Characterization of nanochannel delivery membrane systems for the sustained release of resveratrol and atorvastatin: new perspectives on promoting heart health

Novel drug delivery systems capable of continuous sustained release of therapeutics have been studied extensively for use in the prevention and management of chronic diseases. The use of these systems holds promise as a means to achieve higher patient compliance while improving therapeutic index and reducing systemic toxicity. In this work, an implantable nanochannel drug delivery system (nDS) is characterized and evaluated for the long-term sustained release of atorvastatin (ATS) and trans-resveratrol (t-RES), compounds with a proven role in managing atherogenic dyslipidemia and promoting cardioprotection. The primary mediators of drug release in the nDS are nanofluidic membranes with hundreds of thousands of nanochannels (up to 100,000/mm²) that attain zero-order release kinetics by exploiting nanoconfinement and molecule-to-surface interactions that dominate diffusive transport at the nanoscale. These membranes were characterized using gas flow analysis, acetone diffusion, and scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM, TEM). The surface properties of the dielectric materials lining the nanochannels, SiO₂ and low-stress silicon nitride, were further investigated using surface charge analysis. Continuous, sustained in vitro release for both ATS and t-RES was established for durations exceeding 1 month. Finally, the influence of the membranes on cell viability was assessed using human microvascular endothelial cells. Morphology changes and adhesion to the surface were analyzed using SEM, while an MTT proliferation assay was used to determine the cell viability. The nanochannel delivery approach, here demonstrated in vitro, not only possesses all requirements for large-scale high-yield industrial fabrication, but also presents the key components for a rapid clinical translation as an implantable delivery system for the sustained administration of cardioprotectants.     

On the determination of the point of fracture initiation by the load separation criterion in J-testing of ductile polymers

The application of an experimental approach based on the load separation criterion for the determination of the point of fracture initiation in a fracture test on a ductile polymer was critically examined. To this aim, the fracture process outlined by the application of this method was related to that described by the visual analysis of the fracture surfaces obtained in fracture tests on nominally identical specimens, in which different levels of crack extension were produced. The material examined was an acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) resin, and the fracture tests were performed at low loading rate on single-edge notched in bending specimens.The results demonstrated that this load separation criterion based methodology is a promising approach for the determination of the point of fracture initiation, and for material fracture resistance, J_Ic, evaluation. The method also has experimental simplicity and a high degree of repeatability.     

Trace elements in sediments and bioaccumulation in European silver eels (Anguilla anguilla L.) from a Mediterranean lagoon (SE Italy)

Samples of surface sediments and tissues (liver and muscle) of commercially available European silver eels (Anguilla anguilla L.) collected from Varano lagoon (Italy) were analysed to determine trace element contents. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to highlight both the differences between sampling sites and the influence of channel discharges. Atomic ratios indices for sediment data and biological enrichment factors (BEF) for eel tissues were calculated in order to evaluate the enrichment factor due to human activities. The highest levels of As (11.9?µg?g^?1) and Zn (14.1?µg?g^?1) were observed in the south-eastern zone of the lagoon, which is influenced by urban and agricultural discharges. The low levels of Hg observed in this study (0.04?µg?g^?1) led us to exclude both natural and human local sources of this element. Trace element concentrations of all elements were lower in muscle than in liver tissue. Significant enrichment of Cu and Zn was found in livers.     

A general synthesis of diversely substituted indazoles and hetero-aromatic derivatives from o-halo-(het)arylaldehydes or -phenones

A set of variously substituted indazoles and hetero-aromatic derivatives were synthesized from o-halo-(het)arylaldehydes using a palladium catalyzed amination followed by cyclization. Starting from phenones, this process was extended to give 3-substituted indazoles. Moreover, N-1-substituted-indazoles can be reached by this strategy using an optional selective N-1-alkylation step during the process. This methodology offers a general and easy route for the synthesis of regioselectively substituted indazoles.     

Synthesis of bifunctional chelating agents based on mono and diphosphonic derivatives of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid

Bifunctional chelating agents (BFCAs) are small molecules containing a chelating unit, able to strongly coordinate a metal ion, and a reactive functional group, devised to form a stable covalent bond with another molecule. BFCAs are widely employed since their conjugation to a suitable biomolecule (e.g., a peptide or an antibody) allows the synthesis of diagnostic or therapeutic agents that specifically target diseased tissue with metals or radiometals. For this reason, BFCAs find application in diagnostic imaging, molecular imaging, and radiotherapy of cancer. The synthesis of new BFCAs based on a diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) structure in which one or two carboxylic groups are replaced with phosphonic units is described. The phosphonic group, aside from being a classical isostere of the carboxylic acid in coordination chemistry, allows to modulate the physico-chemical properties of the ligands and of the corresponding complexes.     

Tailoring the Thermal Conductivity of Rubber Nanocomposites by Inorganic Systems: Opportunities and Challenges for Their Application in Tires Formulation

The development of effective thermally conductive rubber nanocomposites for heat management represents a tricky point for several modern technologies, ranging from electronic devices to the tire industry. Since rubber materials generally exhibit poor thermal transfer, the addition of high loadings of different carbon-based or inorganic thermally conductive fillers is mandatory to achieve satisfactory heat dissipation performance. However, this dramatically alters the mechanical behavior of the final materials, representing a real limitation to their application. Moreover, upon fillers’ incorporation into the polymer matrix, interfacial thermal resistance arises due to differences between the phonon spectra and scattering at the hybrid interface between the phases. Thus, a suitable filler functionalization is required to avoid discontinuities in the thermal transfer. In this challenging scenario, the present review aims at summarizing the most recent efforts to improve the thermal conductivity of rubber nanocomposites by exploiting, in particular, inorganic and hybrid filler systems, focusing on those that may guarantee a viable transfer of lab-scale formulations to technological applicable solutions. The intrinsic relationship among the filler’s loading, structure, morphology, and interfacial features and the heat transfer in the rubber matrix will be explored in depth, with the ambition of providing some methodological tools for a more profitable design of thermally conductive rubber nanocomposites, especially those for the formulation of tires.     

Valorization of Apple Peels through the Study of the Effects on the Amyloid Aggregation Process of κ-Casein

Waste valorization represents one of the main social challenges when promoting a circular economy and environmental sustainability. Here, we evaluated the effect of the polyphenols extracted from apple peels, normally disposed of as waste, on the amyloid aggregation process of κ-casein from bovine milk, a well-used amyloidogenic model system. The effect of the apple peel extract on protein aggregation was examined using a thioflavin T fluorescence assay, Congo red binding assay, circular dichroism, light scattering, and atomic force microscopy. We found that the phenolic extract from the peel of apples of the cultivar “Fuji”, cultivated in Sicily (Caltavuturo, Italy), inhibited κ-casein fibril formation in a dose-dependent way. In particular, we found that the extract significantly reduced the protein aggregation rate and inhibited the secondary structure reorganization that accompanies κ-casein amyloid formation. Protein-aggregated species resulting from the incubation of κ-casein in the presence of polyphenols under amyloid aggregation conditions were reduced in number and different in morphology.     

Combining Different Docking Engines and Consensus Strategies to Design and Validate Optimized Virtual Screening Protocols for the SARS-CoV-2 3CL Protease

The 3CL-Protease appears to be a very promising medicinal target to develop anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents. The availability of resolved structures allows structure-based computational approaches to be carried out even though the lack of known inhibitors prevents a proper validation of the performed simulations. The innovative idea of the study is to exploit known inhibitors of SARS-CoV 3CL-Pro as a training set to perform and validate multiple virtual screening campaigns. Docking simulations using four different programs (Fred, Glide, LiGen, and PLANTS) were performed investigating the role of both multiple binding modes (by binding space) and multiple isomers/states (by developing the corresponding isomeric space). The computed docking scores were used to develop consensus models, which allow an in-depth comparison of the resulting performances. On average, the reached performances revealed the different sensitivity to isomeric differences and multiple binding modes between the four docking engines. In detail, Glide and LiGen are the tools that best benefit from isomeric and binding space, respectively, while Fred is the most insensitive program. The obtained results emphasize the fruitful role of combining various docking tools to optimize the predictive performances. Taken together, the performed simulations allowed the rational development of highly performing virtual screening workflows, which could be further optimized by considering different 3CL-Pro structures and, more importantly, by including true SARS-CoV-2 3CL-Pro inhibitors (as learning set) when available.     

An In Vitro Pilot Fermentation Study on the Impact of Chlorella pyrenoidosa on Gut Microbiome Composition and Metabolites in Healthy and Coeliac Subjects

The response of a coeliac and a healthy gut microbiota to the green algae Chlorella pyrenoidosa was evaluated using an in vitro continuous, pH controlled, gut model system, which simulated the human colon. The effect of C. pyrenoidosa on the microbial structure was determined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and inferred metagenomics, whereas the metabolic activitywas determined by¹H-nuclear magnetic resonancespectroscopic analysis. The addition of C. pyrenoidosa significantly increased the abundance of the genera Prevotella, Ruminococcus and Faecalibacterium in the healthy donor, while an increase in Faecalibacterium, Bifidobacterium and Megasphaera and a decrease in Enterobacteriaceae were observed in the coeliac donor. C. pyrenoidosa also altered several microbial pathways including those involved in short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production. At the metabolic level, a significant increase from baseline was seen in butyrate and propionate (p < 0.0001) in the healthy donor, especially in vessels 2 and 3. While acetate was significantly higher in the healthy donor at baseline in vessel 3 (p < 0.001) compared to the coeliac donor, this was markedly decreased after in vitro fermentation with C. pyrenoidosa. This is the first in vitro fermentation study of C. pyrenoidosa and human gut microbiota, however, further in vivo studies are needed to prove its efficacy.     

Optical resonances in one-dimensional dielectric nanorod arrays: field-induced fluorescence enhancement

Arrays of transparent dielectric nanorods are shown to produce very large local field enhancements at specific resonant conditions. These structures would lead to enhancement of molecular fluorescence signals without quenching. The resonant angular width and field enhancements are analytically derived as a function of wavelength, grating period, rod radius, and dielectric constant.