer remains a global public problem, with a high mortality rate among women... more Even today, breast cancer remains a global public problem, with a high mortality rate among women. Nanoparticle (NP) based systems are developed to enhance drug delivery, reducing the toxic effect of medicine molecules. By using iron oxide nanoparticles for cancer treatment, several advantages were highlighted: the ability to target specific locations derived from their magnetic properties and reduced side effects. The aim of this study was to examine on breast cancer cell line the anticancer potential of γ-Fe 2 O 3 NPs loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) and stabilized with carboxymethylcellulose sodium (CMCNa). The γ-Fe 2 O 3 NPs were synthesized by laser pyrolysis technique and their nanometric size and crystallinity were confirmed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The loading efficiency was estimated by using absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. The DOX conjugated//CMCNa coated γ-Fe 2 O 3 NPs proved through the biological studies to have a good anticancer effect through the inhibition of tumoral cell proliferation, disruption of the cellular membrane, induction of cell death and reduced effects on normal breast cells. Our data showed that DOX cytotoxicity increases significantly when conjugated with γ-Fe 2 O 3 and γ-Fe 2 O 3 _CMCNa, a 50% reduction of cancer cell viability was obtained with a concentration around 0.1 µg/mL.

Applied Surface Science Advances

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Oxidative stress has been linked with a variety of diseases, being involved in the debut and/or p... more Oxidative stress has been linked with a variety of diseases, being involved in the debut and/or progress of several neurodegenerative disorders. This review intends to summarize some of the findings that correlate the overproduction of reactive oxygen species with the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Oxidative stress was also noted to modify the inflammatory response. Even though oxidative stress and neuroinflammation are two totally different pathological events, they are linked and affect one another. Nonetheless, there are still several mechanisms that need to be understood regarding the onset and the progress of neurodegenerative diseases in order to develop efficient therapies. As antioxidants are a means to alter oxidative stress and slow down the symptoms of these neurodegenerative diseases, the most common antioxidants, enzymatic as well as non-enzymatic, have been mentioned in this paper as...

Applied Sciences, 2021

The study of magnetism in materials without partially filled d or f bands has gained much attenti... more The study of magnetism in materials without partially filled d or f bands has gained much attention in the past years. Even though it has challenged the understanding of traditional magnetism, there is a wide range of studies debating the nature of magnetism in such materials. Theories on whether the exhibited ferromagnetic behavior is due to sample impurities or intrinsic structural defects have been published throughout the years. Materials such as hexaborides, non-magnetic oxides, and carbon nanostructures have been of great interest due to their potential applications. For a better understanding, herein, we present a literature review combining past and up-to-date studies on these materials.

In the last decade, nanobiotechnology has evolved rapidly with an extensive impact on biomedical ... more In the last decade, nanobiotechnology has evolved rapidly with an extensive impact on biomedical area. In order to improve bioavailability and minimize adverse effects, drug delivery systems based on magnetic nanocomposites are under development mainly for cancer imaging and antitumor therapy. In this regard, pH sensitive core-shell magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) with accurate controlled size and shape are synthesized by various modern methods, such as homogeneous precipitation, coprecipitation, microemulsion or polyol approaches, high temperature and hydrothermal reactions, sol-gel reactions, aerosol/vapor processes and sonolysis. Due to their unique combined physicochemical and biological properties (such as higher dispensability, chemical and thermal stability, biocompatibility), pH responsive core-shell magnetic NPs are widely investigated for controlled release of cytostatic drugs into the tumor site by means of pH change: magnetite@silicon dioxide (Fe3O4@SiO2), Fe3O4@titanium dioxide (TiO2), β-thiopropionate-polyethylene glycol (PEG)-modified Fe3O4@mSiO2, Fe3O4 NPs core coated with SiO2 with an imidazole group modified PEG-polypeptide (mPEG-poly-L-Asparagine), polyacrylic acid (PAA) and folic acid (FA) coating of the iron oxide NP core, methoxy polyethylene glycol-block-polymethacrylic acid-block-polyglycerol monomethacrylate (MPEGb-PMAA-b-PGMA) attached by a PGMA block to a Fe3O4 core, PEG-modified polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer shell with Fe3O4 core and mesoporous silica coated on Fe3O4, mostly coated with an anticancer drug. This review paper highlights the modern research directions currently employed to demonstrate the utility of the pH responsive core-shell magnetic NPs in diagnosis and treatment of oncological diseases.

Trends in Beverage Packaging, 2019

Abstract At the moment, beverage and food packaging is an important element in contemporary trade... more Abstract At the moment, beverage and food packaging is an important element in contemporary trade of any goods, which guarantees preserving the quality of the goods and ensures a longer shelf life. Main role of the package is in protecting the product from external conditions and negative factors, such as chemical, biological, and physical contaminants. Other functions include insuring the intact quality, health, storage, and dispensing of the products in an easier way. Traditional packaging only protect food products from the degradation process that is performed by environmental factors such as oxygen, light, moisture, etc., it contains the food, and provides ingredients and nutritional information to the customers. Active packaging refers to the solution in which the packaging, the product, and the environment interact. The chemical, physical, and biological activities result in a change of the conditions of the packed good, causing a more sustainable shelf life and it guarantees or improves significantly the biological safety and sensory properties, all these while maintaining the product quality. Intelligent packaging uses materials that are able to monitor the changes occurred in the packaged food. The systems used in intelligent packaging have the capacity to distinguish, recognize, and document the environmental changes happening in the packed food. There are three different types of intelligent packaging systems, viz., sensors, indicators, and radio-frequency identification systems.

Nanostructures for Antimicrobial Therapy, 2017

Abstract Zinc oxide (ZnO) has been intensively researched because of its unique properties, which... more Abstract Zinc oxide (ZnO) has been intensively researched because of its unique properties, which make it adequate in various applications in industry, health, and research. In the biomedical field, nanostructurated ZnO particles proved to be efficiently utilized not only in the management of cancer therapy and imaging, but also in the development of various antimicrobial products. Despite their proven impact in biomedicine, their wide practical use is still restricted because of a number of undeciphered properties and biocompatibility aspects. This chapter reveals the main synthesis routes that offer particular properties to biomedical ZnO nanoparticles and how they can be modulated to obtain suitable agents for therapy, prophylaxis, and management of particular diseases, highlighting the progress made in antimicrobial therapy.

Pharmaceutics, 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness in photodynamic therapy of iron ox... more The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness in photodynamic therapy of iron oxide nanoparticles (γ-Fe2O3 NPs), synthesized by laser pyrolysis technique, functionalized with 5,10,15,20-(Tetra-4-sulfonatophenyl) porphyrin tetraammonium (TPPS) on human cutaneous melanoma cells, after only 1 min blue light exposure. The efficiency of porphyrin loading on the iron oxide nanocarriers was estimated by using absorption and FTIR spectroscopy. The singlet oxygen yield was determined via transient characteristics of singlet oxygen phosphorescence at 1270 nm both for porphyrin functionalized nanoparticles and rose bengal used as standard. The irradiation was performed with a LED (405 nm, 1 mW/cm2) for 1 min after melanoma cells were treated with TPPS functionalized iron oxide nanoparticles (γ-Fe2O3 NPs_TPPS) and incubated for 24 h. Biological tests revealed a high anticancer effect of γ-Fe2O3 NPs_TPPS complexes indi-cated by the inhibition of tumor cell proliferation, reducti...

Materials for Biomedical Engineering, 2019

In the last few decades, nanomaterials have been intensively researched for numerous biomedical a... more In the last few decades, nanomaterials have been intensively researched for numerous biomedical applications, including targeted drug delivery, due to their unique properties such as dimensions, biocompatibility, surface chemistry, stability in physiological conditions, and modifiable toxicity. The toxicity of nanomaterials can prove to be a challenging subject, however changing different physicochemical properties of nanomaterials can alter their toxic behavior. Further research needs to be done on in vivo toxicity based on the physiological effect of acute and chronic adverse effects caused by nanoparticles. In order to properly and safely design future nanotechnologies, there is a need for a fundamental understanding of the interactions between nanomaterials and biological tissues.

Medicina, 2021

Muscular disorders are mainly characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness. There are se... more Muscular disorders are mainly characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness. There are several aspects that can be monitored, which are used to differentiate between the types of muscular disorders, ranging from the targeted muscle up to the mutated gene. An aspect that holds critical importance when managing muscular dystrophies is that most of them exhibit cardiac abnormalities. Therefore, cardiac imaging is an essential part of muscular disorder monitoring and management. In the first section of the review, several cardiac abnormalities are introduced; afterward, different muscular dystrophies’ pathogenesis is presented. Not all muscular dystrophies necessarily present cardiac involvement; however, the ones that do are linked with the cardiac abnormalities described in the first section. Moreover, studies from the last 3 years on muscular disorders are presented alongside imaging techniques used to determine cardiac abnormalities.

Materials for Biomedical Engineering, 2019

Abstract Core–shell nanoparticles (NPs) are progressively attracting more attention, since the af... more Abstract Core–shell nanoparticles (NPs) are progressively attracting more attention, since the aforementioned NPs have arisen at the border between applied materials chemistry and nanotechnology. The particles display distinctive properties of the diverse materials combined. This is particularly true in terms of the inherent ability to influence the surface functions to meet the varied application needs. Nanomaterials possess well-known antimicrobial activity against several microorganisms and have been thoroughly investigated in terms of cancer research. A lot of antimicrobial nanostructures, such as zinc oxide, silver, gold, and iron oxide NPs, have been technologically engineered recently in order to kill or prevent the growth of pathogenic microbes. Even though there has been a lot of improvement in the understanding of cancer, this condition is still a main leading cause of mortality and morbidity. Because of the several disadvantages of conventional treatments, such as severe side effects and lack of specificity, core–shell NPs–based therapies have been intensely investigated over the last several years. Therapies such as hyperthermia, targeted drug delivery, and a combination of radiotherapy and photothermal therapy are still under research and show promising results when aided by core–shell NPs. Given the versatility in the synthesis of these NPs, numerous types of materials can be used in order to manufacture core–shell nanosystems that are biocompatible and have specific properties, depending on the applications in which they are used.

Biomedical Engineering International, 2019

This review is an introduction into the world of organ-on-chip models. By briefly explaining the ... more This review is an introduction into the world of organ-on-chip models. By briefly explaining the concept of microfluidics and ‘lab-on-chip’, the main focus is on organs-on-chip and body-on-a-chip. The usual method to test the toxicity of a drug is through animal testing. However, the results do not always correlate to humans. In order to avoid animal testing, but also attain useful results, human-derived cell cultures using microfluidics have gained attention. Among all the different types of organ-on-chip devices, this review focuses on three distinct organs: heart, skin and liver. The main requirements for each organ-on-chip, as well as recent researches are presented. There have been considerable advancements with organ-on-chip models; however, even these have their limitations. Due to the fact that the system mimics a single organ, the systemic effect of drugs cannot be fully tested. Therefore, body-on-a-chip systems have been developed; which basically are a composed of a singl...

Molecules, 2019

The disadvantages that come with traditional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiothe... more The disadvantages that come with traditional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, generated a research shift toward nanotechnology. However, even with the important advancements regarding cancer therapy, there are still serious stepping stones that need to be addressed. The use of both nanotechnology and nanomedicine has generated significant improvements in nano-sized materials development and their use as therapeutic, diagnosis, and imaging agents. The biological barriers that come from the healthy body, as well from the tumorous sites, are important parameters that need to be taken into consideration when designing drug delivery systems. There are several aspects of extreme importance such as the tumor microenvironment and vasculature, the reticuloendothelial system, the blood–brain barrier, the blood–tumor barrier, and the renal system. In order to achieve an effective system for cancer therapy, several characteristics of the nanoparticles have been outlined...

International journal of molecular sciences, Jan 12, 2018

Wound healing involves a complex interaction between immunity and other natural host processes, a... more Wound healing involves a complex interaction between immunity and other natural host processes, and to succeed it requires a well-defined cascade of events. Chronic wound infections can be mono- or polymicrobial but their major characteristic is their ability to develop a biofilm. A biofilm reduces the effectiveness of treatment and increases resistance. A biofilm is an ecosystem on its own, enabling the bacteria and the host to establish different social interactions, such as competition or cooperation. With an increasing incidence of chronic wounds and, implicitly, of chronic biofilm infections, there is a need for alternative therapeutic agents. Nanotechnology shows promising openings, either by the intrinsic antimicrobial properties of nanoparticles or their function as drug carriers. Nanoparticles and nanostructured coatings can be active at low concentrations toward a large variety of infectious agents; thus, they are unlikely to elicit emergence of resistance. Nanoparticles m...

Nanostructures for Novel Therapy, 2017

Nanomedicine plays an important role in the medical field for applications as drug delivery and d... more Nanomedicine plays an important role in the medical field for applications as drug delivery and diagnosis. The requirement for the development of multiple systems, which can precisely and specifically deliver the pharmaceutical agent into the desired site, has increased over the last decade. These systems have a great impact in medical fields, such as oncology, cardiology, and immunology. In this regard, smart drug delivery systems with response to stimuli, such as pH, temperature, light, ultrasounds, electrical, and magnetical fields have been developed. Many nanoparticles have been investigated for drug targeting as nanocarriers, including gold NPs, silver NPs, magnetic NPs, quantum dots, and mesoporous silica NPs.

ChemPlusChem, 2020

Even today, breast cancer remains a global public problem, with a high mortality rate among women... more Even today, breast cancer remains a global public problem, with a high mortality rate among women. Nanoparticle (NP) based systems are developed to enhance drug delivery, reducing the toxic effect of medicine molecules. By using iron oxide nanoparticles for cancer treatment, several advantages were highlighted: the ability to target specific locations derived from their magnetic properties and reduced side effects. The aim of this study was to examine on breast cancer cell line the anticancer potential of γ-Fe 2 O 3 NPs loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) and stabilized with carboxymethylcellulose sodium (CMCNa). The γ-Fe 2 O 3 NPs were synthesized by laser pyrolysis technique and their nanometric size and crystallinity were confirmed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The loading efficiency was estimated by using absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. The DOX conjugated//CMCNa coated γ-Fe 2 O 3 NPs proved through the biological studies to have a good anticancer effect through the inhibition of tumoral cell proliferation, disruption of the cellular membrane, induction of cell death and reduced effects on normal breast cells. Our data showed that DOX cytotoxicity increases significantly when conjugated with γ-Fe 2 O 3 and γ-Fe 2 O 3 _CMCNa, a 50% reduction of cancer cell viability was obtained with a concentration around 0.1 µg/mL.