Skin is the largest mechanical barrier against invading pathogens. Following skin injury, the healing process immediately starts to regenerate the damaged tissues and to avoid complications that usually include colonization by pathogenic bacteria, leading to fever and sepsis, which further impairs and complicates the healing process. So, there is an urgent need to develop a novel pharmaceutical material that promotes the healing of infected wounds. The present work aimed to prepare and evaluate the efficacy of novel azithromycin-loaded zinc oxide nanoparticles (AZM-ZnONPs) in the treatment of infected wounds. The Box–Behnken design and response surface methodology were used to evaluate loading efficiency and release characteristics of the prepared NPs. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the formulations was determined against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Moreover, the anti-bacterial and wound-healing activities of the AZM-loaded ZnONPs impregnated into hydroxyl propyl methylcellulose (HPMC) gel were evaluated in an excisional wound model in rats. The prepared ZnONPs were loaded with AZM by adsorption. The prepared ZnONPs were fully characterized by XRD, EDAX, SEM, TEM, and FT-IR analysis. Particle size distribution for the prepared ZnO and AZM-ZnONPs were determined and found to be 34 and 39 nm, respectively. The mechanism by which AZM adsorbed on the surface of ZnONPs was the best fit by the Freundlich model with a maximum load capacity of 160.4 mg/g. Anti-microbial studies showed that AZM-ZnONPs were more effective than other controls. Using an experimental infection model in rats, AZM-ZnONPs impregnated into HPMC gel enhanced bacterial clearance and epidermal regeneration, and stimulated tissue formation. In conclusion, AZM -loaded ZnONPs are a promising platform for effective and rapid healing of infected wounds.

Wound-healing is a very complex and evolutionary process that involves a great variety of dynamic steps. Although different pharmaceutical agents have been developed to hasten the woundhealing process, the existing agents are still far from optimal. The present work aimed to prepare and evaluate the wound-healing efficacy of phenytoin-loaded copper nanoparticles (PHT-loaded CuNPs). CuNPs were biosynthesized using licorice aqueous extract. The prepared CuNPs were loaded with PHT by adsorption, characterized, and evaluated for wound-healing efficiency. Results showed that both plain and PHT-loaded CuNPs were monodisperse and exhibited a cubic and hexagonal morphology. The mechanism by which PHT was adsorbed on the surface of CuNPs was best fit by the Langmuir model with a maximum loaded monolayer capacity of 181 mg/g. The kinetic study revealed that the adsorption reaction followed the pseudo-second order while the thermodynamic parameters indicated that the adsorption process was physical in nature and endothermic, and occurred spontaneously. Moreover, the in vivo wound-healing activity of PHT-loaded CuNP impregnated hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC) gel was carried out using an excisional wound model in rats. Data showed that PHT-loaded CuNPs accelerated epidermal regeneration and stimulated granulation and tissue formation in treated rats compared to controls. Additionally, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis showed that lesions treated with PHT-loaded CuNPs were associated with a marked increase in the expression of dermal procollagen type I and a decrease in the expression of the inflammatory JAK3 compared to control samples. In conclusion, PHT-loaded CuNPs are a promising platform for effective and rapid wound-healing.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third highest major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Hence, many strategies and approaches have been widely developed for cancer treatment. This work prepared and evaluated the antitumor activity of 5-Fluorouracil (5-Fu) loaded chromium nanoparticles (5-FuCrNPs). The green biosynthesis approach using Harpullia (H) pendula aqueous extract was used for CrNPs preparation, which was further loaded with 5-Fu. The prepared NPs were characterized for morphology using scanning and transmission electron microscopes (SEM and TEM). The results revealed the formation of uniform, mono-dispersive, and highly stable CrNPs with a mean size of 23 nm. Encapsulation of 5-Fu over CrNPs, with a higher drug loading efficiency, was successful with a mean size of 29 nm being produced. In addition, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) were also used for the investigation. The drug 5-Fu was adsorbed on the surface of biosynthesized CrNPs in order to overcome its clinical resistance and increase its activity against CRC cells. Box–Behnken Design (BBD) and response surface methodology (RSM) were used to characterize and optimize the formulation factors (5-Fu concentration, CrNP weight, and temperature). Furthermore, the antitumor activity of the prepared 5-FuCrNPs was tested against CRC cells (CACO-2). This in vitro antitumor study demonstrated that 5-Fu-loaded CrNPs markedly decreased the IC50 of 5-Fu and exerted more cytotoxicity at nearly all concentrations than 5-Fu alone. In conclusion, 5-FuCrNPs is a promising drug delivery system for the effective treatment of CRC.

No abstract

The present paper evaluates the photocatalytic degradation (PCD) performance of the biofabricated hematite nanoparticles (α-HNPs) for the degradation approach of the Cefotaxime (Cfm). The optimum pH of the solution to achieve the best PCD was found to be 10.5. The kinetics study for the PCD of the Cfm via α-HNPs has been investigated and the reaction was found to be fellow pseudo-first-order at R2 = 0.992. The mass loading impact of α-HNPs was investigated and estimated for the maximum degradation of Cfm 0.4 mg/mL. UV–Vis confirmed that α-HNPs had a direct transition bandgap at 3.78 eV at a maximum absorption wavelength of 362 nm with suspension stability for 7 days. The probable mechanism of the Cfm PCD via α-HNPs and the degradation pathway was conducted. The validation of the suspension stability of the α-HNPs (−68.6 ± 11.8 mV) was determined using the zeta potential investigation test. XRD investigation was conducted after Cfm PCD showing an average crystallite size of 27.0 nm. XRD, TEM, SEM, EDX, and FT-IR analyses have been conducted for the α-HNPs before and after Cfm PCD confirming the high efficiency for the reusability of the current biocatalyst α-HNPs for further use. TEM results of the particle sizes of α-HNPs were found at 19.2 ± 4.4 and 20.6 ± 7.4 nm respectively before and after Cfm PCD. The efficiency of the Cfm PCD was found to be 99.1% after 6 h. High potent as an antibacterial agent of α-HNPs was investigated either α-HNPs alone or after its PCD activity against Cfm. The antibacterial activity revealed high sensitivity, especially toward Gram-positive species indicating its promising ability against pathogenic issues. Interestingly, Cfm@α-HNPs showed superior anti-proliferative activity as tested by MTT assay and were able to induce apoptosis in MCF7 and HepG2 cell lines using the flow cytometry technique at 20.7% and 17% respectively. Also, The IC50 of hydrogen peroxide scavenging was estimated and it was manifested that 635.8 and 665.6 μg/mL of α-HNPs before and after the PCD process of Cfm respectively.