Health concerns of various nanoparticles: A review of their in vitro and in vivo toxicity

Nanoparticles (NPs) are currently used in diagnosis and treatment of many human diseases, including autoimmune diseases and cancer. However, cytotoxic effects of NPs on normal cells and living organs is a severe limiting factor that hinders their use in clinic. In addition, diversity of NPs and their physico-chemical properties, including particle size, shape, surface area, dispersity and protein corona effects are considered as key factors that have a crucial impact on their safe or toxicological behaviors. Current studies on toxic effects of NPs are aimed to identify the targets and mechanisms of their side effects, with a focus on elucidating the patterns of NP transport, accumulation, degradation, and elimination, in both in vitro and in vitro models. NPs can enter the body through inhalation, skin and digestive routes. Consequently, there is a need for reliable information about effects of NPs on various organs in order to reveal their efficacy and impact on health. This review covers the existing knowledge base on the subject that hopefully prepares us better to address these challenges. © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Primary antibody deficiency in a tertiary referral hospital: A 30-year experiment

Background: Primary antibody deficiency (PAD) is the most common group of primary immunodeficiency disorders (PID), with a broad spectrum of clinical features ranging from severe and recurrent infections to asymptomatic disease. Objectives: The current study was performed to evaluate and compare demographic and clinical data in the most common types of PAD. Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective review of the medical records of all PAD patients with a confirmed diagnosis of common variable immunodeficiency (CVID), hyper IgM syndrome (HIgM), selective IgA deficiency (SIgAD), and X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) who were diagnosed during the last 30 years at the Children�s Medical Center, Tehran, Iran. Results: A total number of 280 cases of PAD (125 CVID, 32 HIgM, 63 SIgAD, and 60 XLA) were enrolled in the study. The median (range) age at the onset of disease in CVID, HIgM, SIgAD, and XLA was 2 (0-46), 0.91 (0-9), 1 (0-26), and 1 (0-10) years, respectively. Gastrointestinal infections were more prevalent in CVID patients, as were central nervous system infections in XLA patients. Autoimmune complications were more prevalent in HIgM patients, malignancies in CVID patients, and allergies in SIgAD patients. The mortality rate for CVID, HIgM, and XLA was 27.2, 28.1, and 25, respectively. No deaths were reported in SIgAD patients. Conclusions: SIgAD patients had the best prognosis. While all PAD patients should be monitored for infectious complications, special attention should be paid to the finding of malignancy and autoimmune disorders in CVID and HIgM patients, respectively. © 2015 Esmon Publicidad

Primary immunodeficiency disorders in Iran: Update and new insights from the third report of the national registry

Background: Primary immunodeficiency disorders (PID) are a group of heterogeneous disorders mainly characterized by severe and recurrent infections and increased susceptibility to malignancies, lymphoproliferative and autoimmune conditions. National registries of PID disorders provide epidemiological data and increase the awareness of medical personnel as well as health care providers. Methods: This study presents the demographic data and clinical manifestations of Iranian PID patients who were diagnosed from March 2006 till the March of 2013 and were registered in Iranian PID Registry (IPIDR) after its second report of 2006. Results: A total number of 731 new PID patients (455 male and 276 female) from 14 medical centers were enrolled in the current study. Predominantly antibody deficiencies were the most common subcategory of PID (32.3 %) and were followed by combined immunodeficiencies (22.3 %), congenital defects of phagocyte number, function, or both (17.4 %), well-defined syndromes with immunodeficiency (17.2 %), autoinflammatory disorders (5.2 %), diseases of immune dysregulation (2.6 %), defects in innate immunity (1.6 %), and complement deficiencies (1.4 %). Severe combined immunodeficiency was the most common disorder (21.1 %). Other prevalent disorders were common variable immunodeficiency (14.9 %), hyper IgE syndrome (7.7 %), and selective IgA deficiency (7.5 %). Conclusions: Registration of Iranian PID patients increased the awareness of medical community of Iran and developed diagnostic and therapeutic techniques across more parts of the country. Further efforts must be taken by increasing the coverage of IPIDR via electronically registration and gradual referral system in order to provide better estimation of PID in Iran and reduce the number of undiagnosed cases. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media

Large-scale production/biosynthesis of biogenic nanoparticles

Biogenic nanoparticles are either produced inside the biological entity or outside of it. While this has been the interest of many groups of investigators and a more widely explored area in nanotechnology, there are very few such processes having the potential for large-scale production mostly due to: difficulty to control the process, lack of availability of large-scale industrially abundant raw materials, lack of their environmental friendliness, and raw material expenses. The present chapter defines the process involved in the production of biogenic nanoparticles. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020

Salt-induced aggregation of stiff polyelectrolytes.

Molecular dynamics simulation techniques are used to study the process of aggregation of highly charged stiff polyelectrolytes due to the presence of multivalent salt. The dominant kinetic mode of aggregation is found to be the case of one end of one polyelectrolyte meeting others at right angles, and the kinetic pathway to bundle formation is found to be similar to that of flocculation dynamics of colloids as described by Smoluchowski. The aggregation process is found to favor the formation of finite bundles of 10-11 filaments at long times. Comparing the distribution of the cluster sizes with the Smoluchowski formula suggests that the energy barrier for the aggregation process is negligible. Also, the formation of long-lived metastable structures with similarities to the raft-like structures of actin filaments is observed within a range of salt concentration

Salt-induced aggregation of stiff polyelectrolytes

Molecular dynamics simulation techniques are used to study the process of aggregation of highly charged stiff polyelectrolytes due to the presence of multivalent salt. The dominant kinetic mode of aggregation is found to be the case of one end of one polyelectrolyte meeting others at right angles, and the kinetic pathway to bundle formation is found to be similar to that of flocculation dynamics of colloids as described by Smoluchowski. The aggregation process is found to favor the formation of finite bundles of 10-11 filaments at long times. Comparing the distribution of the cluster sizes with the Smoluchowski formula suggests that the energy barrier for the aggregation process is negligible. Also, the formation of long-lived metastable structures with similarities to the raft-like structures of actin filaments is observed within a range of salt concentration. © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd