Synthesis of hydroxyapatite crystals using carboxymethyl inulin for use as a delivery of ibuprofen

Polysaccharide-Based Composite Systems in Bone Tissue Engineering: A Review

In recent years, a growing demand for biomaterials has been observed, particularly for applications in bone regenerative medicine. Bone tissue engineering (BTE) aims to develop innovative materials and strategies for repairing and regenerating bone defects and injuries. Polysaccharides, due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability as well as bioactivity, have emerged as promising candidates for scaffolds or composite systems in BTE. Polymers combined with bioactive ceramics can support osteointegration. Calcium phosphate (CaP) ceramics can be a broad choice as an inorganic phase that stimulates the formation of new apatite layers. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of composite systems based on selected polysaccharides used in bone tissue engineering, highlighting their synthesis, properties and applications. Moreover, the applicability of the produced biocomposites has been analyzed, as well as new trends in modifying biomaterials and endowing them with new functionalizations. The effects of these composites on the mechanical properties, biocompatibility and osteoconductivity were critically analyzed. This article summarizes the latest manufacturing methods as well as new developments in polysaccharide-based biomaterials for bone and cartilage regeneration applications.

Optimization of preparation conditions of medium and highly substituted carboxymethyl inulin through response surface methodology

This article introduces the synthesis optimization of carboxymethyl inulin using response surface methodology. The important factors affecting the degree of substitution (DS) were determined by Plackett-Burman design, including sodium hydroxide concentration, monochloroacetic concentration, and etherification temperature. Further optimization was conducted using the Box-Behnken response surface design. The coefficient of determination (R2) of the response surface model was 0.9827, and the adjusted R2 value was 0.9516, which proved the significance of the model. The optimized results of the predicted response showed that the molar ratios of sodium hydroxide to monochloroacetic acid and fructose to furan were 3.67 and 2.21, respectively. The maximum DS of 1.67 was obtained at 30 °C alkalization for 30 min and 50.30 °C etherification for 4 h, and the reaction efficiency (RE) reached 76.01 %. Under the optimized conditions, the Experimental DS was 1.68, suggesting that the experimental and predicted values of DS were in good agreement. The characterization results confirmed the synthesis of CMI. In this work, we have provided an effective method for the preparation of moderately to highly substituted CMI in 95 % ethanol.

Polysaccharides as Effective and Environmentally Friendly Inhibitors of Scale Deposition from Aqueous Solutions in Technological Processes

In this paper, we consider natural and modified polysaccharides for use as active ingredients in scale deposition inhibitors to prevent the formation of scale in oil production equipment, heat exchange equipment, and water supply systems. Modified and functionalized polysaccharides with a strong ability to inhibit the formation of deposits of typical scale, such as carbonates and sulfates of alkaline earth elements found in technological processes, are described. This review discusses the mechanisms of the inhibition of crystallization using polysaccharides, and the various methodological aspects of evaluating their effectiveness are considered. This review also provides information on the technological application of scale deposition inhibitors based on polysaccharides. Special attention is paid to the environmental aspect of the use of polysaccharides in industry as scale deposition inhibitors.

Effect of nanohydroxyapatite/biochar/sodium humate composite on phosphorus availability and microbial community in sandy soils

Phosphorus (P) is essential for crop growth as an indispensable nutrient; however, there has been growing concern over the low use efficiency of P used in current fertilizers. We synthesized and characterized a potential P fertilizer nanohydroxyapatite/biochar/sodium humate (nHAP/BC/HANa) composite. To study the impact of the composite on soil chemical properties and microbial community in sandy soils, we set up four treatments as follows: (1) biochar (BC), (2) nanohydroxyapatite (nHAP), (3) nHAP/BC/HANa composite, and (4) sodium humate (HANa) was added separately into soils amended with nHAP/BC (nHAP/BC + HANa) to compare its performance with that of the nHAP/BC/HANa composite. A key finding was that the nHAP/BC/HANa composite not only significantly increased the soil available P content and alkaline phosphatase activity but also the increased organic matter content compared to the control. Additionally, leaching losses of P in soils amended with the nHAP/BC/HANa composite were lower than those in soils amended with the nHAP/BC + HANa, which suggested that the nHAP/BC/HANa composite had great potential to decrease P loss in sandy soils. Moreover, bacterial communities were more sensitive than fungal communities to all treatments. The bacterial communities showed the most significant changes in the nHAP/BC/HANa treatments. Results from Mantel tests further indicated that the strongest correlation between bacterial communities and soil properties occurring in the nHAP/BC/HANa treatments. Random forest analysis was conducted to identify the dominant microbial taxa, such as Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Gemmatimonadetes, for predicting changes in soil properties. There was an asymptotical transition in bacterial community assembly processes from stochastic to deterministic in the nHAP/BC/HANa treatments. In conclusion, we demonstrated that nHAP/BC/HANa composite had the remarkable contribution to soil P availability in sandy soils, and simultaneously promoted the bacterial functions potential for P cycling, which present valuable insights to the development of potential P fertilizer.

Inulin as a multifaceted (active) substance and its chemical functionalization: From plant extraction to applications in pharmacy, cosmetics and food

This review is aimed at critically discussing a collection of research papers on Inulin (INU) in different scientific fields. The first part of this work gives an overview on the main characteristics of native INU, including production, applications in food or cosmetics industries, its benefits on human health as well as its main nutraceutical properties. A particular focus is dedicated to the extraction techniques and to the specific effects of INU on intestinal microbiota. Other than in food industry, the number of INU applications increases dramatically in the pharmaceutical field especially due to its simple chemical functionalization. Thus, aim of this review is also to give practical examples of chemical functionalization performed on INU also by including critical comments based on the direct experience of the Authors. With this aim, a full paragraph is dedicated to practical chemical experiences useful to reduce the efforts when establishing new experimental conditions. Moreover, the pharmaceutical technology is also taken in special consideration by underlining the aspects leading at the preparation of formulations based on INU. At the end of the review, a critical paragraph is intended to feed the scientists' curiosity on this versatile polysaccharide.

Removal of Sr2+ using high-surface-area hydroxyapatite synthesized by non-additive in-situ precipitation

Owing to their high-risk factor, many attempts have been made to remove radionuclides from water. Sr²⁺ ions are the target of removal by synthesized hydroxyapatite in this research. A facile method for synthesizing high-surface-area hydroxyapatite by in-situ precipitation using excess diammonium phosphate solution and without any additive was developed. The highest surface area achieved using this method was 177.00 m²/g, and the synthesized hydroxyapatite was also mesoporous. The effects of different pH, temperatures, and ion concentrations during synthesis on the properties of the hydroxyapatite were assessed, and it was found that a low temperature and high pH were optimal for synthesizing high-surface-area hydroxyapatite. The maximum strontium removal capacity of 28.51 mg/g was achieved when the pH-7.5 solution was used. This performance is competitive in comparison with previously developed synthesized materials. Synthesized hydroxyapatite could effectively remove radioactive strontium from an aqueous solution for nuclear waste management.

Hydroxyapatite-chitosan biocomposites synthesized in the simulated body fluid and their drug loading studies

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) is a bioceramic applied in the biomedical areas, such as matrices for drug release control. Chitosan (CTS), a natural polymer, is another material has been widely investigated for its potential use in the drug delivery systems. In this study, the composites of HAp-CTS are produced in order to investigate their drug loading and release studies. First of all, HAp-CTS composites are produced in the presence of simulated body fluid (SBF). Analysis confirmed the structure of HAp-CTS composites. Secondly, composites are encapsulated with 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU). The weight ratio of CTS is varied to realize its effect on drug loading of 5-Fluorouracil, a cancer drug, for the ratios of 1:1, 1:2 and 1:4 of HAp-CTS. The weight ratio giving the greatest drug load efficiency is selected for the last step of the study. Crosslinking agent, glutaraldehyde, are changed from 0 to 5% on the selected sample, then, drug loading is examined again in various environment owing different pH. Furthermore, drug release studies are conducted. To understand the structure and morphology of the samples, XRD, FTIR, SEM and Uv-Spectrum are applied. It is observed that weight ratio of polymer and crosslinking agent can be manipulated to adjust drug loading. Release kinetics are shown the Fickian diffusion. This new produced material can be applicable for drug delivery.

Ibuprofen nanocrystals developed by 22 factorial design experiment: A new approach for poorly water-soluble drugs

The reduction of the particle size of drugs of pharmaceutical interest down to the nano-sized range has dramatically changed their physicochemical properties. The greatest disadvantage of nanocrystals is their inherent instability, due to the risk of crystal growth. Thus, the selection of an appropriate stabilizer is crucial to obtain long-term physicochemically stable nanocrystals. High pressure homogenization has enormous advantages, including the possibility of scaling up, lack of organic solvents and the production of small particles diameter with low polydispersity index. The sequential use of high shear homogenization followed by high pressure homogenization, can modulate nanoparticles’ size for different administration routes. The present study focuses on the optimization of the production process of two formulations composed of different surfactants produced by High Shear Homogenization followed by hot High Pressure Homogenization. To build up the surface response charts, a 2² full factorial design experiment, based on 2 independent variables, was used to develop optimized formulations. The effects of the production process on the mean particle size and polydispersity index were evaluated. The best ibuprofen nanocrystal formulations were obtained using 0.20% Tween 80 and 1.20% PVP K30 (F1) and 0.20% Tween 80 and 1.20% Span 80 (F2). The estimation of the long-term stability of the aqueous suspensions of ibuprofen nanocrystals was studied using the LUMISizer. The calculated instability index suggests that F1 was more stable when stored at 4 °C and 22 °C, whereas F2 was shown to be more stable when freshly prepared.

Biomimetic mineralization of nano-sized, needle-like hydroxyapatite with ultrahigh capacity for lysozyme adsorption

Because of its superior biocompatibility, hydroxyapatite (HA) has been widely exploited as a promising vehicle to deliver a broad range of therapeutics in a variety of biological systems. Herein, we report a biomimetic process to prepare nano-sized, colloidal stable HA with needle-like morphology by using carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as the template. It was revealed that the needle-like HA was transformed from the spherical amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) nanoparticles after a 14-day period of aging under ambient conditions. The needle-like HA/CMC exhibited an ultra-high lysozyme adsorption capacity up to 930-940mg/g. Moreover, a sustained and pH-sensitive release of adsorbed lysozyme from HA/CMC was evidenced. Therefore, our biomimetic needle-like HA/CMC nanoparticles hold great potential in serving as an efficient carrier for the delivery and controlled release of lysozyme.

Efficient drug delivery system for bone repair by tuning the surface of hydroxyapatite particles

Efficient drug delivery vehicles, hydroxyapatite modified by carboxylic acids, were prepared by an in situ co-precipitation method. The presence of functional groups and subsequent surface properties of modified HA improved ibuprofen loading and release efficiency.

Preparation of hybrid materials for controlled drug release

Authors obtained hybrid organic-inorganic materials applied in sustained drug delivery. The materials are ibuprofen as a model drug, hydroxyapatite and three different polymers as supports. Influence of the type of employed polymer, an inorganic carrier, on the properties and drug release profiles was estimated. Flory-Huggins interaction parameters, the dispersive component of surface free energy and acid-base characteristic of the surface were used to assess the behavior of the composites in terms of drug release. The experiments were carried out with the use of inverse gas chromatography (IGC), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet (UV) techniques. FTIR and ATR-FTIR spectra were collected. The values of [Formula: see text] parameter obtained for all investigated materials (excluding poly(L-lactide) (PLA2)) indicate low or medium activity. The strongest interactions (the lowest values of the Flory-Huggins [Formula: see text] parameter) are observed for PLA2 composition, while the weakest interactions for systems with polyethylene glycol (PEG). Finally, drug release profiles are shown. For materials prepared with Eudragit® (EUD) and PLA, the release of drug was much smaller, which corresponds to lower values of Flory-Huggins parameter. The executed experiments allowed the estimation of the properties of prepared composites. Prepared materials present properties required in sustained drug release and may be successfully applied as drug delivery systems.

Multifunctional tunable p(inulin) microgels

Inulin, inulin-silica and modified inulin microgels were prepared in a single step via crosslinking within microemulsion, and used as drug delivery devices. Inulin-silica composite micro particles were also synthesized in the presence of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) via a water-in-oil microemulsion polymerization/crosslinking technique. To generate porous inulin particles, inulin-silica particles were treated with 0.5M NaOH solution to dissolve silica particles. Furthermore, virgin inulin (p(inulin)) and porous inulin microgels (por-p(inulin)) were quaternized successfully by treatment with 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (CHPTMAC) in aqueous solution, generating positive charges on the biopolymer as q-p(inulin). Rosmarinic acid (RA) was used as model drug for loading and release studies by synthesized inulin-based microgels in phosphate buffer solution (PBS) at pH7.4. It was shown that the absorption and release rate are influenced by zeta potential and porosity of the microgels.