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Recent Research on Nanostructured Biomedicine: Clinical Potential and Safety

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A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Biology and Medicines".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2022) | Viewed by 20151

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Luisa Fiandra

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Guest Editor

Department of Biotechnologies and Biosciences, University of Milano - Bicocca, Milan, Italy
Interests: delivery of nanoformulated antiretroviral drugs across the blood brain barrier

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the last decade, nanotechnology has been described as a revolutionary approach for many applications, including Biomedicine. In this field, it is today more and more mandatory to develop engineered nanomaterials able to face specific medical needs and that can represent ideal candidates for clinical translation due to the combination of efficacy and safety.

The present Special Issue aims to collect original studies reporting the development and the biological efficacy of nanoparticles of different origin and structure for the treatment and/or diagnosis of different pathologies. The proposed nanosystems can be inorganic, organic or composite materials, properly engineered for the optimization of diagnosis, drug delivery, photothermal/photodynamic therapy, gene and cell therapy, tissue engineering, etc. In vitro or in vivo assays, or alternative approaches on developing organisms will be taken into account as suitable tools for the biological validation of the nanosystems, such as for the evaluation of their toxicological impact. A multidisciplinary approach, using standard and innovative experimental approaches will be encouraged to determine the efficiency and the safety of the proposed nanodevices.

Dr. Luisa Fiandra
Guest Editor

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. Nanomaterials 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 2900 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

Nanomedicine
Theranostics
Nanodrugs
in vitro/in vivo Assays
Alternative Animal Models
Nanotoxicology

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 5916 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha Variant and Murine Noroviruses on Copper-Silver Nanocomposite Surfaces

by Dina A. Mosselhy, Lauri Kareinen, Ilkka Kivistö, Jenni Virtanen, Emil Loikkanen, Yanling Ge, Leena Maunula and Tarja Sironen

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(7), 1037; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano12071037 - 22 Mar 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2305

Abstract

With the continued scenario of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is still seeking out-of-the-box solutions to break its transmission cycle and contain the pandemic. There are different transmission routes for viruses, including indirect transmission via surfaces. To this end, we used two relevant viruses in our study. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing the pandemic and human norovirus (HuNV), both known to be transmitted via surfaces. Several nanoformulations have shown attempts to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses. However, a rigorous, similar inactivation scheme to inactivate the cords of two tedious viruses (SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant and HuNV) is lacking. The present study demonstrates the inactivation of the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant and the decrease in the murine norovirus (MNV, a surrogate to HuNV) load after only one minute of contact to surfaces including copper–silver (Cu–Ag) nanocomposites. We thoroughly examined the physicochemical characteristics of such plated surfaces using diverse microscopy tools and found that Cu was the dominanting element in the tested three different surfaces (~56, ~59, and ~48 wt%, respectively), hence likely playing the major role of Alpha and MNV inactivation followed by the Ag content (~28, ~13, and ~11 wt%, respectively). These findings suggest that the administration of such surfaces within highly congested places (e.g., schools, public transportations, public toilets, and hospital and live-stock reservoirs) could break the SARS-CoV-2 and HuNV transmission. We suggest such an administration after an in-depth examination of the in vitro (especially on skin cells) and in vivo toxicity of the nanocomposite formulations and surfaces while also standardizing the physicochemical parameters, testing protocols, and animal models. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Research on Nanostructured Biomedicine: Clinical Potential and Safety)

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14 pages, 4410 KiB

Open AccessArticle

ZnO Nanoparticles Induce Dyslipidemia and Atherosclerotic Lesions Leading to Changes in Vascular Contractility and Cannabinoid Receptors Expression as Well as Increased Blood Pressure

by Adriana Ceballos-Gutiérrez, Alejandrina Rodríguez-Hernández, María del Rosario Álvarez-Valadez, Saraí Limón-Miranda, Felipa Andrade, Alejandro Figueroa-Gutiérrez, Irene Díaz-Reval, Alejandro Apolinar-Iribe, Luis Castro-Sánchez, Javier Alamilla, Enrique Sánchez-Pastor and Adolfo Virgen-Ortiz

Nanomaterials 2021, 11(9), 2319; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano11092319 - 07 Sep 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2026

Abstract

ZnO nanoparticles (ZnONPs) have been shown to have therapeutic potential in some diseases such as diabetes and cancer. However, concentration-dependent adverse effects have also been reported. Studies which evaluate the effects of ZnONPs on the cardiovascular system are scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the cardiovascular effects of a low dose of ZnONPs administered chronically in healthy rats. Changes in dyslipidemia biomarkers, blood pressure, aortic wall structure, vascular contractility, and expression of cannabinoid receptors in the aorta wall were evaluated. Healthy rats were divided into two groups: control or treated (one, two, and three months). The treated rats received an oral dose of 10 mg/kg/day. The results showed that treatment with ZnONPs induced dyslipidemia from the first month, increasing atherosclerosis risk, which was confirmed by presence of atherosclerotic alterations revealed by aorta histological analysis. In in vitro assays, ZnONPs modified the aorta contractile activity in response to the activation of cannabinoid receptors (CB₁ and CB₂). The expression of CB₁ and CB₂ was modified as well. Moreover, ZnONPs elicited an increase in blood pressure. In conclusion, long-time oral administration of ZnONPs induce dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis eliciting alterations in aorta contractility, CB₁ and CB₂ receptors expression, and an increase in blood pressure in healthy rats. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Research on Nanostructured Biomedicine: Clinical Potential and Safety)

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15 pages, 4116 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Safety Assessment of Polypyrrole Nanoparticles and Spray-Coated Textiles

by Rossella Bengalli, Luisa Fiandra, Claudia Vineis, Diego Omar Sanchez-Ramirez, Nuno G. Azoia, Alessio Varesano and Paride Mantecca

Nanomaterials 2021, 11(8), 1991; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano11081991 - 03 Aug 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2386

Abstract

Polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticles (NPs) are used for the coating of materials, such as textiles, with biomedical applications, including wound care and tissue engineering, but they are also promising antibacterial agents. In this work, PPy NPs were used for the spray-coating of textiles with antimicrobial properties. The functional properties of the materials were verified, and their safety was evaluated. Two main exposure scenarios for humans were identified: inhalation of PPy NPs during spray (manufacturing) and direct skin contact with NPs-coated fabrics (use). Thus, the toxicity properties of PPy NPs and PPy-coated textiles were assessed by using in vitro models representative of the lung and the skin. The results from the materials’ characterization showed the stability of both the PPy NP suspension and the textile coating, even after washing cycles and extraction in artificial sweat. Data from an in vitro model of the air–blood barrier showed the low toxicity of these NPs, with no alteration of cell viability and functionality observed. The skin toxicity of PPy NPs and the coated textiles was assessed on a reconstructed human epidermis model following OECD 431 and 439 guidelines. PPy NPs proved to be non-corrosive at the tested conditions, as well as non-irritant after extraction in artificial sweat at two different pH conditions. The obtained data suggest that PPy NPs are safe NMs in applications for textile coating. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Research on Nanostructured Biomedicine: Clinical Potential and Safety)

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19 pages, 4272 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Tuning the Surface Charge Distribution on Colloidal Iron Oxide Nanoparticle Toxicity Investigated in Caenorhabditis elegans

by Loredana Amigoni, Lucia Salvioni, Barbara Sciandrone, Marco Giustra, Chiara Pacini, Paolo Tortora, Davide Prosperi, Miriam Colombo and Maria Elena Regonesi

Nanomaterials 2021, 11(6), 1551; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano11061551 - 11 Jun 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2557

Abstract

Assessing the toxic effect in living organisms remains a major issue for the development of safe nanomedicines and exposure of researchers involved in the synthesis, handling and manipulation of nanoparticles. In this study, we demonstrate that Caenorhabditis elegans could represent an in vivo model alternative to superior mammalians for the collection of several physiological functionality parameters associated to both short-term and long-term effects of colloidally stable nanoparticles even in absence of microbial feeding, usually reported to be necessary to ensure appropriate intake. Contextually, we investigated the impact of surface charge on toxicity of superparamagnetic iron oxide coated with a wrapping polymeric envelop that confers them optimal colloidal stability. By finely tuning the functional group composition of this shallow polymer–obtaining totally anionic, partially pegylated, partially anionic and partially cationic, respectively–we showed that the ideal surface charge organization to optimize safety of colloidal nanoparticles is the one containing both cationic and anionic groups. Our results are in accordance with previous evidence that zwitterionic nanoparticles allow long circulation, favorable distribution in the tumor area and optimal tumor penetration and thus support the hypothesis that zwitterionic iron oxide nanoparticles could be an excellent solution for diagnostic imaging and therapeutic applications in nanooncology. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Research on Nanostructured Biomedicine: Clinical Potential and Safety)

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Review

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16 pages, 2074 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

Smart MXene Quantum Dot-Based Nanosystems for Biomedical Applications

by Siavash Iravani and Rajender S. Varma

Nanomaterials 2022, 12(7), 1200; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano12071200 - 03 Apr 2022

Cited by 33 | Viewed by 5335

Abstract

MXene quantum dots (QDs), with their unique structural, optical, magnetic, and electronic characteristics, are promising contenders for various pharmaceutical and biomedical appliances including biological sensing/imaging, cancer diagnosis/therapy, regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, delivery of drugs/genes, and analytical biochemistry. Although functionalized MXene QDs have demonstrated high biocompatibility, superb optical properties, and stability, several challenging issues pertaining to their long-term toxicity, histopathology, biodistribution, biodegradability, and photoluminescence properties are still awaiting systematic study (especially the move towards the practical and clinical phases from the pre-clinical/lab-scale discoveries). The up-scalable and optimized synthesis methods need to be developed not only for the MXene QD-based nanosystems but also for other smart platforms and hybrid nanocomposites encompassing MXenes with vast clinical and biomedical potentials. Enhancing the functionalization strategies, improvement of synthesis methods, cytotoxicity/biosafety evaluations, enriching the biomedical applications, and exploring additional MXene QDs are crucial aspects for developing the smart MXene QD-based nanosystems with improved features. Herein, recent developments concerning the biomedical applications of MXene QDs are underscored with emphasis on current trends and future prospects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Research on Nanostructured Biomedicine: Clinical Potential and Safety)

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24 pages, 3160 KiB

Open AccessReview

COVID-19 Pandemic: What about the Safety of Anti-Coronavirus Nanoparticles?

by Dina A. Mosselhy, Jenni Virtanen, Ravi Kant, Wei He, Mady Elbahri and Tarja Sironen

Nanomaterials 2021, 11(3), 796; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano11030796 - 19 Mar 2021

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4612

Abstract

Every day, new information is presented with respect to how to best combat the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This manuscript sheds light on such recent findings, including new co-factors (i.e., neuropilin-1) and routes (i.e., olfactory transmucosal) allowing cell entry of SARS-CoV-2 and induction of neurological symptoms, as well as the new SARS-CoV-2 variants. We highlight the SARS-CoV-2 human–animal interfaces and elaborate containment strategies using the same vaccination (i.e., nanoparticle “NP” formulations of the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 vaccines) for humans, minks, raccoon dogs, cats, and zoo animals. We investigate the toxicity issues of anti-CoV NPs (i.e., plasmonic NPs and quantum dots) on different levels. Namely, nano–bio interfaces (i.e., protein corona), in vitro (i.e., lung cells) and in vivo (i.e., zebrafish embryos) assessments, and impacts on humans are discussed in a narrative supported by original figures. Ultimately, we express our skeptical opinion on the comprehensive administration of such antiviral nanotheranostics, even when integrated into facemasks, because of their reported toxicities and the different NP parameters (e.g., size, shape, surface charge, and purity and chemical composition of NPs) that govern their end toxicity. We believe that more toxicity studies should be performed and be presented, clarifying the odds of the safe administration of nanotoxocological solutions and the relief of a worried public. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Research on Nanostructured Biomedicine: Clinical Potential and Safety)

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