Nanostructured Aerosol Particles: Fabrication, Pulmonary Drug Delivery, and Controlled Release

Pulmonary drug delivery is the preferred route of administration in the treatment of respiratory diseases and some nonrespiratory diseases. Recent research has focused on developing structurally stable high-dosage drug delivery systems without premature release. To maximize the deposition in the desired lung regions, several factors must be considered in the formulation. The special issue includes seven papers deal with aerosol-assisted fabrication of nanostructured particles, aerosol deposition, nanoparticles pulmonary exposure, and controlled release

Aerosol-Assisted Synthesis of Monodisperse Single-Crystalline α-Cristobalite Nanospheres

Monodisperse single-crystalline α-cristobalite nanospheres have been synthesized by hydrocarbon-pyrolysis-induced carbon deposition on amorphous silica aerosol nanoparticles, devitrification of the coated silica at high temperature, and subsequent carbon removal by oxidation. The nanosphere size can be well controlled by tuning the size of the colloidal silica precursor. Uniform, high-purity nanocrystalline α-cristobalite is important for catalysis, nanocomposites, advanced polishing, and understanding silica nanotoxicology

Synthesis and Antibacterial Testing of Silver/Poly (Ether Amide) Composite Nanofibers with Ultralow Silver Content

Antimicrobial materials have attracted much attention all over the world. Herein, a new kind of antimicrobial material, poly (ether amide) (PebaxⓇ) nanofibers containing Ag nanoparticles, was prepared by electrospinning method. The Ag/PebaxⓇ composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) measurements. The antimicrobial properties of Ag/PebaxⓇ composites against Escherichia coli (E. coli; ATCC25922 and avirulent) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus; ATCC6538 and avirulent) were evaluated by membrane adhering method. It was found that the Ag content played an important part in the antimicrobial ability of Ag/PebaxⓇ composites. When the mass ratio of AgNO3 to PebaxⓇ in the precursor was 0.15‰, the inhibition rate can reach >99.9% and antimicrobial activity against E. coli and S. aureus was 5.8 and 5.6, respectively, exceeding the antimicrobial testing standards JIS Z 2801. The above results indicated that the Ag/PebaxⓇ composite was a promising antimicrobial material that can be used in many applications

Sulfated ZrO 2 supported CoMo sulfide catalyst by surface exsolution for enhanced hydrodeoxygenation of lignin-derived ethers to aromatics

Abstract(#br)Catalytic transformation of lignin is a sustainable way to provide aromatics, which depends on the structure and property of catalytic sites. A bifunctional sulfated ZrO 2 supported CoMo sulfide catalyst has been synthesized by in situ exsolution approach. The exsolved CoMo-sZr(exs) catalyst significantly enhanced the initial C–O bond cleavage rate (0.058 mol·g −1 ·h −1 ) compared to the impregnated and physically mixed sulfated ZrO 2 supported CoMo sulfide catalysts. Notably, the reusability tests also showed that the as-prepared catalyst presented total ethers conversion of 94% with aromatics yield of 86% after four consecutive cycles. This was related to the appropriate sulfide-support interaction, acid sites and highly-dispersed CoMo sulfide, in conformity with the catalyst characterization. Thereby it could facilitate reactant adsorption and effectively break down the C–O bonds in lignin derived fragments to form aromatics. This work points out a new avenue for the design of effective bifunctional catalysts for lignin depolymerization

The targeted delivery of multicomponent cargos to cancer cells by nanoporous particle-supported lipid bilayers.

Encapsulation of drugs within nanocarriers that selectively target malignant cells promises to mitigate side effects of conventional chemotherapy and to enable delivery of the unique drug combinations needed for personalized medicine. To realize this potential, however, targeted nanocarriers must simultaneously overcome multiple challenges, including specificity, stability and a high capacity for disparate cargos. Here we report porous nanoparticle-supported lipid bilayers (protocells) that synergistically combine properties of liposomes and nanoporous particles. Protocells modified with a targeting peptide that binds to human hepatocellular carcinoma exhibit a 10,000-fold greater affinity for human hepatocellular carcinoma than for hepatocytes, endothelial cells or immune cells. Furthermore, protocells can be loaded with combinations of therapeutic (drugs, small interfering RNA and toxins) and diagnostic (quantum dots) agents and modified to promote endosomal escape and nuclear accumulation of selected cargos. The enormous capacity of the high-surface-area nanoporous core combined with the enhanced targeting efficacy enabled by the fluid supported lipid bilayer enable a single protocell loaded with a drug cocktail to kill a drug-resistant human hepatocellular carcinoma cell, representing a 10(6)-fold improvement over comparable liposomes

Aerosol-Assisted Self-Assembly of Single-Crystal Core/Nanoporous Shell Particles as Model Controlled Release Capsules

Controlled release is a central theme of nano-engineering and is important to a wide spectrum of technologies ranging from drug delivery to corrosion inhibition.1 Recently, several types of con-trolled release architectures have been developed based on incor-poration of the release agent in nanoporous hosts.2 In these con-structs, silica/surfactant self-assembly allows precise control of the host pore size, and various gating strategies have been used to mod-ulate the release characteristics.3 However, as these systems are syn-thesized in batch reactors requiring multiple synthesis steps,1-3 they may not be amenable to large-scale manufacturing. Here we de-scribe a rapid, single step, aerosol-assisted self-assembly process to fabricate model core shell particles in which a single-crystal core is incorporated in a spherical nanoporous particle. The combined control of pore size and pore surface chemistry allows the charac

Recent Advances in FePt Nanoparticles for Biomedicine

FePt nanoparticles have great potential for biomedical applications due to their superior characteristics, including superparamagnetism, resistance to oxidation, and high chemical stability. The present paper reviews the methods used to prepare FePt nanoparticles, surface modifications, and their applications in the biomedical field, such as biosensing, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), targeted drug delivery, and therapy

A Combination Therapy of pHRE-Egr1-HSV-TK/Anti-CD133McAb-131I/MFH Mediated by FePt Nanoparticles for Liver Cancer Stem Cells

It has been evidenced that liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) are to blame hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) occurrence, development, metastasis, and recurrence. Using iron-platinum nanoparticles (FePt-NPs) as a carrier and CD133 antigen as a target, a new strategy to targetly kill LCSCs by integrating HSV-TK suicide gene, 131I nuclide irradiation, and magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH) together was designed and investigated in the present study. The results showed that FePt-NPs modified with PEI (PEI-FePt-NPs) could bind with DNA, and the best binding ratio was 1 : 40 (mass ratio). Moreover, DNA binding to PEI-FePt-NPs could refrain from Dnase1 enzyme digestion and could release under certain conditions. LCSCs (CD133+ Huh-7 cells) were transfected with pHRE-Egr1-HSV-TK by PEI-FePt-NPs, and the transfection efficiency was 53.65±3.40%. These data showed a good potential of PEI-FePt-NPs as a gene transfer carrier.131I was labeled with anti-CD133McAb in order to facilitate therapy targeting. The combined intervention of pHRE-Egr1-HSV-TK/anti-CD133McAb-131I/MFH mediated by PEI-FePt-NPs could greatly inhibit LCSCs’ growth and induce cell apoptosis in vitro, significantly higher than any of the individual interventions (p<0.05). This study offers a practicable idea for LCSC treatment, and PEI-FePt-NPs may act as novel nonviral gene vectors and a magnetic induction medium

Controlled Release from Core-Shell Nanoporous Silica Particles for Corrosion Inhibition of Aluminum Alloys

Cerium (Ce) corrosion inhibitors were encapsulated into hexagonally ordered nanoporous silica particles via single-step aerosol-assisted self-assembly. The core/shell structured particles are effective for corrosion inhibition of aluminum alloy AA2024-T3. Numerical simulation proved that the core-shell nanostructure delays the release process. The effective diffusion coefficient elucidated from release data for monodisperse particles in water was 1.0×10−14 m2s for Ce3+ compared to 2.5×10−13 m2s for NaCl. The pore size, pore surface chemistry, and the inhibitor solubility are crucial factors for the application. Microporous hydrophobic particles encapsulating a less soluble corrosion inhibitor are desirable for long-term corrosion inhibition