Nanopesticides in agriculture: benefits and challenge in agricultural productivity, toxicological risks to human health and environment

Nanopesticides are nanostructures with two to three dimensions between 1 to 200 nm, used to carry agrochemical ingredients (AcI). Because of their unique properties, the loading of AcI into nanoparticles offers benefits when compared to free pesticides. However, with the fast development of new engineered nanoparticles for pests control, a new type of environmental waste is being produced. This paper describes the nanopesticides sources, the harmful environmental and health effects arising from pesticide exposure. The potential ameliorative impact of nanoparticles on agricultural productivity and ecosystem challenges are extensively discussed. Strategies for controlled release and stimuli-responsive systems for slow, sustained, and targeted AcI and genetic material delivery are reported. Special attention to different nanoparticles source, the environmental behavior of nanopesticides in the crop setting, and the most recent advancements and nanopesticides representative research from experimental results are revised. This review also addresses some issues and concerns in developing, formulating and toxicity pesticide products for environmentally friendly and sustainable agriculture.FDA—Sorocaba University; PROPEIN 013_19info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Applications of natural, semi-synthetic, and synthetic polymers in cosmetic formulations

Cosmetics composed of synthetic and/or semi-synthetic polymers, associated or not with natural polymers, exhibit a dashing design, with thermal and chemo-sensitive properties. Cosmetic polymers are also used for the preparation of nanoparticles for the delivery of, e.g., fragrances, with the purpose to modify their release profile and also reducing the risk of evaporation. Besides, other cosmetically active nutrients, dermal permeation enhancers, have also been loaded into nanoparticles to improve their bioactivities on the skin. The use of natural polymers in cosmetic formulations is of particular relevance because of their biocompatible, safe, and eco-friendly character. These formulations are highly attractive and marketable to consumers, and are suitable for a plethora of applications, including make-up, skin, and hair care, and as modifiers and stabilizers. In this review, natural synthetic, semi-synthetic, and synthetic polymers are discussed considering their properties for cosmetic applications. Their uses in conventional and novel formulations are also presented.This research was funded by Banco do Nordeste (FUNDECI 2017.0016), Coordenação Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Sergipe (FAPITEC)(PROCESSO: 88887.159533/2017-00), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq301964/2019-0, and Chamada CNPq nº01/2019) and by Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation, Ministryof Science and Education (FCT/MEC) through national funds, and co-financed by FEDER, under the project reference UIDB/04469/2020 (strategic fund), co-financed by FEDER, under the Partnership Agreement PT2020info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cachexia: pathophysiology and ghrelin liposomes for nose-to-brain delivery

Cachexia, a severe multifactorial condition that is underestimated and unrecognized in patients, is characterized by continuous muscle mass loss that leads to progressive functional impairment, while nutritional support cannot completely reverse this clinical condition. There is a strong need for more effective and targeted therapies for cachexia patients. There is a need for drugs that act on cachexia as a distinct and treatable condition to prevent or reverse excess catabolism and inflammation. Due to ghrelin properties, it has been studied in the cachexia and other treatments in a growing number of works. However, in the body, exogenous ghrelin is subject to very rapid degradation. In this context, the intranasal release of ghrelin-loaded liposomes to cross the blood-brain barrier and the release of the drug into the central nervous system may be a promising alternative to improve its bioavailability. The administration of nose-to-brain liposomes for the management of cachexia was addressed only in a limited number of published works. This review focuses on the discussion of the pathophysiology of cachexia, synthesis and physiological effects of ghrelin and the potential treatment of the diseased using ghrelin-loaded liposomes through the nose-to-brain route.Funded by PROSUP/Coordination of Superior Level Staff Improvement (CAPES), University of Sorocaba (UNISO), São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP/2014/50928-2), Brazil, granted to MVC, and by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT/MCT) and from European Funds (PRODER/COMPETE), co-financed by FEDER, under the Partnership Agreement PT2020 granted to EBS (UIDB/04469/2020 (strategic fund)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Retinal drug delivery: rethinking outcomes for the efficient replication of retinal behavior

The retina is a highly organized structure that is considered to be "an approachable part of the brain." It is attracting the interest of development scientists, as it provides a model neurovascular system. Over the last few years, we have been witnessing significant development in the knowledge of the mechanisms that induce the shape of the retinal vascular system, as well as knowledge of disease processes that lead to retina degeneration. Knowledge and understanding of how our vision works are crucial to creating a hardware-adaptive computational model that can replicate retinal behavior. The neuronal system is nonlinear and very intricate. It is thus instrumental to have a clear view of the neurophysiological and neuroanatomic processes and to take into account the underlying principles that govern the process of hardware transformation to produce an appropriate model that can be mapped to a physical device. The mechanistic and integrated computational models have enormous potential toward helping to understand disease mechanisms and to explain the associations identified in large model-free data sets. The approach used is modulated and based on different models of drug administration, including the geometry of the eye. This work aimed to review the recently used mathematical models to map a directed retinal network.The authors acknowledge the financial support received from the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT/MCT) and the European Funds (PRODER/COMPETE) for the project UIDB/04469/2020 (strategic fund), co-financed by FEDER, under the Partnership Agreement PT2020. The authors also acknowledge FAPESP – São Paulo Research Foundation, for the financial support for the publication of the article.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Medicinal plant extract associated with bacterial cellulose membrane: Antibacterial activity and physicochemical properties

Burns injuries induce a state of immunodepression that predisposes to a bacterial infectious complication that leads to several comorbid diseases and high mortality rate. Previous studies about anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of Aloe vera (L.) Burm., Calendula officinalis L.and Matricaria recutita L. are acknowledge by antimicrobial effects. Previous studies about anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of Aloe vera (L.) Burm., Calendula officinalis L. and Matricaria recutita L. are knowledge by antimicrobial effects. Bacterial cellulose membrane (nature BCM) is a potential carrier as a drug delivery system in the wound and burn treatment. The present study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of extracts of A. vera, C. officinalis, and M. recutita incorporated in BCM against bacterial strains commonly present in wound and burns. The agar-dilution susceptibility testing was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for S. aureus, E. coli, and P. aeruginosa. The standardized extracts of A. vera, M. recutita, and C. officinalis were, respectively, used at 3.25% of total polysaccharides, 1% of apigenin 7-O-glucoside and 0.084% of total flavonoids expressed in quercetin. The BCM incorporated with A. vera extract was efficient to prevent the growth of P. aeruginosa and S. aureus. BCM loaded with C. officinalis inhibited the growth of S. aureus. The BCM loaded with A. vera and C. officinalis extract showed better antibacterial activities against P. aeruginosa and S. aureus and, consequently, properties to prevent infectious disease in the wound or burn caused by these bacteria

Quality by Design Approach for the Development of Liposome Carrying Ghrelin for Intranasal Administration

The therapeutic use of peptides has increasingly recognized in the development of new therapies. However, the susceptible enzymatic cleavage is a barrier that needs to overcome. Nose-to-brain delivery associated with liposomes can protect peptides against biodegradation and improve the accessibility to brain targets. The aim was to develop a liposomal formulation as ghrelin carrier. The quality by design (QbD) approach was used as a strategy for method development. The initial risk assessments were carried out using a fishbone diagram. A screening design study was performed for the critical material attributes/critical process parameters (CMAs/CPPs) on critical quality attributes (CQAs). Liposomes were obtained by hydrating phospholipid films, followed by extrusion or homogenization, and coated with chitosan. The optimized liposome formulation was produced by high-pressure homogenization coated with chitosan, and the resulted were liposomes size 72.25 ± 1.46 nm, PDI of 0.300 ± 0.027, the zeta potential of 50.3 ± 1.46 mV, and encapsulation efficiency of 53.2%. Moreover, chitosan coating improved performance in ex vivo permeation and mucoadhesion analyzes when compared to the uncoated liposome. In this context, chitosan coating is essential for the performance of the formulations in the ex vivo permeation and mucoadhesion analyzes. The intranasal administration of ghrelin liposomes coated with chitosan offers an innovative opportunity to treat cachexia

Dense lamellar scaffold, biomimetically inspired, for reverse cardiac remodeling : effect of proanthocyanidins and glutaraldehyde

Regenerative medicine is an emerging field that aims in healing damaged tissue. The choice of the crosslinking agent is one of the most critical requirements for the development of three-dimensional scaffold devices. This study aimed to investigate the effects of proanthocyanidins (PA) and glutaraldehyde (GA) associated with plastic compression method on the properties of the dense lamellar. The physiomechanical and physical–chemical properties of the scaffolds were evaluated. The antioxidant activity was investigated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl method; viability and proliferation cellular were evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide and imaging cytometer (H9c2 cells). The effect of the crosslinking agents modified the physiomechanical properties but did not modify the mucoadhesion properties. Proanthocyanidin-scaffold has the ability to bind water’s molecule and to reduce the space between polymeric chains. Proanthocyanidin-scaffold and GA scaffold showed, respectively, 44 and 17% of antioxidant activity. Both crosslinking agents did not influence the viability and proliferation of H9c2 cells. Considering the anisotropic structure, and the physiomechanical properties, cellular compatibility, and protective action against reactive oxygen species, this study may provide a way to improve the inverse modulation of heart tissue, after infarct acute of the myocardiumCONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP425271/2016-113432-0/2018Postgraduate Support Program for Private Education Institution – Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Prosup-Capes) with financial support for scholarship. CNPq.-Brazil: 425271/2016-1. FAPESP-Brazil 13432-0/2018. This work was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientıfico e Tecnologico; Coordenac¸~ao de Aperfeic¸oamento de Pessoal de Nıvel Superior; Fundac¸~ao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paul

Structural comparison, physicochemical properties, and in vitro release profile of curcumin-loaded lyotropic liquid crystalline nanoparticle: Influence of hydrotrope as interface stabilizers

Lyotropic liquid crystal (LLC) is a nano-biomimetic lipid-based system, which has thermodynamic property that is peculiar to it, and suitable for its structural ordering, which facilitates more intimate contact with the tissues. The LLC as a carrier of curcumin has been much studied, however, this is the first time that hydrotrope method approach has been used in the lamellar system precursor of the LLC nanoparticles (LLC-NPs). Curcumin was used due to its pharmacological properties. However, bioavailability is limited by poor water solubility, high chemical instability and metabolic susceptibility. The aim of this study was developed and lipid-based LLC systems prepared by the hydrotrope method were evaluated. Unlike most studies, sodium lauryl sulphate and Poloxamer 407® were used as hydrotropes and the stability, dissolution rate, and physicochemical properties of LLC-NPs were evaluated. The analysis of results showed that hydrotropes increase the stability of LLC-NPs and modify the curcumin release profile. The structural ordering of the lamellar mesophase and LLC-NPs was revealed by microscopy of polarized light and laser confocal scanning microscopy, the results showed a structure with the maltese cross. The LLC-NPs arising from lamellar mesophase with hydrotropes into water-lipid matrices hosted curcumin in the hilum of the maltese cross, and controlled release of curcumin.This study had financial support from CAPES/PROSUP-Brazil. We thank Kerry (Brazil) for supplying the raw material (Myverol® 18- 92K). We thank Prof. Dr. Fabio Leite responsible for the Department of Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics/Postgraduate Program in Biotechnology and Environmental Monitoring located at the Federal University of São Carlos in Sorocaba/SP-Brazil and Prof. Dr. Moema de Alencar Hausen by analysis of structural characterization by laser confocal scanning microscopy. We thank Laboratory of Biomaterials, Pontificial University Catholic (PUC/SP-Brazil) and Prof. Dr. Daniel Komatsu by analysis of structural characterization by polarized light microscopyinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio