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Proteinaceous microspheres of BSA (Bovine Serum Albumin) containing an anticancer drug, Taxol (paclitaxel) were fabricated using a sonochemical procedure and then assayed for chemical and biological activity. The sonochemical reaction did not compromise the drug, which became encapsulated in the BSA microspheres. The amount of the anticancer drug in the microspheres was determined by HPLC. Anticancer activity of the proteinaceous microspheres encapsulating the Taxol was tested on Mouse Multiple Myeloma cell line MPC-11. The influence of the Taxol microspheres on the cancer cells was different from pristine Taxol. It was found that Taxol in combination with the organic solvent causes the death of cancer cells.

SummaryThis work describes a general method for the preparation of salt nanoparticles (NPs) made from an aqueous solution of ionic compounds (NaCl, CuSO4 and KI). These nanoparticles were created by the application of ultrasonic waves to the aqueous solutions of these salts. When the sonication was carried out in the presence of a glass microscope slide, a parylene-coated glass slide, or a silicon wafer the ionic NPs were embedded in these substrates by a one-step, ultrasound-assisted procedure. Optimization of the coating process resulted in homogeneous distributions of nanocrystals, 30 nm in size, on the surfaces of the substrates. The morphology and structure of each of the coatings were characterized by physical and chemical methods, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). After 24 h of leaching into water the nanoparticles of the inorganic salts were still present on the slides, and complete leaching of nanoparticles occurred only after 96 h. A mechanism of the ultrasound-assisted coating is proposed.

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Tetracycline nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized and simultaneously deposited on Parylene-C coated glass slides using ultrasound irradiation. The optimization of the process conditions, the specific reagent ratio and the precursor concentration resulted in the formation of uniform NPs with an average size of $50 nm. These novel tetracycline NP coated-surfaces were tested against two common bacterial pathogens, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and were found to be extremely potent against both bacteria, suggesting that these antibiotic NPs provide the Parylene surface with self-sterilizing properties. Finally, the mechanism describing the formation of tetracycline NPs and their subsequent deposition on the Parylene C surface is presented.