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Pressure-coupled infusion gyration (PCIG) is a novel promising technique for economical and effective mass production of nanofibres with desirable geometrical characteristics. The average diameter of spun fibres significantly influences the structural, mechanical and physical properties of the produced fibre mats. Having a comprehensive understanding of the significant effects of PCIG experimental variables on the spun fibres is beneficial. In this work, response surfacemethodology was used to explore the interaction effects and the optimal PCIG experimental variables for achieving the desired morphological characteristics of fibres. The effect of experimental variables, namely solution concentration, infusion (flow) rate, applied pressure and rotational speed, was studied on the average fibre diameter and standard deviations. A numerical model for the interactional influences of experimental variables was developed and optimized with a nonlinear interior point method that can be used as a framework for selecting the optimal conditions to obtain polyethylene oxide fibres with desired morphology (targeted average diameter and narrow standard deviation). The adequacy of the models was verified by a set of validation experiments. The results proved that the predicted optimal conditions were able to achieve the average diameter that matched the pre-set desired value with less than 10% of difference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on interaction of leukaemia cells with an bone marrow scaffold in three-dimensional (3D) culture causes resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. Topics discussed include two-dimensional (2D) cell-based assays have limited value in predicting long-term clinical response to anti-cancer drugs, mechanisms for resistance in chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) patients with no BCR-ABL1 kinase domain mutations and myeloid malignancies such as acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).

Almost a century's dedicated research into micro‐ and nanomaterials has yielded fruitful development of preparation methods, achieving fine control over product properties among a broad spectrum of materials. One critical application of these materials lies within the healthcare sector for diagnostic, prophylactic, and therapeutic purposes. However, bench‐to‐bedside translations are still hindered by some unmet demands, especially the scaling‐up from lab‐scale preparation to industry‐level production. The current review recapitulates the strategies of micro‐ and nanomaterial preparation from a holistic viewpoint. The similarities in synthesis and processing methods for various types of materials are highlighted. Furthermore, patents of commercialized nanomedicines are revisited to reveal a solid progress of micro‐ and nanomanufacturing in the last decade. In conclusion, further interdisciplinary research between fields in materials manufacturing is beneficial for the clinical translation and eventually unleashing the power of materials at small dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three antimicrobial nanoparticle types (AMNP0, AMNP1, and AMNP2) produced using the TesimaTM thermal plasma technology were investigated and their compositions were determined using a combination of analytical methods. Scanning electron micrographs provided the morphology of these particles with observed sizes ranging from 10 to 50 nm, whilst FTIR spectra confirmed the absence of polar bonds and organic impurities, and strong Raman active vibrational bands at ca. 1604 and 1311 cm-1 ascribed to C-C vibrational motions were observed. Carbon signals that resonated at δC 126 ppm in the solid state NMR spectra confirmed that sp² hybridised carbons were present in high concentration in two of the nanoparticle types (AMNP1 and AMNP2). X-ray powder diffraction suggested that AMNP0 contains single phase Tungsten carbide (WC) in a high state of purity and multiple phases of WC/WC1-x were identified in both AMNP1 and AMNP2. Finally, X-ray photoelectron spectral (XPS) analyses revealed and quantified the elemental ratios in these composite formulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work focuses on forming bead on string poly(caprolactone) (PCL) by using gyration under pressure. The fibre morphology of bead on string is an interesting feature that falls between bead-free fibres and droplets, and it could be effectively controlled by the rheological properties of spinning dopes and the major processing parameters of the pressurised gyration system which are working pressure and rotating speed. Bead products were not always spherical in shape and tended to be more elliptical, therefore both their width and length were measured. The average bead width and length produced spanned a range 145–660 μm and 140–1060 μm, respectively. The average distance between two adjacent beads (i.e. inter-bead distance) and the bead size (width and length) are shown to be a function of processing parameters and polymer concentration. An interesting morphology i.e. beads with short fibre was observed when using a high polymer concentration. Bead on string structure agglomeration was promoted by a low polymer concentration. Formation of droplets or agglomerated bead on string is promoted below 5 wt% polymer concentration, and beads with short fibre were present in the microstructure beyond a polymer concentration of 20 wt%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Targeted delivery of potent, toxic chemotherapy drugs, such as cisplatin, is a significant area of research in cancer treatment. In this study, cisplatin was successfully encapsulated with high efficiency (> 70%) in poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) polymeric nanoparticles by using electrohydrodynamic atomization (EHDA) where applied voltage and solution flow rate as well as the concentration of cisplatin and polymer were varied to control the size of the particles. Thus, nanoparticles were produced with three different drug:polymer ratios (2.5, 5 and 10 wt% cisplatin). It was shown that smaller nanoparticles were produced with 10 wt% cisplatin. Furthermore, these demonstrated the best sustained release (smallest burst release). By fitting the experimental data with various kinetic models it was concluded that the release is dependent upon the particle morphology and the drug concentration. Thus, these particles have significant potential for cisplatin delivery with controlled dosage and release period that are crucial chemotherapy parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]