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Materials Horizons Jun 2024Microneedles for skin regeneration are conventionally restricted by uncontrollable multi-drug release, limited types of drugs, and poor wound adhesion. Here, a novel...
Microneedles for skin regeneration are conventionally restricted by uncontrollable multi-drug release, limited types of drugs, and poor wound adhesion. Here, a novel core-shell microneedle patch is developed for scarless skin repair, where the shell is composed of hydrophilic gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) loaded with mangiferin, an anti-inflammatory small molecule, and the core is composed of hydrophobic poly (lactide--propylene glycol--lactide) dimethacrylates (PGLADMA) loaded with bioactive macromolecule and human mesenchymal stromal cell (hMSC)-derived exosomes. This material choice provides several benefits: the GelMA shell provides a swelling interface for tissue interlocking and rapid release of mangiferin at an early wound healing stage for anti-inflammation, whereas the PGLADMA core offers long-term encapsulation and release of exosomes (30% release in 3 weeks), promoting sustained angiogenesis and anti-inflammation. Our results demonstrate that the core-shell microneedle possesses anti-inflammatory properties and can induce angiogenesis both in terms of macrophage polarization and tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), and in terms of anti-inflammation, re-epithelization, and vessel formation. Importantly, we also observe reduced scar formation . Altogether, the degradation dynamics of our hydrophilic/hydrophobic materials enable the design of a core-shell microneedle for differential and prolonged release, promoting scarless skin regeneration, with potential for other therapies of long-term exosome release.
Topics: Exosomes; Humans; Xanthones; Needles; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells; Mesenchymal Stem Cells; Wound Healing; Animals; Regeneration; Skin; Gelatin; Delayed-Action Preparations; Mice; Male
PubMed: 38669042
DOI: 10.1039/d3mh01910a -
Metabolites Apr 2024Rhubarb (RR), Chinese name Dahuang, is commonly used in the treatment of ischemic stroke (IS). However, its potential mechanism is not fully elucidated. This study...
Rhubarb (RR), Chinese name Dahuang, is commonly used in the treatment of ischemic stroke (IS). However, its potential mechanism is not fully elucidated. This study intended to verify the effect of RR on IS and investigate the possible mechanism of RR in preventing IS. IS in male rats was induced by embolic middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) surgery, and drug administration was applied half an hour before surgery. RR dramatically decreased the neurological deficit scores, the cerebral infarct volume, and the cerebral edema rate, and improved the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and histopathological changes in the brain of MCAO rats. The 16S rRNA analysis showed the harmful microbes such as and were decreased, and the beneficial microbes such as , , , and were significantly increased, after RR pretreatment. H-nuclear magnetic resonance (H-NMR) was used to detect serum metabolomics, and RR treatment significantly changed the levels of metabolites such as isoleucine, valine, N6-acetyllysine, methionine, 3-aminoisobutyric acid, N, N-dimethylglycine, propylene glycol, trimethylamine N-oxide, myo-inositol, choline, betaine, lactate, glucose, and lipid, and the enrichment analysis of differential metabolites showed that RR may participate in the regulation of amino acid metabolism and energy metabolism. RR exerts the role of anti-IS via regulating gut bacteria and metabolic pathways.
PubMed: 38668344
DOI: 10.3390/metabo14040216 -
Tobacco Control Apr 2024Studies of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) toxicity have largely focused on individual components such as flavour additives, base e-liquid ingredients...
Studies of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) toxicity have largely focused on individual components such as flavour additives, base e-liquid ingredients (propylene glycol, glycerol), device characteristics (eg, model, components, wattage), use behaviour, etc. However, vaping involves inhalation of chemical mixtures and interactions between compounds can occur that can lead to different toxicities than toxicity of the individual components. Methods based on the additive toxicity of individual chemical components to estimate the health risks of complex mixtures can result in the overestimation or underestimation of exposure risks, since interactions between components are under-investigated. In the case of ENDS, the potential of elevated toxicity resulting from chemical reactions and interactions is enhanced due to high operating temperatures and the metallic surface of the heating element. With the recent availability of a wide range of e-liquid constituents and popularity of do-it-yourself creation of e-liquid mixtures, the need to understand chemical and physiological impacts of chemical combinations in ENDS e-liquids and aerosols is immediate. There is a significant current knowledge gap concerning how specific combinations of ENDS chemical ingredients result in synergistic or antagonistic interactions. This commentary aims to review the current understanding of chemical reactions between e-liquid components, interactions between additives, chemical reactions that occur during vaping and aerosol properties and biomolecular interactions, all of which may impact physiological health.
PubMed: 38658055
DOI: 10.1136/tc-2023-058546 -
Food and Chemical Toxicology : An... Jun 2024The safety of propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG) as solvents in electronic cigarette liquid has received increasing attention and discussion. However, the...
The safety of propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG) as solvents in electronic cigarette liquid has received increasing attention and discussion. However, the conclusions derived from toxicity assessments conducted through animal experiments and traditional in vitro methodologies have consistently been contentious. This study constructed an original real-time aerosol exposure system, centered around a self-designed microfluidic bionic-lung chip, to assess the biological effects following exposure to aerosols from different solvents (PG, PG/VG mixture alone and PG/VG mixture in combination with nicotine) on BEAS-2B cells. The study aimed to investigate the impact of aerosols from different solvents on gene expression profiles, intracellular biomarkers (i.e., reactive oxygen species content, nitric oxide content, and caspase-3/7 activity), and extracellular biomarkers (i.e., IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, and malondialdehyde) of BEAS-2B cells on-chip. Transcriptome analyses suggest that ribosomal function could serve as a potential target for the impact of aerosols derived from various solvents on the biological responses of BEAS-2B cells on-chip. And the results showed that aerosols of PG/VG mixtures had significantly less effect on intracellular and extracellular biomarkers in BEAS-2B cells than aerosols of PG, whereas increasing nicotine levels might elevate these effects of aerosol from PG/VG mixture.
Topics: Aerosols; Humans; Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems; Solvents; Cell Line; Propylene Glycol; Glycerol; Lab-On-A-Chip Devices; Reactive Oxygen Species; Nicotine; Biomarkers
PubMed: 38641044
DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2024.114668 -
Cureus Mar 2024The increased use of soft drinks leads to a high prevalence of dental erosion (DE), and the use of polymers can decrease tooth demineralization by a carbonated drink....
INTRODUCTION
The increased use of soft drinks leads to a high prevalence of dental erosion (DE), and the use of polymers can decrease tooth demineralization by a carbonated drink. Assessment of the effect of food-approved polymers such as highly esterified pectin (HP), propylene glycol alginate (PGA), and gum arabic (GA) on their efficiency to reduce enamel demineralization on addition with a commercially available carbonated drink was the main objective of this study.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
For this study, 300 premolar teeth were studied for enamel erosion and were divided into five groups consisting of 60 samples in each group. The teeth treated with distilled water had negative control, a commercially available carbonated drink with pH 2.7 had positive control, and food polymers were added individually to the carbonated drink in a specified quantity with minimal pH change and were taken as groups A, B, and C, respectively. The enamel erosion that occurred in study groups was measured using a laser fluorescence spectroscopic system with laser excitation at 404 nm at different treatment times (30, 60, and 120 seconds). Results: Demineralization was less in samples treated with polymer added to carbonated drink solutions compared to samples exposed to plain carbonated drink. As the time of exposure increased up to 120 seconds, a significant decrease in demineralization occurred in polymer-treated groups of samples as against plain carbonated drink with HP showing more decreased demineralization with extended exposure periods compared to other polymers. The surface morphology of tooth samples exhibited the anti-erosive effect of polymers, and the scanning electron microscopic pictures revealed a smoother surface for the polymer-added group.
CONCLUSION
This study shows the efficacy of HP, PGA, and GA on reducing the effect of carbonated drink-induced enamel demineralization, and these polymers' addition to drinks can be an innovative way to reduce the demineralization potential of carbonated acidic drinks.
PubMed: 38633928
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.56385 -
RSC Advances Apr 2024In recent times, there has been considerable interest in utilizing aqueous biphasic systems (ABSs) containing natural deep eutectic solvents (NADESs) for the extraction...
Harnessing the power of natural deep eutectic solvents (choline chloride/sucrose) and polypropylene glycol in the formation of aqueous biphasic systems and the application of these systems in drug extraction.
In recent times, there has been considerable interest in utilizing aqueous biphasic systems (ABSs) containing natural deep eutectic solvents (NADESs) for the extraction of various substances. In this study, we focused on investigating the phase behavior of ABSs composed of poly(propylene) glycol 400 and NADESs (specifically, choline chloride/sucrose with molar ratios of 2 : 1 and 1 : 1). By analyzing the compositions of tie-lines, it was observed that these ABSs, which consist of four components, exhibit characteristics similar to ternary systems. To examine the influence of molar ratios on phase separation, the binodal model was applied to the obtained binodal data. The NRTL and UNIQUAC models were employed to establish correlations for the tie-lines. Moreover, we examined the extraction capabilities of the aforementioned ABSs for three commonly used drugs: diclofenac potassium, acetaminophen, and salicylic acid. To assess the efficiency of extraction, partition coefficients and extraction efficiencies were calculated for each drug. The results revealed that the extraction efficiency of these drugs into the polymer-rich top phase is dependent on their hydrophobicity. Furthermore, we employed the Diamond-Hsu equation, along with its modified version, to establish correlations between the experimental partition coefficients of the drugs and NADES overall concentrations.
PubMed: 38633497
DOI: 10.1039/d3ra07066b -
Food Science & Nutrition Apr 2024Ethanol has been widely used for the extraction of propolis. Due to its certain disadvantages, there has been an ongoing search to find alternative non-ethanolic...
Ethanol has been widely used for the extraction of propolis. Due to its certain disadvantages, there has been an ongoing search to find alternative non-ethanolic extraction solvents. This study aimed to compare the phenolics, antioxidant, and antibacterial activity of propolis extracts prepared with 70% ethanol (EWE), propylene glycol (PGE), and L-arginine solution (BE). All extracts were subjected to an in vitro simulated digestion procedure, and the phenolic profile of non-digested and digested samples was determined by using LC-MS/MS. Additionally, the change in total phenolic (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant capacities were determined at each digestion phase. TPC and TFC of non-digested propolis extracts had similar values, although BE showed higher antioxidant capacity ( < .05). The amount of TPC reached or transformed at the intestinal stage was higher for BE and PG compared to EWE. BE also provided the highest antioxidant capacity assay in digested samples. The most common phenolics were pinocembrin, pinobanskin, galangin, and CAPE in non-digested extracts. However, their concentration was drastically reduced by digestion, and their recovery (R%) ranged from 0% to 9.38% of the initial amount detected in the non-digested extracts. Chrysin was the most bioaccessible flavonoid in all extracts. Among phenolic acids, the highest R% was determined for trans-cinnamic acid (22.14%) from BE. All extracts showed in vitro inhibitory activity against and This study suggests that an L-arginine solution could be used as an alternative solvent to ethanol and propylene glycol for propolis extraction.
PubMed: 38628177
DOI: 10.1002/fsn3.3953 -
The Journal of Physical Chemistry. B Apr 2024Very few drugs have the necessary physicochemical properties to cross the skin's main permeability barrier, the stratum corneum (SC), in sufficient amounts. Propylene...
Very few drugs have the necessary physicochemical properties to cross the skin's main permeability barrier, the stratum corneum (SC), in sufficient amounts. Propylene glycol (PG) is a chemical penetration enhancer that could be included in topical formulations in order to overcome the barrier properties of the skin and facilitate the transport of drugs across it. Experiments have demonstrated that PG increases the mobility and disorder of SC lipids and may extract cholesterol from the SC, but little is known about the molecular mechanisms of drug permeation enhancement by PG. In this work, we have performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the molecular-level effects of PG on the structure and properties of model SC lipid bilayers. The model bilayers were simulated in the presence of PG concentrations over the range of 0-100% w/w PG, using both an all-atom and a united atom force field. PG was found to localize in the hydrophilic headgroup regions at the bilayer interface, to occupy the lipid-water hydrogen-bonding sites, and to slightly increase lipid tail disorder in a concentration-dependent manner. We showed with MD simulation that PG enhances the permeation of small molecules such as water by interacting with the bilayer interface; the results of our study may be used to guide the design of formulations for transdermal drug delivery with enhanced skin permeation, as well as topical formulations and cosmetic products.
Topics: Propylene Glycol; Molecular Dynamics Simulation; Lipid Bilayers; Skin; Hydrogen Bonding; Skin Absorption
PubMed: 38622775
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c06784 -
Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces... Apr 2024The technological importance of SnO and SnO has invited scientists to explore various aspects, including their synthesis in the nanosize regime, surface...
The technological importance of SnO and SnO has invited scientists to explore various aspects, including their synthesis in the nanosize regime, surface functionalization, and composite formation. In the present work, a binuclear Sn-EDTA complex has been demonstrated to produce a SnO-graphite composite and C, N-codoped SnO nanocrystals with ester functionality in quantitative yields by thermal and solvothermal dissociation processes. The products were characterized extensively. While SnO in the SnO-graphite composite exhibited tetragonal symmetry, graphitic carbon had defects. The composite had 12 wt % of graphitic carbon. The role of the SnO-graphite composite as an anode in lithium-ion batteries (LIB) has been evaluated. Solvothermal dissociation of the Sn-EDTA complex in a propylene glycol medium yielded nanocrystalline SnO with yellow color. Agglomerated crystallites had ester functionality on their surfaces. The surface functionality was thermally stable up to 200 °C, and its complete removal yielded tetragonal white-colored SnO. Co-doping of carbon and nitrogen in yellow SnO reduced its optical band gap (2.9 eV). Despite the negative surface charge of the functionalized SnO, its affinity to rapidly adsorb anionic azo dyes (Congo red and Eriochrome black T) from aqueous solutions has been validated. Following pseudo-second-order kinetics, adsorption data analysis revealed chemisorption as the primary driving force in this process.
PubMed: 38598317
DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c04040 -
Small (Weinheim An Der Bergstrasse,... Apr 2024Developing a silicone elastomer with high strength, exceptional toughness, good crack tolerance, healability, and recyclability, poses significant challenges due to the...
Developing a silicone elastomer with high strength, exceptional toughness, good crack tolerance, healability, and recyclability, poses significant challenges due to the inherent trade-offs between these properties. Herein, the design of silicone-based elastomers with a nanoscopic microphase separation structure and comprehensive mechanical properties is achieved by combining bi-incompatible soft segments and multi-scale hydrogen bonds. The formation of multi-scale hydrogen bonds involving urethane, urea, and 2-ureido-4[1H]-pyrimidinone (UPy) facilitates efficient reversible crosslinking of the synthesized polymer containing thermodynamically incompatible poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) and poly(propylene glycol) (PPG). The dynamic dissociation and recombination of hydrogen bonds, coupled with the forced compatibility and spontaneous separation of bi-incompatible soft segments, can effectively dissipate energy, particularly in the crack region during the stretching process. The obtained silicone-based elastomer exhibits a high break strength of 8.0 MPa, good elongation at break of 1910%, ultrahigh toughness of 67.8 MJ m, and unprecedented fracture energy of 31.8 kJ m while maintaining their thermal stability, hydrophobicity, healability, and recyclability. This resilient and long-lasting silicone-based elastomer exhibits significant potential for use in flexible electronic devices.
PubMed: 38593327
DOI: 10.1002/smll.202402124