Alina Mihaela Prodan

Magnetic Properties and Biological Activity Evaluation of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles

The aim of this study was to provide information about the biological properties of iron oxide nanoparticles (IO-NPs) obtained in an aqueous suspension. The IO-NPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Analysis of hysteresis loops data at room temperature for magnetic IO-NPs sample indicated that the IO-NPs were superparamagnetic at room temperature. The calculated saturation magnetization for magnetic iron oxide was = 18.1 emu/g. The antimicrobial activity of the obtained PMC-NPs was tested against Gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa 1397, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922), Gram-positive (Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Bacillus subtilis IC 12488) bacterial as well as fungal (Candida krusei 963) strains. The obtained results suggested that the antimicrobial activity of IO-NPs is dependent on the metallic ions concentrations and on the microbial growth state, either planktonic or adherent. The obtained IO-NPs exhibited no cytotoxic effect on HeLa cells at the active antimicrobial concentrations.

Iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles: characterization and toxicity evaluation by in vitro and in vivo assays

The aim of this study was to evaluate the biological properties of iron oxide nanoparticles (IO-NPs) obtained in the aqueous suspension. The iron oxide nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The biocompatibility of the iron oxide was demonstrated by the in vitro quantification of HeLa cells viability using propidium iodide (PI) and fluorescein diacetate (FdA) and the MTT colorimetric assay. The toxicity of small size iron oxide nanoparticles was also evaluated by means of histological examination on male Brown Norway rats after intraperitoneal injection. At the tested concentrations, the nanoparticles proved to be not cytotoxic on HeLa cells. The rats behavior, as well as the histopathological aspect of liver, kidney, lung, and spleen tissues at 48 h after intraperitoneal injection did not present any modifications. The in vivo and in vitro assays suggested that the IO-NPs could be further used for developing new in vivo medical applications.

Synthesis and Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Activity of Iron Oxide Glycerol Nanoparticles Obtained by Coprecipitation Method

The glycerol iron oxide nanoparticles (GIO-NPs) were obtained by an adapted coprecipitation method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies demonstrate that GIO-NPs were indexed into the spinel cubic lattice with a lattice parameter of 0.835 nm. The refinement of XRD spectra indicated that no other phases except maghemite were detected. The adsorption of glycerol on iron oxide nanoparticles was investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. On the other hand, this work implicated the use of GIO-NPs in antibacterial studies. The results indicate that, in the case of P. aeruginosa  1397 biofilms, at concentrations from 0.01 mg/mL to 0.625 mg/mL, the glycerol iron oxide inhibits the ability of this strain to develop biofilms on the inert substratum.

Synthesis and characterization of polysaccharide-maghemite composite nanoparticles and their antibacterial properties

The aim of this study was to obtain saccharide (dextran and sucrose)-coated maghemite nanoparticles with antibacterial activity. The polysaccharide-coated maghemite nanoparticles were synthesized by an adapted coprecipitation method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies demonstrate that the obtained polysaccharide-coated maghemite nanoparticles can be indexed into the spinel cubic lattice with a lattice parameter of 8.35 Å. The refinement of XRD spectra indicated that no other phases except the maghemite are detectable. The characterization of the polysaccharide-coated maghemite nanoparticles by various techniques is described. The antibacterial activity of these polysaccharide-coated maghemite nanoparticles (NPs) was tested against Pseudomonas aeruginosa 1397, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Candida krusei 963, and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and was found to be dependent on the polysaccharide type. The antibacterial activity of dextran-coated maghemite was significantly higher than that of sucrose-coated maghemite. The antibacterial studies showed the potential of dextran-coated iron oxide NPs to be used in a wide range of medical infections.

Textural, Structural and Biological Evaluation of Hydroxyapatite Doped with Zinc at Low Concentrations

The present work was focused on the synthesis and characterization of hydroxyapatite doped with low concentrations of zinc (Zn:HAp) (0.01 < xZn < 0.05). The incorporation of low concentrations of Zn2+ ions in the hydroxyapatite (HAp) structure was achieved by co-precipitation method. The physico-chemical properties of the samples were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), zeta-potential, and DLS and N2-BET measurements. The results obtained by XRD and FTIR studies demonstrated that doping hydroxyapatite with low concentrations of zinc leads to the formation of a hexagonal structure with lattice parameters characteristic to hydroxyapatite. The XRD studies have also shown that the crystallite size and lattice parameters of the unit cell depend on the substitutions of Ca2+ with Zn2+ in the apatitic structure. Moreover, the FTIR analysis revealed that the water content increases with the increase of zinc concentration. Furthermore, the Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDAX) and XPS analyses showed that the elements Ca, P, O, and Zn were found in all the Zn:HAp samples suggesting that the synthesized materials were zinc doped hydroxyapatite, Ca10−xZnx(PO4)6(OH), with 0.01 ≤ xZn ≤ 0.05. Antimicrobial assays on Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacterial strains and HepG2 cell viability assay were carried out.

Structural Characterization and Antifungal Studies of Zinc-Doped Hydroxyapatite Coatings

The present study is focused on the synthesis, characterization and antifungal evaluation of zinc-doped hydroxyapatite (Zn:HAp) coatings. The Zn:HAp coatings were deposited on a pure Si (Zn:HAp_Si) and Ti (Zn:HAp_Ti) substrate by a sol-gel dip coating method using a zinc-doped hydroxyapatite nanogel. The nature of the crystal phase was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The crystalline phase of the prepared Zn:HAp composite was assigned to hexagonal hydroxyapatite in the P63/m space group. The colloidal properties of the resulting Zn:HAp (xZn = 0.1) nanogel were analyzed by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and zeta potential. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate the morphology of the zinc-doped hydroxyapatite (Zn:HAp) nanogel composite and Zn:HAp coatings. The elements Ca, P, O and Zn were found in the Zn:HAp composite. According to the EDX results, the degree of Zn substitution in the structure of Zn:HAp composite was 1.67 wt%. Moreover, the antifungal activity of Zn:HAp_Si and Zn:HAp_Ti against Candida albicans (C. albicans) was evaluated. A decrease in the number of surviving cells was not observed under dark conditions, whereas under daylight and UV light illumination a major decrease in the number of surviving cells was observed.

Ultrasonic Measurements on β Cyclodextrin/Hydroxyapatite Composites for Potential Water Depollution

This paper presents structural, morphological and preliminary ultrasonic characterizations of the β-Cyclodextrin/hydroxyapatite (CD-HAp) composites synthesized by an adapted co-precipitation method. The structural and morphological properties were evaluated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX). The specific surface area, pore size and pore volume were determined using the methods of Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and Barrett–Joyner–Halenda (BJH), respectively. The novelty of our study consists in preliminary ultrasonic measurements conducted on CD-HAp composite, uniformly dispersed in distilled water. The benefit of this non-destructive method was to facilitate and simplify the characterization techniques of nanoparticles. Our experiments proved that the efficiency of lead ion removal by CD-HAp composites depended on the initial concentration of lead. The maximum adsorption capacity of the solid phase, for Pb2+ indicated a higher rate of removal by the CD-HAp_2. These adsorption results bring valuable insight into the beneficial contribution of our compounds, for the removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions. Furthermore, in the present study, was evaluated the toxic effect of lead ions adsorbed by hydroxyapatite from contaminated water on HeLa cells.

Toxicity Evaluation following Intratracheal Instillation of Iron Oxide in a Silica Matrix in Rats

Iron oxide-silica nanoparticles (IOSi-NPs) were prepared from a mixture of ferrous chloride tetrahydrate and ferric chloride hexahydrate dropped into a silica xerogel composite. The structure and morphology of the synthesized maghemite nanoparticles into the silica xerogel were analysed by X-ray diffraction measurements, scanning electron microscopy equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer, and transmission electron microscopy. The results of the EDAX analysis indicated that the embedded particles were iron oxide nanoparticles. The particle size of IOSi-NPs calculated from the XRD analysis was estimated at around 12.5 nm. The average size deduced from the particle size distribution is 13.7 ± 0.6 nm, which is in good agreement with XRD analysis. The biocompatibility of IOSi-NPs was assessed by cell viability and cytoskeleton analysis. Histopathology analysis was performed after 24 hours and 7 days, respectively, from the intratracheal instillation of a solution containing 0.5, 2.5, or 5 mg/kg IOSi-NPs. The pathological micrographs of lungs derived from rats collected after the intratracheal instillation with a solution containing 0.5 mg/kg and 2.5 mg/kg IOSi-NPs show that the lung has preserved the architecture of the control specimen with no significant differences. However, even at concentrations of 5 mg/kg, the effect of IOSi-NPS on the lungs was markedly reduced at 7 days posttreatment.

Removal of zinc ions using hydroxyapatite and study of ultrasound behavior of aqueous media

The present study demonstrates the effectiveness of hydroxyapatite nanopowders in the adsorption of zinc in aqueous solutions. The synthesized hydroxyapatites before (HAp) and after the adsorption of zinc (at a concentration of 50 mg/L) in solution (HApD) were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM, respectively). The effectiveness of hydroxyapatite nanopowders in the adsorption of zinc in aqueous solutions was stressed out through ultrasonic measurements. Both Langmuir and Freundlich models properly fitted on a wide range of concentration the equilibrium adsorption isotherms, allowing us to precisely quantify the affinity of zinc to hydroxyapatite nanopowders and to probe the efficacy of hydroxyapatite in removal of zinc ions from aqueous solutions in ultrasonic conditions.

Physico-chemical characteristics and antimicrobial studies of silver doped hydroxyapatite

The present research is focused on the synthesis, structural and morphological characterization and antimicrobial evaluation of silver doped hydroxyapatite (AgHAp) in water. The preliminary ultrasonic characterizations of the AgHAp in water synthesized by an adapted co-precipitation method are also presented. X-ray diffraction result showed that silver ions were substituted in the hydroxyapatite structure. The lattice parameters increased when the silver substitution increased. The morphology of AgHAp were evaluated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). By EDX analysis the constituents elements of hydroxyapatite were detected in all analyzed samples. The silver was also found in the samples with xAg = 0.5 and 0.2. The colloidal properties of the resulted AgHAp (xAg = 0.0, 0.05 and 0.2) in water were analyzed by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and zeta potential. On the other hand, the novelty of our research consists of preliminary ultrasonic measurements (US) conducted on AgHAp in water. Furthermore, the...