Synthesis and Characterization of Folic Acid-Functionalized DPLA-co-PEG Nanomicelles for the Targeted Delivery of Letrozole.

An effective treatment for hormone-dependent breast cancer is chemotherapy using cytotoxic agents such as letrozole (LTZ). However, most anticancer drugs, including LTZ, are classified as class IV biopharmaceuticals, which are associated with low water solubility, poor bioavailability, and significant toxicity. As a result, developing a targeted delivery system for LTZ is critical for overcoming these challenges and limitations. Here, biodegradable LTZ-loaded nanocarriers were synthesized by solvent emulsification evaporation using nanomicelles prepared with dodecanol-polylactic acid-co-polyethylene glycol (DPLA-co-PEG). Furthermore, cancer cell-targeting folic acid (FA) was conjugated into the nanomicelles to achieve a more effective and safer cancer treatment. During our investigation, DPLA-co-PEG and DPLA-co-PEG-FA displayed a uniform and spherical morphology. The average diameters of DPLA-co-PEG and DPLA-co-PEG-FA nanomicelles were 86.5 and 241.3 nm, respectively. Our preliminary data suggest that both nanoformulations were cytocompatible, with ≥90% cell viability across all concentrations tested. In addition, the amphiphilic nature of the nanomicelles led to high drug loading and dispersion in water, resulting in the extended release of LTZ for up to 50 h. According to the Higuchi model, nanomicelles functionalized with FA have a greater potential for the controlled delivery of LTZ into target cells. This model was confirmed experimentally, as LTZ-containing DPLA-co-PEG-FA was significantly and specifically more cytotoxic (up to 90% cell death) toward MCF-7 cells, a hormone-dependent human breast cancer cell line, when compared to free LTZ and LTZ-containing DPLA-co-PEG. Furthermore, a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 87 ± 1 nM was achieved when MCF-7 cells were exposed to LTZ-containing DPLA-co-PEG-FA, whereas higher doses of 125 ± 2 and 100 ± 2 nM were required for free LTZ and LTZ-containing DPLA-co-PEG, respectively. Collectively, DPLA-co-PEG-FA represents a promising nanosized drug delivery system to target controllably the delivery of drugs such as chemotherapeutics.

Estrogen adsorption from an aqueous solution on the chitosan nanoparticles.

In this research, chitosan nanoparticles as an efficient and reusable adsorbent with adsorption capacity of 5.79 mg/g, surface area of 62 m2/g and pHpzc of 8.07 were applied to remove the ethinylestradiol (as a sample of estrogen) from an aqueous wastewater. The chitosan nanoparticles were characterized by SEM, XRD and FT-IR analyses. Four independent variables involving contact time, adsorbent dosage, pH, and initial concentration of estrogen were applied to design the experiments by Design Expert software (CCD under RSM). In fact, number of experiments was minimized and the operating conditions were optimized for the maximum estrogen removal. The results indicated that three independent variables (contact time, adsorbent dosage, and pH) increment increased the estrogen removal while the estrogen initial concentration enhancement decreased the removal due to the concentration polarization phenomenon. The optimum conditions for the estrogen removal (92.50 %) on the chitosan nanoparticles were found at contact time of 220 min, adsorbent dosage of 1.45 g/l, pH of 7.3 and estrogen initial concentration of 5.7 mg/l. Moreover, the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second order models could properly legitimize estrogen adsorption process on the chitosan nanoparticles.

C-Phycocyanin prevents acute myocardial infarction-induced oxidative stress, inflammation and cardiac damage.

CONTEXT: C-Phycocyanin is a protein with anti-scavenger, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions against agents that cause cellular damage. The cardioprotective action of C-phycocyanin against acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has not been studied in animal models. OBJECTIVE: To investigate C-phycocyanin's effect on oxidative stress, inflammation and cardiac damage in a model of isoproterenol-induced AMI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Wistar rats were divided into four groups: (1) sham + vehicle (0.9% saline solution by oral gavage, OG); (2) sham + C-phycocyanin (50 mg/kg/d, OG); (3) AMI + vehicle, and (4) AMI + C-phycocyanin. AMI was induced by administering isoproterenol (20, 10, 5 and 3 mg/kg each dose per day), and serum cardiac enzymes were quantified. After five days, the animals were euthanized; the heart was dissected to determine oxidative stress, redox environment, inflammation and cardiac damage markers. RESULTS: We observed that C-phycocyanin reduced AMI-increased cardiac enzymes (CK by about 53%, CKMB by about 60%, AST by about 16% and ALT by about 21%), lipid peroxidation (57%), reactive oxygen species (50%), nitrites (46%), oxidized glutathione (41%), IL1ß (3%), INFγ (5%), TNFα 3%), Bcl2 (37%), Bax (43%), COX2 (21%) and caspase 9 (61%). Finally, C-phycocyanin reduced AMI-induced aberrant histological changes related to myonecrosis, interstitial oedema and inflammatory infiltration in the heart muscle. CONCLUSIONS: C-Phycocyanin prevents AMI-induced oxidative stress, inflammation and heart damage. This study is the first report that employed C-phycocyanin in an animal model of AMI and supports the potential use of C-phycocyanin in the management of AMI.

Characterization of folic acid-functionalized PLA-PEG nanomicelle to deliver Letrozole: A nanoinformatics study.

Effective cancer treatment is currently the number one challenge to human health. To date, several treatment methods have been introduced for cancer cell targeting. Among the proposed new methods for attacking cancer cells, nanotechnology has attracted much attention. Hence, various nanocarriers have been developed for targeted delivery of available drugs and improve their effectiveness against malignant cells. The PLA-PEG functionalised with folic acid (PLA-PEG-FA) is one of the nanocarriers with a limited range of applications for targeting cancer cells. In this investigation, different types of in-silico methods such as molecular docking approach, molecular dynamics simulation and free energy calculations are employed to characterise the carriers studied. The effectiveness of PLA-PEG-FA and PLA-PEG in delivering Letrozole as an aromatase inhibitor in cancer cells is examined. It is found that in the presence of folic acid, the stability and cell membrane permeability of nanomicelle are increased. Therefore, PLA-PEG-FA can be considered as a versatile carrier that can increase the effectiveness of aromatase inhibitors (such as Letrozole) and reduce their side effects.

Photon backscatter radiography application for the simulation of corrosion detection inside a pipeline: A novel proposal for 360° corrosion consideration in the pipelines.

Several technologies such as radiography are available for monitoring inside the pipelines. The nondestructive testing (NDT) method is one of the attractive techniques for corrosion detection inside the pipelines. Sometimes, corrosion detection in the pipelines is quite difficult due to lack of access to the outer part. Therefore, backscatter radiography as an NDT inspection technique for in situ detection of corrosion inside the metallic pipelines should be conducted. The Monte Carlo calculation-based simulation was applied to propose a practical design for corrosion detection inside the pipelines without access to back of them. The results showed that the model can detect corrosion location inside a pipe with acceptable accuracy.

Pharmaceutical wastewater treatment using UV-enhanced electro-Fenton process: Comparative study.

In this research, treatment of a pharmaceutical wastewater (PhW) obtained from a factory by electro-Fenton (EF) and photoelectro-Fenton (PEF) processes was investigated. The effects of several parameters involving pH, current density, H2 O2 /Fe2+ molar ratio, volume ratio of H2 O2 /PhW, UVA light, and time were studied. The experiments were designed by Design Expert software, and response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to determine the optimum conditions for the highest COD removal. According to the analysis of variance (ANOVA), time was the most significant parameter on the process response (COD removal) followed by current density. The optimal conditions for 86.85% of COD removal through the EF process were at pH of 2.96, current density of 42.90 mA/cm2 , H2 O2 /Fe2+ molar ratio of 3.78, volume ratio of H2 O2 /PhW of 1.37 ml/L, and reaction time of 58.49 min, while the optimal conditions for 93.00% of COD removal through PEF process were at pH of 2.91, current density of 43.71 mA/cm2 , H2 O2 /Fe2+ molar ratio of 4.29, volume ratio of H2 O2 /PhW of 1.67 ml/L, UVA light of 6 W, and reaction time of 54.24 min. It was concluded that UVA light can increase the COD removal through PEF process around 7% more than that of the EF process at optimum conditions. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Treatment of a pharmaceutical wastewater by EF and PEF processes was investigated. Effects of several parameters were entirely studied on both the processes. RSM was applied to determine optimum conditions for the highest COD removal for both the processes. UVA light increased COD removal through PEF process (around 7%) at the optimum conditions.

Simulation of corrosion detection inside wellbore by X-ray backscatter radiography.

Corrosion detection is very important in the oil industry to prevent costly consequences of damage from it. There are some techniques for detecting corrosion in pipelines. Backscatter radiography is an inspection technique for cases where the inspection should only be carried out in one side. In this paper, the backscatter effect for the radiography and in-situ detection of corrosion inside the pipelines (e.g. a wellbore) was studied. The simulation process allows determining the correctness and efficiency of the backscatter radiography technique before applying in a real system. Furthermore, the overall design characteristics of a system can be found by analyzing the effects of specific factors such as photon energy and location of detectors during the simulation process. The Monte Carlo calculation based simulation was studied to understand the impact of this technique on corrosion detection in a wellbore. The results showed that this technique is viable and fast and can be applied to find corrosion location and its severity inside a wellbore.

Slaughterhouse wastewater treatment using an advanced oxidation process: Optimization study.

In this paper, a poultry slaughterhouse wastewater (PSW) was treated in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and color reduction using electro-Fenton (EF) technique under response surface methodology (RSM). The effects of five significant independent variables such as reaction time, pH, H2O2/Fe2+ molar ratio, current density, volume ratio of H2O2/PSW (ml/l) were investigated on the COD and color removal. Experimental data were optimized by Box-Behnken design (BBD) and RSM. The optimum conditions were experimentally found at pH of 4.38, reaction time of 55.60 min, H2O2/Fe2+ molar ratio of 3.73, current density of 74.07 mA/cm2, volume ratio of H2O2/PSW of 1.63 ml/l for 92.37%COD removal and at pH of 3.39, reaction time of 49.22 min, H2O2/Fe2+ molar ratio of 3.62, current density of 67.90 mA/cm2, volume ratio of H2O2/PSW of 1.44 ml/l for 88.06% color removal.

Simulation of landfill leachate treatment using electro-Fenton technique.

The operating parameters in the electro-Fenton process were simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The effects of H2O2/Fe(2+) molar ratio, current density, pH and reaction time were numerically investigated. The results were compared with the experimental data. The simulated data showed that maximum chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal was around 91.52% at pH of 3.27, H2O2/Fe(2+) molar ratio of 1.16, current density of 59.29 mA/cm(2) and reaction time of 41.7 min while the experimental data obtained from the literature showed a maximum COD removal (94.7%) at pH of 3, H2O2/Fe(2+) molar ratio of 1, current density of 49 mA/cm(2) and reaction time of 43 min.

CFD simulation of the effect of particle size on the nanofluids convective heat transfer in the developed region in a circular tube.

The CFD simulation of heat transfer characteristics of a nanofluid in a circular tube under constant heat flux was considered using Fluent software (version 6.3.26) in the laminar flow. Al2O3 nanoparticles in water with concentrations of 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2% and 2.5% were used in this simulation. All of the thermo-physical properties of nanofluids were assumed to be temperature independent. Two particle sizes with average size of 20 and 50 nm were used in this research. It was concluded that heat transfer coefficient increased by increasing the Reynolds number and the concentration of nanoparticles. The maximum convective heat transfer coefficient was observed at the highest concentration of nano-particles in water (2.5%). Furthermore, the two nanofluids showed higher heat transfer than the base fluid (water) although the nanofluid with particles size of 20 nm had the highest heat transfer coefficient.

Mutual solubility study in supercritical fluid extraction of tocopherols from crude palm oil using CO2solvent.

In this article, the mutual solubility of tocopherols from crude palm oil was studied using carbon dioxide as a solvent at the temperatures of 80, 100 and 120 °C. Each sample from the phase equilibrium unit contained two parts. The liquid part was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) in order to measure the tocopherol composition and, on the other hand, the vapor phase was conducted in an expansion vessel in order to measure the pressure increment during the expansion process. Two phase equilibrium data was calculated using the liquid phase composition and pressure increments during the expansion process. Results showed that the maximum solubility of tocopherols was around 2.27% at a temperature of 120 °C and at pressure of 5.44 MPa.