Magnetic nanosystem for cancer therapy using oncocalyxone A, an antitomour secondary metabolite isolated from a Brazilian plant

none14siThis paper describes the investigation and development of a novel magnetic drug delivery nanosystem (labeled as MO-20) for cancer therapy. The drug employed was oncocalyxone A (onco A), which was isolated from Auxemma oncocalyx, an endemic Brazilian plant. It has a series of pharmacological properties: antioxidant, cytotoxic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antitumor and antiplatelet. Onco A was associated with magnetite nanoparticles in order to obtain magnetic properties. The components of MO-20 were characterized by XRD, FTIR, TGA, TEM and Magnetization curves. The MO-20 presented a size of about 30 nm and globular morphology. In addition, drug releasing experiments were performed, where it was observed the presence of the anomalous transport. The results found in this work showed the potential of onco A for future applications of the MO-20 as a new magnetic drug release nanosystem for cancer treatment.openBarreto, Antônio C.H.; Santiago, Vivian R.; Freire, Rafael M.; Mazzetto, Selma E.; Denardin, Juliano C.; Mele, Giuseppe; Cavalcante, Igor M.; Ribeiro, Maria E.N.P.; Ricardo, Nágila M.P.S.; Gonçalves, Tamara; Carbone, Luigi; Lemos, Telma L.G.; Pessoa, Otília D.L.; Fechine, Pierre B.A.*Barreto, Antônio C. H.; Santiago, Vivian R.; Freire, Rafael M.; Mazzetto, Selma E.; Denardin, Juliano C.; Mele, Giuseppe; Cavalcante, Igor M.; Ribeiro, Maria E. N. P.; Ricardo, Nágila M. P. S.; Gonçalves, Tamara; Carbone, Luigi; Lemos, Telma L. G.; Pessoa, Otília D. L.; Fechine, Pierre B. A

Cardanol-Based Heterocycles: Synthesis and Applications

This chapter provides an overview of the progresses of research activities related with the synthesis of functional heterocyclic systems utilizing mainly cardanol—or structural analogous (i.e., anacardic acid, cardol, methylcardol) deriving from the cashew nut shell liquid—as starting material, a renewable feedstock having significant perspectives in the field of the green chemistry and design of innovative environmentally friendly chemical processes

Cashew Nutshell Liquid (CNSL): From an Agro-industrial Waste to a Sustainable Alternative to Petrochemical Resources

The global concern about the problems caused by the growing consumption of petrochemical compounds, such as global warming and the diminishing of fossil fuels reserves, has given rise to the green chemistry field—based on the design of products and processes that minimize the use and generation of hazardous substances—in both academy and industry. In face of the increasing demand for chemicals, sustainable and innovative technologies are necessary in order to overcome current difficulties and also avoid the evolution of new ones. The advent of agro-industry waste as a resource of raw materials has attracted the attention of researchers and opened a window of opportunity for the breakthrough of alternative products to the oil industry. In this sense, cashew nutshell liquid (CNSL), a by-product from cashew industrial processing and one of the richest natural sources of phenolic compounds, emerges as a promising and renewable feedstock for the development of a wide range of functional products. This chapter is focused on the discussion of the origin and chemical composition of the different types of CNSL, and also on the challenges involved in the methods of isolation and main applications of its major component, cardanol, in the context of a sustainable development

Formulation and Chemical Stability in Aqueous Media of Cannabidiol Embedded in Cardanol-Based Nanovesicles

With relevance to an increasingly large set of environmentally friendly products and processes, a green nanoformulation based on renewables was proposed. Our attention was devoted to cannabidiol (CBD), a cannabis extract compound known for its intrinsically low chemical stability that limits its therapeutic potential. In this work, the environmental stability of CBD was improved, adopting a new sustainable formulation. In particular, for the first time, CBD was embedded into a vesicular nanosystem based on cardanol (CA) known for its antioxidant properties which stabilize and avoid its degradation in an aqueous environment. Chemical and physical characterization of nanovesicles was carried out by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Exhaustive dialysis was used to purify samples, and the presence of CBD not embedded into nanodispersions was monitored by UV-vis spectrometry measurements until its disappearance. Identification and quantification of CA and CBD were performed after lysis of nanovesicles through a high-performance liquid chromatograph coupled to diode a array and mass spectrometer detectors (HPLC-DAD-MS). Furthermore, stability studies of green nanoformulations were performed at two different temperatures (20 and 4 °C) to ascertain their better preservation

Synthesis and characteristics of alkyd resin/M-Porphyrins nanocomposite for corrosion protection application

In the present work, blends of M-Porphyrins (Zn-Pp, Cu-Pp, and Co-Pp) with alkyd resin have been used for development of novel nanocomposite anticorrosive coatings. The nanocomposite coatings containing the synthesized M-Porphyrins were applied on carbon steel specimens, and the coated specimens were evaluated for their corrosion and mechanical properties in 0.5 M HCl solution. The performance of nanocomposite coatings was detected using potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), water permeability and pull-off adhesion measurements. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed the surface characterizations of nanocomposite coatings. The coating film capacitances were monitored with the immersion time to establish water uptake of these coating films. The results showed that the incorporation of M-Porphyrins significantly improved anticorrosive performance and mechanical properties of the alkyd resin. Lower water uptake was observed for alkyd resin containing M-Porphyrins particles. The central metal atoms that were bonded to Porphyrins structure are the main reason for the difference in the protection efficiency. Best corrosion protection of the carbon steel was found for the alkyd resin with Co-Pp (98.47%)

Sustainable Preparation of Cardanol-Based Nanocarriers with Embedded Natural Phenolic Compounds

In this article, the environmentally friendly preparation of “green nanocarriers” based on the combination of natural renewable materials is described. Cardanol (CA), obtained as the major byproduct of the cashew industry, and cholesterol (CH) have been used to encapsulate chlorogenic acids (CQAs), a class of natural phenolic compounds extracted from two different rowanberries (Sorbus Americana and Vaccinium sp.). The chlorogenic acid extracts and cardanol-based vesicular nanodispersions have been characterized, respectively, by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and dynamic light scattering (DLS)

Análise bibliométrica da produção científica brasileira e do nordeste em Biotecnologia

Biotechnology consolidates itself as a theme that has been repeatedly considered as strategic subject for the development of Brazil. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the impact of public policies on science and technology, such as the pluriannual plans and the National Science and Technology Strategy, which aim to stimulate scientific research in Biotechnology. The main goal of this article was to elaborate and analyze a set of bibliometric indicators on scientific production in Biotechnology. The method included the use of bibliometrics as an information analysis technique and the analyzed sample contained 517,569 bibliographic records referring to the scientific production on Biotechnology indexed in the Web of Science database, from 2001 to 2015. The results achieved included indicators of production and national and international scientific collaboration and point to the increase of Brazil's contribution to the world scientific production in Biotechnology, as well as the growing importance of research carried out by the institutions of the Northeast Region of Brazil, as well as the collaboration among them. It is concluded that the implementation of public policies in science and technology aimed at reducing regional inequalities have had an effect in the Biotechnology area.A Biotecnologia consolida-se como um tema recorrentemente tratado como estratégico para o desenvolvimento do Brasil. Neste contexto, há necessidade de se investigar o impacto das políticas públicas de ciência e tecnologia, como os Planos Plurianuais e a Estratégia Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia, que visam estimular a pesquisa científica na área. O objetivo deste artigo foi elaborar e analisar um conjunto de indicadores bibliométricos sobre a produção científica em Biotecnologia. O método utilizado compreendeu o uso da Bibliometria como técnica de análise de informações. A amostra analisada foi de 517.569 registros bibliográficos referentes à produção científica sobre Biotecnologia indexada na base de dados Web of Science, no período de 2001 a 2015. Os resultados alcançados compreenderam indicadores de produção e de colaboração científica nacional e internacional e apontam para o aumento da contribuição do Brasil frente à produção científica mundial neste assunto e o crescimento da importância das pesquisas realizadas pelas instituições da região nordeste do Brasil, bem como a colaboração entre elas. Conclui-se que a implementação de políticas públicas em ciência e tecnologia visando à redução das desigualdades regionais tem surtido efeito na área de Biotecnologia