Antifungal Activity of ZnO Nanoparticles Synthesized from Eichhornia crassipes Extract for Construction Applications.

Fungal growth on construction materials in tropical climates can degrade aesthetics and manifestations on modern and historical sick buildings, affecting the health of their inhabitants. This study synthesized ZnO nanoparticles with enhanced antifungal properties using a precipitation method. Different concentrations (25%, 50%, and 100%) of Eichhornia crassipes aqueous extract were used with Zn(NO3)2·6H2O as the precursor to evaluate their spectroscopic, morphological, textural, and antifungal properties. X-ray diffraction confirmed the hexagonal wurtzite phase of ZnO with crystallite sizes up to 20 nm. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy identified absorption bands at 426, 503, and 567 cm-1 for ZnO-100, ZnO-50, and ZnO-25, respectively. Nitrogen physisorption indicated a type II isotherm with macropores and a fractal dimension coefficient near 2 across all concentrations. Polydispersity index analysis showed that ZnO-50 had a higher PDI, indicating a broader size distribution, while ZnO-25 and ZnO-100 exhibited lower PDI values, reflecting uniform and monodisperse particle sizes. FESEM observations revealed semi-spherical ZnO morphologies prone to agglomeration, particularly in ZnO-25. Antifungal tests highlighted ZnO-25 as the most effective, especially against Phoma sp. with an MFC/MIC ratio of 78 µg/mL. Poisoned plate assays demonstrated over 50% inhibition at 312 µg/mL for all tested fungi, outperforming commercial antifungals. The results indicate that ZnO NPs synthesized using E. crassipes extract effectively inhibit fungal growth on construction materials. This procedure offers a practical approach to improving the durability of building aesthetics and may contribute to reducing the health risks associated with exposure to fungal compounds.

Albendazole Release from Silica-Chitosan Nanospheres. In Vitro Study on Cervix Cancer Cell Lines.

In this work, a pH-responsive drug-carrier based on chitosan-silica nanospheres was developed as a carrier for Albendazole (ABZ), a poorly water-soluble anthelmintic drug. Spherical silica nanoparticles were obtained by Stöber method and further etched to obtain mesoporous particles with sizes ranging from 350 to 400 nm. The specific BET area of nanoparticles increased from 15 m2/g to 150 m2/g for etched silica, which also exhibited a uniform pore size distribution. X-ray powder diffraction showed the presence of amorphous phase of silica and a low-intensity peak attributed to ABZ for the drug-loaded nanoparticles. A uniform layer of chitosan was obtained ranging from 10 to 15 nm in thickness due to the small concentration of chitosan used (0.45 mg of chitosan/mg of SiO2). The in vitro evaluation of hybrid nanoparticles was performed using four cervical cancer cell lines CaSki, HeLa, SiHa and C33A, showing a significant reduction in cell proliferation (>85%) after 72 h. Therefore, we confirmed the encapsulation and bioavailability of the drug, which was released in a controlled way, and the presence of chitosan delayed the release, which could be of interest for the development of prolonged release drug delivery systems.

Zero valent iron core-iron oxide shell nanoparticles as small magnetic particle imaging tracers.

Nanoparticle tracers with small sizes and large magnetization are critical for biomedical imaging and especially for magnetic particle imaging (MPI). Small size is important for accessing future intracellular and neurological in vivo applications Here, we show <15 nm nanoparticles made of zero valent iron cores, iron oxide shells and coated with a strongly binding brush co-polymer are effective MPI tracers. The small nanoparticle cores create a hydrodynamic diameter that is half of the state-of-the-art iron oxide tracers while the strongly magnetic zero valent iron maintains similar MPI signal magnitude and resolution.

Autophagic and Apoptotic Pathways as Targets for Chemotherapy in Glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma multiforme is the most malignant and aggressive type of brain tumor, with a mean life expectancy of less than 15 months. This is due in part to the high resistance to apoptosis and moderate resistant to autophagic cell death in glioblastoma cells, and to the poor therapeutic response to conventional therapies. Autophagic cell death represents an alternative mechanism to overcome the resistance of glioblastoma to pro-apoptosis-related therapies. Nevertheless, apoptosis induction plays a major conceptual role in several experimental studies to develop novel therapies against brain tumors. In this review, we outline the different components of the apoptotic and autophagic pathways and explore the mechanisms of resistance to these cell death pathways in glioblastoma cells. Finally, we discuss drugs with clinical and preclinical use that interfere with the mechanisms of survival, proliferation, angiogenesis, migration, invasion, and cell death of malignant cells, favoring the induction of apoptosis and autophagy, or the inhibition of the latter leading to cell death, as well as their therapeutic potential in glioma, and examine new perspectives in this promising research field.

In vitro evaluation of apoptotic effect of bis(acetylacetonato-k2 O,O')(1,10-phenanthroline-k2 N,N')Zn(II) complex.

Phenanthroline derivatives have been reported as potential bioactive compounds because of their ability to interact with DNA. To evaluate the antiproliferative effect of bis(acetylacetonate-k2 O,O)(1,10-phenanthroline-k2 N,N)Zn(II) or Zn(acac)2 (phen) complex, the compound was obtained in a simple manner and further characterized to determine crystal structure, thermal behavior, morphology, and spectroscopic properties. The structure of the complex was confirmed by X-ray single structure as well as by 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in dmso-d6 (dimethyl sulfoxide) solution and in the solid state by 13C CP/MAS. Although preparation of this compound has been described previously, there are no reports on its biological activity; here, we assessed its antiproliferative effect on fibroblasts, A253, FaDu, Cal-27, RH-30, RD, U-373, C6, A-549, MDA-MB-231, and MCF-7 cancer cell lines at different doses (50-100 and 150 µg/ml). The cell viability was determined by MTT assay and high activity was observed for the most of the cell lines, and TUNEL results showed the induction of apoptosis.

Nanostructured Pt(NH(3))(4)Cl(2)/SiO(2) for nanomedicine: catalytic degradation of DNA in cancer cells.

In vivo suppression of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) in Wistar rats using silica-shelled biocatalytic Pt(NH(3))(4)Cl(2) nanoparticles is reported. These nanoparticles were synthesized by a sol-gel technique and characterized by SEM and HRTEM imaging. We confirmed morphological uniformity (30 nm) and surface acidity of the nanoparticles, respectively, by TEM imaging and FTIR spectral analysis. Interestingly, treatment of Wistar rats intraperitoneally inoculated with C(6) cells using the biocatalysts resulted in considerable tumor shrinkage. Efficiency of the biocatalyst to shrink a tumor is superior to that by the commercial cytotoxic agent cisplatin. The tumor suppression property of Pt(NH(3))(4)Cl(2) nanoparticles is attributed to catalytic damage of DNA in C(6) cells.