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Amyloid-β (Aβ) plaque formation, neuronal cell death, mitochondrial and cholinergic dysfunction are key indicators of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, gelatin and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) were tethered with magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)

Iron nanoparticles are typically made from inorganic precursors, but for the first time, we synthesized-Fe2O3-NCs from goat blood (a bio-precursor) employing the RBC lysis method (a molecular level approach).

A survey of plant parasitic nematodes (PPN) abundance and diversity was conducted in foothills of Western Ghats at Coimbatore and Nilgiris districts in Tamil Nadu, India. Our study pointed to evaluate the PPN association with weeds, shrubs, and herbs including some agricultural crop cover both agro and forest ecosystems. Soil samples were collected around the rhizosphere of the plants and nematodes were isolated, counted under a microscope and identified by morphological characters. We collected 415 soil samples around the rhizosphere of 84 major plant families. Among 84 plant families, we found 13 PPN genera those generally responsible for cash crop yield loss. The genus Helicotylenchus spp., and Meloidogyne spp., were found frequent (226,136 samples) and rarely Hemicycliophora spp.,. The PPN diversity was measured by Shannon diversity index which showed that the diversity of PPN found higher in plant species those from the families Rosaceae (2.20) and Rubiaceae (2.13). We also recorded the PPN richness was dominated in four plant families. This result reveals that the PPN diversity and richness are positively correlated with host plant species diversity and altitude. Further, our study concludes that a wild plant in the forest ecosystem behaves like a reservoir of PPN.

Recent treatments for malignant colon cancer in clinics are not efficacious and often result in deprived patient compliance due to short therapeutic efficacy and sturdy systemic side effects. To overcome this issue in the present study, we designed and formulated nanomaterial (PEGylated AuNPs-DOX@Kaempferol) for drug delivery system against colon cancer. The drug release behavior was subsequently studied at different pH. These results showed that the drugs have been released in controlled manner. The current investigation proves that the combination of DOX and Kaempferol are more efficient to induce cytotoxic effect while compared to the each drug alone. On the other hand, AO/EtBr and DAPI staining are confirming the induction of apoptosis in cancer cells. In vivo antitumor efficiency of PEGylated AuNPs-DOX@Kaempferol showed a significant reduction in tumor volume without any severe side effects. Thus, combine drug nanoformulations could be a promising drug delivery system for colon cancer therapy.

The development of multifunctional nanocomposite can greatly improve therapeutic effects to impair tumor proliferation. In the present study, we developed a new class of dual-drug delivering system, the Selenium Mesoporous Silica (SMS) nanocomposites to achieve molecular based tumor-targeting. A series of experiments have been performed to tether Mesoporous Silica nanoparticle (MSN) with chitosan-selenium complex using cysteine amino acid. The Chemical and biological assays authenticated that a perfect “chemistry works” between the formulated SMS nanocomposites and selected drugs, namely, Metformin (MT) and Cisplatinn (Cis). As a sequential reaction, the MT-MSN-CS-Se-Cis nanocomposites allowed the cRGD peptide to attach with MSN. Furthermore, the sulfur groups of MT-MSN-Cys make a conjugation with Se-Cis-CS material, on which cRGD peptide was grafted as a target moiety. This multifunctional SMS nanocomposite enhances specific cellular uptake of drugs, controlled release and higher inhibitory effects against MDA-MB-231 cells. Further studies demonstrated that the formulated nanocomposites significantly induce apoptosis through DNA damage and ROS overproduction that accounts for critical antitumor activity. Additionally, animal studies provide significantly enhanced the anti-tumor efficacy of formulated nanocomposites on tumor-bearing mice. Hence, the formulated nanocomposite is an effective multifunctional drug delivery podium which might have elicited the molecular targeted chemotherapeutic efficacy against cancer.

Overexpression of the platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) was already associated with the loss of p53 function as cancer progresses in lung, breast, and cervical cancers. Cancer biomarker detection has faced challenges and barriers due to various limitations, including a high limit of detection, low sensitivity, time-consuming techniques, and expensive equipment. Hence, the present investigation is designed to develop a cost-effective novel biosensor based on a charge-based affinity bait molecule to detect the PDGFR, thus overcoming the limitations and challenges with an immune technique based on antigen-antibody interactions. We employed EDC-NHS coupling between poly (diallyl dimethylammonium chloride) and poly(acrylic acid) to attach the multiwall carbon nanotube surface. As a result, we performed electrochemical PDGFR conversion sensing with a dynamic range of 1-10,000 ng/mL and a detection limit of 1.5 pg/mL, which is comparable to the best current results. The biosensor also displayed good selectivity, 2.51% repeatability (RSD

Amyloid-β (Aβ) plaque formation, neuronal cell death, and cognitive impairment are the unique symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD). No single step remedy is available to treat AD, so the present study aimed to improve the drugability and minimize the abnormal behavioral and biochemical activities in streptozotocin (STZ) induced AD experimental Wistar rats. In particular, we explored the utilization of methacrylated gelatin (GelMA), which is a biopolymeric hydrogel that mimics the natural tissue environment. The synthesized biopolymeric gel contained the drug galantamine (Gal). Investigations were conducted to evaluate the behavioral activities of STZ-induced AD experimental rats under STZ ​+ ​GelMA ​+ ​Gal treatment. The experimental groups comprised the control and STZ, STZ ​+ ​GelMA, STZ ​+ ​Gal, and STZ ​+ ​GelMA ​+ ​Gal (10 ​mg/kg) treated rats. Intracerebroventricular STZ ensures cognitive decline in terms of an increase in the escape latency period, with a decrease in the spontaneous alteration of behavioral activities. Our results indicated decrease Aβ aggregation in the hydrogel-based drug treatment group and significant decreases in the levels of acetylcholinesterase and lipid peroxidation (

Wireless Sensor Networks have turned into a principal determination of various critical applications, like, target following, modern robotization, and message transformation etc. Commonly, a WSN comprises of an extensive number of small, low-cost sensor hubs that are conveyed in the target range for gathering information of intrigue. But, secure data packets transmission is the main critical issue –− + in this network because WSNs vulnerable to malicious attacks such as black hole and warm hole. In this paper, Hybrid Anomaly Detection Systems (HADS) called as Artificial Immune System is proposed in the WSNs. In this framework, developinga novel intrusion detection algorithm using Hybrid Tissue Growing Algorithm (HTGA) for identifying theanomalies presence cell and efficiently the communication tissue structure for transmitting the data packets is done. This algorithm is applied into two different developments such as Networked Tissue Growing (NTG) model and the Swarm Tissue growing (STG) algorithm. Both are autonomous in the capacity to create cautions in term of recognizing abnormalities in the route sections. The complexity calculation is primary nature depends onthe number of entry in the neighbor table and route discovery. If the tissue, predicts a week cell and then automatically rejects that cell for preventing from an intruder. The network based calculation expressly keeps up the cell in a dynamic clustering nature. This paper intends to make a relevantly mindful IDS by joining the idea of tissues, which will gives a more vigorous, versatile and precise security against assaults in interloper assaults in the sensor network. The simulation results of the proposed HADS technique is compared with the existing techniques such as LDTS, EED-M, and the NTMS-DS. Hence, the proposed HADS framework achieves greater performance than the existing methods.

Cancer continues to be one of the leading causes of death worldwide and is a major obstacle to increased life expectancy. However, survival has not improved significantly with average cancer standard treatment strategies over the past few decades; survival rates have remained low, with tumor metastasis, adverse drug reactions, and drug resistance. Therefore, substitute therapies are essential to treat this dreadful disease. Recently, research has shown that natural compounds in plants, such as phytochemicals, are extensively exploited for their anticarcinogenic potential. Phytochemicals may show their anticancer activity different cancer cell markers may alter molecular pathways, which promote in cellular events such as cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, regulate antioxidant status, cell proliferation, migration, invasion and toxicity. Although their outstanding anticancer activity, however, their pharmacological budding is hindered by their low aqueous solubility, poor bioavailability, and poor penetration into cells, hepatic disposition, narrow therapeutic index, and rapid uptake by normal tissues. In this situation, nanotechnology has developed novel inventions to increase the potential use of phytochemicals in anticancer therapy. Nanoparticles can improve the solubility and stability of phytochemicals, specific tumor cell/tissue targeting, enhanced cellular uptake, reduction of phytochemicals. Therapeutic doses of phytochemicals for a long time. Additional benefits include better blood stability, multifunctional design of nanocarriers and improvement in countermeasures. This review summarizes the advances in the use of nanoparticles for the treatment of cancer, as well as various nano-drug deliveries of phytochemicals against cancer. In particular, we are introducing several applications of nanoparticles in combination with phyto-drug for the treatment of cancer.

Engine oil consists of hazardous substances that adversely affect the environment and soil quality. Bioremediation (employing organisms) is an appropriate technique to mitigate engine oil pollution. In the present study, the earthworm species, Drawida modesta (epigeic) and Lampito mauritii (anecic) were used to restore the soil polluted with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) from used engine oil. Four treatments were set up in addition to positive and negative controls. A maximum of 68.6% PAHs and 34.3% TPHs removal in the treatment with soil (1 kg), cow dung (50 g), used engine oil (7.5 mL) and earthworms was recorded after 60 days. Undoubtedly, earthworms effectively removed PAHs and TPHs from the oil-contaminated soil. PAHs were more strongly accumulated in D. modesta (16.25 mg kg-1) than in L. mauritii (13.25 mg kg-1). Further, histological analysis revealed the epidermal surface irregularity, cellular disintegration, and cellular debris in earthworms. The pH (6.3%), electrical conductivity (12.7%), and total organic carbon (35.4%) were significantly (at P < 0.05) decreased after 60 days; while, total nitrogen (62%), total potassium (76.2%), and total phosphorus (19.2%) were substantially increased at the end of the experiment. The seed germination assay with fenugreek indicates that germination percentage (95%), and germination index (179), were dramatically increased in earthworm inoculated treatments when compared to the negative control (without earthworms). The results reveal that there is a great scope for utilizing the earthworms, D. modesta and L. mauritii for the bioremediation of soils contaminated with PAHs and TPHs.

Cancer continues to be one of the leading causes of death worldwide and is a major obstacle to increased life expectancy. However, survival has not improved significantly with average cancer standard treatment strategies over the past few decades; survival rates have remained low, with tumor metastasis, adverse drug reactions, and drug resistance. Therefore, substitute therapies are essential to treat this dreadful disease. Recently, research has shown that natural compounds in plants, such as phytochemicals, are extensively exploited for their anticarcinogenic potential. Phytochemicals may show their anticancer activity different cancer cell markers may alter molecular pathways, which promote in cellular events such as cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, regulate antioxidant status, cell proliferation, migration, invasion and toxicity. Although their outstanding anticancer activity, however, their pharmacological budding is hindered by their low aqueous solubility, poor bioavailability, and poor penetration into cells, hepatic disposition, narrow therapeutic index, and rapid uptake by normal tissues. In this situation, nanotechnology has developed novel inventions to increase the potential use of phytochemicals in anticancer therapy. Nanoparticles can improve the solubility and stability of phytochemicals, specific tumor cell/tissue targeting, enhanced cellular uptake, reduction of phytochemicals. Therapeutic doses of phytochemicals for a long time. Additional benefits include better blood stability, multifunctional design of nanocarriers and improvement in countermeasures. This review summarizes the advances in the use of nanoparticles for the treatment of cancer, as well as various nano-drug deliveries of phytochemicals against cancer. In particular, we are introducing several applications of nanoparticles in combination with phyto-drug for the treatment of cancer.

Earthworms are known to reclaim soil contamination and maintain soil health. In the present study, the concentration of DTPA extractable heavy metals, Cd, Cu, Cr, Pb, and Zn in vermicasts and tissues of the earthworms (anecic: Lampito mauritii; epigeic: Drawida sulcata) collected from the soils of four different industrial sites, Site-I (Sago industry), Site-II (Chemplast industry), Site-III (Dairy industry) and Site-IV (Dye industry) have been studied. The heavy metals in industrial soils recorded were 0.01–326.42 mg kg−1 with higher Cu, Cr, and Zn contents while the vermicasts showed lower heavy metal loads with improved physicochemical properties and elevated humic substances. The higher humic substances dramatically decreased the heavy metals in the soil. The bioaccumulation factors of heavy metals (mg kg−1) are in the order: Zn (54.50) > Cu (17.43) > Cr (4.54) > Pb (2.24) > Cd (2.12). The greatest amount of metallothionein protein (nmol g−1) was recorded in earthworms from Site-IV (386.76) followed by Site-III (322.14), Site-II (245.82), and Site-I (232.21). Drawida sulcata can produce a considerable amount of metallothionein protein than Lampito mauritii as the metallothionein production is dependent upon the presence of pollutants. The molecular docking analysis indicates a binding score of 980 for Cd, Cr and Cu, and 372 for Zn. Pb may bind with a non-metallothionein protein of earthworms and bio-accumulated in the internal chloragogenous tissues. Metallothionein neutralizes the metal toxicity and controls the ingestion of essential elements.

Correction for 'Mitochondrial dysfunction-induced apoptosis in breast carcinoma cells through a pH-dependent intracellular quercetin NDDS of PVPylated-TiO

In this article, we report the validation of cancer nanotherapy for the treatment of cancers using quercetin (Qtn). Much attention has been paid to the use of nanoparticles (NPs) to deliver drugs of interest in vitro/in vivo. Highly developed NPs-based nano drug delivery systems (NDDS) are an attractive approach to target cancer cell apoptosis, which is related to the onset and progression of cancer. Conventional chemotherapy has some notable drawbacks, such as lack of specificity, requirement of high drug doses, adverse effects, and gradual development of multidrug resistance (MDR), that decrease the efficacy of cancer therapy. To overcome these challenges of chemotherapy, the achievement of high drug loading in combination with low leakage at physiological pH, minimal toxicity toward healthy cells, and tunable controlled release at the site of action is an ongoing challenge. To assist drug delivery, we have prepared PVPylated-TiO

Herein, we posit a biocompatible and pH-switchable integrated nano-delivery of CBP/ICG to the in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrate that nanoparticles (NPs) have insignificant toxicity and good biocompatibility, and possess excellent tumor targeting efficiency as evidenced by highly efficient tumor ablation under near -infrared (NIR) illumination. In addition, we have conjugated folic acid as a targeting ligand for folate receptor-targeted delivery. Particularly, targeted delivery of dual CBP/ICG loaded NPs provide targeted detection and transporting potential to specific receptor-expressing tumors, and then CBP interfering with DNA damage and ICG generates singlet oxygen as well as photothermal heat when irradiated with NIR for simultaneous trimodal PDT/PTT/Chemotherapy. Using an animal model, a dramatic reduction in tumor growth without any evidence of significant long-term toxicity to organs after administration of NPs for trimodal therapy subjecting to NIR illumination. Thus, the in vivo satisfactory antitumor trimodal combined efficacy concurrent with complete tumor eradication and promising potential for advanced clinical phototherapy.

In this article, we report the validation of cancer nanotherapy for treatment of cancers using quercetin (Qtn).

The industrial revolution and indiscriminate usage of a wide spectrum of agrochemicals account for the dumping of heavy metals in the environment. In-situ/ex-situ physical, chemical, and bioremediation strategies with pros and cons have been adopted for recovering metal contaminated soils and water. Therefore, there is an urgent requirement for a cost-effective and environment-friendly technique to combat metal pollution. Biochar combined with earthworms and vermifiltration is a suitable emerging technique for the remediation of metal-polluted soils and water. The chemical substances (e.g., sodium hydroxide, zinc chloride, potassium hydroxide, and phosphoric acid) have been used to activate biochar, which also faces several shortcomings. Studies reveal that extracellular enzymes have been used to activate biochar which is produced by earthworms and microbes that can alter the surface of the biochar. The present review focuses on the global scenario of metal pollution and its remediation through biochar activation using earthworms. The earthworms and biochar can produce "vermibiochar" which is capable of reducing the metal ions from contaminated water and soils. The vermifiltration can be a suitable technology for metal removal from wastewater/effluent. Thus, the biochar has a trick of producing entirely new options at a time when vermifiltration and other technologies are least expected. Further attention to the biochar-assisted vermifiltration of different sources of wastewater is required to be explored for the large-scale utilization of the process.

The biofunctional significance of hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles (HMSNs) could be used as nano-reservoirs. Here in the β-sitosterol loaded into the hollow core and the cisplatin substituted with the carboxylic group of poly lactic acid (PLA)- polyethylene glycol (PEG) on the pore walls of HMSNs. Subsequently, the tumour biomarker somatostatin peptide (3207-86) conjugated to Methyl polyethylene glycol 2-maleimide ethyl ether (Meo-PEG-Mal) for the selective targeting of tumour cells. The surface modified HMSNs enable the internalization of cisplatin via chlorine ion release, through the cleavage of the coordinated interaction. Further, the β sitosterol release is dependent on the discharge rate of cisplatin and the pH of the cell microenvironment. The engineered nano-drug delivery system could be used to selectively target cancer cells and deliver multimodal therapeutic schemes for the treatment of colon cancer

Lectins are proteins that show a variety of biological activities. Nevertheless, information on lectin from Gluttonous beauts and their anticancer activities are very limited. In this study, we purified a lectin from hemolymph of G. beauts and identified its molecular weight to be 66 kDa. The effect of lectin at different concentrations (μg/mL) on the cell growth and apoptosis were evaluated against MCF-7 and MCF-10A cells, whereas cytotoxicity to the MCF-7 cells mediated by lectin was observed and the mechanism of action of the lectin in including apoptosis in cancer cells via the intrinsic pathway was also proposed. The MCF-7 cells were employed for in vitro studies on cytotoxicity, induction of apoptosis and apoptotic DNA fragmentation. In MCF-10A cells lectin did not show any adverse effect even at higher concentration. Cell cycle analysis also showed a significant cell cycle arrest on selected cells after lectin treatment. Western blotting suggested that lectin up regulates the apoptotic protein expression in MCF-7 cells while it down regulates the level of Bcl-2 expression.

Modern therapies for malignant breast cancer in clinics are not efficacious and often result in deprived patient compliance owing to squat therapeutic effectiveness and strong systemic side effects. In order to overcome this, we combined chemo-photothermal targeted therapy of breast cancer within one novel multifunctional drug delivery system. Folic Acid-functionalized polyethylene glycol coated Zinc Oxide nanosheet (FA-PEG-ZnO NS), was successfully synthesized, characterized and introduced to the drug delivery field for the first time. A doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded FA-PEG-ZnO NS based system (DOX-FA-PEG-ZnO NS) showed stimulative effect of heat, pH responsive and sustained drug release properties. Cytotoxicity experiments confirmed that combined therapy mediated the maximum rate of death in breast cancer cells compared to that of single chemotherapy or photothermal therapy. In vivo toxicity evaluation showed that the DOX-FA-PEG-ZnO NS contains minimum systemic toxicity in the mice model system. The findings of the present study provided an ideal drug delivery system for breast cancer therapy due to the advanced chemo-photothermal synergistic targeted therapy and good drug release properties of DOX-FA-PEG-ZnO NS, which could effectively avoid frequent and invasive dosing and improve patient compliance. Thus, functionalized-ZnO NS could be used as a novel nanomaterial for selective chemo-photothermal therapy.

Development of a nano-drug cum nano-carrier in a single platform seems to be conquered by almost a missionary fanaticism towards unraveling more and more about the bioavailability and anticancer activity at the molecular level. The present work mainly focuses on the bioformulation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as a carrier for berberine (BBR) and tests whether biogenic AgNPs elicit anticancer activity against breast cancer. Biogenic AgNPs and BBR loaded AgNPs are identified and characterized by spectroscopic and microscopic analysis. BBR tethers AgNPs through electrostatic interaction. The current investigation proves that the BBR loaded AgNP complex exhibits a dose-dependent cytotoxicity against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines. Obviously, AO/EtBr and DAPI staining evidenced an induction of apoptosis. Meanwhile, western blot analysis suggested that BBR loaded AgNPs persuaded the activation of p53 and Bax by down regulating Bcl-2 expression. The in vivo study further encourages our in vitro data that showed a significant suppression of tumor growth and insignificant toxicity in vital organs. Hemolysis assay and histopathological studies confirmed the biocompatibility of the BBR loaded AgNPs. Altogether, our findings demonstrated that BBR could be easily loaded to biogenic AgNPs and can serve as a potential anticancer agent for breast cancer.

Current strategies of bilayer technology have been aimed mainly at the enhancement of bioactivity, mechanical property and corrosion resistance. In the present investigation, the electropolymerization of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxypyrrole-co-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (P(EDOP-co-EDOT)) with various feed ratios of EDOP/EDOT on surgical grade stainless steel (316L SS) and the successive electrodeposition of strontium (Sr(2+)), magnesium (Mg(2+)) and cerium (Ce(3+)) (with 0.05, 0.075 and 0.1 M Ce(3+)) substituted porous hydroxyapatite (M-HA) are successfully combined to produce the bioactive and corrosion resistance P(EDOP-co-EDOT)/M-HA bilayer coatings for orthopedic applications. The existence of as-developed coatings was confirmed by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H NMR), high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Also, the mechanical and thermal behavior of the bilayer coatings were analyzed. The corrosion resistance of the as-developed coatings and also the influence of copolymer (EDOP:EDOT) feed ratio were studied in Ringer's solution by electrochemical techniques. The as-obtained results are in accord with those obtained from the chemical analysis using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). In addition, the antibacterial activity, in vitro bioactivity, cell viability and cell adhesion tests were performed to substantiate the biocompatibility of P(EDOP-co-EDOT)/M-HA bilayer coatings. On account of these investigations, it is proved that the as-developed bilayer coatings exhibit superior bioactivity and improved corrosion resistance over 316L SS, which is potential for orthopedic applications.

In the last few decades, an enormous number of industrial sectors have been developed particularly, leather industries. The leather industries consume a large quantity of freshwater and various chemical substances during the leather making process and eject different solid waste materials, hides, buffing dust materials, and wastewater sludge. Besides, leather industrial wastes contain a significant amount of hazardous substances like heavy metals (e.g. cadmium, chromium, lead, nickel, and cobalt), aluminum sulfate, and magnesium oxide. Insecure disposal of wastewater sludge creates serious environmental problems in soil and groundwater. This situation warrants the easiest way to rationalize such conflicts through urgent environment-friendly disposal technologies. The main objective of the present review is to highlight the remediation of leather industry wastewater sludge through eco-friendly vermiremediation employing earthworms. Additionally, earthworms and microorganisms can eliminate toxic chemical substances. The present review also addresses earthworm species employed in a polluted environment, factors (i.e., pH, humidity, and temperature) and amendment materials essential for the stimulation of earthworm activity. In the hope of moving past this state, the earthworms are used for in-situ and ex-situ remediation of leather waste materials. The present review points to the real significances of vermi-treated leather wastes as plant growth-promoting medium that is useful in the field of sustainable agriculture. Furthermore, the fastidiously gathered evidence proves that vermi-treatment would be a potential alternative strategy to our surroundings with improved agroecosystems.

Nano carriers now a day’s play a predominant role in the drug formulation; especially the use of polymeric nano carriers in delivery platforms is in the crest stage in cancer therapeutics..As it is known that the great challenges in the cancer therapeutics is to deliver drugs and therapeutic agents like siRNA, to cancerous cells with a control and targeted manner by using biocompatible drug carriers. Now a day’s technology has revolutionized by these polymeric carriers in increasing bioavailabity, minimizing the side effects thereby actively targeting more over it helps in stabilizing the agents embedded or loaded. In this chapter we will discuss the importance of polymers as ideal carriers in solving these problems in cancer therapeutics. More over the concerned chapter will precisely lay a foundation about chitosan and its derivatives which has become one of the most promising compatible biomaterials in drug delivery applications. The chapter also discuss about the formulation methods of these particles by pointing out their unique features which make them ideal therapeutic agents in DDS and their role in diagnosis. Finally we will also discuss the current clinical trials going in the field with its safety features towards patient care.

Gelatin is a promising material as scaffold with therapeutic and regenerative characteristics due to its chemical similarities to the extracellular matrix (ECM) in the native tissues, biocompatibility, biodegradability, low antigenicity, cost‐effectiveness, abundance, and accessible functional groups that allow facile chemical modifications with other biomaterials or biomolecules. Despite the advantages of gelatin, poor mechanical properties, sensitivity to enzymatic degradation, high viscosity, and reduced solubility in concentrated aqueous media have limited its applications and encouraged the development of gelatin‐based composite hydrogels. The drawbacks of gelatin may be surmounted by synergistically combining it with a wide range of polysaccharides. The addition of polysaccharides to gelatin is advantageous in mimicking the ECM, which largely contains proteoglycans or glycoproteins. Moreover, gelatin–polysaccharide biomaterials benefit from mechanical resilience, high stability, low thermal expansion, improved hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, antimicrobial and anti‐inflammatory properties, and wound healing potential. Here, we discuss how combining gelatin and polysaccharides provides a promising approach for developing superior therapeutic biomaterials. We review gelatin–polysaccharides scaffolds and their applications in cell culture and tissue engineering, providing an outlook for the future of this family of biomaterials as advanced natural therapeutics.

The specificity of carbohydrate transporters towards their substrates poses a significant challenge for the development of molecular probes to monitor sugar uptake in cells for biochemical and biomedical applications. Herein we report a new set of coumarin-based fluorescent sugar conjugates applicable for the analysis of fructose uptake due to their free passage through the fructose-specific transporter GLUT5. The reported probes cover a broad range of the fluorescence spectrum providing essential tools for the evaluation of fructose transport capacity in live cells.

Multifunctional magnetic polymer nanocombinations are gaining importance in cancer nanotheranostics due to their safety and their potential in delivering targeted functions. Herein, we report a novel multifunctional core-shell magnetic polymer therapeutic nanocomposites (NCs) exhibiting pH dependent "Off-On" release of drug against breast cancer cells. The NCs are intact in blood circulation ("Off" state), i.e., at physiological pH, whereas activated ("On" state) at intracellular acidic pH environment of the targeted breast cancer cells. The NCs are prepared by coating the cannonball (iron nanocore) with hydrophobic nanopockets of pH-responsive poly(d,l-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) polymer nanoshell that allows efficient loading of therapeutics. Further, the nanocore-polymer shell is stabilized by poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) and functionalized with a targeting HER2 ligand. The prepared Her-Fe3O4@PLGA-PVP nanocomposites facilitate packing of anticancer drug (Tamoxifen) without premature release in the bloodstream, recognizing the target cells through binding of Herceptin antibody to HER2, a cell surface receptor expressed by breast cancer cells to promote HER2 receptor mediated endocytosis and finally releasing the drug at the intracellular site of tumor cells ("On" state) to induce apoptosis. The therapeutic efficiency of hemo/cytocompatible NCs drug delivery system (DDS) in terms of targeted delivery and sustained release of therapeutic agent against breast cancer cells was substantiated by in vitro and in vivo studies. The multifunctional properties of Her-Tam-Fe3O4@PLGA-PVP NCs may open up new avenues in cancer therapy through overcoming the limitations of conventional cancer therapy.

Among the various nanoparticles explored for diverse biological applications, palladium nanoparticles still remain far too behind in the field of cancer therapeutics. Nanoparticles synthesized by chemical methods aggregate in physiological conditions hindering their biomedical applications. Therefore, in the present study, a plant mediated green synthesis approach for palladium nanoparticle preparation from Syzygium aromaticum was reported and the biocompatibility and anticancer activity of the eco-friendly synthesized palladium nanoparticles against human cervical carcinoma was evaluated. The as-synthesized palladium nanoparticles were characterized by various analytical techniques such as, UV–vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscope, dynamic light scattering, zeta potential, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The biocompatibility of palladium nanoparticles were verified by incubating with RBCs and cytotoxic studies revealed a dose dependent cytotoxic effect with half maximal inhibitory concentration values of 15 ± 0.5 µg/mL against HeLa cells at 48 h incubation. Further, the induction of apoptosis was evidenced by fluorescence microscopic study. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis evidenced the activation of cytochrome c and caspase 3 and down regulation of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL. In vivo antitumor studies showed significant suppression of tumor growth against HeLa tumor xenograft models. The results suggest that palladium nanoparticles can be synthesized using clove buds; they are biocompatible possessing significant anticancer activity against human cervical carcinoma, indicating the great potential of palladium nanoparticles in relevant biomedical applications.

The aim of this research work is to prepare biodegradable polyurethane composites and study their physical, mechanical, thermal, and biodegradation properties. Rigid biodegradable polyester-based polyurethane was synthesized by reacting excess of isocyanate with poly(e-caprolactone)diol to obtain prepolymer which was then reacted with chain extender. The polyurethane composites are prepared with nanoclay and titanium(IV)oxide nanopowder in different concentrations, and polyurethane containing 2% w/w of nanopowder had shown better properties. Biodegradation studies showed that the developed polyurethane materials when used as shoe soles will retain their strength while storage and use, but will decompose only after disposal into the environment.