Preparation and characterization of hybrid nanoparticles based on chitosan and poly(methacryloylglycylglycine)

CeO₂–MnO _x composites possessing rod-like morphology (fixed mole proportion of Ce/Mn) were synthesized through hydrothermal method and chosen as supporters to load PdO nanoparticles (PdO/Ce _x Mn_1–x ). The size of loaded PdO nanoparticles is about 2 nm. The catalytic behaviors of supported catalysts were examined through the complete catalytic oxidation of benzene. The results illustrated that the activities of supported catalysts were enhanced greatly as compared to unsupported, and the completely conversion temperature of benzene was reduced to ca. 250 °C. The effect of noble metal species (PdO) addition on the catalytic property and crystal structure of composites was researched in detail. The data revealed that the interaction between PdO and supporter, and intrinsic properties of supporter resulted in the enhancement of catalytic abilities.     

Polymeric Nanoformulation of Zoledronic Acid Rescues Osteoblasts from the Harmful Effect of its Native Form: An In Vitro Investigation of Cytotoxic Potential on Osteoblasts and Osteosarcoma Cells

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a malignant tumor, fatal for pediatric patients who do not respond to chemotherapy, alternative therapies and drugs can provide better outcomes. Zoledronic acid (Zol) belonging to the class of bisphosphonates (BPs) has a direct antitumor ability to prevent Ras GTPases modification and stimulate apoptosis. Despite advances in maintaining balance in skeletal events and direct anticancer properties, Zol causes cytotoxicity to normal healthy pre-osteoblast cells, hampering mineralization and differentiation. The study reports the preparation and evaluation of a nanoformulation that can diminish the existing drawbacks of native Zol. The cytotoxic effect is evaluated on bone cancer cells and healthy bone cells with three different cell lines namely, K7M2 (mouse OS cell line), SaOS2 (human OS cell line), and MC3T3E1 (healthy cell counterpart). It is observed that Zol nanoformulation is uptaken more (95%) in K7M2 whereas in MC3T3E1, the percent population internalizing nanoparticles (NPs) is 45%. Zol has a sustained release of 15% after 96 h from the NP which leads to a rescuing effect on the normal pre-osteoblast cells. In conclusion, it can be stated that Zol nanoformulation can be used as a good platform for a sustained release system with minimum side effects to normal bone cells.