Investigation of adsorption performance of graphene oxide/polyaniline reinforced hollow fiber membrane for preconcentration of Ivermectin in some environmental samples.

Herein, the application of Graphene oxide-polyaniline (GO/PANI) in one of newly hollow fiber based microextraction techniques so called (HF-S/LPME) was investigated successfully. Graphene oxide-polyaniline (GO/PANI) nanocomposite was generated via an amidation reaction in the presence of N, N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC), N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) and GO as starting material. The solid sorbent dispersed in dihexyl ether was immersed and injected into the lumen of hollow fiber. The results indicated that GO/PANI had a higher adsorption efficiency for the Ivermectin in comparison with GO and GO-ethylen diamine (GO/EDA). A Taguchi experimental design with an OAD16 (45) matrix was employed to optimize the affecting parameters such as pH, stirring rate, extraction time, salt addition and the volume of donor phase. Under the optimized extraction conditions, the method showed a good linear dynamic range (0.1-5000.0 ppb) with a lower limit of detection (0.03 ppb) and excellent preconcentration factor (PF = 219.88) respectively.

Preparation of wormlike polymeric nanoparticles coated with silica for delivery of methotrexate and evaluation of anticancer activity against MCF7 cells.

Methotrexate is one of the most effective drugs that is commonly used in the treatment of cancer. However, its application is limited due to low solubility, high toxicity and rapid metabolism. Therefore, in the present study, worm-like polymeric nanoparticles as carrier of methotrexate were prepared using biodegradable copolymers (mPEG-PCL). The impact of nanoparticles' geometry on the loading, delivery and drug's anti-cancer activity was investigated. The di-block copolymer mPEG-PCL was being synthesized by a ring opening polymerization of ɛ-caprolactone in the presence of mPEG as the initiator and Sn(oct)2 as the catalyst. It was used for the preparation of worm-like micelles and coated with silica, so that their structures are stable after drying. The synthesized copolymers and nanoparticles were characterized by FTIR, HNMR, GPC, XRD, TGA, DLS, and FE-SEM analyses. The efficiencies of drug loading and release of nanoparticles as in vitro, was studied by high performance liquid chromatography. The MTT method was used to estimate the toxicity on MCF-7 cell category. The obtained results showed that the nanoparticles were worm-like particles with less than 150 nm diameter and about 1 µm length. The loading and encapsulation efficiencies of drug by the worm-like nanoparticles were 3.5 ± 0.14% and 65.6 ± 0.12%, respectively, while they were obtained as 2.1 ± 0.08% and 26 ± 0.10%, respectively, for spherical nanoparticles. The methotrexate diffusional behavior of worm-like nanoparticles was compared with that of the spherical ones. On the other hand, the anti-cancer activity of MTX-loaded nanoparticles was more than the free drug. The results of the MTT assay showed strong and dose-dependent inhibition of cell (MCF-7 category) growth by the nanoparticles compared with MTX. The inhibitory concentrations (IC50 i.e. reduction viability of cell to 50%) obtained for worm-like, spherical nanoparticles and free drug (incubation times 72 h) were 8.25 ± 0.20, 9.15 ± 0.17, 12.28 ± 0.15 µg/mL, respectively. It can be concluded that application of non-spherical nanoparticles is a better and more effective strategy for controlled and slow release of methotrexate in the treatment of cancer.

Preparation and characterization of PEGylated multiwall carbon nanotubes as covalently conjugated and non-covalent drug carrier: A comparative study.

In this study, PEGylated multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)-based drug delivery system was developed. Ibuprofen as a model drug was loaded by physical and chemical method. The surface functionalization of nanotubes was carried out by enrichment of acylated groups. In order to synthesis PEGylated MWNTs, hydrophilic diamino-polyethylene glycol was covalently linked to the MWNTs surface via amidation reaction. Finally, ibuprofen was chemically and physically loaded on the PEGylated MWNTs. The resultants were characterized by FTIR, AFM, and DLS techniques. Cytotoxicity of PEGylated MWNTs were examined by MTT assay and the results revealed that PEG functionalized nanotubes did not show significant detrimental effects on the viability of L929 Cells. The percent of drug loading for chemically and physically drug payload carrier were determined to be 52.5% and 38%, respectively. The release of ibuprofen from covalently conjugated and non-covalent drug loaded PEGylated MWNTs at pH=7.4, and 5.3 were investigated, as well. From the results, it was found that chemically loaded MWNTs showed much sustained release behavior compared to the physically loaded one, especially at pH=5.3. The kinetic of drug release was also investigated. The results strongly suggest that the chemically conjugated PEGylated MWNTs could be used as controlled release system for various drugs.