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To improve the roles of tumor drug, porous silk fibroin particles have been designed as drug carriers. Doxorubicin (DOX) is encapsulated during the fabrication process of the silk fibroin particles to form DOX loaded silk fibroin particles (SFPs-DOX). Folic acid (FA) is covalently grafted to the surface of the silk fibroin particles (FA-SFPs-DOX) as a target group to the folate receptor of tumor cells. The experimental results showed that under the conditions of low pH, high ionic strength and high enzyme concentration, the release of loaded drugs in particles has stimulus response under various conditions. The synthesized silk fibroin particles have good biocompatibility. The specific binding of fibroin particles to folate receptors provides the particles to with target functions to the tumor cells. The job develops potential application of silk fibroin particles as smart drug carriers for the targeted therapy of tumor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small-sized and well-dispersed Pt-Au nanoparticles (Pt-AuNPs) grown on carbon nanofibers (Pt-AuNPs/CNFs) with excellent electroanalytical and electrocatalytic performance in the detection of HO and the catalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) were designed and fabricated via electrospinning technology and an in situ thermal reduction process. Large numbers of Pt-AuNPs were homogenously distributed on the CNFs. A Pt-AuNP/CNF hybrid with low Pt content was utilized as a bifunctional electrocatalyst, exhibiting a higher response current of 116 μA without an enzyme in the detection of HO and a lower overpotential ( j = 10 mA cm at −235 mV) and Tafel slope (84 mV decade) for HER than the PtNPs/CNFs and the AuNPs/CNFs. These results were ascribed to the specific nanostructure of the well-dispersed Pt-AuNPs, the favorable electron transport capability, the excellent durability of the CNFs, and the enhanced surface-specific area of the Pt-AuNPs/CNFs. This study offers a green and facile method for constructing a specific bimetallic nanostructure for application in catalytic fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For preparation of an ideal wound dressing, a series of novel polyurethane-based asymmetric membranes with acetic starch and poly (ethylene glycol) as fillers were successfully fabricated by a combination of polymer-filler hybridization and immersion precipitation phase inversion. These resultant polyurethane-based asymmetric membranes consisted of an integral and dense skin layer supported by a porous sublayer as designed. The porosity and internal substructure of asymmetric membranes could be controlled by adjusting species and amount of fillers. The polyurethane-based asymmetric membranes showed promoted fluid absorption capability and controlled water vapor transmission, but could inhibit exogenous microorganisms invasion deriving from its dense skin layer. In vitro biodegradation assay indicated that the polyurethane/acetic starch composite membrane exhibited faster degradation behavior. These results indicated that the polyurethane-based asymmetric membranes prepared in this study has potential for application as an ideal wound dressing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous calcium phosphate nanospheres were successfully fabricated by a simple sonochemical method, and used as a drug carrier of ibuprofen. Morphology, structure, ibuprofen storage capacity, and release rate of the calcium phosphate nanospheres were characterized using FE-SEM, TEM, Nitrogen adsorption, XRD, FTIR, and UV-vis adsorption spectroscopies. Results showed the obtained calcium phosphate nanospheres held a porous structure with an average diameter of 48.9 ± 17.42 nm. Moreover, the porous nanospheres possessed an adjustable load amount and release rate for ibuprofen by changing drug concentrations during the drug loading process. In addition, the effects of size and dispersancy of porous spheres on drug release rate were discussed, which was found that larger or agglomerate porous spheres could delay drug release process. This study indicated that porous calcium phosphate nanospheres were a perfect drug carrier for ibuprofen, which has potential application for the therapy of skeletal disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]