Nanohybrid scratch resistant coatings for teeth and bone viscoelasticity manifested in tribology

Engineering innovations in medicine and biology: Revolutionizing patient care through mechanical solutions

The overlap between mechanical engineering and medicine is expanding more and more over the years. Engineers are now using their expertise to design and create functional biomaterials and are continually collaborating with physicians to improve patient health. In this review, we explore the state of scientific knowledge in the areas of biomaterials, biomechanics, nanomechanics, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in relation to the pharmaceutical and medical industry. Focusing on current research and breakthroughs, we provide an overview of how these fields are being used to create new technologies for medical treatments of human patients. Barriers and constraints in these fields, as well as ways to overcome them, are also described in this review. Finally, the potential for future advances in biomaterials to fundamentally change the current approach to medicine and biology is also discussed.

Microbiota and nanoparticles: Description and interactions

The healthy human body is inhabited with a large number of bacteria, forming natural flora. It is even estimated that for a human body, its amount of DNA is less important that its bacterial genetic material. This flora plays major roles in the sickness and health of the human body and any change in its composition may lead to different diseases. Nanoparticles are widely used in numerous fields: cosmetics, food, industry, and as drug delivery carrier in the medical field. Being included in these various applications, nanoparticles may interact with the human body at various levels and with different mechanisms. These interactions differ depending on the nanoparticle nature, its structure, its concentration and manifest in different ways on the microbiota, leading to its destabilization, its restoring or showing no toxic effect. Nanoparticles may also be used as a vehicle to regulate the microbiota or to treat some of its diseases.

Light- and Melanin Nanoparticle-Induced Cytotoxicity in Metastatic Cancer Cells

Melanin nanoparticles are known to be biologically benign to human cells for a wide range of concentrations in a high glucose culture nutrition. Here, we show cytotoxic behavior at high nanoparticle and low glucose concentrations, as well as at low nanoparticle concentration under exposure to (nonionizing) visible radiation. To study these effects in detail, we developed highly monodispersed melanin nanoparticles (both uncoated and glucose-coated). In order to study the effect of significant cellular uptake of these nanoparticles, we employed three cancer cell lines: VM-M3, A375 (derived from melanoma), and HeLa, all known to exhibit strong macrophagic character, i.e., strong nanoparticle uptake through phagocytic ingestion. Our main observations are: (i) metastatic VM-M3 cancer cells massively ingest melanin nanoparticles (mNPs); (ii) the observed ingestion is enhanced by coating mNPs with glucose; (iii) after a certain level of mNP ingestion, the metastatic cancer cells studied here are observed to die—glucose coating appears to slow that process; (iv) cells that accumulate mNPs are much more susceptible to killing by laser illumination than cells that do not accumulate mNPs; and (v) non-metastatic VM-NM1 cancer cells also studied in this work do not ingest the mNPs, and remain unaffected after receiving identical optical energy levels and doses. Results of this study could lead to the development of a therapy for control of metastatic stages of cancer.

Epoxy\Epoxy Composite\Epoxy Hybrid Composite Coatings for Tribological Applications-A Review

Epoxy composite coating systems generally find their usage in applications such as, fluid handling systems to protect components from corrosive media. However, their use in demanding tribological applications such as, in sliding components of machines, are known to be limited. This is often attributed to their low load bearing capacity combined with poor thermal stability under severe p-v regimes. Researchers have tried to enhance the tribological properties of the epoxy coatings using a combination of several types of micro/nano sized fillers to produce composite or hybrid composite coatings. Hence, this review paper aims to focus on the recent advances made in developing the epoxy coating systems. Special attention would be paid to the types and properties of nano-fillers that have been commonly used to develop these coatings, different dispersion techniques adopted and the effects that each of these fillers (and their combinations) have on the tribological properties of these coatings.

Nanoparticles and its biomedical applications in health and diseases: special focus on drug delivery

Nanotechnology is an emerging technology that deals with nanosized particles possessing crucial research roles and application. Disciplines like chemistry, biology, physics, engineering, materials science, and health sciences provide an accumulated knowledge of nanotechnology. Nonetheless, it has vast submissions precisely in biology, electronics, and medicine. Aimed at drug delivery system, nanoparticles are based on the mechanism of entrapment of the drugs or biomolecules into the interior structure of the particles; another mechanism could be that the drugs or the biomolecules can be absorbed onto the exterior surfaces of the particles. Currently, nanoparticles (NPs) are used in the delivery of drugs, proteins, genes, vaccines, polypeptides, nucleic acids, etc. In recent years, various applications of the drug delivery system via NPs have encountered an enormous position sector like pharmaceutical, medical, biological, and others. Considering the impact of NPs in drug delivery systems, this review focuses on the detailed profile of NPs, its impact on biology and medicine, and their commercialization prospects.

Design of Novel Oligomeric Mixed Ligand Complexes: Preparation, Biological Applications and the First Example of Their Nanosized Scale

A successful oligomerization of ternary metal complexes, cobalt (II), nickel (II), copper (II), zinc (II), chromium (III) and ferric sulfate (III) with nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) as a primary ligand and glutamic acid as a secondary ligand, has been demonstrated. The formation of oligomers arose from the presence of the sulfate moiety, which operates as a bridged bidentate ligand that coordinates with other metal moieties. The novel oligomers exhibited octahedral structures, which bonded together through the sulfate moiety. In silico predictions were conducted to gauge the bioactivity, physico-chemical and pharmacokinetic properties. The biological activities of these oligomers as well as their tumor inhibitory behavior have been explored. This work also presents a facile and novel method of preparing these materials in nanosize, using Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as capping ligands. The size and shape of the nanomaterials have been confirmed using the transmission electron microscope (TEM) and the scanning electron microscope (SEM).

Insight into Cellular Uptake and Intracellular Trafficking of Nanoparticles

Nanoparticle science is rapidly changing the landscape of various scientific fields and defining new technological platforms. This is perhaps even more evident in the field of nanomedicine whereby nanoparticles have been used as a tool for the treatment and diagnosis of many diseases. However, despite the tremendous benefit conferred, common pitfalls of this technology is its potential short and long-term effects on the human body. To understand these issues, many scientific studies have been carried out. This review attempts to shed light on some of these studies and its outcomes. The topics that were examined in this review include the different possible uptake pathways of nanoparticles and intracellular trafficking routes. Additionally, the effect of physicochemical properties of nanoparticle such as size, shape, charge and surface chemistry in determining the mechanism of uptake and biological function of nanoparticles are also addressed.

A retrospect on the role of piezoelectric nanogenerators in the development of the green world

This paper gives a detailed report of the evolution and potential applications of piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs).

Nanoparticles Biosynthesized by Fungi and Yeast: A Review of Their Preparation, Properties, and Medical Applications

In the field of nanotechnology, the use of various biological units instead of toxic chemicals for the reduction and stabilization of nanoparticles, has received extensive attention. Among the many possible bio resources, biologically active products from fungi and yeast represent excellent scaffolds for this purpose. Since fungi and yeast are very effective secretors of extracellular enzymes and number of species grow fast and therefore culturing and keeping them in the laboratory are very simple. They are able to produce metal nanoparticles and nanostructure via reducing enzyme intracellularly or extracellularly. The focus of this review is the application of fungi and yeast in the green synthesis of inorganic nanoparticles. Meanwhile the domain of biosynthesized nanoparticles is somewhat novel; the innovative uses in nano medicine in different areas including the delivery of drug, cancer therapy, antibacterial, biosensors, and MRI and medical imaging are reviewed. The proposed signaling pathways of nanoparticles induced apoptosis in cancerous cells and anti-angiogenesis effects also are reviewed. In this article, we provide a short summary of the present study universally on the utilization of eukaryotes like yeast and fungi in the biosynthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) and their uses.

De novo synthesis of novel bacteriogenic nanocell particles and its cancer cell compatibility evaluation

This study demonstrates the effective synthesis of nanocell particles of bacterial origin using an eco-friendly ultrasonic approach.

Nanoparticulate carrier system: a novel treatment approach for hyperlipidemia

Hyperlipidemia is a prevailing risk factor that leads to development and progression of atherosclerosis and consequently cardiovascular diseases. Several antihyperlipidemic drugs are having various disadvantages such as low water solubility and poor bioavailabilty due to presystemic gastrointestinal clearance. Thus, there is a considerable need for the development of efficient delivery methods and carriers. This review focuses on the importance and role of various nanoparticulate systems as carrier for antihyperlipidemic drugs in the treatment of hyperlipidemia. Some nanoparticle technology-based products are approved by FDA for effective treatment of hyperlipidemia, namely Tricor® by Abbott Laboratories (Chicago, IL, USA) and Triglide® by Skye Pharma (London, UK). Efforts to address each of these issues are going on, and should remain the focus on the future studies and look forward to many more clinical products in the future.

Toxicological Issues of Nanoparticles Employed in Photocatalysis

A huge amount of different nanomaterials is nowadays on the market used for various specific applications. Some nanomaterials such as TiO

Hence these materials are used for many applications, e.g., for self-cleaning and antibacterial coatings on different surfaces and for the purification of wastewater where the cleaning can be induced by simple exposure to sunlight. Because of the frequent use of these nanoparticles it is important to investigate the life cycles of these nanostructured materials as well as their environmental impact and their toxicity to animals and humans.

This review first gives a short overview about nanotechnology and nanotechnological products as well as about photocatalysis and semiconductors used in this field. We then discuss the need for a new technology named nanotoxicology and the problems occurring when investigating the toxic potential of nanomaterials as well as the life cycle of nanomaterials. Furthermore, we focus on the environmental impact of TiO

Multifunctional Nanocarriers for diagnostics, drug delivery and targeted treatment across blood-brain barrier: perspectives on tracking and neuroimaging

Nanotechnology has brought a variety of new possibilities into biological discovery and clinical practice. In particular, nano-scaled carriers have revolutionalized drug delivery, allowing for therapeutic agents to be selectively targeted on an organ, tissue and cell specific level, also minimizing exposure of healthy tissue to drugs. In this review we discuss and analyze three issues, which are considered to be at the core of nano-scaled drug delivery systems, namely functionalization of nanocarriers, delivery to target organs and in vivo imaging. The latest developments on highly specific conjugation strategies that are used to attach biomolecules to the surface of nanoparticles (NP) are first reviewed. Besides drug carrying capabilities, the functionalization of nanocarriers also facilitate their transport to primary target organs. We highlight the leading advantage of nanocarriers, i.e. their ability to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a tightly packed layer of endothelial cells surrounding the brain that prevents high-molecular weight molecules from entering the brain. The BBB has several transport molecules such as growth factors, insulin and transferrin that can potentially increase the efficiency and kinetics of brain-targeting nanocarriers. Potential treatments for common neurological disorders, such as stroke, tumours and Alzheimer's, are therefore a much sought-after application of nanomedicine. Likewise any other drug delivery system, a number of parameters need to be registered once functionalized NPs are administered, for instance their efficiency in organ-selective targeting, bioaccumulation and excretion. Finally, direct in vivo imaging of nanomaterials is an exciting recent field that can provide real-time tracking of those nanocarriers. We review a range of systems suitable for in vivo imaging and monitoring of drug delivery, with an emphasis on most recently introduced molecular imaging modalities based on optical and hybrid contrast, such as fluorescent protein tomography and multispectral optoacoustic tomography. Overall, great potential is foreseen for nanocarriers in medical diagnostics, therapeutics and molecular targeting. A proposed roadmap for ongoing and future research directions is therefore discussed in detail with emphasis on the development of novel approaches for functionalization, targeting and imaging of nano-based drug delivery systems, a cutting-edge technology poised to change the ways medicine is administered.

Shuttling gold nanoparticles into tumoral cells with an amphipathic proline-rich peptide

Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are a potential tool for intracellular delivery of different kinds of cargoes. Because of their growing use in nanobiomedicine, both for diagnostics and for treatment, metal nanoparticles are an interesting cargo for CPPs. Here, gold nanoparticles (AuNps) and the amphipathic proline-rich peptide SAP have been used. Conjugation of the peptide onto the AuNps was achieved by addition of a cysteine to the SAP sequence for thiol chemisorption on gold, and the attachment was confirmed by visible spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta-potential (ZP), stability towards ionic strength (as high as 1 M NaCl), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) coupled to electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). AuNp-C-SAP internalization in HeLa cells was observed by three different microscopy techniques-TEM, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM)-and all of them have confirmed the effective intracellular delivery of AuNps by SAP.