Although zinc ions have a strong antiviral impact against viral infections, they have a high level of toxicity in cell culture and in animal models. In the current work, ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and fibrillar chitosan‐ZnO nanostructures (CS‐ZnO NSs) were synthesized in order to evaluate their cytotoxicity and inhibitory impact against HSV (herpes simplex virus) replication in vitro using the MTT, plaque, and Real‐time PCR methods. Also, different characterization approaches such as FE‐SEM, XRD, FTIR and fluorescence microscope were used to evaluate prepared NPs. The findings revealed that CS‐ZnO NSs exhibit negligible cytotoxicity in cells, whereas ZnO NPs were exceedingly harmful at high doses. Also, CS‐ZnO NSs could considerably internalize cells and reduce virus titration in HSV‐infected cells. Furthermore, their inhibitory effect against HSV replication was quite effective, which may be more related to the antiviral activity of chitosan and ZnO. In conclusion, the new fibrillar chitosan‐ZnO NS was prepared with the least toxicity for host cells.
Stability is one of the key quality parameters of emulsion systems, which goes a long way in predicting the shelf life of emulsion products. In this study, the effect of emulsifier (soy protein concentrate (SPC) + maltodextrin (MDX)), dispersed phase (lycopene in oil solution) and homogenizer speed on emulsion stability were investigated and optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). Independent variables were lycopene content (10-20%, w/w), SPC+ MDX as emulsifier and surfactant (30-40%, w/w) and the homogenizer speed (14000-18000 rpm). Responses were droplet size, viscosity and creaming index as stability indicators of the emulsions. According to RSM analysis and models, optimized variables showed a good fit to quadratic equations for droplet size and viscosity with correlation coefficients (R 2) of 0.9571 and 0.9826, respectively. After model simplification with backward stepwise solution, the R 2 values for droplet size and viscosity decreased slightly to 0.9504 and 0.9826, respectively. Creaming values were fitted properly with linear model, and R 2 was 0.8030. Graphical optimization methods were adapted for preparing the best lycopene emulsifying conditions and were predicted to be: homogenizer speed of 18000 rpm; lycopene content of 20% w/w, and SPC+MDX concentration of 36.95% w/w.
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