Fabrication of Chitosan/TPP Nano Particles as a Carrier Towards the Treatment of Cancer

Cancer one of the deadliest disease and resistance of cancer cells has been the major issue in both the modern molecular targeted therapeutics as well as in the conventional chemotherapeutics. As on date chitosan has been the ideal choice as a carrier for delivering anticancer drugs like doxorubicin and cisplatin for targeted delivery. The present study focusses on the fabrication of chitosan nanoparticles using TPP by ionic gelation method loaded with 5-FU, an anticancer drug. The morphology of the nanoparticles synthesized were analysed using SEM and the size, zeta potential using particle size analyser. The mechanism of drug release was studied by fitting the release kinetics with Peppas model. Cellular uptake of the drug was analysed and using MTT the cytotoxicity & metabolic activity of the normal and the cancerous cells were evaluated. Results of the study showed that the synthesized nanoparticles possessed a positive charge and the release of the drug was through diffusion and degradation mediated. Also the cellular uptake of the drug showed the amount of drug uptake reduced with the cancerous cell as the time increase which was further confirmed using the MTT assay which showed the metabolic activity of the cancerous cell got reduced. The results of the study showed that the fabricated nanoparticles could potentially be used as a carrier towards the treatment of cancer

Graphene oxide functionalized with chitosan based nanoparticles as a carrier of siRNA in regulating Bcl-2 expression on Saos-2 & MG-63 cancer cells and its inflammatory response on bone marrow derived cells from mice

L

Graphene oxide functionalized with chitosan based nanoparticles as a carrier of siRNA in regulating Bcl-2 expression on Saos-2 & MG-63 cancer cells and its inflammatory response on bone marrow derived cells from mice

Presently, quite a lot of research that are being carried out to find a potential cure for cancer and many had made to clinical trial stage as well. In the present study, we focus on use of a novel graphene oxide functionalized chitosan nanoparticle targeting Saos-2 and MG-63 osteosarcoma cells. The graphene oxide chitosan nanoparticles were loaded with siRNA, studied for in vitro release with varying concentration & pH, and fitted to peppas model. MTT & ROS assay was used to evaluate biocompatibility of carrier and qPCR to study the inflammatory responses in particular checking gene expression of IL-6, TGF-ß, TNF-α in both RAW 264.7 and bone marrow derived macrophages. The results of study showed that release of siRNA were in a controlled fashion and effective at acidic pH that prevails on tumor site. The material was biocompatible and effective in case of Saos-2 osteosarcoma cells with a viability of 0.4±0.43 and 0.49±0.53 in case of MG-63 cells when treated with highest concentration of 100µl siRNA compared to untreated cells that were in range of 0.64±0.67 in Saos-2 and 0.61±0.63 in MG-63 cells. The results of expression of inflammatory cytokines IL-6, TGF-β & TNF-α showed negligible amount compared to control group serving the purpose of an effective carrier targeting tumor cells

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Ocimum sanctum Linn. and its antibacterial activity against multidrug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii

The biosynthesis of nanoparticles using the green route is an effective strategy in nanotechnology that provides a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to physical and chemical methods. This study aims to prepare an aqueous extract of Ocimum sanctum (O. sanctum)-based silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) through the green route and test their antibacterial activity. The biosynthesized silver nanoparticles were characterised by colour change, UV spectrometric analysis, FTIR, and particle shape and size morphology by SEM and TEM images. The nanoparticles are almost spherical to oval or rod-shaped with smooth surfaces and have a mean particle size in the range of 55 nm with a zeta potential of −2.7 mV. The antibacterial activities of AgNPs evaluated against clinically isolated multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) showed that the AgNPs from O. sanctum are effective in inhibiting A. baumannii growth with a zone of inhibition of 15 mm in the agar well diffusion method and MIC and MBC of 32 µg/mL and 64 µg/mL, respectively. The SEM images of A. baumannii treated with AgNPs revealed damage and rupture in bacterial cells. The time-killing assay by spectrophotometry revealed the time- and dose-dependent killing action of AgNPs against A. baumannii, and the assay at various concentrations and time intervals indicated a statistically significant result in comparison with the positive control colistin at 2 µg/mL (P < 0.05). The cytotoxicity test using the MTT assay protocol showed that prepared nanoparticles of O. sanctum are less toxic against human cell A549. This study opens up a ray of hope to explore the further research in this area and to improve the antimicrobial activities against multidrug resistant bacteria