@article { ISI:000345734800010, title = {Functionally engineered egg albumen gel for quasi-solid dye sensitized solar cells}, journal = {ACS Sustainable Chemistry \& Engineering}, volume = {2}, number = {12}, year = {2014}, month = {DEC}, pages = {2707-2714}, publisher = {AMER CHEMICAL SOC}, address = {1155 16TH ST, NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20036 USA}, abstract = {

In this report, we demonstrated an interesting application of a bioderived material for the dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Egg white, the clear liquid in a hen{\textquoteright}s egg, which possesses a remarkable gelling/cross-linking ability, was applied in the form of a gel electrolyte in a DSSC architecture to enhance its durability. A hybrid gel composed of poly(acrylic acid), polyaniline and egg albumen was synthesized, and the cell efficiency, stability and durability of the corresponding DSSC device were studied in detail. The dye sensitized solar cell with the egg albumen based electrolyte demonstrated a conversion energy efficiency of 4.6\%. Further, a chemically modified egg albumen with ethylenediaminetetraacetic dianhydride showed improved cross-linking, microstructural and conductivity properties of the gel, and yielded a remarkable 5.75\% conversion efficiency. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy data showed favorable characteristics for charge transport through the modified gel and supported the efficiency observations very well.

}, keywords = {dye sensitized solar cells, Egg albumen, gel electrolyte}, issn = {2168-0485}, doi = {10.1021/sc5004488}, author = {Kelkar, Sarika A. and Pandey, Komal and Agarkar, Shruti A. and Saikhedkar, Nidhi and Tathavadekar, Mukta and Agrawal, Ishita and Gundloori, Rathna V. N. and Ogale, Satishchandra} } @inbook {47478, title = {Nanobased intravenous and transdermal drug delivery systems}, booktitle = {Applications of Targeted Nano Drugs and Delivery Systems}, number = {Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery Micro and Nano Technologies}, year = {2019}, pages = {551-594}, publisher = {Elsevier}, organization = {Elsevier}, abstract = {In this chapter we bring in the collective information about intravenous and transdermal nano drug delivery systems (DDSs), which include different kinds of constituents used for the design of nano DDSs, their various forms, methods, and characterization of nanoformulations. }, doi = {10.1016/B978-0-12-814029-1.00019-3}, author = {Gundloori, Rathna V. N. and Singam, Amarnath and Killi, Naresh} } @article {47172, title = {Polyesteramide of neem oil and its blends as an active nanomaterial for tissue regeneration}, journal = {ACS Applied Bio Materials}, volume = {2}, year = {2019}, month = {JUL}, pages = {3341{\textendash}3351}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

Neem oil gained importance due to its antibacterial properties. Therefore, it is extensively being used for various applications. Oils can be polymerized as a polyesteramide to extend their utility as biomaterials. In our studies, we synthesized polyesteramide from neem oil and various compositions of blends were prepared with the drug, chlorohexidine digluconate (CH) to develop a nanomaterial for tissue regeneration. The studies such as cytotoxicity, biodegradable, antibacterial, in vitro drug release, in vivo wound healing, and histopathological studies were performed to identify their potential for tissue regeneration. In vivo wound healing studies of the nanofiber mats with and without CH recorded a faster healing rate as compared to the commercial cream (povidone{\textendash}iodine). Most importantly, there was no requirement of repeated application of nanofiber mats during the treatment. The histopathology studies also suggested the re-epithelialization of the wounds. Hence, these nanomaterials are considered to be environmentally safe scaffolds for efficient tissue regeneration applications.

}, doi = {10.1021/acsabm.9b00354}, author = {Killi, Naresh and Pawar, Anil Tukaram and Gundloori, Rathna V. N.} } @article {46624, title = {Blends of neem oil based polyesteramide as nanofiber mats to control Culicidae}, journal = {RSC Advances}, volume = {10}, year = {2020}, month = {NOV }, pages = {42827-42837}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

Mosquitoes act as vectors for several disease-causing microorganisms and pose a threat to mankind by transmitting various diseases. There are different conventional methods to repel or kill these mosquitoes for avoiding susceptibility against infections. However, to overcome the difficulties with conventional methods, new advanced materials are being studied. For the first time, we report developing a nanofiber mat with a controlled release of insecticide to repel or detain the mosquitoes. Briefly, various blend compositions were prepared by manipulating the ratio of neem oil-based polyesteramide (PEA) and polycaprolactone (PCL) immobilized with insecticide, transfluthrin (Tf). The blend solutions were electrospun to get non-woven nanofiber mats, and these nanomaterials were characterized by various spectroscopic techniques to understand their physicochemical properties. The surface morphology was analyzed using environmental scanning electron microscopy (E-SEM), and the diameter of the nanofibers was in the range of 200 to 450 nm. Further, thermal and mechanical properties were evaluated to understand the stability of nanofiber mats. In vitro drug release studies of nanofiber mat PPT-1335 showed controlled and sustained release of Tf, with similar to 35\% of Tf released in 24 h. However, a film of the same composition (PPT-1335) showed similar to 5\% of Tf release within 24 h. Moreover, in vivo bio-efficacy studies suggested the mortality of mosquitoes was about 50\% with PP-133, which was further increased to 100\% within 12 h in the presence of Tf (PPT-1335). However, 60\% mortality of mosquitoes was observed with the film of PPT-1335. Hence, the nanofiber mat showed better efficacy against mosquitoes as compared to the film of the same composition. The degradation studies under various conditions revealed biocompatibility of the developed nanofiber mats with the ecosystem.

}, doi = {10.1039/d0ra08297j}, author = {Konchada, Sravanya and Killi, Naresh and Sayyad, Shahebaz and Gathalkar, Ganesh B. and Gundloori, Rathna V. N.} } @article {47583, title = {PEGylated ethyl cellulose micelles as a nanocarrier for drug delivery}, journal = {RSC Advances}, volume = {11}, year = {2021}, month = {NOV }, pages = {30532-30543}, type = {Article}, abstract = {Natural polymers provide a better alternative to synthetic polymers in the domain of drug delivery systems (DDSs) because of their renewability, biocompatibility, and low immunogenicity; therefore, they are being studied for the development of bulk/nanoformulations. Likewise, current methods for engineering natural polymers into micelles are in their infancy, and in-depth studies are required using natural polymers as controlled DDSs. Accordingly, in our present study, a new micellar DDS was synthesized using ethyl cellulose (EC) grafted with polyethylene glycol (PEG); it was characterized, its properties, cell toxicity, and hemocompatibility were evaluated, and its drug release kinetics were demonstrated using doxorubicin (DOX) as a model drug. Briefly, EC was grafted with PEG to form the amphiphilic copolymers EC-PEG1 and EC-PEG2 with varying PEG concentrations, and nano-micelles were prepared with and without the drug (DOX) via a dialysis method; the critical micelle concentrations (CMCs) were recorded to be 0.03 mg mL(-1) and 0.00193 mg mL(-1) for EC-PEG1 and EC-PEG2, respectively. The physicochemical properties of the respective nano-micelles were evaluated via various characterization techniques. The morphologies of the nano-micelles were analyzed via transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and the average size of the nano-micelles was recorded to be similar to 80 nm. In vitro, drug release studies were done for 48 h, where 100\% DOX release was recorded at pH 5.5 and 52\% DOX release was recorded at pH 7.4 from the micelles. In addition, cytotoxicity studies suggested that DOX-loaded micelles were potent in killing MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cancer cells, and the blank micelles were non-toxic toward cancerous and normal cells. A cellular uptake study via fluorescence microscopy indicated the internalization of DOX-loaded micelles by cancer cells, delivering the DOX into the cellular compartments. Based on these studies, we concluded that the developed material should be studied further via in vivo studies to understand its potential as a controlled DDS to treat cancer.}, doi = {10.1039/d1ra04242d}, author = {Singam, Amarnath and Killi, Naresh and Patel, Pratikshkumar R. and Gundloori, Rathna V. N.} } @article {47671, title = {Combinatorial therapy using RNAi and curcumin nano-architectures regresses tumors in breast and colon cancer models}, journal = {Nanoscale}, volume = {14}, year = {2022}, month = {JAN }, pages = {492-505}, type = {Article}, abstract = {Cancer is a debilitating disease and one of the leading causes of death in the world. In spite of the current clinical management being dependent on applying robust pathological variables and well-defined therapeutic strategies, there is an imminent need for novel and targeted therapies with least side effects. RNA interference (RNAi) has gained attention due to its precise potential for targeting multiple genes involved in cancer progression. Nanoparticles with their enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect have been found to overcome the limitations of RNAi-based therapies. With their high transportation capacity, nanocarriers can target RNAi molecules to tumor tissues and protect them from enzymatic degradation. Accumulating evidence has shown that tyrosine kinase Ephb4 is overexpressed in various cancers. Therefore, we report here the development and pre-clinical validation of curcumin-chitosan-loaded: eudragit-coated nanocomposites conjugated with Ephb4 shRNA as a feasible bio-drug to suppress breast and colon cancers. The proposed bio-drug is non-toxic and bio-compatible with a higher uptake efficiency and through our experimental results we have demonstrated the effective site-specific delivery of this biodrug and the successfull silencing of their respective target genes in vivo in autochthonous knockout models of breast and colon cancer. While mammary tumors showed a considerable decrease in size, oral administration of the biodrug conjugate to Apc knockout colon models prolonged the animal survival period by six months. Hence, this study has provided empirical proof that the combinatorial approach involving RNA interference and nanotechnology is a promising alliance for next-generation cancer therapeutics.}, issn = {2040-3364}, doi = {10.1039/d1nr04411g}, author = {Kumar, Aviral and Singam, Amarnath and Swaminathan, Guruprasadh and Killi, Naresh and Tangudu, Naveen Kumar and Jose, Jedy and Gundloori, Rathna V. N. and Kumar, Lekha Dinesh} }