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Nanomaterials
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Amphiphilic Systems in Biomedical Applications
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Amphiphilic Systems in Biomedical Applications

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Biology and Medicines".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2021) | Viewed by 15280

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Henrich Frielinghaus

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Jülich Centre for Neutron Sciences at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Lichtenbergstrasse 1, D-85747 Garching, Germany
Interests: soft matter; complex fluids; microemulsions; thin films; Li-ion batteries; hybrid solar cells; nanocomposites; nanomaterials; rheology; small angle scattering; neutron scattering; theoretical modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The directed placement of hydrophobic medications and biologically active materials at the specifically receptive unit in a cell, through manifold complex barriers, while limiting the degree of loss and damage, is a complex task in pharmacy that must be achieved in order to cure diseases without adequate treatment at present. Not only the solvation but also the transmigration of the active material through barriers remains an open question that has not been solved. Amphiphilicity is a key property for the solvation of hydrophobic materials that becomes complex when migrating through barriers such as lipid membranes becomes an issue. At present, many studies tackle the solvation and the transmigration separately, which shall give visionaries the space for future drug delivery systems.

We encourage scientists working on drug solvation and on transmigration mechanisms to simultaneously contribute to the Special Issue of Nanomaterials to give a broad overview of the topic that can finally feed into practical solutions of unsolved drug delivery problems.

Dr. Henrich Frielinghaus
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • solvation
  • lipid bilayer
  • membranes
  • barrier
  • transmigration
  • translocation
  • vectors
  • drug delivery

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 6453 KiB  
Article
Biological Performances of Plasmonic Biohybrids Based on Phyto-Silver/Silver Chloride Nanoparticles
by Yulia Gorshkova, Marcela-Elisabeta Barbinta-Patrascu, Gizo Bokuchava, Nicoleta Badea, Camelia Ungureanu, Andrada Lazea-Stoyanova, Mina Răileanu, Mihaela Bacalum, Vitaly Turchenko, Alexander Zhigunov and Ewa Juszyńska-Gałązka
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(7), 1811; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11071811 - 12 Jul 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2795
Abstract
Silver/silver chloride nanoparticles (Ag/AgClNPs), with a mean size of 48.2 ± 9.5 nm and a zeta potential value of −31.1 ± 1.9 mV, obtained by the Green Chemistry approach from a mixture of nettle and grape extracts, were used as “building blocks” for [...] Read more.
Silver/silver chloride nanoparticles (Ag/AgClNPs), with a mean size of 48.2 ± 9.5 nm and a zeta potential value of −31.1 ± 1.9 mV, obtained by the Green Chemistry approach from a mixture of nettle and grape extracts, were used as “building blocks” for the “green” development of plasmonic biohybrids containing biomimetic membranes and chitosan. The mechanism of biohybrid formation was elucidated by optical analyses (UV–vis absorption and emission fluorescence, FTIR, XRD, and SAXS) and microscopic techniques (AFM and SEM). The aforementioned novel materials showed a free radical scavenging capacity of 75% and excellent antimicrobial properties against Escherichia coli (IGZ = 45 mm) and Staphylococcus aureus (IGZ = 35 mm). The antiproliferative activity of biohybrids was highlighted by a therapeutic index value of 1.30 for HT-29 cancer cells and 1.77 for HepG2 cancer cells. At concentrations below 102.2 µM, these materials are not hemolytic, so they will not be harmful when found in the bloodstream. In conclusion, hybrid systems based on phyto-Ag/AgClNPs, artificial cell membranes, and chitosan can be considered potential adjuvants in liver and colorectal cancer treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Amphiphilic Systems in Biomedical Applications)
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17 pages, 3139 KiB  
Article
Towards the Development of Antioxidant Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications: Controlling the Properties by Tuning Synthesis Conditions
by Noemi Gallucci, Giuseppe Vitiello, Rocco Di Girolamo, Paola Imbimbo, Daria Maria Monti, Oreste Tarallo, Alessandro Vergara, Irene Russo Krauss and Luigi Paduano
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(2), 542; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11020542 - 20 Feb 2021
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 6121
Abstract
In this work CeO2 nanoparticles (CeO2-NPs) were synthesized through the thermal decomposition of Ce(NO3)3·6H2O, using as capping agents either octylamine or oleylamine, to evaluate the effect of alkyl chain length, an issue at 150 [...] Read more.
In this work CeO2 nanoparticles (CeO2-NPs) were synthesized through the thermal decomposition of Ce(NO3)3·6H2O, using as capping agents either octylamine or oleylamine, to evaluate the effect of alkyl chain length, an issue at 150 °C, in the case of octylamine and at 150 and 250 °C, in the case of oleylamine, to evaluate the effect of the temperature on NPs properties. All the nanoparticles were extensively characterized by a multidisciplinary approach, such as wide-angle X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, UV-Vis, fluorescence, Raman and FTIR spectroscopies. The analysis of the experimental data shows that the capping agent nature and the synthesis temperature affect nanoparticle properties including size, morphology, aggregation and Ce3+/Ce4+ ratio. Such issues have not been discussed yet, at the best of our knowledge, in the literature. Notably, CeO2-NPs synthesized in the presence of oleylamine at 250 °C showed no tendency to aggregation and we made them water-soluble through a further coating with sodium oleate. The obtained nanoparticles show a less tendency to clustering forming stable aggregates (ranging between 14 and 22 nm) of few NPs. These were tested for biocompatibility and ROS inhibiting activity, demonstrating a remarkable antioxidant activity, against oxidative stress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Amphiphilic Systems in Biomedical Applications)
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17 pages, 2203 KiB  
Article
The Antifungal Mechanism of Amphotericin B Elucidated in Ergosterol and Cholesterol-Containing Membranes Using Neutron Reflectometry
by Robin Delhom, Andrew Nelson, Valerie Laux, Michael Haertlein, Wolfgang Knecht, Giovanna Fragneto and Hanna P. Wacklin-Knecht
Nanomaterials 2020, 10(12), 2439; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10122439 - 6 Dec 2020
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3327
Abstract
We have characterized and compared the structures of ergosterol- and cholesterol-containing 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) membranes before and after interaction with the amphiphilic antifungal drug amphotericin B (AmB) using neutron reflection. AmB inserts into both pure POPC and sterol-containing membranes in the lipid [...] Read more.
We have characterized and compared the structures of ergosterol- and cholesterol-containing 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) membranes before and after interaction with the amphiphilic antifungal drug amphotericin B (AmB) using neutron reflection. AmB inserts into both pure POPC and sterol-containing membranes in the lipid chain region and does not significantly perturb the structure of pure POPC membranes. By selective per-deuteration of the lipids/sterols, we show that AmB extracts ergosterol but not cholesterol from the bilayers and inserts to a much higher degree in the cholesterol-containing membranes. Ergosterol extraction by AmB is accompanied by membrane thinning. Our results provide new insights into the mechanism and antifungal effect of AmB in these simple models of fungal and mammalian membranes and help understand the molecular origin of its selectivity and toxic side effects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Amphiphilic Systems in Biomedical Applications)
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22 pages, 3389 KiB  
Article
Amphiphilic Comb Polymers as New Additives in Bicontinuous Microemulsions
by Debasish Saha, Karthik R. Peddireddy, Jürgen Allgaier, Wei Zhang, Simona Maccarrone, Henrich Frielinghaus and Dieter Richter
Nanomaterials 2020, 10(12), 2410; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10122410 - 2 Dec 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2142
Abstract
It has been shown that the thermodynamics of bicontinuous microemulsions can be tailored via the addition of various different amphiphilic polymers. In this manuscript, we now focus on comb-type polymers consisting of hydrophobic backbones and hydrophilic side chains. The distinct philicity of the [...] Read more.
It has been shown that the thermodynamics of bicontinuous microemulsions can be tailored via the addition of various different amphiphilic polymers. In this manuscript, we now focus on comb-type polymers consisting of hydrophobic backbones and hydrophilic side chains. The distinct philicity of the backbone and side chains leads to a well-defined segregation into the oil and water domains respectively, as confirmed by contrast variation small-angle neutron scattering experiments. This polymer–microemulsion structure leads to well-described conformational entropies of the polymer fragments (backbone and side chains) that exert pressure on the membrane, which influences the thermodynamics of the overall microemulsion. In the context of the different polymer architectures that have been studied by our group with regards to their phase diagrams and small-angle neutron scattering, the microemulsion thermodynamics of comb polymers can be described in terms of a superposition of the backbone and side chain fragments. The denser or longer the side chain, the stronger the grafting and the more visible the brush effect of the side chains becomes. Possible applications of the comb polymers as switchable additives are discussed. Finally, a balanced philicity of polymers also motivates transmembrane migration in biological systems of the polymers themselves or of polymer–DNA complexes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Amphiphilic Systems in Biomedical Applications)
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