A novel 4-arm poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(anhydride-esters) amphiphilic copolymer (4-arm PEG-b-PAE) was synthesized by esterization of 4-arm poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(anhydride-esters) which was obtained by melt polycondensation of α -, ω -acetic anhydride terminated poly(L-lactic acid). The obtained 4-arm PEG-b-PAE was characterized by (1)H-NMR and gel permeation chromatography. The ...

 Background: Paraquat (PQ), as the most widely used herbicide in agriculture, induces poisoning in humans and animals mainly through oxidative stress. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of nano-curcumin compared with curcumin against PQ-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. Materials and Methods: Thirty-six Wistar rats were used in this study. They were separated into 6 groups...

Phospho-sulindac (PS) is a safe sulindac derivative with promising anticancer efficacy in colon cancer. We evaluated whether its combination with curcumin could enhance the efficacy in the treatment of lung cancer. Curcumin, the principal bioactive component in turmeric, has demonstrated versatile capabilities to modify the therapeutic efficacy of a wide range of anticancer agents. Here, we eva...

A "multisegment amphiphile" has been synthesized by covalently connecting two well known building blocks, a gelator and a micelle forming surfactant. Self-assembly results in the formation of compartmentalized nano-object displaying properties inherited from both parents.

The present study aimed to develop and optimize liposome formulation for the colonic delivery of biologically active compounds. A strategy to facilitate such targeting is to formulate liposomes with a polymer coating sensitive to the pH shifts in the gastrointestinal tract. To this end, liposomes encapsulating curcumin-chosen as the biologically active compound model-and coated with the pH-resp...

Block copolymer nano-micelles are especially important in cancer treatment because of their fine dimensions. In this article, three systems of amphiphilic copolymers with similar lengths and different ratios of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic chains are studied using implicit-solvent coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. The factor fphil is defined as the ratio of the number...

been characterized quite well using a variety of techniques individually and in combination over the last decade. Interest in these surfactant systems stems from a broad application base. These surfactant systems, or “detergents” have found application in oil recovery due to enhanced solubility, higher cloud points, and lower Krafft points than the corresponding pure surfactant in solution. The...

Curcumin is a hydrophobic polyphenol extracted from the plant curcuma longa with establishedanticancer properties. However, curcumin benefits have been impaired by its very low watersolubility, low absorption, rapid metabolism and clearance from the body. Recently,nanotechnology promises to be helpful in development of drugs delivery systems by recentadvances in macromolecular design of nanocar...