Nanoparticles have received much attention recently due to their use in cancer therapy. Studies have shown that different metal oxide nanoparticles induce cytotoxicity in cancer cells, but not in normal cells. In some cases, such anticancer activity has been demonstrated to hold for the nanoparticle alone or in combination with different therapies, such as photocatalytic therapy or some anticancer drugs. Zinc oxide nanoparticles have been shown to have this activity alone or when loaded with an anticancer drug, such as doxorubicin. Other nanoparticles that show cytotoxic effects on cancer cells include cobalt oxide, iron oxide and copper oxide. The antitumor mechanism could work through the generation of reactive oxygen species or apoptosis and necrosis, among other possibilities. Here, we review the most significant antitumor results obtained with different metal oxide nanoparticles.

The intravenous administration of poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) nanoparticles has been widely reported as a promising alternative for delivery of drugs to specific cells. However, studies on their interaction with diverse blood components using different techniques are still lacking. Therefore, in the present work, the interaction of PLGA nanoparticles with blood components was described using different complementary techniques. The influence of different encapsulated compounds/functionalizing agents on these interactions was also reported. It is worth noting that all these techniques can be simply performed, without the need for highly sophisticated apparatus or skills. Moreover, their transference to industries and application of quality control could be easily performed. Serum albumin was adsorbed onto all types of tested nanoparticles. The saturation concentration was dependent on the nanoparticle size. In contrast, fibrinogen aggregation was dependent on nanoparticle surface charge. The complement activation was also influenced by the nanoparticle functionalization; the presence of a functionalizing agent increased complement activation, while the addition of an encapsulated compound only caused a slight increase. None of the nanoparticles influenced the coagulation cascade at low concentrations. However, at high concentrations, cationized nanoparticles did activate the coagulation cascade. Interactions of nanoparticles with erythrocytes did not reveal any hemolysis. Interactions of PLGA nanoparticles with blood proteins depended both on the nanoparticle properties and the protein studied. Independent of their loading/surface functionalization, PLGA nanoparticles did not influence the coagulation cascade and did not induce hemolysis of erythrocytes; they could be defined as safe concerning induction of embolization and cell lysis.

The toxicity and environmental behavior of new pH-sensitive surfactants from lysine are presented. Three different chemical structures are studied: surfactants with one amino acid and one alkyl chain, surfactants with two amino acids on the polar head and one alkyl chain, and gemini surfactants. The pH sensitivity of these compounds can be tuned by modifying their chemical structures. Cytotoxicity has been evaluated using erythrocytes and fibroblast cells. The toxic effects against these cells depend on the hydrophobicity of the molecules as well as their cationic charge density. The effect of hydrophobicity and cationic charge density on toxicity is different for each type of cells. For erythrocytes, the toxicity increases as hydrophobicity and charge density increases. Nevertheless, for fibroblasts cationic charge density affects cytotoxicity in the opposite way: the higher charge density, the lower the toxicity. The effect of the pH on hemolysis has been evaluated in detail. The aquatic toxicity was established using Daphnia magna. All surfactants yielded EC50 values considerably higher than that reported for cationic surfactants based on quaternary ammonium groups. Finally, their biodegradability was evaluated using the CO2 headspace test (ISO 14593). These lysine derivatives showed high levels of biodegradation under aerobic conditions and can be classified as “readily biodegradable compounds”.

Cationic colloidal systems composed of arginine based surfactants (single or gemini structures) and membrane additive compounds such as DLPC or cholesterol have been characterized by means of size distribution and zeta-potential measurements. The single or monocatenary surfactant (LAM) as well as the gemini with the shortest spacer chain (C 6 (LA) 2 ) formed micelles, while aqueous solutions of pure gemini surfactants with longer spacers (C 9 (LA) 2 and C 12 (LA) 2 ) formed very big aggregates. The addition of phospholipids or cholesterol changed drastically the aggregation behaviour. In the case of LAM and C 6 (LA) 2 , the incorporation of additives gave rise to the formation of cationic vesicles. For C 9 (LA) 2 and C 12 (LA) 2 , this type of additives promoted the formation of smaller aggregates. All the formulations had positive zeta-potential values and in general exhibited high colloidal stability. We also evaluated the hemolysis and the antimicrobial activity of these systems. The capability of disrupting erythrocyte membranes depends on the hydrophobicity of the molecules and the size of aggregates in the solution. Gemini surfactants with short spacer chains are more hemolytic than their single chain homologue, while gemini surfactants with long spacers are much less hemolytic than their single chain counterpart.Moreover, for the same formulation, the hemolysis depends on the initial concentration of the stock solution used to set up the hemolysis/concentration curve. Results show that small aggregates interact easily with these biological membranes. The alkyl spacer chain and the presence of additives also play an important role in the antimicrobial activity, and, in general, the interaction with bacteria and erythrocytes is affected by the same parameters. The physico-chemical and biological characterization of these systems might be important for several biotechnological applications in which cationic vesicular systems are involved.

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Purpose. The aim of this study was to identify new surfactants with low skin irritant properties for use in pharmaceutical and cosmetic formulations, employing cell culture as an alternative method to in vivo testing. In addition, we sought to establish whether potential cytotoxic properties were related to the size of the counterions bound to the surfactants.Methods. Cytotoxicity was assessed in the mouse fibroblast cell line 3T6, and the human keratinocyte cell line NCTC 2544, using the MTT assay and uptake of the vital dye neutral red 24 h after dosing (NRU).Results. Lysine-derivative surfactants showed higher IC 50 s than did commercial anionic irritant compounds such as sodium dodecyl sulphate, proving to be no more harmful than amphoteric betaines. The aggressiveness of the surfactants depended upon the size of their constituent counterions: surfactants associated with lighter counterions showed a proportionally higher aggressivity than those with heavier ones.Conclusions Synthetic lysine-derivative anionic surfactants are less irritant than commercial surfactants such as sodium dodecyl sulphate and Hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide and are similar to Betaines. These surfactants may offer promising applications in pharmaceutical and cosmetic preparations, representing a potential alternative to commercial anionic surfactants as a result of their low irritancy potential.

The mucosal surface area of the chicken duodenum, jejunum, and ileum was determined during development (from 1-day to 12-week-old animals). The morphometric analysis was performed at three magnification levels. The nominal (serosal) surface area was determined at the macroscopic level, from intestinal length and perimeter. Villus and microvillus amplification factors were estimated at light-microscopic and transmission electron-microscopic levels, respectively. The results show, during the period considered: (1) a similar increase in nominal surface area for the three segments (6.5 to 7.2-fold), (2) a rise followed by a slight decrease in the villus amplification factor in the third week of age in the duodenum, a two-fold increase of this variable in the jejunum and no significant developmental variations in the ileum, (3) an increase in the microvillus amplification factor of 1.5-fold in the duodenum and jejunum and of 1.2-fold in the ileum, although a pronounced decrease in the first week of age was observed in the three segments. In conclusion, total mucosal surface area increased, from 1 day to 12 week, 12- to 13-fold in the duodenum and ileum and 20-fold in the jejunum.

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