Pawan Kumar Mishra

Metal nanoparticles: a theranostic nanotool against cancer.

Cancer remains one of the most deadly diseases worldwide, but conventional anticancer therapies come with several drawbacks. Therefore, there is a need to develop new anticancer strategies. Theranostics is a strategy that combines treatment with diagnosis and monitoring. Metal nanoparticles are proposed as one of the most promising theranostic agents for the treatment of cancer. Thus, metals including iron, gold (Au), silver (Ag), zinc (Zn), and titanium, have potential as anticancer agents, either inherently or as a result of surface modifications. As a functional component of theranostic tools, metal nanoparticles have crucial dual roles as a diagnostic and active therapeutic agent for the treatment of cancer.

Zinc oxide nanoparticles: a promising nanomaterial for biomedical applications

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) are a promising platform for use in biomedical research, especially given their anticancer and antimicrobial activities. These activities are associated with the ability of ZnO NPs to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) and induce apoptosis. In addition, ZnO NPs have been successfully exploited as drug carriers for loading and transporting drugs to target sites, thereby reducing unwanted toxicity and off-target effects, and resulting in amplified synergistic effects. Here, we discuss the synthesis and biomedical applications of ZnO NPs.

Development and characterization of metal oxide nanoparticles for the delivery of anticancer drug

The aim of the study was to prepare chemotherapeutic agent-loaded zinc oxide nanoparticles for the intracellular delivery of drug, for better therapeutic activity. Zinc oxide nanoparticles have inherent anticancer properties, hence it was envisaged that by loading the anticancer drug into zinc oxide nanoparticles, enhanced anticancer activity might be observed. Zinc oxide nanoparticles were prepared using zinc nitrate and sodium hydroxide. Starch was used as the stabilizing agent. The nanoparticles prepared were characterized for size, shape, entrapment efficiency, and drug release. Further, cell line studies were performed to evaluate cellular uptake and cytotoxicity profile using MCF-7 cells. A hemolysis study was performed to check the acute toxicity of the nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were found to be 476.4 ± 2.51 nm in size, with low PDI (0.312 ± 0.02) and high entrapment efficiency (> 85%). The nanoparticles were stable, and did not form aggregates on storage in the dispersed form. A cytotoxicity study demonstrated that drug-loaded zinc oxide nanoparticles exhibited higher anticancer activity as compared to either blank zinc oxide nanoparticles and doxorubicin (DOX) alone, or their mixture. A hemolytic test revealed that the prepared zinc oxide nanoparticles caused negligible hemolysis. Thus, it can be concluded that zinc oxide nanoparticles loaded with DOX resulted in better uptake of the chemotherapeutic agent, and at the same time, showed low toxicity towards normal cells.

Cellulose nanofiber aerogel as a promising biomaterial for customized oral drug delivery

Cellulose nanofiber (CNF) aerogels with favorable floatability and mucoadhesive properties prepared by the freeze-drying method have been introduced as new possible carriers for oral controlled drug delivery system. Bendamustine hydrochloride is considered as the model drug. Drug loading was carried out by the physical adsorption method, and optimization of drug-loaded formulation was done using central composite design. A very lightweight-aerogel-with-matrix system was produced with drug loading of 18.98%±1.57%. The produced aerogel was characterized for morphology, tensile strength, swelling tendency in media with different pH values, floating behavior, mucoadhesive detachment force and drug release profiles under different pH conditions. The results showed that the type of matrix was porous and woven with excellent mechanical properties. The drug release was assessed by dialysis, which was fitted with suitable mathematical models. Approximately 69.205%±2.5% of the drug was released in 24 hours in medium of pH 1.2, whereas ~78%±2.28% of drug was released in medium of pH 7.4, with floating behavior for ~7.5 hours. The results of in vivo study showed a 3.25-fold increase in bioavailability. Thus, we concluded that CNF aerogels offer a great possibility for a gastroretentive drug delivery system with improved bioavailability.

Aerosol assisted self-assembly as a route to synthesize solid and hollow spherical lignin colloids and its utilization in layer by layer deposition

Lignin, a major constituent of plant cell-wall and by-product of paper based industries is traditionally used for low value applications (heat or electricity generation), but its potential in high value utilization has also been widely reported. In this work, we synthesized lignin colloidal particles using ultrasonic spray-freezing route without any chemical functionalization of material, and stabilized it by electrostatic route. As per our knowledge, this technique is the first reported method which yields hollow/solid lignin colloids having good particle size control without any chemical functionalization of material. Dioxane soluble fraction of Alkali lignin (d-lignin) was used without any further chemical functionalization. d-lignin dissolved in DMSO was sprayed upon liquid nitrogen cooled copper plate using an ultrasonic nebulizer. The resulting frozen droplets were collected and found to possess hollow and solid morphology. Particles thus obtained were characterized for their size distribution and morphology, and compared to theoretically anticipated values. Size tunability of particles in relation to concentration of sprayed lignin solution was also studied. In addition to that, six layers of lignin colloids were deposited on quartz slide with the aid of negligible UV absorbing polyelectrolyte aqueous solution PDADMAC [Poly (diallyldimethylammonium chloride)]. Gradation in UV absorbing ability of lignin with increase in number of layers could be clearly observed. Hollow and solid lignin colloids, apart from their application in sunscreen cosmetics owing to their UV absorbing ability, show potential applications in drug delivery also.

Bionanocomposites: smart biodegradable packaging material for food preservation

In this era of increasing demands and consequently improving technology, food packaging is not only aimed to prevent food products from external dust and dirt particles, but also to perform several other functions, such as moisture control, oxygen scavenging, and a number of other actions including antimicrobial activity as well. But, with improving technology, which claims to fulfill most of the consumers’ requirements, health and environmental risks have been a major concern. Biodegradable polymers offer an environmental friendly alternative to these hazardous packaging materials. To impart active or smart properties to polymeric packaging films, polymers can be reinforced with nanomaterials. These so formed nanocomposites may exhibit one or more of the aforementioned properties of an active or smart packaging. This chapter deals with methods of preparation of polymeric nanocomposites, types and properties of nanoreinforcements, and details of few important biodegradable polymers that are commonly used for preparing nanocomposites for food packaging purposes. This chapter also gives an account of commercial active food packaging materials that are currently used in the market.

Changing Face of Wood Science in Modern Era: Contribution of Nanotechnology

BACKGROUND Wood science and nanomaterials science interact together in two different aspects; a) fabrication of lignocellulosic nanomaterials derived from wood and plant-based sources and b) surface or bulk wood modification by nanoparticles. In this review, we attempt to visualize the impact of nanoparticles on the wood coating and preservation treatments based on a thorough registration of the patent databases. METHOD The study was carried out as an overview of the scientifically most followed trends on nanoparticles utilization in wood science and wood protection depicted by recent universal filed patents. This review is exclusively targeted on the solid (timber) wood as a subject material. RESULTS Utilization of mainly metal nanoparticles as photoprotection, antibacterial, antifungal, antiabrasive and functional component on wood modification treatments was found to be widely patented. Additionally, an apparent minimization in the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has been succeeded. CONCLUSION Bulk wood preservation and more importantly, wood coating, splay the range of strengthening wood dimensional stability and biological degradation, against moisture absorption and fungi respectively. Nanoparticle materials have addressed various issues of wood science in a more efficient and environmental way than the traditional methods. Nevertheless, abundant tests and regulations are still needed before industrializing or recycling these products.

Multivariate analysis for forensic characterization, discrimination, and classification of marker pen inks

ABSTRACT The multivariate analysis methods have recently gained high popularity within the field of forensic sciences because of their high accuracy and precision. The accurate and unbiased results are the preliminary need for a forensic investigation. The aim of the present work is to examine the marker pen inks which are widely used in various places like documentation in parcels, for photograph attestation, and also as a study material in the classroom. This research is focused on the three important aspects; first is to characterize the marker inks, second, to discriminate permanent marker and whiteboard marker inks using destructive (extracting of ink samples from paper substrate) and nondestructive (without ink extraction) techniques of ultraviolet–visible absorbance combined with peak identification examination as well as chemometric methods, and the third is to build a classification model for permanent and whiteboard marker inks. It is concluded that the chemometric method, that is, principal component analysis provides better discrimination power as compared to visual examination. However, destructive and nondestructive approaches give almost similar discriminating power. The classification model developed using linear discriminant analysis provides 87.5% of correct classification of marker ink samples. The method can further be used to formulate a statistical model for the determination of class/group of the other forensic exhibits.

Functionalized nanoliposomes loaded with anti survivin and anti angiogenic agents to enhance the activity of chemotherapy against melanoma by 4-pronged action

Melanoma is one of the most aggressive cancers which has very low response rate and survival rate. Melanoma cells are known to be inherently resistant to the chemotherapy which results in poor outcomes and even failure of the therapy. For this reason, a better understanding of underlying mechanism of melanoma pathogenesis and resistance is required, so that more efficient and novel therapeutic strategies can be developed. Survivin is a protein which is overexpressed in melanoma cells and is known to impart resistance to them against apoptosis. Also, melanoma cells overexpress Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (bFGF) angiogenic growth factors which lead to aggressive angiogenesis in melanoma cells thereby making the treatment more challenging. This hypothesis presents a combinatorial approach against melanoma where an anti-survivin agent and an anti-angiogenic agent are combined with a chemotherapeutic drug and loaded in surface functionalized liposomes in order to target specific mechanisms of melanoma, thus overcoming its resistance. Thus, the study aims to overcome the resistance of melanoma cells by developing a wise combination of drugs and achieve a higher response rate in resistant melanoma model, which is usually not achieved with the existing treatment modalities.

Novel 4-in-1 strategy to combat colon cancer, drug resistance and cancer relapse utilizing functionalized bioinspiring lignin nanoparticle

Colon cancer is one of the fatal forms of cancer all round the world with a equal frequency of occurrence in both male and female population. Mutational changes and defects in APC (Adenomatous Polyposis Coli) and DNA mismatch repair genes accompanied by genetic chaos in oncogenic pathways leads to colon cancer. Intensive study on pathogenesis of colon cancer has been made to decipher the mechanisms underlying the development and progress of the disease so as to develop effective treatment. However, a complete therapeutic regimen is still not available for combating this deadly disease. Hurdles faced by chemotherapy include drug resistance due to P-glycoprotein transporters, untoward effects on normal cells, high cost, bio-burden of the therapy, and the most dreadful drawback is cancer relapse. The concept of cancer relapse is related to development of oxidative stress that causes cell apoptosis. If the level of oxidative stress is inadequate to cause apoptosis then it leads to cell dormancy which may revive post chemotherapy. This hypothesis aims to put forward a combinatorial approach that includes utilizing a cost effective, biocompatible and environmentally benign nanoparticulate carrier made up of lignin, loaded with anti-cancer agent and P-gp modulator, and functionalized with ligand for CD44 receptors that are over expressed on cancer cells. Antioxidant effect of lignin will overcome dormancy of cancer cells making it possible for cell cycle specific drugs to kill them and prevent relapse and active targeting will prevent untoward effects on normal cells. Thus a robust and wholesome formulation can be developed to combat colon cancer.