Gene Delivery by Hydroxyapatite and Calcium Phosphate Nanoparticles: A Review of Novel and Recent Applications

Gene therapy is a targeted therapy which can be used in the treatment of various acquired and inherited diseases. Inhabitation of a gene function, restoring or improving a gene, or gaining a new function can be achieved by gene therapy strategies. The most crucial step in this therapy is delivering the therapeutic material to the target. Nanosized calcium phosphates (CaPs) have been considered as promising carriers due to their excellent biocompatibility. In this chapter, the delivery of DNA, siRNA, and miRNA by using CaP nanocarriers were compiled in detail and the main parameters which can affect the carrier properties and thus the gene transfer efficiency were also discussed

The use of focused electron and ion beams for the functionalization and nanostructuring of polymer surfaces

Polymers are nowadays actively used in numerous applications owing their low cost and optimized structural properties. Besides, the miniaturization of the novel materials down to nano and even atomic scale needs the use of Electron Microscopy techniques both for imaging and structuring abilities. When used for surface modification, electrons and ions allow altering the surface properties towards special material designs. This study mainly focuses on investigation, optimization and modification of polymers’ surface properties by the use of electron and ion beam treatment assisted by gas enhanced etching processes in FIB-SEM dual-beam platforms. Direct electron/ion beam etching and XeF2 assisted etching were applied on high density polyethylene (HDPE), Melinex® and polypropylene (PP) samples, in order to obtain different forms of functionalized surfaces. The alterations in the surface properties provided by electron/ion beam and gas assisted modification processes were examined using complementary advanced analysis techniques, such as HR-SEM and AFM

The effects of post-deposition annealing conditions on structure and created defects in Zn0.90Co0.10O thin films deposited on Si(100) substrate

We analyze the effect of post-deposition annealing conditions on both the structure and the created defects in Zn0.90Co0.10O thin films deposited on the Si (100) substrates by RF magnetron sputtering technique using home-made targets. We concentrated on understanding the homogeneity of substituted Co+2 ions and the annealing effects on the amount of defects in the ZnO lattice. Orientations of thin films are found to be in the [0002] direction with a surface roughness changing from 67±2 nm to 25.8±0.6 nm by annealing. The Co+2 ion substitutions, changing from 7.5±0.3 % to 8.8±0.3 %, cause to form Zn–O–Co bonds instead of Zn–O–Zn and split the Co2p energy level to Co2p1/2 and Co2p3/2 with 15.67±0.06 eV energy difference. In addition, the defects in the lattice were revealed from the correlations between Zn–O–Co bonds and intensity of Raman peak at around 691 cm-1. Furthermore, the asymmetry changes of O1s peak positions in X-ray Photoelectron Spectra (XPS) were also found to be in accordance with the Raman results

Rubidium Focused Ion Beam Induced Platinum Deposition

This work presents characterization of focused ion beam induced deposition (FIBID) of platinum using both rubidium and gallium ions. Trimethylplatinum [(MeCp)Pt(Me)3] was used as the deposition precursor. Under similar beam energies, 8.5 keV for Rb+ and 8.0 keV for Ga+, and beam current, near 10 pA, the two ion species deposited Pt films at 0.90 µm3/nC and 0.73 µm3/nC respectively. Energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy shows that the Rb+ FIBID-Pt consists of similar Pt contents (49% for Rb+ FIBID and 37% for Ga+ FIBID) with much lower primary ion contents (5% Rb and 27% Ga) than the Ga+ FIBID-Pt. The deposited material was also measured to have a resistivity of 8.1×104 µΩ· cm for the Rb+ FIBID-Pt and 5.7×103 µΩ· cm for the Ga+ FIBID-Pt

Supporting information for the article: Lukić, M.J., Kuzmanović, M., Sezen, M., Bakan, F., Egelja, A., Veselinović, L., 2018. Inert atmosphere processing of hydroxyapatite in the presence of lithium iron phosphate. Journal of the European Ceramic Society 38, 2120–2133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2017.12.023

Supporting information for the article: [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2017.12.023].Related to the peer-reviewed manuscript: [https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_dais_4924]Related to the published version: [https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_dais_3357

Production and characterization of antibiotic containing nano calcium phosphates

Implant-related infections constitute a large percentage of hospital-acquired infections and may result in implant failure and bone degradation. Such occurrences stem from either the colonization of bacteria around the host tissue or the formation of biofilm on the implant surface. In clinical treatment, antibiotics may be administered systemically or locally. The latter is expected to be much more effective due to the local intensified antibacterial activity with minimal systemic toxicity. In order to achieve such an outcome, suitable carriers need to be developed. Among many biodegradable carriers, calcium phosphates have attracted specific interest owing to their osteoconductive and bioactive characteristics. This chapter aims to bring together the results reported in the current relevant literature about the applications of calcium phosphates used for local delivery of a variety of antibiotics. Specifically, the influence of the delivery system properties both on drug-releasing profile and antibacterial activity are discussed