Incorporating Cu-based metal-organic framework/drug nanohybrids into gelatin microsphere for ibuprofen oral delivery

Optimizing ibuprofen concentration for rapid pharmacokinetics on biocompatible zinc-based MOF-74 and UTSA-74

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have potential as drug carriers on the basis of their surface areas and pore volumes that allow for high loading and fast release. This study investigated two biocompatible MOFs - Zn MOF-74 and UTSA-74 - for ibuprofen delivery. The effect of drug loading was studied by impregnating the MOFs with 30, 50, and 80 wt% ibuprofen. The samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and N₂ physisorption. From SEM, the MOF structures were maintained at 30 wt% ibuprofen, however, became agglomerated at 50-80 wt% loading, as the drug deposited on the surface and adhered the particles to one another. In the physisorption measurements, the Zn MOF-74 samples decreased in surface area with ibuprofen loading, until they became zero at 80 wt%. In UTSA-74, the drug impregnation was less effective, as 35% of the original surface area was retained in the 80 wt% sample. On the basis of our drug release measurements, 50 wt% ibuprofen loading was found to be optimal on Zn MOF-74, as it gave rise to fast kinetics (k = 0.27 h^-1/2) and high drug concentrations within the first 10 h. In UTSA-74, the fastest release rate was observed at 30 wt% loading (k = 0.22 h^-1/2), as the poor impregnation efficiency blocked diffusion through the MOF pores at higher loading. Color changes of phosphate buffer saline (PBS) solutions at different time intervals also suggested that Zn MOF-74 decomposed during drug release, as it produced yellowing of the PBS solution. On the other hand, UTSA-74 did not discolor the PBS solution, and was concluded to not have dissolved during drug release. From these results, it was concluded that Zn MOF-74 was the superior drug carrier, as it could effectively deliver higher ibuprofen loadings and would dissolve in the process of drug release, thereby reducing its invasiveness in the human body.

High load drug release systems based on carbon porous nanocapsule carriers. Ibuprofen case study

This work shows the application of carbon nanocapsules as carriers for sodium ibuprofen release. Hard templating was used to prepare spherical carbon nanocapsules (mean diameter and thick shell of 690 and 70 nm, respectively), exhibiting both micro and mesoporosity. For comparison purposes, a microporous commercial activated carbon and a home-made mesoporous CMK-3 were also studied. All carbons showed similar drug uptake, although microporous commercial carbon and nanocapsules showed higher uptake at low equilibrium concentration due to higher adsorption potential in micropores. Higher and faster release of sodium ibuprofen was observed for carbon nanocapsules at pH 1.8 and 7.4 for a starting load ca. 250 mg g-1. Subsequent loading of carbon nanocapsules by successive evaporation cycles led to a remarkable load of ca. 6010 mg g-1 thanks to sodium ibuprofen filling the internal void volume. In spite of the very high load a fast release was observed at pH 7.4, reaching a release of ca. 100% of the initial sodium ibuprofen load. However, a much slower and lower release was observed at pH 1.8. Thus, the system developed has interesting features for oral drug administration thanks to low toxicity of porous carbon, low release in gastric medium and important release in intestinal medium.

Aloe vera-loaded nanofibrous scaffold based on Zein/Polycaprolactone/Collagen for wound healing

Recently, the use of nanofibers (NFs) for tissue engineering has been more developed. For this purpose, we fabricated the NFs (Zein/Polycaprolactone/Collagen) (Zein/PCL/Collagen) incorporated by zinc oxide NPs (ZnO NPs) and Aloe-vera (NFs/ZnO/Alv) using the electrospinning method. Prepared NFs were studied for their morphological, mechanical, thermal stability, and hydrophilic properties. Among the developed NFs, those loaded by ZnO (1 wt%) and Alv (8 wt%) and with Zein/PCL (70:30) displayed the suitable thermal stability and mechanical properties. The water contact angle of NFs improved by decreasing the Zein/PCL blending ratio. Cell culture results showed that the NFs had good cytocompatibility. The cell adhesion potential of this mats were certified with studying by fibroblast cells for various time intervals (24 h and 72 h). The NFs/ZnO/Alv sample revealed inhibition activity against S. aureus (19.23 ± 1.35 mm) and E. coli (15.38 ± 1.12 mm) bacteria. Thus, these results offered that the prepared NFs can be promised as an active scaffold for wound healing uses.

Fabrication of chitosan-polyethylene glycol nanocomposite films containing ZIF-8 nanoparticles for application as wound dressing materials

Biocompatible nanocomposite films based on chitosan (CS) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymers containing cephalexin (CFX) antibiotic drug and zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) nanoparticles (NPs) were designed and fabricated to develop wound dressing materials capable of controlled drug release. Swelling experiment was performed in three acidic, neutral, and alkaline solutions. The tensile strength test reflected that upon increasing the NPs loading within the films, the tensile strength was enhanced but the elongation at break was diminished. The release of the CFX was intensively increased within approximately 3, 8, and 10 h (burst release) in acidic, neutral, and alkaline media, respectively while after that the CFX was smoothly released over time (sustained release). The antibacterial activities of all films were examined against Gram-positive (S. aureus, B. cereus) and Gram-negative (E. coli, P. aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter) bacteria frequently found in the infected wounds. Moreover, the MTT assay revealed that all films had high cell viabilities towards the L929 fibroblast cells confirming these nanocomposites could be used as favorable wound dressing materials. Finally, the film containing 4% ZIF-8 NPs (film 5) was chosen as the best sample due to it revealed appropriate mechanical properties, swelling, drug release and cell viability among all samples examined.

Chitosan modified metal–organic frameworks as a promising carrier for oral drug delivery

The drug delivery system of CS-MOF@5-FU was developed to achieve oral administration of 5-FU.

Microwave-assisted and one-step synthesis of PEG passivated fluorescent carbon dots from gelatin as an efficient nanocarrier for methotrexate delivery

A green and simple process for preparing the polyethylene glycol passivated fluorescent carbon dots (CDs-PEG) have been studied by a microwave pyrolysis method, using gelatin and PEG as starting materials. This method is very effective for development of carbon-based quantum dots from gelatin with high quantum yield (QY). The synthesized CDs-PEG were found to emit blue photoluminescence (PL) with a maximum QY of 34%. At the following research, we investigated the effect of the presence of PEG on PL intensity, and the result showed that CDs-PEG becomes stronger PL properties than pure CDs from gelatin. The synthesized CDs-PEG were characterized by FTIR, TEM, UV-vis, PL, zeta potential and XRD analyses. The anticancer performance of developed CDs-PEG was evaluated by in vitro tests such as MTT assay and fluorescence microscopy analyses. The examination of CDs-PEG as an anti-cancer drug nanocarrier for methotrexate (MTX) illustrated a better antitumor efficacy than free MTX due to its enhanced nuclear delivery in vitro, which resulting in highly effective tumour growth inhibition and improving targeted cancer therapy in clinical medicine.

Monodisperse Fe₃O₄/SiO₂ and Fe₃O₄/SiO₂/PPy Core-Shell Composite Nanospheres for IBU Loading and Release

The magnetic targeting drug delivery system is an effective way of targeting therapy. In this study, the monodisperse Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles with a particles size of about 180 nm were first prepared via a solvothermal method. Subsequently, the core-shell structure Fe₃O₄/SiO₂ and Fe₃O₄/SiO₂/polypyrrole (PPy) composite nanospheres were successfully synthesized by coating Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles with SiO₂ shell layer using the Stöber method and PPy shell by solvothermal method in turn. The as-prepared nanoparticles were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Ultraviolet-Visible spectrophotometer (UV-Vis). The results indicated that the as-prepared composite nanospheres displayed a well-defined core-shell structure and monodispersity. The thicknesses of SiO₂ shell and PPy shell were ~6 nm and ~19 nm, respectively. Additionally, the as-prepared nanoparticles exhibited high saturation magnetization of 104 emu/g, 77 emu/g, and 24 emu/g, and have great potential applications in drug delivery. The drug loading and drug release of the Fe₃O₄/SiO₂ and Fe₃O₄/SiO₂/PPy composite nanospheres to ibuprofen (IBU) under stirring and ultrasonication were investigated. Their drug loading efficiency and drug release efficiency under ultrasonication were all higher than 33% and 90%, respectively. The drug release analyses showed sustained release of IBU from nanospheres and followed the Korsmeyer-Peppas model.

Smart co-delivery of 6-mercaptopurine and methotrexate using disulphide-based PEGylated-nanogels for effective treatment of breast cancer

Smart co-delivery of 6-mercaptopurine and methotrexate using disulphide-based PEGylated-nanogels.