Topic Review
Nanoliposomes and Tocosomes as Nanocarriers in Food Industry
Nanoscale lipid bilayers, or nanoliposomes, are generally spherical vesicles formed by the dispersion of phospholipid molecules in a water-based medium by energy input. Nanoliposomes and tocosomes are able to provide protection and release of sensitive food-grade bioactive materials in a sustained manner. They are being utilized for the encapsulation of different types of bioactive materials (such as drugs, vaccines, antimicrobials, antioxidants, minerals and preservatives), for the enrichment and fortification of different food and nutraceutical formulations and manufacturing of functional products.
  • 835
  • 11 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Leaves of Diospyros kaki (Persimmon)
Diospyros kaki (persimmon) leaves have long been utilized as traditional medicine for the treatment of ischemic stroke, angina, and hypertension and as a healthy beverage and cosmetic for anti-aging. This study aimed to isolate as many compounds as possible from an ethanol extract of the persimmon leaves to identify the biologically active compounds. The antioxidative effect of the ethyl acetate layer from the ethanol extract of the persimmon leaves was demonstrated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay and online high-performance liquid chromatography-2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (HPLC-ABTS) analysis. 
  • 776
  • 11 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Anisotropic Chitosan Scaffolds for Cartilage Regeneration
The replacement of damaged or degenerated articular cartilage tissue remains a challenge, as this non-vascularized tissue has a very limited self-healing capacity. Therefore, tissue engineering (TE) of cartilage is a promising treatment option. Although significant progress has been made in recent years, there is still a lack of scaffolds that ensure the formation of functional cartilage tissue while meeting the mechanical requirements for chondrogenic TE. In this article, we report the application of flock technology, a common process in the modern textile industry, to produce flock scaffolds made of chitosan (a biodegradable and biocompatible biopolymer) for chondrogenic TE. By combining an alginate hydrogel with a chitosan flock scaffold (CFS+ALG), a fiber-reinforced hydrogel with anisotropic properties was developed to support chondrogenic differentiation of embedded human chondrocytes. Pure alginate hydrogels (ALG) and pure chitosan flock scaffolds (CFS) were studied as controls. Morphology of primary human chondrocytes analyzed by cLSM and SEM showed a round, chondrogenic phenotype in CFS+ALG and ALG after 21 days of differentiation, whereas chondrocytes on CFS formed spheroids. The compressive strength of CFS+ALG was higher than the compressive strength of ALG and CFS alone. Chondrocytes embedded in CFS+ALG showed gene expression of chondrogenic markers (COL II, COMP, ACAN), the highest collagen II/I ratio, and production of the typical extracellular matrix such as sGAG and collagen II. The combination of alginate hydrogel with chitosan flock scaffolds resulted in a scaffold with anisotropic structure, good mechanical properties, elasticity, and porosity that supported chondrogenic differentiation of inserted human chondrocytes and expression of chondrogenic markers and typical extracellular matrix.
  • 480
  • 11 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Essential Oils Stabilization into Biodegradable Food Packaging Materials
Human health, food spoilage, and plastic waste, which are three great topical concerns, intersect in the field of food packaging. This has created a trend to replace synthetic food preservatives with natural ones, to produce bio-functional food packaging, and to shift towards biodegradable polymeric materials. Essential oils are gaining more and more attention in food packaging applications due to their various benefits and fewer side-effects. Fixation into polymeric matrices by emulsification and electrospinning, represents suitable strategies  for protection and stabilization of essential oils, promoting the benefits and reducing the drawbacks. This review focuses on creating correlations between the use of essential oils as natural additives, stabilization methods, and biodegradable polymeric matrices or substrates in developing bioactive food packaging materials.
  • 512
  • 11 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Carbon Nanoarchitectonics for Energy and Related Applications
Nanoarchitectonics has been recently proposed as a post-nanotechnology concept. It is the methodology to produce functional materials from nanoscale units.
  • 780
  • 11 Nov 2021
Topic Review
PAMAM-calix-dendrimers
A convenient method for the synthesis of the first generation PAMAM dendrimers based on the thiacalix[4]arene has been developed for the first time. Three new PAMAM-calix-dendrimers with the macrocyclic core in cone, partial cone, and 1,3-alternate conformations were obtained with high yields.
  • 701
  • 11 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Polyurethanes and Green Chemistry
Polyurethanes are most often called “green” when they contain natural, renewable additives in their network or chemical structure, such as mono- and polysaccharides, vegetable oils, polyphenols, or various compounds derived from agro-waste white biotechnology. The use of these natural substrates is in line with the principles of green chemistry. However, other principles among all 12 can also be used in the production of polyurethanes.
  • 817
  • 11 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Medical Applications of Metallic Bismuth Nanoparticles
In the diagnostic field, preclinical proofs of concept have been demonstrated for X-ray, photoacoustic and fluorescence imaging. In the therapeutic field, several preclinical studies have shown the potential of bismuth nanoparticles as X-ray radiosensitizers for use in radiotherapy and as photothermal agents for applications in near infrared phototherapy.
  • 762
  • 10 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Acyl-Homoserine Lactones Improve Growth of Ginseng Seedlings
Panax ginseng is a well-known medicinal plant that achieves strong resistance against plant pathogens while growing in the wild. Due to the high market demand for ginseng as a health food source, ginseng cultivation is prevalent in South Korea. However, continuous monocropping creates problems like irregular growth or vulnerability to crop diseases. Quorum sensing (QS) deals with the intracellular communication of bacteria and plays a role in dynamic changes in the soil microbiome. Here, we investigated how acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) signaling molecules in QS (C8, C10, and C12) improve plant growth and induce shifts in the soil microbiome. To assess the effects, we recorded root and shoot growth of ginseng seedlings and checked the changes in the soil microbiome during different time points (0, 2, 4, and 8) after 8 weeks of growth. We observed that soils treated with N-decanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C10) showed the most pronounced effects. Very striking was that C10 had the lowest alpha diversity. Using Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt2), we observed a high number of QS-related functional genes, with the highest count occurring in the untreated planted soil (W). Together with the known direct and beneficial effects of AHLs on plant development, AHLs treated mono-cropped soil showed trends in the microbiome community. 
  • 503
  • 10 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Smart Drug Delivery
Drug delivery systems based on deformable peptides have been widely studied in tumor targeted therapy, for example, proton-driven tumor vaccine composed of deformable peptides for tumor immunotherapy, and an intracellular delivery system of chimeric peptides based on transmembrane peptides for acute liver injury in mice. With the help of software, researchers can take tiny strands of DNA and fold them into complex structures, complete with components such as rotors and hinges that can move and perform tasks, such as drug delivery and cargo handling. A nano-robot based on DNA origami technology can precisely locate tumor tissue and effectively inhibit tumor growth and metastasis.
  • 674
  • 08 Nov 2021
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