Preparation and Characterization of a Novel Drug Delivery System: Biodegradable Nanoparticles in Thermosensitive Chitosan/Gelatin Blend Hydrogels

A novel injectable in situ gelling drug delivery system (DDS) consisting of biodegradable N-(2-hydroxyl) propyl-3-trimethyl ammonium chitosan chloride (HTCC) nanoparticles and thermosensitive chitosan/gelatin blend hydrogels was developed for prolonged and sustained controlled drug release. Four different HTCC nanoparticles, prepared based on ionic process of HTCC and oppositely charged molecules such as sodium tripolyphosphate, sodium alginate and carboxymethyl chitosan, were incorporated physically into thermosensitive chitosan/gelatin blend solutions to form the novel DDSs. Resulting DDSs interior morphology was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. The effect of nanoparticles composition on both the gel process and the gel strength was investigated from which possible hydrogel formation mechanisms were inferred. Finally, bovine serum albumin (BSA), used as a model protein drug, was loaded into four different HTCC nanoparticles to examine and compare the effects of controlled release of these novel DDSs. The results showed that BSA could be sustained and released from these novel DDSs and the release rate was affected by the properties of nanoparticle: the slower BSA release rate was observed from DDS containing nanoparticles with a positive charge than with a negative charge. The described injectable drug delivery systems might have great potential application for local and sustained delivery of protein drugs.     

Recent advances in biopolymer based electrospun nanomaterials for drug delivery systems

Drug delivery systems, including liposomes, gels, prodrugs, and so forth, are used to enhance the tissue benefit of a pharmaceutical drug or conventional substance at a specific diseased site with little toxicological impact. Nanotechnology can be a rapidly developing multidisciplinary science that enables the production of polymers at the manometer scale for different medical applications. The use of biopolymers in drug delivery systems provides compatibility, biodegradability and low immunogenicity biologically. Large-scale and smaller-than-expected medication particles can be delivered using biopolymers such as silk fibroins, collagen, gelatine, and others that are easily formed into suspensions. These drug carrier systems are functional at improving drug delivery and can be used in intranasal, transdermal, dental, and ocular delivery systems. This study discusses the latest developments in drug delivery methods based on nanomaterials, mainly using biopolymers like proteins and polysaccharides.     

Membranes based on non-synthetic (natural) polymers for wastewater treatment

During the last decades, rising environmental concerns about the widespread usage of petroleum-based synthetic polymers has caused naturally occurring polymers to gain momentous. As a biocompatible and environmentally friendly alternative, bio-based polymers are continuously gaining new domains of application in drug delivery systems, tissue engineering, membrane technology, bio-sensor devices, etc. There is an increasing number of scientists who have applied various kinds of biopolymers, such as cellulose, chitin, starch, and alginate to fabricate fully or semi-biodegradable membranes for wastewater treatment. Beside biocompatibility, biopolymers combine many attractive features such as hydrophilicity and functionalizability that makes them great candidates to enhance the performance of composite membranes to effectively purify water from hazardous pollutants. On the other hand, elevating thermo-mechanical and chemical stability of these bio-based materials by introducing new organic and inorganic additives is another main focus area. This review is concerned with 1) introducing the promising feature of biopolymers that can be used as a raw material to synthesize membranes for water treatment, 2) proposing a comprehensive categorization of these membranes based on their structure, and 3) discussing the performance of these membranes in eliminating various kinds of contaminants from effluents and their strength and weakness points.     

Biopolymers for surface engineering of paper-based products

The combination of biopolymer science and technology with surface engineering of paper-based cellulosic materials has a lot of potential in stepping forward to a sustainable future. Various biopolymers such as oxidized starch, carboxymethyl cellulose, and polylatic acid have been commercially used to engineer paper surface. The paper-based cellulosic products are widely used for printing/writing and packaging applications. However, the production of these products are currently dependent mainly upon the use of petroleum-based materials including synthetic pigment coating latexes and barrier coating materials. The major challenges associated with some biopolymers are their relatively high costs and unsatisfactory performances. Continuing efforts are being made to enable the increased and value-added use of various biopolymers in paper surface engineering. These polymers can be based on cellulose, hemicelluloses, chitosan, alginate, protein, polylactic acid, and polyhydroxyalkanoate. The biopolymer-engineered paper products can be tailored for use as substitutes for various non-renewable materials including plastics and metals as well. Future development in the area of biopolymers for paper surface engineering is likely to lead to new possibilities and breakthroughs, paving the way for a substantially sustainable and green future.     

Non-enzyme entrapping biohydrogels in catalysis

This review provides an overview of the current status and future directions of the use of biohydrogels (i.e., hydrogels obtained from biopolymers) as heterogeneous catalysts and/or supports for catalytic metal nanoparticles. This review collects a wide variety of biohydrogels used in catalytic applications, including gels made of polysaccharides (chitosan, alginate, carrageenan, dextran, agarose), proteins (gelatin, silk fibroin, ferritin) and nucleic acids (DNA). Additionally, the most significant features about the recyclability of these materials, their structural properties and the type of reactions that they catalyze are discussed.     

A Concise Review on the Physicochemical Properties of Biopolymer Blends Prepared in Ionic Liquids

An enhancement of environmental concern lately has improved the awareness of researchers in employing eco-friendly solvents for processing biopolymers. Recently, ionic liquids have been utilized to prepare biopolymer blends as they are non-volatile and recyclable. Biopolymers such as cellulose, chitin, chitosan, keratin, lignin, silk, starch, and zein are widely used for the preparation of biopolymer blends via dissolution in ionic liquids, followed by coagulation procedure. In this concise review, three types of ionic liquids based on imidazolium cations combined with different counter anions that are frequently utilized to prepare biopolymer blends are described. Moreover, three types of biopolymer blends that are prepared in ionic liquids were classified, specifically polysaccharide/polysaccharide blends, polysaccharide/polypeptide blends, and polysaccharide/bioplastic blends. The physicochemical properties of biopolymer blends prepared in different imidazolium-based ionic liquids are also concisely reviewed. This paper may assist the researchers in the polymer blend area and generate fresh ideas for future research.     

Progress in natural polymer engineered biomaterials for transdermal drug delivery systems

The route of a specific drug carrier system is always a significant platform of development that combines the principles of biomedical technology, nanotechnology, and pharmaceutical drug design. Transdermal (TD) drug delivery involves the release of the drug via the stratum corneum of the tissue membrane into the sustained release by diffusion across the epidermal layer. This method (often known as topical drug delivery) has increased noteworthy research enthusiasm in the course of recent decades due to its relatively simpler and non-invasive administration. Over the past few decades, considerable advancement was achieved in TD delivery and a number of drugs are now successfully reported. In this review, we focus on the progress regarding applications of important biopolymers described for the TD drug release applications and related aspects. Three mostly reported plant and animal-derived polymers (such as natural rubber, chitosan, and cellulose for the development of TD carrier system) were extensively analyzed. The general principle of TD drug delivery, advantages, and limitations of the works reported were also discussed.     

Green Synthesis and Characterization of Hybrid Collagen–Cellulose–Albumin Biofibers from Skin Waste

Collagen (C) and cellulose are prominent biopolymers from the animal and plant kingdom and widely used in bioengineering. Albumin, on the other hand, is the most abundant plasma protein present in mammalian blood. In this work, collagen extracted from animal skin waste was blended with hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) and bovine serum albumin (A) and wet-spun to form hybrid biodegradable C/HEC/A fibers. They were further cross-linked with glutaraldehyde vapors and analyzed. X-ray diffraction and infra-red spectroscopic studies of the hybrid fibers display peaks corresponding to collagen, cellulose, and albumin. Incorporation of cellulose into the biopolymeric matrix leads to a reasonable improvement in mechanical, swelling, and thermal properties of hybrid fibers. Addition of albumin improves the regularity of fiber surface without altering the porosity as observed under a microscope. Hence, the formed hybrid biofibers can be potentially used as a suture material as well as for different biomedical applications due to their improved properties.     

Bacterial Nanocellulose in Dentistry: Perspectives and Challenges

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a natural polymer that has fascinating attributes, such as biocompatibility, low cost, and ease of processing, being considered a very interesting biomaterial due to its options for moldability and combination. Thus, BC-based compounds (for example, BC/collagen, BC/gelatin, BC/fibroin, BC/chitosan, etc.) have improved properties and/or functionality, allowing for various biomedical applications, such as artificial blood vessels and microvessels, artificial skin, and wounds dressing among others. Despite the wide applicability in biomedicine and tissue engineering, there is a lack of updated scientific reports on applications related to dentistry, since BC has great potential for this. It has been used mainly in the regeneration of periodontal tissue, surgical dressings, intraoral wounds, and also in the regeneration of pulp tissue. This review describes the properties and advantages of some BC studies focused on dental and oral applications, including the design of implants, scaffolds, and wound-dressing materials, as well as carriers for drug delivery in dentistry. Aligned to the current trends and biotechnology evolutions, BC-based nanocomposites offer a great field to be explored and other novel features can be expected in relation to oral and bone tissue repair in the near future.     

Factors Affecting Extracellular Vesicles Based Drug Delivery Systems

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play major roles in intracellular communication and participate in several biological functions in both normal and pathological conditions. Surface modification of EVs via various ligands, such as proteins, peptides, or aptamers, offers great potential as a means to achieve targeted delivery of therapeutic cargo, i.e., in drug delivery systems (DDS). This review summarizes recent studies pertaining to the development of EV-based DDS and its advantages compared to conventional nano drug delivery systems (NDDS). First, we compare liposomes and exosomes in terms of their distinct benefits in DDS. Second, we analyze what to consider for achieving better isolation, yield, and characterization of EVs for DDS. Third, we summarize different methods for the modification of surface of EVs, followed by discussion about different origins of EVs and their role in developing DDS. Next, several major methods for encapsulating therapeutic cargos in EVs have been summarized. Finally, we discuss key challenges and pose important open questions which warrant further investigation to develop more effective EV-based DDS.     

Seaweed Polysaccharide Based Products and Materials: An Assessment on Their Production from a Sustainability Point of View

Among the various natural polymers, polysaccharides are one of the oldest biopolymers present on the Earth. They play a very crucial role in the survival of both animals and plants. Due to the presence of hydroxyl functional groups in most of the polysaccharides, it is easy to prepare their chemical derivatives. Several polysaccharide derivatives are widely used in a number of industrial applications. The polysaccharides such as cellulose, starch, chitosan, etc., have several applications but due to some distinguished characteristic properties, seaweed polysaccharides are preferred in a number of applications. This review covers published literature on the seaweed polysaccharides, their origin, and extraction from seaweeds, application, and chemical modification. Derivatization of the polysaccharides to impart new functionalities by chemical modification such as esterification, amidation, amination, C-N bond formation, sulphation, acetylation, phosphorylation, and graft copolymerization is discussed. The suitability of extraction of seaweed polysaccharides such as agar, carrageenan, and alginate using ionic solvent systems from a sustainability point of view and future prospects for efficient extraction and functionalization of seaweed polysaccharides is also included in this review article.     

Recent advancement and development of chitin and chitosan-based nanocomposite for drug delivery: Critical approach to clinical research

This review depicts the exposure of chitin and chitosan base multifunctional nanomaterial composites for promising applications in field of biomedical science structure, synthesis as well as potential application from a colossal angle. We elaborated critically each of the chitin and chitosan base nanomaterial with its potential application toward biomedical science. For different biomedical applications it use in form of hydrogels, microsphere, nanoparticles, aerogels, microsphere and in form of scaffold. Due to this it had been blended with different polymer such as starch, cellulose, alginate, lipid, hyaluronic acid, polyvinyl alcohol and caboxymethyl cellulose. In this review article, a comprehensive overview of combination of chitin and chitosan base nanomaterial with natural as well as synthetic polymers and their biomedical applications in biomedical field involving drug delivery system all the technical scientific issues have been addressed; highlighting the recent advancements.     

Natural Biopolymers for Flexible Sensing and Energy Devices

Natural biopolymers feature natural abundance, diverse chemical compositions, tunable properties, easy processability, excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability, as well as nontoxicity, providing new opportunities for the development of flexible sensing and energy devices. Generally, biopolymers are utilized as the passive and active building blocks to endow the flexible devices with mechanical robustness and good biocompatibility. This review aims to provide a comprehensive review on natural biopolymer-based sensing and energy devices. The diverse structures and fabrication processes of three typical biopolymers, including silk, cellulose, and chitin/chitosan, are presented. We review their utilities as the supporting substrates/matrix, active middle layers, separators, electrolytes, and active components of flexible sensing devices(sensors, actuators, transistors) and energy devices(batteries, supercapacitors, triboelectric nanogenerators). Finally, the remaining challenges and future research opportunities are discussed.     

由聚合物门控的介孔二氧化硅基刺激响应性药物递送系统

本文主要介绍了以聚合物体系作为门控构筑的基于介孔二氧化硅纳米粒子的刺激响应性药物控释体系, 并根据聚合物类别将门控体系分为聚合物刷、 聚合物交联网络和聚合物包裹层三类. 根据聚合物“阀门”与无机纳米粒子的共价或非共价连接方式, 综述了这些杂化材料在不同外界刺激作用下的药物控制释放行为, 并给出该领域所面临的机遇和挑战.     

Wet‐spinning and applications of functional fibers based on chitin and chitosan

A series of novel human‐made functional fibers (biofibers) based on chitin and chitosan are prepared by the wet‐spinning and the post chemical modification of chitosan fiber. The wet‐spinning gives rise to a series of biofibers: chitin, chitosan, chitin‐cellulose, chitosan‐cellulose, chitin‐silk fibroin, chitin‐glycosaminoglycans, chitin‐cellulose‐silk fibroin, chitosan‐tropocollagen, and chitin‐cellulose‐silk fibroin. The post chemical modification of chitosan fiber gives rise to a series of chemically modified fibers: N ‐acylchitosans, N ‐arylidene‐ and N ‐alkylidene‐chitosans, N ‐acetylchitosan (chitin)‐tropocollagen, and chitosan‐transition metal complexes. Some of the current and potential applications of these biofibers are described.     

天然高分子用于油田堵水调剖的研究进展

从改性天然高分子材料出发,对各类天然高分子材料,如淀粉、纤维素、壳聚糖、硬葡聚糖、瓜胶、黄胞胶等作为油田堵水调剖剂的研究进展作了综述,并对天然高分子材料作为堵剂存在的问题及发展趋势进行了阐述。     

Adsorption and desorption of indomethacin on cellulose-like biopolymers: chitin and chitosan.

The adsorption-desorption effect of cellulose-like biopolymers such as chitin and chitosan, and microcrystalline cellulose on indomethacin was investigated. The adsorptive capacity was ranked in the order: chitosan greater than chitin greater than microcrystalline cellulose. All the adsorption isotherms were found to follow Langmuir and Freundlich equations. However, chitosan-acetate gel powders and chitosan powders with pre-added acetic acid and methanol did not follow these equations, due to gel formations that led to more adsorption of indomethacin on the interlayer space of the gel. The strong adsorption of chitosan might result in difficult desorption of indomethacin.     

Compatibility study between chitosan and pharmaceutical excipients used in solid dosage forms

Microcrystalline cellulose is an excipient widely used in solid dosage forms as adsorbent, suspending agent, diluent, and disintegrant, depending on the percentage employed in the formulation. The structural similarity between cellulose and chitosan and the ecological advantage in the manufacturing process of chitosan have justified and reinforced the study of this polysaccharide as a novel pharmaceutical excipient. Nevertheless, it still does not appear to be present as constituent in any marketed medicine due to the absence of regulatory hurdles to standardize its physicochemical and functional specifications as well as its compatibility with other formulation ingredients. The physical compatibilities between chitosan and the most excipients used in solid dosage forms, such as diluents (microcrystalline cellulose, starch, lactose monohydrate, dicalcium phosphate dihydrate, and calcium carbonate), disintegrants (sodium starch glycolate, and croscarmellose sodium), and glidants (magnesium stearate, talc, sodium lauryl sulfate, and colloidal silicon dioxide), were studied by thermal analysis and FT-IR. In order to facilitate the IR spectra interpretations, an ad hoc algorithm was used to generate theoretical spectra to be compared with the respective experimental ones. Chitosan proved to be physically compatible with microcrystalline cellulose, starch, lactose, sodium starch glycolate, croscarmellose sodium, talc, colloidal silicon dioxide, and sodium lauryl sulfate. Moreover, chitosan raises the thermal stability of cellulose from 310 to 330 °C. Once the amino groups of chitosan were able to form coordination complexes with divalent cations of dicalcium phosphate dihydrate, calcium carbonate, and magnesium stearate, they were considered incompatible with chitosan.     

Formulation of pH-sensitive aminated chitosan–gelatin crosslinked hydrogel for oral drug delivery

The objective of this study is to develop efficient pH-sensitive hydrogel based on aminated chitosan (AmCs) and gelatin (Gel) biopolymers for oral drug delivery. Herein, AmCs was chemically crosslinked with gelatin (Gel) biopolymer with different ratios, while their structures, thermal profiles and morphological properties were investigated by FTIR, TGA and SEM characterization tools, respectively. Moreover, gel-content, crosslinking density and rheological analysis were also performed. The results clarified that the developed AmCs-Gel crosslinked hydrogel displayed variable pH-sensitive swelling profiles. By increasing AmCs ratio, the swelling ratio was boosted at pH 1.2 and declined at pH 7.4. Besides, by increasing gelatin ratio in the hydrogel matrix, the loading efficiency of Oseltamivir phosphate (as a model of drug) was augmented and reached maximum value of 79.0% by AmCs-Gel (2:3) crosslinked hydrogel. The in vitro drug release profiles were investigated for 6 h in simulated gastric fluid [SGF; pH 1.2] and simulated colon fluid [SCF; pH 7.4]. Variable release profiles were realized depending on variation of AmCs and Gel ratios in the crosslinked hydrogel matrix. Finally, the formulated smart crosslinked AmCs-Gel hydrogels demonstrated acceptable biodegradability with no cellular toxicity, suggesting their applicability as pH-sensitive oral drug carriers.