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An efficient and safe delivery system for small interfering RNA (siRNA) is required for clinical application of RNA interfering therapeutics. Polyethyleneimine (PEI)-capped gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are successfully manufactured using PEI as the reductant and stabilizer, which bind siRNA at an appropriate weight ratio by electrostatic interaction and result in well-dispersed nanoparticles with uniform structure and narrow size distribution. With siRNA binding, PEI-capped AuNPs induce more significant and enhanced reduction in targeted green fluorescent protein expression in MDA-MB-435s cells, though more internalized PEI/siRNA complexes in cells are evidenced by confocal laser scanning microscopy observation and fluorescence-activated cell sorting analyses. PEI-capped AuNPs/siRNA targeting endogenous cell-cycle kinase, an oncogene polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), display significant gene expression knockdown and induce enhanced cell apoptosis, whereas it is not obvious when the cells are treated with PLK1 siRNA using PEI as the carrier. Without exhibiting cellular toxicity, PEI-capped AuNPs appear to be suitable as a potential carrier for intracellular siRNA delivery.

The study results suggest that IPL can significantly reduce inflammatory markers in tears of patients suffering with DED owing to MGD after IPL treatment. These findings indicate that IL-17A and IL-6 play roles in the pathogenesis of DED owing to MGD, and the reduction of the inflammatory factors is consistent with the improvement of partial clinical symptoms and signs.

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Brush polymers PHEMA-g-(PCL-b-PEG) with poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) as the backbone and poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-b-poly(ethylene glycol) (PCL-b-PEG) block copolymers as side chains were synthesized and evaluated as drug delivery vehicles. Two brush polymers were synthesized, and their structures were confirmed by gel permeation chromatography analyses and (1)H NMR measurements. The brush polymers self-assembled into micelles in aqueous solution, and the critical micellization concentrations of brush polymers were 2-fold lower than that of the linear diblock copolymer PCL-b-PEG with structure similar to that of the grafted side chains of brush polymers, indicating the higher aqueous stability of brush polymer micelles. The micelles were spherical with average diameters below 100 nm. Brush polymer micelles exhibited higher loading doxorubicin capacity compared with micelles from linear PCL-b-PEG block copolymer by the dialysis method, and the burst doxorubicin release from the brush polymer micelles was significantly suppressed. Doxorubicin-loaded brush polymer micelles can be effectively internalized by A549 human lung carcinoma cells and slowly released the encapsulated drug molecules as demonstrated by the drug accumulation in cytoplasm, which was opposite to free doxorubicin, which accumulated rapidly in the cell nuclei.

Oral cavity incessantly encounters a plethora of microorganisms. Plaque biofilm—a major cause of caries, periodontitis and other dental diseases—is a complex community of bacteria or fungi that causes infection by protecting pathogenic microorganisms from external drug agents and escaping the host defense mechanisms. Antimicrobial nanoparticles are promising because of several advantages such as ultra-small sizes, large surface-area-to-mass ratio and special physical and chemical properties. To better summarize explorations of antimicrobial nanoparticles and provide directions for future studies, we present the following critical review. The keywords “nanoparticle,” “anti-infective or antibacterial or antimicrobial” and “dentistry” were retrieved from Pubmed, Scopus, Embase and Web of Science databases in the last five years. A total of 172 articles met the requirements were included and discussed in this review. The results show that superior antibacterial properties of nanoparticle biomaterials bring broad prospects in the oral field. This review presents the development, applications and underneath mechanisms of antibacterial nanoparticles in dentistry including restorative dentistry, endodontics, implantology, orthodontics, dental prostheses and periodontal field.

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