Compositional Tuning of Light-to-Heat Conversion Efficiency and of Optical Properties of Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Journal of Physical Chemistry C, © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b03709Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles have played a fundamental role in the recent development of nanomedicine as one of the most popular imaging and therapeutic agents. Recently, the ability of iron magnetic nanoparticles for efficient heat generation under infrared optical excitation has even boosted the interest of the scientific community in this family of nanomaterials. The combination of magnetic and optical heating into a single nanostructure makes possible the development of advanced therapy treatments based on synergetic effects between these two heat sources that, in addition, could be combined with high penetration magnetic imaging. Despite its potential, the application of iron oxide nanoparticles in photothermal treatments is limited because the lack of knowledge about the physical mechanisms behind their light-to-heat conversion capacity. In this work, we have systematically investigated the photothermal efficiency of iron oxide nanoparticles with a variable composition achieved by partial replacement of iron by zinc atoms. We have experimentally found that the light-to-heat conversion efficiency gradually increases with the iron content, suggesting a dominant role of iron related transitions in the heating processes. Experimental data included in this work reveal a simple route to tailor the light activated heating processes in iron oxide nanoparticles toward fully controllable treatmentsThis work was supported financially by the MINECO (Projects MAT2015-67557-C2-2-P, CTQ2016-78454-C2-2-R, and MAT2016-75362-C3-1-R), the Agencia Estatal de Investigacioń (AEI, Spain), Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER, EU), the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI16/00812), Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (B2017/BMD-3867RENIM-CM), and the European Comission (Nano-TBTech). This work has been also partially supported by COST action CM1403. J.H. acknowledges a scholarship from the China Scholarship Council (No. 201506650003

Compositional Tuning of Light-to-Heat Conversion Efficiency and of Optical Properties of Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Journal of Physical Chemistry C, © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b03709Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles have played a fundamental role in the recent development of nanomedicine as one of the most popular imaging and therapeutic agents. Recently, the ability of iron magnetic nanoparticles for efficient heat generation under infrared optical excitation has even boosted the interest of the scientific community in this family of nanomaterials. The combination of magnetic and optical heating into a single nanostructure makes possible the development of advanced therapy treatments based on synergetic effects between these two heat sources that, in addition, could be combined with high penetration magnetic imaging. Despite its potential, the application of iron oxide nanoparticles in photothermal treatments is limited because the lack of knowledge about the physical mechanisms behind their light-to-heat conversion capacity. In this work, we have systematically investigated the photothermal efficiency of iron oxide nanoparticles with a variable composition achieved by partial replacement of iron by zinc atoms. We have experimentally found that the light-to-heat conversion efficiency gradually increases with the iron content, suggesting a dominant role of iron related transitions in the heating processes. Experimental data included in this work reveal a simple route to tailor the light activated heating processes in iron oxide nanoparticles toward fully controllable treatmentsThis work was supported financially by the MINECO (Projects MAT2015-67557-C2-2-P, CTQ2016-78454-C2-2-R, and MAT2016-75362-C3-1-R), the Agencia Estatal de Investigacioń (AEI, Spain), Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER, EU), the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI16/00812), Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (B2017/BMD-3867RENIM-CM), and the European Comission (Nano-TBTech). This work has been also partially supported by COST action CM1403. J.H. acknowledges a scholarship from the China Scholarship Council (No. 201506650003

Implementación de un sistema de información geográfica para las plantas de tratamiento de agua potable y residual de la Armada Nacional de Colombia.

Un Sistema de Información Geográfica – SIG es una herramienta fundamental dentro de una organización, permitiendo la integración de componentes físicos como el hardware; humanos como los usuarios y lógicos como el Software, cuyo propósito es almacenar, manejar y analizar datos, que conlleven a la solución de un problema. Por tal motivo, la implementación del SIG para las Plantas de Tratamiento de Agua Potable y Residual de la Armada Nacional de la República de Colombia, propone organizar, automatizar y actualizar el inventario físico, administrativo, operativo y de resultados de la caracterización de análisis fisicoquímicos y biológicos de las plantas, para determinar la calidad del agua, acordes con la legislación actual y su posterior análisis ambiental. Se identificó elementos para estructurar el modelo de datos, la conceptualización y el diseño, permitiendo realizar consultas rápidas y ágiles de forma digital y gráfica, mejorando las actividades que se realizan al interior de la División de Saneamiento Ambiental, y de esta forma resaltar el desempeño de este departamento dentro de la Institución. De acuerdo con la tecnología SIG, se conformó una base de datos numéricos, alfanuméricos y gráficos, que permite estructurar una memoria documental, facilitando el seguimiento, manejo y control de las plantas en relación con la legislación actual (Resolución 631 del 17 de marzo de 2015 para aguas residuales y 2115 del 22 de junio de 2007 para agua potable). Es así como la División de Saneamiento Ambiental de la Armada Nacional contará con una herramienta de fácil manejo para la toma de decisiones.A Geographic Information System - GIS is a fundamental tool within an organization, which allows the integration of physical components such as hardware; human as the users and logical as the Software, which aims to store, analyze and analyze data, which is consistent with the solution of a problem. For this reason, the implementation of the GIS for the Potable and Residual Water Treatment Plants of the National Navy of the Republic of Colombia, proposes, automates and updates the physical, administrative, operative and results inventory of the physicochemical analysis characterization of the plants, to determine the quality of the water, in accordance with the current legislation and its subsequent environmental analysis. Elements were identified to structure the data model, conceptualization and design, allowing quick and agile consultations in digital and graphic form, improving the activities carried out within the Environmental Sanitation Division, and in this way highlighting the performance of this department within the Institution. In accordance with GIS technology, a numerical, alphanumeric and graphic database was created, which allows structuring a documentary memory, facilitating the monitoring, management and control of plants in relation to current legislation (Resolution 631 of March 17, 2015 for wastewater and 2115 of June 22, 2007 for drinking water). This is how the Division of Environmental Sanitation of the National Navy will have an easy-to-use tool for decision making

Biocompatible polymer materials with antimicrobial properties for preparation of stents

Biodegradable polymers are promising materials for use in medical applications such as stents. Their properties are comparable to commercially available resistant metal and polymeric stents, which have several major problems, such as stent migration and stent clogging due to microbial biofilm. Consequently, conventional stents have to be removed operatively from the patient’s body, which presents a number of complications and can also endanger the patient’s life. Biodegradable stents disintegrate into basic substances that decompose in the human body, and no surgery is required. This review focuses on the specific use of stents in the human body, the problems of microbial biofilm, and possibilities of preventing microbial growth by modifying polymers with antimicrobial agents. © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.MSMT project "Innovative Therapeutic Methods of Musculoskeletal System in Accident Surgery" within the Operational Programme Research, Development, and Education - European Union [CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/17\_049/0008441]; state budget of the Czech Republic; MSMT projectMinistry of Education, Youth & Sports - Czech Republic [SP2019/23]; CSICConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC) [i-LINK1191

Antibacterial Character of Cationic Polymers Attached to Carbon-Based Nanomaterials

The preparation of hybrid polymeric systems based on carbon derivatives with a cationic polymer is described. The polymer used is a copolymer of a quaternizable methacrylic monomer with another dopamine-based monomer capable of anchoring to carbon compounds. Graphene oxide and graphene as well as hybrid polymeric systems were widely characterized by infrared, Raman and photoemission X-ray spectroscopies, electron scanning microscopy, zeta potential and thermal degradation. These allowed confirming the attachment of copolymer onto carbonaceous materials. Besides, the antimicrobial activity of hybrid polymeric systems was tested against Gram positive Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis and Gram negative Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria. The results showed the antibacterial character of these hybrid systems

Synergistic Combination of Antimicrobial Peptides and Cationic Polyitaconates in Multifunctional PLA Fibers

Combining different antimicrobial agents has emerged as a promising strategy to enhance efficacy and address resistance evolution. In this study, we investigated the synergistic antimicrobial effect of a cationic biobased polymer and the antimicrobial peptide (AMP) temporin L, with the goal of developing multifunctional electrospun fibers for potential biomedical applications, particularly in wound dressing. A clickable polymer with pendent alkyne groups was synthesized by using a biobased itaconic acid building block. Subsequently, the polymer was functionalized through click chemistry with thiazolium groups derived from vitamin B1 (PTTIQ), as well as a combination of thiazolium and AMP temporin L, resulting in a conjugate polymer-peptide (PTTIQ-AMP). The individual and combined effects of the cationic PTTIQ, Temporin L, and PTTIQ-AMP were evaluated against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as Candida species. The results demonstrated that most combinations exhibited an indifferent effect, whereas the covalently conjugated PTTIQ-AMP displayed an antagonistic effect, potentially attributed to the aggregation process. Both antimicrobial compounds, PTTIQ and temporin L, were incorporated into poly(lactic acid) electrospun fibers using the supercritical solvent impregnation method. This approach yielded fibers with improved antibacterial performance, as a result of the potent activity exerted by the AMP and the nonleaching nature of the cationic polymer, thereby enhancing long-term effectiveness.This work was funded by the MICINN (PID2019-104600RB- I00 and PID2021-123553OA-I00), the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI, Spain), and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER, EU) and by CSIC (LINKA20364). A. Chiloeches acknowledges MICIU for his FPU fellowship FPU18/01776. Cesar de la Fuente-Nunez holds a Presidential Professorship at the University of Pennsylvania and acknowl- edges funding from the Procter & Gamble Company, United Therapeutics, a BBRF Young Investigator Grant, the Nemirovsky Prize, Penn Health-Tech Accelerator Award, and the Dean’s Innovation Fund from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Research reported in this publication was supported by the Langer Prize (AIChE Foundation), the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number R35GM138201, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA; HDTRA11810041, HDTRA1-21-1-0014, and HDTRA1-23-1-0001). D. Placha and J. Zagora acknowledge the Doctoral grant competition VSB-Technical University of Ostrava (reg. no. CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/19_073/0016945) with- in the Operational Programme Research, Development and Education, under project DGS/INDIVIDUAL/2020-001 “Development of antimicrobial biobased polymeric material using supercritical fluid technology”

Long-term antimicrobial effect of polylactide-based composites suitable for biomedical use

This work deals with the preparation and characterization of antimicrobial polymeric composite materials based on polylactide, which is currently widely investigated to produce temporary implants. Polylactide was blended with antimicrobial fillers: silver, hexadecylpyridinium or hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromides anchored on vermiculite or graphene oxide matrices in an amount of 1% wt. The prepared samples were characterized by conventional methods, further they were exposed to degradation tests in physiological saline conditions and characterized for their antimicrobial properties using common pathogen microorganisms. It has been proven that the prepared polylactide composites change their antimicrobial effects after being in physiological saline of pH 7 and 9 for 0–6 months. The weight of the composites changed by about 10%, and antimicrobial properties were growing over time. The effectiveness of the composites was confirmed for 6 months at minimum. Therefore, they are suitable for the preparation of temporary stents, catheters or implants suitable for fracture fixation. © 2022 The AuthorsEuropean Commission, EC: LINKA20364; Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy, MŠMT; Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC: CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/19_073/0016945, DGS/INDIVIDUAL/2020-00

Long-term antimicrobial effect of polylactide-based composites suitable for biomedical use

This work deals with the preparation and characterization of antimicrobial polymeric composite materials based on polylactide, which is currently widely investigated to produce temporary implants. Polylactide was blended with antimicrobial fillers: silver, hexadecylpyridinium or hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromides anchored on vermiculite or graphene oxide matrices in an amount of 1% wt. The prepared samples were characterized by conventional methods, further they were exposed to degradation tests in physiological saline conditions and characterized for their antimicrobial properties using common pathogen microorganisms. It has been proven that the prepared polylactide composites change their antimicrobial effects after being in physiological saline of pH 7 and 9 for 0-6 months. The weight of the composites changed by about 10%, and antimicrobial properties were growing over time. The effectiveness of the composites was confirmed for 6 months at minimum. Therefore, they are suitable for the preparation of temporary stents, catheters or implants suitable for fracture fixation.Web of Science116art. no. 10776