The development of nanodevices for agriculture and plant research will allow several new applications, ranging from treatments with agrochemicals to delivery of nucleic acids for genetic transformation. But a long way for research is still in front of us until such nanodevices could be widely used. Their behaviour inside the plants is not yet well known and the putative toxic effects for both, ...

To develop nanoparticle drug carriers that interact with cells specifically in the mildly acidic tumor microenvironment, we produced polymeric nanoparticles modified with amidated TAT peptide via a simple surface modification method. Two types of core poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles (NL and NP) were prepared with a phospholipid shell as an optional feature and covered with polydopam...

Many small molecular anticancer agents are often ineffective at detecting or treating cancer due to their poor pharmacokinetics. Using nanoparticles as carriers can improve this because their large size reduces clearance and improves retention within tumors, but it also slows their rate of transfer from circulation into the tumor interstitium. Here, we demonstrate an alternative strategy whereb...

Objective(s): Nanoparticles (NPs) are known for their specific accumulation in the inflamed tissues of the colon and thus allow a selective delivery to the site of inflammation with minimum adverse effects. The main objective of this work is to attain mesalamine loaded chitosan nanoparticles as a carrier for oral delivery. Methods: In this study, me...

BACKGROUND The potential transfer of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) from plants into the food chain has raised widespread concerns. In order to investigate the effects of ENPs on plants, young cabbage plants (Brassica oleracea) were exposed to a hydroponic system containing yttrium oxide (yttria) ENPs. The objective of this study was to reveal the impacts of NPs on plants by using K-edge subtr...

Conventional delivery of anticancer drugs is less effective due to pharmacological drawbacks such as lack of aqueous solubility and poor cellular accumulation. This study reports the increased drug loading, therapeutic delivery, and cellular accumulation of silibinin (SLB), a poorly water-soluble phenolic compound using a hydrophobically-modified chitosan nanoparticle (pCNP) system. In this stu...

Nanoparticles (NPs) are widely used as components of drugs or cosmetics and hold great promise for biomedicine, yet their effects on cell physiology remain poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that clathrin-independent dynamin 2-mediated caveolar uptake of surface-functionalized silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) impairs cell viability due to lysosomal dysfunction. We show that internalized SiNPs a...

If a suspension of magnetic micron-sized and nano-sized particles is subjected to a homogeneous magnetic field, the nanoparticles are attracted to the microparticles and form thick anisotropic halos (clouds) around them. Such clouds can hinder approach of microparticles and result in effective repulsion between them [Lopez-Lopez et al. Soft Matter, 6, 4346 (2010)]. In this paper, we present det...

Nanomaterials modified with biological recognition motifs acquire a myriad of functions that can be exploited for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Nevertheless, while bioactive domains can be used to target nanoparticles to cell receptors, shuttle them across cell membranes, and activate cell signaling, such modifications typically include cationic or hydrophobic regions that lead to rapi...