New Emerging Inorganic–Organic Systems for Drug-Delivery: Hydroxyapatite@Furosemide Hybrids

In the pharmaceutical market, the need to find effective systems for the efficient release of poorly bioavailable drugs is a forefront topic. The inorganic–organic hybrid materials have been recognized as one of the most promising systems. In this paper, we developed new Hydroxypapatite@Furosemide hybrids with improved dissolution rates in different media with respect to the drug alone. The hybrids formation was demonstrated by SEM/EDS measurements (showing homogeneous distribution of the elements) and FT-IR spectroscopy. The drug was adsorbed onto hydroxyapatite surfaces in amorphous form, as demonstrated by XRPD and its thermal stability was improved due to the absence, in the hybrids, of melting and decomposition peaks typical of the drug. The Sr substitution on Ca sites in hydroxyapatite allows increasing the surface area and pore volume, foreseeing a high capacity of drug loading. The dissolution tests of the hybrid compounds show dissolution rates much faster than the drug alone in different fluids, and also their solubility and wetting ability is improved in comparison to furosemide alone

Freeze-drying of Beauveria bassiana suspended in Hydroxyethyl cellulose based hydrogel as possible method for storage: Evaluation of survival, growth and stability of conidial concentration before and after processing

Beauveria bassiana (Bb) is an entomopathogenic fungus considered as a valid alternative to chemical pesticides. However, Bb use is still limited due to short storage period and persistence in field conditions. Storage can be extended by reducing water content in products but an excessive drying can cause damage during rehydration. Persistence is promoted by using conidia into pellets or granules formulation. Integration of these two aspects can be challenging and costly. In this work, we present how utilizing a hydrogel containing Bb as growth substrate could potentially overcome both issues

Cellulose Acetate and Cardanol Based Seed Coating for Intraspecific Weeding Coupled with Natural Herbicide Spraying

Abstract: Agricultural pesticides can become persistent environmental pollutants and their use is destined to be reduced. Consequently, weed control is shifting to green products and strategies. A combined approach, made of pelargonic acid based herbicide spraying and interspecific competition (i.e. seeding of plants species competing for growth against weeds) could boost the weeding effect. In case of the contemporary seeding and spraying, needed to reduce costs, seed coating is necessary as barrier to herbicide toxic effects but, at the same time, the coating has to be endowed with the right features to allow germination. This work aims to verify the feasibility of using cellulose acetate/cardanol (CA/Card) as seed coating polymer–plasticizer blend and to identify possible relationship between material features and germination rate. For these purposes, untreated and pelargonic acid herbicide treated coated seeds coated through solvent evaporation methods (CA/Card ratios from 0/0 to 100/0) were subjected to germination test. Coatings were characterized through SEM, EDX, media uptake, DSC and mechanical analysis with and without conditioning in seeding conditions. Germination test showed that 70/30 seeds, treated and untreated with herbicide, presented the best germination rate. Germination assays showed that coating presence reduced and slowed (without stopping) seeds germination equally with and without herbicide treatment. Consequently, was possible to conclude that CA/Card coatings allowed germination and presented a barrier effect against herbicide. Thus coating resulted suitable for seed coating in herbicide spraying/interspecific combined applications. No strong correlations were found between material features and germination, but it is plausible to hypothesize that both water absorption and mechanical properties of the coating play an important role and have to be optimized to improve germination rate avoiding difficulty in sprouting. Finally, the study opened a new perspective in the use of cellulose acetate for seed coating from waste sources such as cigarette filters. Graphic Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Edible cellulose-based conductive composites for triboelectric nanogenerators and supercapacitors

Edible electronics will enable systems that can be safely ingested and degraded in the human body after completing their function, such as sensing physiological parameters or biological markers in the gastrointestinal tract, without risk of retention or need of recollection. The same systems are potentially suitable for directly tagging food, monitoring its quality, and developing edible soft actuators control and sensing abilities. Designing appropriate edible power sources is critical to turn such a vision into real opportunities. We propose electrically conductive edible composites based on ethylcellulose and activated carbon as enabling materials for energy harvesting and storage. Free-standing, phase-separated bi-layered films, insulating at the top and with low electrical resistivity (∼10 Ω cm) at the bottom, were produced with a scalable single-step process. Food additives can tune the mechanical and triboelectrical properties of the proposed edible films. We demonstrated their successful operation as electropositive elements in organic triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) and as electrodes in fully edible supercapacitors (SC). The TENGs showed ∼60 V peak voltage (root mean square power density ∼2.5 μW cm−2 at 5 Hz), while the SC achieved an energy density of 3.36 mW h g−1, capacity of ∼ 9 mAh g−1, and stability for more than 1000 charge-discharge cycles. These results show that the combination of ethyl cellulose and activated carbon, and the control over their mixture, allow on-demand edible devices for energy generation and storage, serving future edible and green electronics scenarios

Chronic oleoylethanolamide treatment decreases hepatic triacylglycerol level in rat liver by a pparγ/srebp-mediated suppression of fatty acid and triacylglycerol synthesis

none11noOleoylethanolamide (OEA) is a naturally occurring bioactive lipid belonging to the family of N-acylethanolamides. A variety of beneficial effects have been attributed to OEA, although the greater interest is due to its potential role in the treatment of obesity, fatty liver, and eating-related disorders. To better clarify the mechanism of the antiadipogenic effect of OEA in the liver, using a lipidomic study performed by1H-NMR, LC-MS/MS and thin-layer chromatography analyses we evaluated the whole lipid composition of rat liver, following a two-week daily treatment of OEA (10 mg kg−1 i.p.). We found that OEA induced a significant reduction in hepatic triacylglycerol (TAG) content and significant changes in sphingolipid composition and ceramidase activity. We associated the antiadipogenic effect of OEA to decreased activity and expression of key enzymes involved in fatty acid and TAG syntheses, such as acetyl-CoA carboxylase, fatty acid synthase, diacylglycerol acyltransferase, and stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1. Moreover, we found that both SREBP-1 and PPARγ protein expression were significantly reduced in the liver of OEA-treated rats. Our findings add significant and important insights into the molecular mechanism of OEA on hepatic adipogenesis, and suggest a possible link between the OEA-induced changes in sphingolipid metabolism and suppression of hepatic TAG level.openRomano A.; Friuli M.; Del Coco L.; Longo S.; Vergara D.; Del Boccio P.; Valentinuzzi S.; Cicalini I.; Fanizzi F.P.; Gaetani S.; Giudetti A.M.Romano, A.; Friuli, M.; Del Coco, L.; Longo, S.; Vergara, D.; Del Boccio, P.; Valentinuzzi, S.; Cicalini, I.; Fanizzi, F. P.; Gaetani, S.; Giudetti, A. M

An aqueous olive leaf extract ({OLE}) ameliorates parameters of oxidative stress associated with lipid accumulation and induces lipophagy in human hepatic cells

Fatty liver is a disease characterized by a buildup of lipids in the liver, often resulting from excessive consumption of high-fat-containing foods. Fatty liver can degenerate, over time, into more severe forms of liver diseases, especially when oxidative stress occurs. Olive leaf extract (OLE) is a reliable source of polyphenols with antioxidant and hypolipidemic properties that have been successfully used in medicine, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products. Using "green" solvents with minimal impact on the environment and human health, which simultaneously preserves the extract's beneficial properties, represents one of the major challenges of biomedical research. In the present study, we assayed the potential antioxidant and lipid-lowering effect of a "green" OLE obtained by a water ultrasound-assisted extraction procedure, on the human hepatic HuH7 cell line, treated with a high concentration of free fatty acids (FFA). We found that high FFA concentration induced lipid accumulation and oxidative stress, as measured by increased hydrogen peroxide levels. Moreover, the activity of antioxidant enzymes, catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase, was reduced upon FFA treatment. Coincubation of high FFA with OLE reduced lipid and H2O2 accumulation and increased the activity of peroxide-detoxifying enzymes. OLE ameliorated mitochondrial membrane potential, and hepatic parameters by restoring the expression of enzymes involved in insulin signaling and lipid metabolism. Electron microscopy revealed an increased autophagosome formation in both FFA- and FFA + OLE-treated cells. The study of the autophagic pathway indicated OLE's probable role in activating lipophagy

Oleoylethanolamide decreases frustration stress-induced binge-like eating in female rats: a novel potential treatment for binge-eating disorder

Binge-eating disorder (BED) is the most frequent eating disorder, for which current pharmacotherapies show poor response rates and safety concerns, thus highlighting the need for novel treatment options. The lipid-derived messenger oleoylethanolamide (OEA) acts as a satiety signal inhibiting food intake through the involvement of central noradrenergic and oxytocinergic neurons. We investigated the anti-binge effects of OEA in a rat model of binge-like eating, in which, after cycles of intermittent food restrictions/refeeding and palatable food consumptions, female rats show a binge-like intake of palatable food, following a 15-min exposure to their sight and smell (“frustration stress”). Systemically administered OEA dose-dependently (2.5, 5, and 10 mg kg–1) prevented binge-like eating. This behavioral effect was associated with a decreased activation (measured by mapping the expression of c-fos, an early gene widely used as a marker of cellular activation) of brain areas responding to stress (such as the nucleus accumbens and amygdala) and to a stimulation of areas involved in the control of food intake, such as the VTA and the PVN. These effects were paralleled, also, to the modulation of monoamine transmission in key brain areas involved in both homeostatic and hedonic control of eating. In particular, a decreased dopaminergic response to stress was observed by measuring dopamine extracellular concentrations in microdialysates from the nucleus accumbens shell, whereas an increased serotonergic and noradrenergic tone was detected in tissue homogenates of selected brain areas. Finally, a decrease in corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) mRNA levels was induced by OEA in the central amygdala, while an increase in oxytocin mRNA levels was induced in the PVN. The restoration of a normal oxytocin receptor density in the striatum paralleled the oxytocinergic stimulation produced by OEA. In conclusion, we provide evidence suggesting that OEA might represent a novel potential pharmacological target for the treatment of binge-like eating behavior

La falsificazione epigrafica. Questioni di metodo e casi di studio

This paper aims to reconsider the manuscript by Jacopo Valvasone (1499-1570), formerly owned by the Earl of Leicester (now British Library, Additional MS 49369), which Theodor Mommsen borrowed and inspected in 1876, just before the publication of the second part of CIL V. In the letter that he wrote to thank the Vicar and Librarian of Halkham Hall, Mommsen declared that Valvasone joined \u201cthe the long list of forgers\u201d. The analysis of forgeries in Valvasone\u2019s manuscript could show whether Mommsen was right in his opinion