The aim of this study was to develop nanofibrous silk substrates for limbal stem cell expansion that can serve as a potential alternative substrate to replace human amniotic membrane. The human limbal stem cell was used to evaluate the biocompatibility of substrates (random and oriented nanofibrous mats, and human amniotic membrane) based on their phenotypic profile, viability, proliferation, and attachment ability. Biocompatibility results indicated that all substrates were highly biocompatible, as limbal stem cells could favorably attach and proliferate on the nanofibrous surfaces. Microscopic figures showed that the human limbal stem cells were firmly anchored to the substrates and were able to retain a normal corneal stem cell phenotype. Microscopic analyses illustrated that cells infiltrated the nanofibers and successfully formed a three-dimensional corneal epithelium, which was viable for 15 days. Immunocytochemistry and real-time PCR results revealed no change in the expression profile of limbal stem cells grown on nanofibrous substrates when compared to those grown on human amniotic membrane. In addition, electrospun nanofibrous silk substrates especially oriented mat provides not only a milieu supporting limbal stem cells expansion, but also serve as a useful alternative carrier for ocular surface tissue engineering and could be used as an alternative substrate to amniotic membrane.

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) represent a novel nanomaterial applied in various nanotechnology fields because of their surface chemistry properties and high drug cargo capacity. In this study, SWCNT are pre-functionalized covalently with paclitaxel (PTX) - an anticancer drug, and folic acid (FA), as a targeting agent for many tumors. The samples are investigated and evaluated by different analyses such as Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), absorption spectroscopic measurements (UV-Visible), elemental analysis, and cell analyses with cancer cell line cultures. The results show good conjugation of the targeting molecule and the anticancer drug on the surface of the carbon nanotubes (CNT). This work demonstrates that the SWCNT-PTX-FA system is a potentially useful system for the targeted delivery of anticancer drugs.

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) as a new class of nano-materials hold great potential for various biomedical applications. Owing to their unusual properties, carbon nanotubes have been extensively employed in electronics, nanotechnology and optics, among others. In spite of the great potential of carbon nanotubes in various domains of biomedicine, ineffcient dispersion in aqueous solutions and biological activities in vivo are still disputable. One important and feasible route in a struggle to overcome these obstacles is modification of CNTs with organic compounds and polymers, which have been widely studied and play a crucial role in biological and biomedical fields, particularly in the cancer therapy. This review focuses on the breakthrough of the recently used methods to functionalize onto the surface of carbon nanotubes with multiple chemical species in order to produce anticancer drug delivery systems for biomedical applications.