Assessment of commercialized nylon membranes integrated with thin layer of MWCNTs for potential use in desalination process

In this work, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) will be implemented as a coating material on commercial membranes (nylon) using Trix as a surfactant. Four masses of MWCNTs (5, 15, 30, and 60 mg) were used in the coating process. Many parameters were measured for both nylon and the four coated membranes. These parameters include their electrical properties, wettability, mechanical properties, surface and textural properties, permeability and rejection of salt. The findings indicated that Elongation within the range of 2.7-18%, tensile strength within the range of 2.5-3.4 MPa, and Young's moduli in the range of 63-154 MPa were found in the fabricated membranes arising from MWCNTs and surfactants dispersions. The performance of membrane rejection was examined using NaCl or MgSO4 single salts. The fabricated membrane containing 60 mg of MWCNTs, on the other hand, can reject electrolytes with a very low rejection ratio of less than 14% for NaCl and 10% for MgSO4. This made as ultrafiltration (UF) membranes, and therefore they can be used as pre-treatment membranes in desalination processes. Future study is required to improve the rejection of these coated membranes by adding more additives such as polymers or biopolymers

Recent Advances in Anticancer Activity of Novel Plant Extracts and Compounds from Curcuma longa in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Among all forms of cancers, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer worldwide. There are several treatment options for HCC ranging from loco-regional therapy to surgical treatment. Yet, there is high morbidity and mortality. Recent research focus has shifted towards more effective and less toxic cancer treatment options. Curcumin, the active ingredient in the Curcuma longa plant, has gained widespread attention in recent years because of its multifunctional properties as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer agent. METHODS: A systematic search of PubMed, Embase and Google Scholar was performed for studies reporting incidence of HCC, risk factors associated with cirrhosis and experimental use of curcumin as an anti-cancer agent. RESULTS: This review exclusively encompasses the anti-cancer properties of curcumin in HCC globally and it's postulated molecular targets of curcumin when used against liver cancers. CONCLUSIONS: This review is concluded by presenting the current challenges and future perspectives of novel plant extracts derived from C. longa and the treatment options against cancers

Innovative Applications of Plant Viruses in Drug Targeting and Molecular Imaging- A review.

BackgroundNature had already engineered various types of nanoparticles (NPs), especially viruses, which can deliver their cargo to the host/targeted cells. The ability to selectively target specific cells offers a significant advantage over the conventional approach. Numerous organic NPs, including native protein cages, virus-like pieces, polymeric saccharides, and liposomes, have been used for the preparation of nanoparticulate. Such nanomaterials have demonstrated better performance and as well as improved biocompatible, devoid of side effects, and stable without any deterioration.ObjectiveThis review discusses current clinical and scientific research on naturally occurring nanomaterials. The review illustrates and updates the tailor-made approaches for selective delivery and targeted medications that require a highaffinity interconnection to the targeted cells.MethodA comprehensive search was performed using keywords for viral nanoparticles, viral particles for drug delivery, viral nanoparticles for molecular imaging, theranostics applications of viral nanoparticles and plant viruses in nanomedicine. We searched in Google Scholar, PubMed, Springer, Medline, and Elsevier from 2000 to till date and by the bibliographic review of all identified articles.ResultsThe findings demonstrated that structures dependent on nanomaterials might have potential applications in diagnostics, cell marking, comparing agents (computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging), and antimicrobial drugs, as well as drug delivery structures. However, measures should be taken in order to prevent or mitigate in pharmaceutical or medical applications the toxic impact or incompatibility of nanoparticle-based structures with biological systems.ConclusionThe review provided an overview of the latest advances in nanotechnology, outlining the difficulties and the advantages of in vivo and in vitro structures that are focused on a specific subset of the natural nanomaterials

Gold-coated plant virus as computed tomography imaging contrast agent

Chemical modification of the surface of viruses, both the interior and the exterior, imparts new functionalities, that have potential applications in nanomedicine. In this study, we developed novel virus-based nanomaterials as a contrast agent for computed tomography (CT) imaging in vitro. The gold-coated cowpea mosaic virus (Au-CPMV) particles were generated by the electrostatic adsorption of positively charged electrolyte on the virus capsid with the subsequent incubation and reduction of anionic gold complexes. Au-CPMV particles as a CT contrast agent offer a fast scan time (less than 2 min), low cost, and biocompatibility and allow for high-resolution imaging with ca. 150 Hounsfield units (HU). The Au-CPMV surface was further modified allowing for the incorporation of targeting molecules of specific cell types

Nature bioinspired and engineered nanomaterials

Over the last few decades of research, the development of bionanotechnology was fueled by the need for a new type of nanomaterials with properties that are unmatchable with their counterpart synthetic nanoparticles. These characteristics include biodegradability, biocompatibility, and uneven shapes and formulations, with the ability to express current and novel properties that make biomaterials as the perfect nanoparticles for chemical and biological conjugations. Newly developed nanomaterials showed promising characteristics in medical, pharmaceutical, environmental, and energy applications. This chapter highlights different types of nature-inspired biosynthesized nanomaterials and their green synthesis methods, as well as some of their emerging applications, especially in the fields of nanomedicine, cosmetics, drug delivery, molecular imaging, and catalytic precursors. The chapter also covers different types of bionanomaterials (e.g., viruses, protein cages, and phages) and highlights their unique properties and potential applications

A potential MRI agent and an anticancer drug encapsulated within CPMV virus-like particles.

Background: Virus nanoparticles have been extensively studied over the past decades for theranostics applications. Viruses are well-characterized, naturally occurring nanoparticles that can be produced in high quantity with a high degree of similarity in both structure and composition. Objectives: The plant virus Cowpea Mosaic Virus (CPMV) has been innovatively used as a nanoscaffold. Utilization of the internal cavity of empty Virus-Like Particles (VLPs) for the inclusion of therapeutics within the capsid has opened many opportunities in drug delivery and imaging applications. Methods: The encapsidation of magnetic materials and anticancer drugs was achieved. SuperscriptCPMV denotes molecules attached to the external surface of CPMV and CPMVSubscript denotes molecules within the interior of the capsid. Results: Here, the generation of novel VLPs incorporating iron-platinum nanoparticles TCPMVFePt and cisplatin (Cis) (TCPMVCis) is reported. TCPMVCis exhibited a cytotoxic IC50 of TCPMVCis on both A549 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines of 1.8 μM and 3.9 μM, respectively after 72 hours of incubation. The TCPMVFePt were prepared as potential MRI contrast agents. Conclusion: Cisplatin loaded VLP (TCPMVCis) is shown to enhance cisplatin cytotoxicity in cancer cell lines with its potency increased by 2.3-folds

Cigarette smoke metabolically promotes cancer, via autophagy and premature aging in the host stromal microenvironment.

Cigarette smoke has been directly implicated in the disease pathogenesis of a plethora of different human cancer subtypes, including breast cancers. The prevailing view is that cigarette smoke acts as a mutagen and DNA damaging agent in normal epithelial cells, driving tumor initiation. However, its potential negative metabolic effects on the normal stromal microenvironment have been largely ignored. Here, we propose a new mechanism by which carcinogen-rich cigarette smoke may promote cancer growth, by metabolically "fertilizing" the host microenvironment. More specifically, we show that cigarette smoke exposure is indeed sufficient to drive the onset of the cancer-associated fibroblast phenotype via the induction of DNA damage, autophagy and mitophagy in the tumor stroma. In turn, cigarette smoke exposure induces premature aging and mitochondrial dysfunction in stromal fibroblasts, leading to the secretion of high-energy mitochondrial fuels, such as L-lactate and ketone bodies. Hence, cigarette smoke induces catabolism in the local microenvironment, directly fueling oxidative mitochondrial metabolism (OXPHOS) in neighboring epithelial cancer cells, actively promoting anabolic tumor growth. Remarkably, these autophagic-senescent fibroblasts increased breast cancer tumor growth in vivo by up to 4-fold. Importantly, we show that cigarette smoke-induced metabolic reprogramming of the fibroblastic stroma occurs independently of tumor neo-angiogenesis. We discuss the possible implications of our current findings for the prevention of aging-associated human diseases and, especially, common epithelial cancers, as we show that cigarette smoke can systemically accelerate aging in the host microenvironment. Finally, our current findings are consistent with the idea that cigarette smoke induces the "reverse Warburg effect," thereby fueling "two-compartment tumor metabolism" and oxidative mitochondrial metabolism in epithelial cancer cells. KEYWORDS: autophagy, breast cancer, cancer prevention, carcinogens, cigarette smoke, ketone bodies, lactate, microenvironment, mitochondrial dysfunction, premature aging, senescence, tumor growt