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Nanomaterials
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Nanoarchitectonics: A Novel Approach for Drug Delivery and Targeting
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Nanoarchitectonics: A Novel Approach for Drug Delivery and Targeting

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2016) | Viewed by 25274

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Alina Maria Holban

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
1. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest, 060101 Bucharest, Romania
2. The Research Institute of the University of Bucharest, ICUB, 060023 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: microbiology; immunology; new antimicrobial agents; host-pathogen signaling; infection control; antimicrobial nanomaterials; bacterial pathogenesis; virulence factors; quorum sensing; biofilms; antibacterial activity; antibiotic resistance; Staphylococcus aureus; Escherichia coli; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; microbial molecular biology; bioactive materials; nanotechnology; nanoengineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Science and Engineereing of Oxide Materials and Nanomaterials, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, Politehnica University of Bucharest, RO-011061 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: synthesis and characterization of nanobiomaterials; polymers; pharmaceutical nanotechnology; drug delivery; anti-biofilm surfaces; nanomodified surfaces; natural products
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The science of nanometer size materials, nanotechnology, is currently considered a key aspect in the progress of innovative and personalized therapies. Although impressive progress has been made in numerous fields, such as engineering, biotechnology, food industry, ecology and materials science, the most sound and investigated approaches are related to the bio-medical applications of nanomaterials. Abundant studies have been published in the last few years, describing different types of nanosized systems able to be efficiently utilized in diagnosis, prophylaxis, and therapy. Physico-chemical aspects, such as size, shape, and arrangement of nanometer-sized subunits were found to impact significantly on the properties of the nanosystem and control required biological effects. In this context, a new research field, nanoarchitectonics, emerged to investigate the impact of nano-subunits organization and architecture of the entire assemble on the final properties of the nanosystem. These findings are of a particular relevance for bio-medical applications, especially for drug delivery and targeting.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to reveal and discuss the most recent technical and applicative findings in this recently developed field, nanoarchitectonics, and to highlight its impact in drug delivery, targeting and the versatility of nanobiosystems currently investigated for therapeutical approaches.

Dr. Alina Maria Holban
Dr. Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu
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. 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

  • personalized therapy
  • nanoarchitectured drugs
  • anti-cancer approaches
  • nanobiosystems in therapy
  • drug delivery systems
  • architecture of medical nanosized materials
  • nanoarchitectuded systems in infection control
  • functionalized nanoparticles

Published Papers (4 papers)

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4537 KiB  
Article
Electrospun Fiber Pads of Cellulose Acetate and Essential Oils with Antimicrobial Activity
by Ioannis L. Liakos, Alina Maria Holban, Riccardo Carzino, Simone Lauciello and Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu
Nanomaterials 2017, 7(4), 84; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano7040084 - 12 Apr 2017
Cited by 77 | Viewed by 7098
Abstract
The method of electrospinning was used to create nanofibers made of cellulose acetate (CA) and essential oils (EOs). CA polymer at 15% w/v was dissolved in acetone and then 1% or 5% v/v of EOs was added to the [...] Read more.
The method of electrospinning was used to create nanofibers made of cellulose acetate (CA) and essential oils (EOs). CA polymer at 15% w/v was dissolved in acetone and then 1% or 5% v/v of EOs was added to the polymer solution. The utilized essential oils were rosemary and oregano oils. Then, the CA/EOs in acetone solution were electrospun, creating micro/nanofibers, approximately 700–1500 nm in diameter. Raman spectroscopy was used to detect the attachment of the EOs in the CA electrospun fibers (ESFs). Scanning electron microscopy was used to study the morphology, topography and dimensions of the ESFs. The formed CA/EOs ESFs are found to have good antimicrobial properties against three common microbial species, frequently found in difficult to treat infections: Bacteria species Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and the yeast Candida albicans. ESFs with 5% v/v oregano oil with respect to the initial solution, showed the best antimicrobial and anti-biofilm effects due to the potency of this EO against bacteria and fungi, especially for Escherichia coli and Candida albicans. This work describes an effective and simple method to prepare CA/EOs ESFs and opens up many new applications of micro/nanofibers such as improved antimicrobial wound dressings, anti-biofilm surfaces, sensors and packaging alternatives. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanoarchitectonics: A Novel Approach for Drug Delivery and Targeting)
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5239 KiB  
Article
Innovative Self-Cleaning and Biocompatible Polyester Textiles Nano-Decorated with Fe–N-Doped Titanium Dioxide
by Ionela Cristina Nica, Miruna Silvia Stan, Anca Dinischiotu, Marcela Popa, Mariana Carmen Chifiriuc, Veronica Lazar, Gratiela G. Pircalabioru, Eugenia Bezirtzoglou, Ovidiu G. Iordache, Elena Varzaru, Iuliana Dumitrescu, Marcel Feder, Florin Vasiliu, Ionel Mercioniu and Lucian Diamandescu
Nanomaterials 2016, 6(11), 214; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano6110214 - 15 Nov 2016
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 6610
Abstract
The development of innovative technologies to modify natural textiles holds an important impact for medical applications, including the prevention of contamination with microorganisms, particularly in the hospital environment. In our study, Fe and N co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles have been obtained via the [...] Read more.
The development of innovative technologies to modify natural textiles holds an important impact for medical applications, including the prevention of contamination with microorganisms, particularly in the hospital environment. In our study, Fe and N co-doped TiO2 nanoparticles have been obtained via the hydrothermal route, at moderate temperature, followed by short thermal annealing at 400 °C. These particles were used to impregnate polyester (PES) materials which have been evaluated for their morphology, photocatalytic performance, antimicrobial activity against bacterial reference strains, and in vitro biocompatibility on human skin fibroblasts. Microscopic examination and quantitative assays have been used to evaluate the cellular morphology and viability, cell membrane integrity, and inflammatory response. All treated PES materials specifically inhibited the growth of Gram-negative bacilli strains after 15 min of contact, being particularly active against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. PES fabrics treated with photocatalysts did not affect cell membrane integrity nor induce inflammatory processes, proving good biocompatibility. These results demonstrate that the treatment of PES materials with TiO2-1% Fe–N particles could provide novel biocompatible fabrics with short term protection against microbial colonization, demonstrating their potential for the development of innovative textiles that could be used in biomedical applications for preventing patients’ accidental contamination with microorganisms from the hospital environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanoarchitectonics: A Novel Approach for Drug Delivery and Targeting)
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2223 KiB  
Article
Targeting at the Nanoscale: A Novel S-Layer Fusion Protein Enabling Controlled Immobilization of Biotinylated Molecules
by Melinda Varga
Nanomaterials 2016, 6(11), 199; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano6110199 - 04 Nov 2016
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3911
Abstract
With the aim of constructing an S-layer fusion protein that combines both excellent self-assembly and specific ligand i.e., biotin binding ability, streptavidin (aa 16-133) was fused to the S-layer protein of Sporosarcina ureae ATCC 13881 (SslA) devoid of its N-terminal 341 and C-terminal [...] Read more.
With the aim of constructing an S-layer fusion protein that combines both excellent self-assembly and specific ligand i.e., biotin binding ability, streptavidin (aa 16-133) was fused to the S-layer protein of Sporosarcina ureae ATCC 13881 (SslA) devoid of its N-terminal 341 and C-terminal 172 amino acids. The genetically engineered chimeric protein could be successfully produced in E. coli, isolated, and purified via Ni affinity chromatography. In vitro recrystallisation experiments performed with the purified chimeric protein in solution and on a silicon wafer have demonstrated that fusion of the streptavidin domain does not interfere with the self-assembling properties of the S-layer part. The chimeric protein self-assembled into multilayers. More importantly, the streptavidin domain retained its full biotin-binding ability, a fact evidenced by experiments in which biotinylated quantum dots were coupled to the fusion protein monomers and adsorbed onto the in vitro recrystallised fusion protein template. In this way, this S-layer fusion protein can serve as a functional template for the controlled immobilization of biotinylated and biologically active molecules. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanoarchitectonics: A Novel Approach for Drug Delivery and Targeting)
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4117 KiB  
Article
Cholesterol-Modified Amino-Pullulan Nanoparticles as a Drug Carrier: Comparative Study of Cholesterol-Modified Carboxyethyl Pullulan and Pullulan Nanoparticles
by Xiaojun Tao, Yongchao Xie, Qiufang Zhang, Ximin Qiu, Liming Yuan, Yi Wen, Min Li, Xiaoping Yang, Ting Tao, Minghui Xie, Yanwei Lv, Qinyi Wang and Xing Feng
Nanomaterials 2016, 6(9), 165; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano6090165 - 08 Sep 2016
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 6610
Abstract
To search for nano-drug preparations with high efficiency in tumor treatment, we evaluated the drug-loading capacity and cell-uptake toxicity of three kinds of nanoparticles (NPs). Pullulan was grafted with ethylenediamine and hydrophobic groups to form hydrophobic cholesterol-modified amino-pullulan (CHAP) conjugates. Fourier transform infrared [...] Read more.
To search for nano-drug preparations with high efficiency in tumor treatment, we evaluated the drug-loading capacity and cell-uptake toxicity of three kinds of nanoparticles (NPs). Pullulan was grafted with ethylenediamine and hydrophobic groups to form hydrophobic cholesterol-modified amino-pullulan (CHAP) conjugates. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance were used to identify the CHAP structure and calculate the degree of substitution of the cholesterol group. We compared three types of NPs with close cholesterol hydrophobic properties: CHAP, cholesterol-modified pullulan (CHP), and cholesterol-modified carboxylethylpullulan (CHCP), with the degree of substitution of cholesterol of 2.92%, 3.11%, and 3.46%, respectively. As compared with the two other NPs, CHAP NPs were larger, 263.9 nm, and had a positive surface charge of 7.22 mV by dynamic light-scattering measurement. CHAP NPs showed low drug-loading capacity, 12.3%, and encapsulation efficiency of 70.8%, which depended on NP hydrophobicity and was affected by surface charge. The drug release amounts of all NPs increased in the acid media, with CHAP NPs showing drug-release sensitivity with acid change. Cytotoxicity of HeLa cells was highest with mitoxantrone-loaded CHAP NPs on MTT assay. CHAP NPs may have potential as a high-efficiency drug carrier for tumor treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanoarchitectonics: A Novel Approach for Drug Delivery and Targeting)
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