Predictions of Drug-Protein Interactions and Study of Magnetically Assisted Release Dynamics of 5-Fluorouracil from Soya Protein-Coated Iron Oxide Core-Shell Nanoparticles.

In silico studies were performed using 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) to explore the efficacy of template docking and facilitate designing of drug nanocarrier systems. The binding of human uridine phosphorylase (huPP1) with 5-FU was found to show the following interactions: (1) hydrogen bonds were alleviated by a network of GLN217 and ARG219, (2) hydrophobic interactions were shown by PHE213, THR141, LEU272, and ILE281 (3) positive electrostatic interactions were shown by PHE213, THR141, LEU272, SER142, GLU248, and GLY143. As an experimental supplementation and validation to the adopted computational approach, 5- FU-loaded soya protein-coated iron oxide (SPCIO) core-shell nanoparticles were prepared following microemulsion and co-precipitation techniques and subsequently characterized by FTIR, particle size and zeta potential studies, TEM, XRD, and DSC techniques. Whereas the FTIR spectra confirm the presence of the soya protein and drug 5-FU in the nanoparticles, the zeta potential was found to be suppressed due to the loading of 5-FU. The XRD study confirmed the crystalline nature of the drug-loaded nanoparticles. TEM analysis suggested that the nanoparticles have sizes up to 200 nm and the morphology and size remain almost the same even after loading of the drug 5-FU onto nanoparticles. The soya protein-coated iron oxide nanoparticles demonstrated zero cytotoxicity against fibroblast cells. The controlled release of 5-FU was studied in vitro, and the effects of pH, chemical composition of nanoparticles, extent of drug loading, and simulated biofluids on the controlled release of 5-FU were studied. The swelling of nanoparticles and release of 5-FU were found to increase with increasing strength of the externally applied magnetic field.

Atomic force microscopy enabled roughness analysis of nanostructured poly (diaminonaphthalene) doped poly (vinyl alcohol) conducting polymer thin films.

The Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) helps in evaluating parameters like amplitude or height parameters, functional or statistical parameters and spatial parameters which describe the surface topography or the roughness. In this paper, we have evaluated the roughness parameters for the native poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA), monomer diaminonaphthalene (DAN) doped PVA, and poly (diaminonaphthalene) (PDAN) doped PVA films prepared in different solvents. In addition, distribution of heights, skewness and Kurtosis moments which describe surface asymmetry and flatness properties of a film were also determined. At the same time line profiles, 3D and 2D images of the surface structures at different scanning areas i.e. 5×5µm2 and 10×10µm2 were also investigated. From the roughness analysis and the surface skewness and coefficient of Kurtosis parameters, it was concluded that for PVA film the surface contains more peaks than valleys and the PDAN doped PVA film has more valleys than peaks. It was also found that the PDAN doped PVA film with acetonitrile solvent was used for substrate in electronics applications because the film gives less fractal morphology. Thus, the AFM analysis with different parameters suggested that the PDAN doped PVA films are smooth at the sub-nanometer scale.

Optimizing the release process and modelling of in vitro release data of cis-dichlorodiamminoplatinum (II) encapsulated into poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) nanocarriers.

Drug encapsulated nanocarriers are vehicles to transport the drug molecules and release them at the immediate vicinity of the diseased sites. The aim of this study was to design poly (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) nanoparticles (PHEMANPs) as a swelling and diffusion controlled drug release system for achieving sustained release of (cis-dichlorodiamminoplatinum II) CDDP. The study undertakes designing and characterization of nanocarriers, optimization of drug encapsulation, and investigating release dynamics of the CDDP drug. PHEMANPs were prepared by suspension polymerization method followed by post loading of the CDDP onto the nanocarriers. The physicochemical and biopharmaceutical properties were evaluated by FTIR, TEM, FESEM, EDX, DLS, surface charge, water intake studies, in vitro cytotoxicity, protein adsorption and percent haemolysis. Chemical stability of the drug was assessed and in vitro release experiments were performed to optimize formulation by UV spectral analysis. The obtained cumulative release data were fitted to zero, first and Korsmeyer-Peppas kinetic models to gain insights into release kinetics and prevailing drug transport mechanisms. The successful encapsulation of CDDP was achieved in different PHEMANP formulations with maximum drug encapsulation efficiency of approx. 60% and the release kinetics was found to follow the Korsmeyer-Peppas model having non-Fickian mechanism. The results indicated that the CDDP can be formulated with a high payload of PHEMANPs which can serve as promising nanomedicine and help in achieving sustained delivery of drug for targeting tumour.

An In-vitro Investigation of Swelling Controlled Delivery of Insulin from Egg Albumin Nanocarriers.

The aim of the present work was to prepare and characterize biopolymer nanocarriers and evaluate their suitability in possible oral delivery of insulin. The egg albumin biopolymer was used to prepare nanoparticles which were further characterized by Fourier transformed Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), zeta potential, Dynamic Light scattering (DLS) and cytotoxicity. From the characterization studies the size of the nanoparticles washemoly found to lie in the range 20-80 nm with surface charge of -23 mV and also offering extremely fair biocompatibility.. The in-vitro biocompatibility of the prepared nanocarriers was judged by BSA adsorption test and haemolysis assay. The in vitro release kinetics of the insulin loaded nanoparticles was studied in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) solution, and the influence of various factors such as pH, temperature and simulated physiological fluids was studied on the controlled release of insulin.

Designing casein-coated iron oxide nanostructures (CCIONPs) as superparamagnetic core-shell carriers for magnetic drug targeting.

Magnetic drug targeting is a drug delivery system applicable to cancer treatment. Coated magnetic particles, called carriers, are very useful for delivering chemotherapeutic drugs. In the present research, casein-coated iron oxide nanocarriers (CCIONPs) of core shell nanostructure have been described as being applicable to magnetic drug targeting. The structure, morphology, and composition of prepared magnetic nanoparticles were determined by analytical techniques like Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Electron diffraction (ED), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Zeta potential, Dynamic light scattering (DLS), Mossbauer and Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Vibrating sample magnetometery (VSM)) and in vitro cytotoxicity analysis. Magnetization studies of CCIONPs conducted at room temperature using a vibrating sample magnetometer suggested their superparamagnetic nature as having a saturation magnetization (Ms) of 64 emu g-1 at an applied magnetic field of 5 kOe. The size of the magnetic polymeric nanoparticles was found to lie in the range of 73.9 ±0.36 nm, and the particles exhibited superparamagnetic behavior. The prepared particles could be used as a drug carrier for controlled and targeted drug delivery.

Investigation of magnetically controlled water intake behavior of Iron Oxide Impregnated Superparamagnetic Casein Nanoparticles (IOICNPs).

Iron oxide impregnated casein nanoparticles (IOICNPs) were prepared by in-situ precipitation of iron oxide within the casein matrix. The resulting iron oxide impregnated casein nanoparticles (IOICNPs) were characterized by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and Raman spectroscopy. The FTIR analysis confirmed the impregnation of iron oxide into the casein matrix whereas XPS analysis indicated for complete oxidation of iron (II) to iron(III) as evident from the presence of the observed representative peaks of iron oxide. The nanoparticles were allowed to swell in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) and the influence of factors such as chemical composition of nanoparticles, pH and temperature of the swelling bath, and applied magnetic field was investigated on the water intake capacity of the nanoparticles. The prepared nanoparticles showed potential to function as a nanocarrier for possible applications in magnetically targeted delivery of anticancer drugs.