Unveiling the Potential of Cannabinoids in Multiple Sclerosis and the Dawn of Nano-Cannabinoid Medicine

Multiple sclerosis is the predominant autoimmune disorder affecting the central nervous system in adolescents and adults. Specific treatments are categorized as disease-modifying, whereas others are symptomatic treatments to alleviate painful symptoms. Currently, no singular conventional therapy is universally effective for all patients across all stages of the illness. Nevertheless, cannabinoids exhibit significant promise in their capacity for neuroprotection, anti-inflammation, and immunosuppression. This review will examine the traditional treatment for multiple sclerosis, the increasing interest in using cannabis as a treatment method, its role in protecting the nervous system and regulating the immune system, commercially available therapeutic cannabinoids, and the emerging use of cannabis in nanomedicine. In conclusion, cannabinoids exhibit potential as a disease-modifying treatment rather than merely symptomatic relief. However, further research is necessary to unveil their role and establish the safety and advancements in nano-cannabinoid medicine, offering the potential for reduced toxicity and fewer adverse effects, thereby maximizing the benefits of cannabinoids.

Computational and experimental elucidation of the boosted stability and antibacterial activity of ZIF-67 upon optimized encapsulation with polyoxometalates

Water microbial purification is one of the hottest topics that threats human morbidity and mortality. It is indispensable to purify water using antimicrobial agents combined with several technologies and systems. Herein, we introduce a class of nanosized metal organic framework; Zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-67) cages encapsulated with polyoxometalates synthesized via facile one-step co-precipitation method. We employed two types of polyoxometalates bioactive agents; phosphotungstic acid (PTA) and phosphomolybdic acid (PMA) that act as novel antibacterial purification agents. Several characterization techniques were utilized to investigate the morphological, structural, chemical, and physical properties such as FESEM, EDS, FTIR, XRD, and N₂ adsorption/desorption isotherms techniques. The antibacterial assessment was evaluated using colony forming unit (CFU) against both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus as models of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, respectively. The PTA@ZIF-67 showed higher microbial inhibition against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria by 98.8% and 84.6%, respectively. Furthermore, computational modeling using density functional theory was conducted to evaluate the antibacterial efficacy of PTA when compared to PMA. The computational and experimental findings demonstrate that the fabricated POM@ZIF-67 materials exhibited outstanding bactericidal effect against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and effectively purify contaminated water.

Climate change, human health, and the exposome: Utilizing OMIC technologies to navigate an era of uncertainty

Climate change is an anthropogenic phenomenon that is alarming scientists and non-scientists alike. The emission of greenhouse gases is causing the temperature of the earth to rise and this increase is accompanied by a multitude of climate change-induced environmental exposures with potential health impacts. Tracking human exposure has been a major research interest of scientists worldwide. This has led to the development of exposome studies that examine internal and external individual exposures over their lifetime and correlate them to health. The monitoring of health has also benefited from significant technological advances in the field of "omics" technologies that analyze physiological changes on the nucleic acid, protein, and metabolism levels, among others. In this review, we discuss various climate change-induced environmental exposures and their potential health implications. We also highlight the potential integration of the technological advancements in the fields of exposome tracking, climate monitoring, and omics technologies shedding light on important questions that need to be answered.

Cost-Effective Face Mask Filter Based on Hybrid Composite Nanofibrous Layers with High Filtration Efficiency

One of the main protective measures against COVID-19's spread is the use of face masks. It is therefore of the utmost importance for face masks to be high functioning in terms of their filtration ability and comfort. Notwithstanding the prevalence of the commercial polypropylene face masks, its effectiveness is under contention, leaving vast room for improvement. During the pandemic, the use of at least one mask per day for each individual results in a massive number of masks that need to be safely disposed of. Fabricating biodegradable filters of high efficiency not only can protect individuals and save the environment but also can be sewed on reusable/washable cloth masks to reduce expenses. Wearing surgical masks for long periods of time, especially in hot regions, causes discomfort by irritating sensitive facial skin and warmed inhaled air. Herein, we demonstrate the fabrication of novel electrospun composites layers as face mask filters for protection against pathogens and tiny particulates. The combinatorial filter layers are made by integrating TiO₂ nanotubes as fillers into chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol) polymeric electrospun nanofibers as the outer layer. The other two filler-free layers, chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol) and silk/poly(vinyl alcohol) as the middle and inner composite layers, respectively, were used for controlled protection, contamination prevention, and comfort for prolonged usage. The ASTM standards evaluation tests were adopted to evaluate the efficacy of the assembled filter, revealing high filtration efficiency compared to that of commercial surgical masks. The TiO₂/Cs/PVA outer layer significantly reduced Staphylococcus aureus bacteria by 44.8% compared to the control, revealing the dual effect of TiO₂ and chitosan toward the infectious bacterial colonies. Additionally, molecular dynamics calculations were used to assess the mechanical properties of the filter layers.

Recent Advances in the Regenerative Approaches for Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury: Materials Perspective

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating health condition that may lead to permanent disabilities and death. Understanding the pathophysiological perspectives of traumatic SCI is essential to define mechanisms that can help in designing recovery strategies. Since central nervous system tissues are notorious for their deficient ability to heal, efforts have been made to identify solutions to aid in restoration of the spinal cord tissues and thus its function. The two main approaches proposed to address this issue are neuroprotection and neuro-regeneration. Neuroprotection involves administering drugs to restore the injured microenvironment to normal after SCI. As for the neuro-regeneration approach, it focuses on axonal sprouting for functional recovery of the injured neural tissues and damaged axons. Despite the progress made in the field, neural regeneration treatment after SCI is still unsatisfactory owing to the disorganized way of axonal growth and extension. Nanomedicine and tissue engineering are considered promising therapeutic approaches that enhance axonal growth and directionality through implanting or injecting of the biomaterial scaffolds. One of these recent approaches is nanofibrous scaffolds that are used to provide physical support to maintain directional axonal growth in the lesion site. Furthermore, these preferable tissue-engineered substrates can afford axonal regeneration by mimicking the extracellular matrix of the neural tissues in terms of biological, chemical, and architectural characteristics. In this review, we discuss the regenerative approach using nanofibrous scaffolds with a focus on their fabrication methods and their properties that define their functionality performed to heal the neural tissue efficiently.

Novel mineralized electrospun chitosan/PVA/TiO2 nanofibrous composites for potential biomedical applications: computational and experimental insights

Electrospun nanofibrous materials serve as potential solutions for several biomedical applications as they possess the ability of mimicking the extracellular matrix (ECM) of tissues. Herein, we report on the fabrication of novel nanostructured composite materials for potential use in biomedical applications that require a suitable environment for cellular viability. Anodized TiO2 nanotubes (TiO2 NTs) in powder form, with different concentrations, were incorporated as a filler material into a blend of chitosan (Cs) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to synthesize composite polymeric electrospun nanofibrous materials. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nanoindentation, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, and MTT assay for cell viability techniques were used to characterize the architectural, structural, mechanical, physical, and biological properties of the fabricated materials. Additionally, molecular dynamics (MD) modelling was performed to evaluate the mechanical properties of the polymeric PVA/chitosan matrix upon reinforcing the structure with TiO2 anatase nanotubes. The Young's modulus, shear and bulk moduli, Poisson's ratio, Lame's constants, and compressibility of these composites have been computed using the COMPASS molecular mechanics force fields. The MD simulations demonstrated that the inclusion of anatase TiO2 improves the mechanical properties of the composite, which is consistent with our experimental findings. The results revealed that the mineralized material improved the mechanical strength and the physical properties of the composite. Hence, the composite material has potential for use in biomedical applications.

Recent advances in the use of TiO2 nanotube powder in biological, environmental, and energy applications

The use of titanium dioxide nanotubes in the powder form (TNTP) has been a hot topic for the past few decades in many applications. The high quality of the fabricated TNTP by various synthetic routes may meet the required threshold of performance in a plethora of fields such as drug delivery, sensors, supercapacitors, and photocatalytic applications. This review briefly discusses the synthesis techniques of TNTP, their use in various applications, and future perspectives to expand their use in more applications.