Review of Nano-Chitosan Based Drug Delivery of Plant Extracts for the Treatment of Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of death in females, worldwide. Many therapeutic strategies though available does not effectually reduce the cancer burden. Alternative system of medicine and an effective mode of drug delivery is a major part of ongoing cancer research. Traditional Siddha literature refers to cancer as "Putru"and elucidates the use of extracts from various plant parts for the treatment of cancer. For example, extracts of Mimosa pudica, Plumbago indica, Vitex trifolia, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Alstonia scholaris, Withania somnifera, Aegle marmelos have been studied and shown to possess anticancer property. It is shown to decrease the adverse side effects of chemo and radiotherapy due to the presence of antioxidants. To heighten the bioavailability of the extract and controlled release, it can be delivered along with or encapsulated within a biomaterial. Chitosan and their derivatives are well-known polycationic polymers in the field of biomaterials. Chitosan can be prepared as a colloidal system for delivery in the form of microsphere, hydrogel, nanoparticles and can be modified to improve adhesion by crosslinking, chemical modification and conjugation with macromolecules. They have the advantage of being able to penetrate tight junctions of the cell membrane, biodegradable and mucoadhesive. Glycol-chitosan nanoparticles exhibited tumour-homing property which is an advantage for its use in targeted delivery of anti-Tumour agents. Drug loaded-glycol modified chitosan nanoparticles have tumour inhibitory property because of enhanced permeation and retention capacity. Chitosan as a delivery system enhances the controlled drug release and modulates sustained drug bioavailability thereby delivering effective therapy. The use of chitosan encapsulation of anticancer extracts of medicinal plants can be a promising avenue to explore for their potential in breast cancer therapy. © (2022) Society for Biomaterials & Artificial Organs #20058522

Endomembrane targeting of human OAS1 p46 augments antiviral activity

Many host RNA sensors are positioned in the cytosol to detect viral RNA during infection. However, most positive-strand RNA viruses replicate within a modified organelle co-opted from intracellular membranes of the endomembrane system, which shields viral products from cellular innate immune sensors. Targeting innate RNA sensors to the endomembrane system may enhance their ability to sense RNA generated by viruses that use these compartments for replication. Here, we reveal that an isoform of oligoadenylate synthetase 1, OAS1 p46, is prenylated and targeted to the endomembrane system. Membrane localization of OAS1 p46 confers enhanced access to viral replication sites and results in increased antiviral activity against a subset of RNA viruses including flaviviruses, picornaviruses, and SARS-CoV-2. Finally, our human genetic analysis shows that the OAS1 splice-site SNP responsible for production of the OAS1 p46 isoform correlates with protection from severe COVID-19. This study highlights the importance of endomembrane targeting for the antiviral specificity of OAS1 and suggests that early control of SARS-CoV-2 replication through OAS1 p46 is an important determinant of COVID-19 severity

Effect of Phosphorus Levels and Phosphorus-Solubilization Rock Phosphate by Spent Wash on Growth and Productivity of Wheat

Field experiment was conducted at Agriculture Research Farm, Institute of Agricultural Science during 2014-15 and 2015-16. The experiments comprising five levels of phosphorus (control, 100% Recommended dose of N & K +50% P through SSP, 100% Recommended dose of N & K +75% P through SSP, 100% Recommended dose of N & K +50% P through rock phosphate and 100% Recommended dose of N & K +75% P through rock phosphate) in main plots and four levels of solubilization of rock phosphate treatments (control, RP:SW@1:10, RP:SW@1:40 and RP:SW@1:80) in sub-plots combinations of twenty treatment were tested in split plot design with three replications. Wheat HUW-468(variety) was sown seed of 100 kg ha-1 in rows spaced at 22.5 cm. Results revealed indicate that solubilization of rock phosphate remained at par with RP:SW@1:80 but recorded significantly higher plant height (cm), Total number of tillers/m row length, Chlorophyll content (SPAD), Test weight (gram), Grain yield, Straw yield and Biological yield (kg/ha) as compared to remaining levels of rock phosphate and control and Results further indicate that solubilization of rock phosphate remained at par with RP:SW@1:80. Results revealed that application of 100% N&K + 75% P through SSP found significantly superior over the other level

One-Dimensional Layered Sodium Vanadate Nanobelts: A Potential Aspirant for High-Performance Supercapacitor Applications

The one-dimensional (1D) transition metal oxide (TMO) nanostructures have significant advantages in electrochemical energy storage fields. To date, simplifying the processing techniques and improving the yield without compromising the quality are one of the top priorities in pushing these TMO materials for scalable energy storage applications. This study presents a simple ultrasonic-assisted chemical route to prepare Na2V6O16 (NVO) nanobelts. The X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy characterizations are used to confirm the formation of 1D NVO nanobelt structures. The growth mechanism for the formation of NVO nanobelts is also provided. Moreover, these synthesized NVO nanobelts are used as an electrode material for supercapacitor (SC) applications, which exhibit a specific capacitance of 455 F g–1 at 0.5 A g–1 with typical capacitive behavior. An asymmetric coin cell SC device of activated carbon//NVO is also fabricated. This fabricated device delivers a high energy density of 42.4 W h kg–1 and a high power density of 4.3 kW h kg–1, along with 80% capacity retention after 5000 cycles. The 1D NVO nanobelt structures can be considered a promising cathode material with superior rate capability and high capacitance for SC applications

Fluorinated Nanocellulose-Reinforced All-Organic Flexible Ferroelectric Nanocomposites for Energy Generation

We report here enhanced ferroelectric crystal formation and energy generation properties of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) in the presence of surface-modified crystalline nanocellulose. Incorporation of only 2–5 wt % fluorinated nanocellulose (FNC) in PVDF has been found to significantly induce polar β/γ-phase crystallization as compared to the addition of unmodified nanocellulose (carboxylated nanocellulose). A device made up of electrically poled PVDF/FNC composite films yielded 2 orders of magnitude higher voltage output than neat PVDF in vibrational energy harvesting. This remarkable increase in energy generation properties of PVDF at such a low loading of an organic natural biopolymer could be attributed to the tailored surface chemistry of nanocellulose, facilitating strong interfacial interactions between PVDF and FNC. Interestingly, energy harvesting devices fabricated from PVDF/FNC nanocomposites charged a 4.7 μF capacitor at significantly faster rate and the accumulated voltage on capacitor was 3.8 times greater than neat PVDF. The fact that PVDF/FNC nanocomposites still retain a strain at break of 10–15% and can charge a capacitor in few seconds suggests potential use of these nanocomposites as flexible energy harvesting materials at large strain conditions