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Hybrid Compounds Tailoring at the Nanoscale for Biomedical Applications

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A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2021) | Viewed by 18370

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Giulia Neri

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Guest Editor

Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
Interests: engeneering and surface properties characterization of polymeric materials to obtain new nanotheranostic platforms, to employ as sensing, imaging and therapeutic tools; development of hybrid nanosystems based on polymeric materials to design particle and fiber tools for controlled drug release
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Enza Fazio

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Guest Editor

Department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, Physics Science and Earth Science, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
Interests: nanomaterials synthesis; electrospun nanofibers; pulsed laser ablation; laser triggered smart nanocomposites; vibrational and electronical spectroscopies (micro-Raman, XPS); morphological techniques (SEM-EDX, DLS); nonlinear optical response (z-scan method)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Carmelo Corsaro

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Guest Editor

MIFT Department, Università degli Studi di Messina, Messina, Italy
Interests: NMR spectroscopy; physics of complex systems; aqueous systems; dynamical arrest; protein folding/unfolding; cellulose degradation; metabolomics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

Currently, most of the common diagnostic and therapeutic agents require high doses and often do not efficiently accumulate in the target sites, resulting in side effects. Therefore, the demand for more sharp and sophisticated biomedical tools has grown. Considering the peculiar properties that appear at the nanoscale level, several nanomaterials such as polymers, ceramics, metals, etc. are employed in the biomedicine field. Today, the development of hybrid compounds arising from the combination of materials of different nature, via covalent or non-covalent bonds, represents a new frontier. The combination of functional components plays a crucial role to tune the properties of these new materials, providing also multifunctional nanosystems. Nanohybrid compounds have shown several advantages, such as tunable size, shape, and surface properties, high loading capacity, leading capacity to a specific site, and stimuli-responsive drug release kinetics. These features often lead to improving their biocompatibility and pharmacokinetic profile.

The present Special Issue aims to outline the state-of-the-art regarding the development of hybrid compounds tailoring at the nanoscale, for drug/gene delivery systems, imaging probes, tissue engineering scaffolds, vascular stents, theranostic agents, dental implants, etc. Emphasis will be given to works with a deep characterization of hybrid nanomaterials which allows explaining their peculiar properties for biomedical applications.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Chemistry.

Dr. Giulia Neri
Dr. Enza Fazio
Dr. Carmelo Corsaro
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

nanohybrid compounds
functional materials
chemical–physical properties
nanoscale level
biomedicine
imaging
medical devices
theranostic
scaffold
implants

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 5653 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sensing the Anti-Epileptic Drug Perampanel with Paper-Based Spinning SERS Substrates

by Andrea Macrelli, Nicolò Simone Villa, Andrea Lucotti, David Dellasega, Paolo Maria Ossi and Matteo Tommasini

Molecules 2022, 27(1), 30; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules27010030 - 22 Dec 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2046

Abstract

The applications of SERS in therapeutic drug monitoring, or other fields of analytical chemistry, require the availability of sensitive sensors and experimental approaches that can be implemented in affordable ways. In this contribution, we show the production of cost-effective SERS sensors obtained by depositing Lee-Meisel Ag colloids on filter paper either by natural sedimentation or centrifugation. We have characterized the morphological and plasmonic features of the sensors by optical microscopy, SEM, and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Such sensors can be used to quantify by SERS the anti-epileptic drug Perampanel (in the concentration range 1 × 10⁻⁴–5 × 10⁻⁶ M) by spinning them during the micro-Raman measurements on the top of a custom device obtained from spare part hard disk drives. This approach minimizes laser-induced heating effects and allows averaging over the spatial non-uniformity of the sensor. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Compounds Tailoring at the Nanoscale for Biomedical Applications)

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10 pages, 3865 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Intermolecular Forces Driving Hexamethylenetetramine Co-Crystal Formation, a DFT and XRD Analysis

by Giovanni Bella, Francesco Nicolò, Giuseppe Bruno and Antonio Santoro

Molecules 2021, 26(19), 5746; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26195746 - 22 Sep 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1767

Abstract

Interest in co-crystals formation has been constantly growing since their discovery, almost a century ago. Such success is due to the ability to tune the physical-chemical properties of the components in solid state by avoiding a change in their molecular structure. The properties influenced by the co-crystals formation range from an improvement of mechanical features and chemical stability to different solubility. In the scientific research area, the pharmacological field is undoubtedly one of those in which an expansion of the co-crystal knowledge can offer wide benefits. In this work, we described the crystalline structure of hexamethylenetetramine co-crystallized with the isophthalic acid, and we compared it with another co-crystal, showing the same components but different stoichiometry. To give a wider overview on the nature of the interactions behind the observed crystal packing and to rationalize the reasons of its formation, a computational analysis on such structures was carried out. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Compounds Tailoring at the Nanoscale for Biomedical Applications)

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Graphical abstract

18 pages, 4434 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Temperature-Dependent Dynamical Evolution in Coum/SBE-β-CD Inclusion Complexes Revealed by Two-Dimensional FTIR Correlation Spectroscopy (2D-COS)

by Giuseppe Paladini, Francesco Caridi, Vincenza Crupi, Federica De Gaetano, Domenico Majolino, Silvana Tommasini, Cinzia Anna Ventura, Valentina Venuti and Rosanna Stancanelli

Molecules 2021, 26(12), 3749; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26123749 - 19 Jun 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2025

Abstract

A combination of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in attenuated total reflectance geometry (FTIR-ATR) and 2D correlation analysis (2D-COS) was applied here for the first time in order to investigate the temperature-dependent dynamical evolution occurring in a particular type of inclusion complex, based on sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrin (SBE-β-CD) as hosting agent and Coumestrol (7,12-dihydorxcoumestane, Coum), a poorly-soluble active compound known for its anti-viral and anti-oxidant activity. For this purpose, synchronous and asynchronous 2D spectra were calculated in three different wavenumber regions (960–1320 cm⁻¹, 1580–1760 cm⁻¹ and 2780–3750 cm⁻¹) and over a temperature range between 250 K and 340 K. The resolution enhancement provided by the 2D-COS offers the possibility to extract the sequential order of events tracked by specific functional groups of the system, and allows, at the same time, the overcoming of some of the limits associated with conventional 1D FTIR-ATR analysis. Acquired information could be used, in principle, for the definition of an optimized procedure capable to provide high-performance T-sensitive drug carrier systems for different applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Compounds Tailoring at the Nanoscale for Biomedical Applications)

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12 pages, 2338 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Antimicrobial Effect and Cytotoxic Evaluation of Mg-Doped Hydroxyapatite Functionalized with Au-Nano Rods

by Domenico Franco, Giovanna Calabrese, Salvatore Petralia, Giulia Neri, Carmelo Corsaro, Lucia Forte, Stefano Squarzoni, Salvatore Guglielmino, Francesco Traina, Enza Fazio and Sabrina Conoci

Molecules 2021, 26(4), 1099; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26041099 - 19 Feb 2021

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 2559

Abstract

Hydroxyapatite (HA) is the main inorganic mineral that constitutes bone matrix and represents the most used biomaterial for bone regeneration. Over the years, it has been demonstrated that HA exhibits good biocompatibility, osteoconductivity, and osteoinductivity both in vitro and in vivo, and can be prepared by synthetic and natural sources via easy fabrication strategies. However, its low antibacterial property and its fragile nature restricts its usage for bone graft applications. In this study we functionalized a MgHA scaffold with gold nanorods (AuNRs) and evaluated its antibacterial effect against S. aureus and E. coli in both suspension and adhesion and its cytotoxicity over time (1 to 24 days). Results show that the AuNRs nano-functionalization improves the antibacterial activity with 100% bacterial reduction after 24 h. The toxicity study, however, indicates a 4.38-fold cell number decrease at 24 days. Although further optimization on nano-functionalization process are needed for cytotoxicity, these data indicated that Au-NRs nano-functionalization is a very promising method for improving the antibacterial properties of HA. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Compounds Tailoring at the Nanoscale for Biomedical Applications)

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Review

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34 pages, 7439 KiB

Open AccessReview

Natural Product-Based Hybrids as Potential Candidates for the Treatment of Cancer: Focus on Curcumin and Resveratrol

by Nicola Micale, Maria Sofia Molonia, Andrea Citarella, Francesco Cimino, Antonina Saija, Mariateresa Cristani and Antonio Speciale

Molecules 2021, 26(15), 4665; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26154665 - 31 Jul 2021

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3561

Abstract

One of the main current strategies for cancer treatment is represented by combination chemotherapy. More recently, this strategy shifted to the “hybrid strategy”, namely the designing of a new molecular entity containing two or more biologically active molecules and having superior features compared with the individual components. Moreover, the term “hybrid” has further extended to innovative drug delivery systems based on biocompatible nanomaterials and able to deliver one or more drugs to specific tissues or cells. At the same time, there is an increased interest in plant-derived polyphenols used as antitumoral drugs. The present review reports the most recent and intriguing research advances in the development of hybrids based on the polyphenols curcumin and resveratrol, which are known to act as multifunctional agents. We focused on two issues that are particularly interesting for the innovative chemical strategy involved in their development. On one hand, the pharmacophoric groups of these compounds have been used for the synthesis of new hybrid molecules. On the other hand, these polyphenols have been introduced into hybrid nanomaterials based on gold nanoparticles, which have many potential applications for both drug delivery and theranostics in chemotherapy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Compounds Tailoring at the Nanoscale for Biomedical Applications)

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14 pages, 1609 KiB

Open AccessReview

Role of Calixarene in Chemotherapy Delivery Strategies

by Rossella Basilotta, Deborah Mannino, Alessia Filippone, Giovanna Casili, Angela Prestifilippo, Lorenzo Colarossi, Gabriele Raciti, Emanuela Esposito and Michela Campolo

Molecules 2021, 26(13), 3963; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26133963 - 29 Jun 2021

Cited by 39 | Viewed by 4347

Abstract

Since cancer is a multifactorial disease with a high mortality rate, the study of new therapeutic strategies is one of the main objectives in modern research. Numerous chemotherapeutic agents, although widely used, have the disadvantage of being not very soluble in water or selective towards cancerous cells, with consequent side effects. Therefore, in recent years, a greater interest has emerged in innovative drug delivery systems (DDSs) such as calixarene, a third-generation supramolecular compound. Calixarene and its water-soluble derivatives show good biocompatibility and have low cytotoxicity. Thanks to their chemical–physical characteristics, calixarenes can be easily functionalized, and by itself can encapsulate host molecules forming nanostructures capable of releasing drugs in a controlled way. The encapsulation of anticancer drugs in a calixarene derivate improves their bioavailability and efficacy. Thus, the use of calixarenes as carriers of anticancer drugs could reduce their side effects and increase their affinity towards the target. This review summarizes the numerous research advances regarding the development of calixarene nanoparticles capable of encapsulating various anticancer drugs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid Compounds Tailoring at the Nanoscale for Biomedical Applications)

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