Nanomedicine and nano delivery systems are a relatively new but rapidly developing science where materials in the nanoscale range are employed to serve as means of diagnostic tools or to deliver therapeutic agents to specific targeted sites in a controlled manner. Nanotechnology offers multiple benefits in treating chronic human diseases by site-specific, and target-oriented delivery of precise medicines. Recently, there are a number of outstanding applications of the nanomedicine (chemotherapeutic agents, biological agents, immunotherapeutic agents etc.) in the treatment of various diseases. The current review, presents an updated summary of recent advances in the field of nanomedicines and nano based drug delivery systems through comprehensive scrutiny of the discovery and application of nanomaterials in improving both the efficacy of novel and old drugs (e.g., natural products) and selective diagnosis through disease marker molecules. The opportunities and challenges of nanomedicines in drug delivery from synthetic/natural sources to their clinical applications are also discussed. In addition, we have included information regarding the trends and perspectives in nanomedicine area.

Medicinal herbs are one of the imperative sources of drugs all over the world. Star anise (Illicium verum), an evergreen, medium-sized tree with star-shaped fruit, is an important herb with wide distribution throughout southwestern parts of the Asian continent. Besides its use as spice in culinary, star anise is one of the vital ingredients of the Chinese medicinal herbs and is widely known for its antiviral effects. It is also the source of the precursor molecule, shikimic acid, which is used in the manufacture of oseltamivir (Tamiflu ® ), an antiviral medication for influenza A and influenza B. Besides, several other molecules with numerous biological benefits including the antiviral effects have been reported from the same plant. Except the antiviral potential, star anise possesses a number of other potentials such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, antifungal, anthelmintic, insecticidal, secretolytic, antinociceptive, antiinflammatory, gastroprotective, sedative properties, expectorant and spasmolytic, and estrogenic effects. This review aimed to integrate the information on the customary attributes of the plant star anise with a specific prominence on its antiviral properties and the phytochemical constituents along with its clinical aptness. K E Y W O R D S antiviral, Illicium verum, oseltamivir, shikimic acid, star anise, Tamiflu

Background The advances in products based on nanotechnology have directed extensive research on low-cost, biologically compatible, and easily degradable materials. Main body Sericin (SER) is a protein mainly composed of glycine, serine, aspartic acid, and threonine amino acids removed from the silkworm cocoon (particularly Bombyx mori and other species). SER is a biocompatible material with economic viability, which can be easily functionalized due to its potential crosslink reactions. Also, SER has inherent biological properties, which makes possible its use as a component of pharmaceutical formulations with several biomedical applications, such as anti-tumor, antimicrobials, antioxidants and as scaffolds for tissue repair as well as participating in molecular mechanisms attributed to the regulation of transcription factors, reduction of inflammatory signaling molecules, stimulation of apoptosis, migration, and proliferation of mesenchymal cells. Conclusion In this review, the recent innovations on SER-based nano-medicines (nanoparticles, micelles, films, hydrogels, and their hybrid systems) and their contributions for non-conventional therapies are discussed considering different molecular mechanisms for promoting their therapeutic applications.

This review deals with nanoparticles synthesized using heparin. Such nanoparticles have been widely studied since a long time ago, obtaining satisfactory outcomes. An outstanding aspect of these nanoparticles is that they possess good biocompatible characteristics, and since heparin is produced in the human body within the mast cells, this makes these nanoparticles useful for future applications like imaging, disease and cancer treatment, and antibacterial activity. They can also be used for applications that are not oriented directly to the medical and biological areas such as in the case of analyte detection in aqueous solution, although such studies are very few. These nanoparticles synthesis is mainly through wet chemistry methods, using heparin that could have been modified or not.

Reactive and pharmaceutical-grade heparins were used as biologically compatible reducing and stabilizing agents to photochemically synthesize colloidal gold nanoparticles. Aggregates and anisotropic shapes were obtained photochemically under UV black-light lamp irradiation (λ = 366 nm). Heparin-functionalized gold nanoparticles were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The negatively charged colloids were used for the Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) analysis of differently charged analytes (dyes). Measurements of pH were taken to inspect how the acidity of the medium affects the colloid-analyte interaction. SERS spectra were taken by mixing the dyes and the colloidal solutions without further functionalization or addition of any aggregating agent.

The outstretched application of biosensors in diverse domains has become the reason for its attraction to scientific communities. Being an analytical device, its functionality includes both quantitative and qualitative detection...

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Rehabilitation of masticatory function in patients with absent teeth with removable dentures is an established form of treating partial or complete dentition in edentulous patients. The developments in recent decades with dental implants dominate current dental research. However, medical contraindications, a negative attitude toward implants, or financial limitations on the part of the patients limit their universal applicability, so the rehabilitation with dental prostheses still makes up a significant portion of everyday clinical practice. Conversely, removable dentures are used in the critical conditions of the oral cavity. There are about 500 strains of microorganisms in the mouth, which form the biofilm in an acidic environment causing several issues, such as denture stomatitis, deterioration of the periodontal status of the remaining teeth, or carious lesions in the supporting teeth. Therefore, it is very important to choose a suitable material for the prosthesis. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is an acrylic resin usually used with a long tradition for prosthetic purposes. The aim of this chapter is to present the trends for the processing of PMMA. It includes the chemical synthesis, conventional thermal processing of this acrylic resin, the new processing technique assisted with ultrasound, the antibacterial effect on PMMA with nanoparticles, and the cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and mutagenesis of this material.