IIT teams use plant extract, heat to kill skin cancer cells

“Uptake of the nanoformulation is nearly the same by normal and cancerous cells. But the extract produces elevated levels of ROS only in cancerous cells. Right now we don’t know the precise mechanism by which higher ROS is generated inside cancer cells,” says Dr. Aravind Kumar Rengan from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at IIT Hyderabad and one of the corresponding authors of the paper. The levels of ROS inside normal cells were insignificant

An Isothiazolanthrone-Based Self-Assembling Anticancer Color-Changing Dye for Concurrent Imaging and Monitoring of Cell Viability

We report the photophysical properties, self-assembly and biological evaluation of an isothiazolanthrone-based dye, 7-amino-6H-anthra[9,1-cd]isothiazol-6-one (AAT), which reveals anticancer properties and can be potentially used as dye for monitoring cell viability. The solvent-dependent photophysical studies suggest that the emission of AAT is sensitive to environment polarity due to which interesting changes in the colored emission may be observed owing to the charge transfer (CT) processes. AAT also self-assembles to tree-like branched morphologies and produce, a greenish emission inside the cells when imaged after short interval (15 mins) of incubation while a red fluorescence could be noted after 24 h. Interestingly, AAT also produce differential emission inside mouse normal cells as compared to its cancer cell lines since it possess anticancer activity. The experimental observations were also validated theoretically via computational modeling

Green synthesis of multi-functional carbon dots from medicinal plant leaves for antimicrobial, antioxidant, and bioimaging applications

In this research work, carbon dots (CDs) were synthesized from the renewable leaves of an indigenous medicinal plant by the one-pot sand bath method, Azadirachta indica. The synthesized CDs were characterized for its optical properties using UV–Vis, Fluorescence and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrophotometry and for structural properties using dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and high resolution Transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). The synthesized CDs exhibited concentration dependent biocompatibility when tested in mouse fibroblast L929 cell line. The EC50 values of biomedical studies, free radical scavenging activity (13.87 μgmL−1), and total antioxidant capacity (38 μgmL−1) proved CDs were exceptionally good. These CDs showed an appreciable zone of inhibition when examined on four bacterial (two gram-positive and gram-negative) and two fungal strains at minimum concentrations. Cellular internalisation studies performed on human breast cancer cells (MCF 7- bioimaging) revealed the applicability of CDs in bioimaging, wherein the inherent fluorescence of CDs were utilised. Thus, the CDs developed are potential as bioimaging, antioxidants and antimicrobial agents

Immunomodulatory nanosystems: An emerging strategy to combat viral infections

The viral infection spreads with the assistance of a host. Traditional antiviral therapies cannot provide long-term immunity against emerging and drug-resistant viral infections. Immunotherapy has evolved as an efficient approach for disease prevention and treatment, which include cancer, infections, inflammatory, and immune disorders. Immunomodulatory nanosystems can dramatically enhance therapeutic outcomes by combating many therapeutic challenges, such as poor immune stimulation and off-target adverse effects. Recently, immunomodulatory nanosystems have emerged as a potent antiviral strategy to intercept viral infections effectively. This review introduces major viral infections with their primary symptoms, route of transmission & targeted organ, and different stages of the viral life cycle with respective traditional blockers. The IMNs have an exceptional capacity for precisely modulating the immune system for therapeutic applications. The nano sized immunomodulatory systems permit the immune cells to interact with infectious agents enhancing lymphatic drainage and endocytosis by the over-reactive immune cells in the infected areas. Immune cells that can be modulated upon viral infection via various immunomodulatory nanosystems have been discussed. Advancement in theranostics can yield an accurate diagnosis, adequate treatment, and real-time screening of viral infections. Nanosystem-based drug delivery can continue to thrive in diagnosing, treating, and preventing viral infections. The curative medicine for remerging and drug-resistant viruses remains challenging, though certain systems have expanded our perception and initiated a new research domain in antiviral treatments

Immunomodulatory natural polysaccharides: An overview of the mechanisms involved

Maintenance of homeostasis is the primary function of the immune system. It detects the threats posed by pathogens, cancer, and tissue damage and mounts an immune response. The immunological memory dispensed by the immune system prevents or minimizes a second attack by the pathogen. Owing to the advent of new technologies, the comprehension of the immune system has widened, thus opening new horizons to modulate the immune system against any threat. Modulating the immune system with several biological and synthetic molecules mainly targets the innate and adaptive immune system to mount responses against several types of cancers, pathogenic infections, and autoimmune diseases. Polymers are widely used in several biological applications. The various characteristics of polymers, including molecular weight and tunable properties to modulate certain biological functions, have rendered them an ideal candidate for developing state-of-the-art therapeutic interventions. Extensive studies by various researchers across the globe have unraveled the potential of several synthetic and natural polymers to exhibit immunostimulatory activities. These polymers act as pattern recognition receptors (PRR) agonists to activate and engage the immune system. Despite polymeric nanoformulations and scaffolds being used to ferry molecular cargo, targeted delivery to specific cells, and interact with biological molecules, the innate potential of the polymers to influence the immune system is still little understood. From this perspective, this review discusses the very commonly used natural polysaccharides, which are also polymers, and their innate immunomodulatory potentials, mostly focusing on the molecular pathways influenced by the polysaccharides in the immunomodulation process. Further, the challenges associated with the application of polysaccharides and the potential solutions have also been discussed

IIT-Hyderabad team develops therapy to treat cancer

Researchers from IIT hyderabad develop combination of photothermal therapy and chemotherapy using naturally derived anticancer agen

IIT-Hyderabad develops combination therapy

Researchers from IIT Hyderabad develop combination of photothermal therapy and chemotherapy using naturally derived anticancer agen

The role played by bacterial infections in the onset and metastasis of cancer

Understanding various responses of cells towards change in their external environment, presence of other species and is important in identifying and correlating the mechanisms leading to malignant transformations and cancer development. Although uncovering and comprehending the association between bacteria and cancer is highly challenging, it promises excellent perspectives and approaches for successful cancer therapy. This review introduces various bacterial species, their virulence factors, and their role in cell transformations leading to cancer (particularly gastric, oral, colon, and breast cancer). Bacterial dysbiosis permutates host cells, causes inflammation, and results in tumorigenesis. This review explored bacterial-mediated host cell transformation causing chronic inflammation, immune receptor hyperactivation/absconding immune recognition, and genomic instability. Bacterial infections downregulate E-cadherin, leading to loosening of epithelial tight junction polarity and triggers metastasis. In addition to understanding the role of bacterial infections in cancer development, we have also reviewed the application of bacteria for cancer therapy. The emergence of bacteriotherapy combined with conventional therapies led to new and effective ways of overcoming challenges associated with available treatments. This review discusses the application of bacterial minicells, microswimmers, and outer cell membrane vesicles (OMV) for drug delivery applications. © 2021 The Author(s

IIT Hyderabad team uses plant extract, heat to kill cancer cells

IIT Hyderabad used chlorophyll-rich extract of a medicinal plant encapsulated in nanoparticles along with a dye to kill cancer cells when exposed to near-infrared light. The cancer cells were killed through reactive oxygen species-mediated autophagy. The extract was selective in killing only cancer cells

Preface: International Conference on Recent Advancements in Biomedical Engineering - 2021

The editorial team welcomes all readers to the proceedings of International Conference on Recent Advancements in Biomedical Engineering (ICRABE-2021). The conference was inspired by the fusion of science and engineering principles in healthcare services and products. The conference aims to initiate exchange of innovative ideas between students, research scholar and faculties. Specifically, mechanical principles, power control for medical devices, nanomaterials and associated technologies were focused. This proceeding comprises of a broad spectrum of techniques to expose the recent advancements in the field of physics for healthcare application