Engineered amorphous silica nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs), due to simple and low cost production, are increasingly used in commercial products and produced on an industrial scale. Despite the potential benefits, there is a concern that exposure to certain types of SiO2 NPs may lead to adverse health effects. As some NPs can cross the blood--brain barrier and may, in addition, reach the central nervo...

We present a dialysis technique to direct the self-assembly of paclitaxel (PTX)-loaded nanoparticles (NPs) using methoxypolyethylene glycol-poly(d,l-lactide) (MPEG-PLA) and PLA, respectively. The composition, morphology, particle size and zeta potential, drug loading content, and drug encapsulation efficiency of both PTX-PLA NPs and PTX-MPEG-PLA NPs were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Four...

In this study, a novel coordination bonding system based on metal-tannic acid (TA) architecture on zein/carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) nanoparticles (NPs) was investigated for the pH-responsive drug delivery. CMCS has been reported to coat on zein NPs as delivery vehicles for drugs or nutrients in previous studies. The cleavage of either the "metal-TA" or "NH2-metal" coordination bonds resulted ...

ZnO NPs have good antimicrobial activity that can be utilized as agents to prevent harmful microorganism growth in food. However, the use of ZnO NPs as food additive is limited by the perceived high toxicity of ZnO NPs in many earlier toxicity studies. In this study, surface modification by silica coating was used to reduce the toxicity of ZnO NPs by significantly reducing the dissolution of th...

Neuropeptide S (NPS) increasingly emerges as a potential novel treatment option for anxiety diseases like panic and posttraumatic stress disorder. However, the neural underpinnings of its anxiolytic action are still not clearly understood. Recently, we reported that neurons of the ventral hippocampus (VH) take up intranasally administered fluorophore-conjugated NPS and, moreover, that applicati...

To reveal the origin of the CO oxidation activity of Ruthenium nanoparticles (Ru NPs), we structurally characterized Ru NPs through Rietveld refinement analysis of high-energy X-ray diffraction data. For hexagonal close-packed (hcp) Ru NPs, the CO oxidation activity decreased with decreasing domain surface area. However, for face-centered cubic (fcc) Ru NPs, the CO oxidation activity became str...

Introduction Nanoparticles (NPs) modified with bio-ligands represent a promising strategy for active targeted drug delivery to tumour. However, many targeted ligands, such as trastuzumab (TMAB), have high molecular weight, limiting their application for targeting. In this study, we prepared Fab' (antigen-binding fragments cut from TMAB)-modified NPs (Fab'-NPs) with curcumin (Cur) as a model dru...

The use of a nanoparticle (NP)-based antitumor drug carrier has been an emerging strategy for selectively delivering the drugs to the tumor area and, thus, reducing the side effects that are associated with a high systemic dose of antitumor drugs. Precise control of drug loading and release is critical so as to maximize the therapeutic index of the NPs. Here, we propose a simple method of synth...

Background Propagation of pathogens has considered an important health care problem due to their resistance against conventional antibiotics. The recent challenge involves the design of functional alternatives such as nanomaterials, used as antibacterial agents. Early stages of antibacterial damage caused by metallic nanoparticles (NPs) were studied by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and...

The diverse mechanism of antimicrobial activity of Ag and AgBr nanoparticles against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and also against several strains of candida was explored in this study. The AgBr nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by simple precipitation of silver nitrate by potassium bromide in the presence of stabilizing polymers. The used polymers (PEG, PVP, PVA, and HEC) influence...