Search results for "GELS"
showing 10 items of 671 documents
Glutathione-sensitive nanogels for drug release
2014
Nanogels (NGs) synthesized by pulsed electron-beam irradiation of semi-dilute poly (N-vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) aqueous solutions, at relatively low energy per pulse and doses within the sterilization dose range, represent a very interesting family of polymeric nanocarriers. Ionizing irradiation-induced crosslinking of PVP allows to control particle size, and surface chemistry of the polymer nanoparticles without making use of catalysts, organic solvents or surfactants, and with beneficial effects onto the purity and hence biocompatibility of the final products obtained. Furthermore, the availability of reactive functional groups, either generated by the radiation or purposely grafted via co…
Radiation-engineered polymer nano-platforms for targeted drug delivery
2016
In the last twenty years, several nanobiomaterial-based nanocarriers, so-called nanoplatforms, have been proposed for the treatment of life- threating or quality-of-life-impairing diseases. The role of the nanocarrier is to increase drug localisation via passive and active targeting, to protect the drug from degradation and premature clearance, to facilitate its bypass through biological barriers and increase uptake by cells. For a successful translational research, the system composition should be as simple as possible, and the manufacturing processes should be fast, flexible and should enable a rapid product development from lab-scale to low cost, large-scale production. With this focus, …
Structure and biological evaluation of amino-functionalized PVP nanogels for fast cellular internalization
2013
Abstract Aminopropyl methacrylamide chloride-graft-poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) nanogels (NGs) were designed to exploit the favorable properties of poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP), such as its high affinity to water and complexation ability of ions, molecules and macromolecules, with the availability of primary amino groups for bioconjugation reactions. A thorough structural characterization of the nanoscalar networks was performed via 1 H NMR and solid state 13 C NMR spectroscopies, while solid state NMR relaxation time measurements completed the NGs description in terms of polymer network density. Information on the hydrodynamic size and surface charge densities were sought via dynamic light…
Insulin Nanogel as New Strategy for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease
2015
A growing body of evidence shows that Insulin, Insulin Receptor (IR) and IR signaling are involved in brain cognitive functions and their dysfunction is implicated in neuronal degeneration associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Thus, the administration of insulin to the brain could be a strategy for the prevention and treatment of AD disease. With this aim, we have designed, synthesized and characterized a nanogel system (NG) that can be used as substrate for the conjugation of insulin and/or fluorescent molecules relevant for their characterization. In particular, a carboxyl-functionalized poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) nanogel system, has been produced by ionizing radiation starting from th…
Neuroprotective effect of a new Insulin-Nanogel system
2015
Nanogels (NGs) have a great potential in the development of “smart” nanocarriers for (bio)molecular drugs and contrast agent for bioimaging. They are formed by physically or chemically crosslinked polymer networks, characterized by a large and flexible surface available for multivalent bioconjugations. NGs can be produced with high yields and through-puts by pulsed electron-beam irradiation of dilute aqueous solutions of water-soluble biocompatible polymers. In this work, a carboxyl functionalized nanogel system (NG), generated by pulsed e-beam irradiation of a semi-dilute poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) aqueous solution in the presence of acrylic acid, with an average diameter in the 60-70…
Macromolecular design and preparation of nanogels as pharmaceutical carriers
2010
Radiation-induced synthesis of nanogels: advances in research and applications
2016
From their first appearance in 1969, when Schnagel and Borwardt reported the radiochemical synthesis of poly(ethylene oxide) microgels by gamma-irradiation, the possibility of generating crosslinked micro- and nanoparticles from ”pure” aqueous solutions of macromolecules, have triggered the imagination of material scientists on the search for ”clean” processes and products for biomedical applications. Thanks to the seminal studies of Rosiak and co-workers, who have clarified, both experimentally and mechanistically, the key role of intra-molecular crosslinking in controlling the particle size, the scientific community has now a powerful tool to design and manufacture radiation-synthetized n…
Large-scale Radiation Manufacturing of Hierarchically Assembled Nanogels
2012
Nanogels (NGs), or small particles formed by physically or chemically crosslinked polymer networks, represent a niche in the development of “smart” nanoparticles for drug delivery and diagnostics. They offer unique advantages over other systems, including a large and flexible surface for multivalent bio-conjugation; an internal 3D aqueous environment for incorporation and protection of (bio)molecular drugs; the possibility to entrap active metal or mineral cores for imaging or phototherapeutic purposes; stimuli-responsiveness to achieve temporal and/or site control of the release function and biocompatibility. The availability of inexpensive and robust preparation methodologies is at the ba…
Chemical modification of halloysite nanotubes for controlled loading and release.
2020
Clay minerals have been used for medical purposes from ancient times. Among them, the halloysite nanotube, an aluminosilicate of the kaolin group, is an emerging nanomaterial which possesses peculiar chemical characteristics. By means of suitable modifications, such as supramolecular functionalization or covalent modifications, it is possible to obtain novel nanomaterials with tunable properties for several applications. In this context the covalent grafting of suitable organic moieties on the external surface or in the halloysite lumen has been exploited to improve the loading and release of several biologically active molecules. The resulting hybrid nanomaterials have been applied as drug…
Printable Hydrogels Based on Alginate and Halloysite Nanotubes.
2022
The design of hydrogels for the controlled release of active species is an attractive challenge. In this work, we prepared hybrid hydrogels composed of halloysite nanotubes as the inorganic component, and alginate as the organic counterpart. The reported procedure allowed us to provide the resulting materials with a peculiar wire-like shape. Both optical and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the morphological properties of the hydrogel wires, whose diameters were ca. 0.19 and 0.47 mm, respectively. The possibility to be exploited as drug delivery systems was carried out by loading the nanoclay with salicylic acid and by studying the release profiles. Thermogravimetric e…