Browsing by Author "Quarta, Alessandra"
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- Hydroxyapatite-chitosan 3D scaffolds made from natural and sustainable sourcesPublication . Scalera, Francesca; Pereira, Sofia; Bucciarelli, Alessio; Tobaldi, David; Quarta, Alessandra; Gervaso, Francesca; Castro, Paula; Polini, Alessandro; Piccirillo, ClaraThe use of natural and sustainable sources in the chemical processes is becoming an issue of increasing importance; in addition to this, often natural materials have features (i.e. structure or morphology) which could lead to enhanced performances. Within this frame, in this work we report about the preparation of hydroxyapatite‐chitosan 3D scaffolds made from natural and sustainable sources.Hydroxyapatite (HA) is a calcium phosphate (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) widely used in biomedicine as bone substitute; in the present work HA was prepared from CaCO3 obtained using cork as a template agent. Cork is the bark of the Quercus suber L., and it possess a porous honeycomb structure, which was maintained by CaCO3. Chitosan (Cs), on the other hand, is a polysaccharide of natural origin, derived from chitin, which is extracted from the shells of crustaceous, i.e. by‐product of the food industry. The 3D scaffolds were prepared with in situ HA formation in a Cs solution, which was successively crosslinked and freeze dried. Their morphology was assessed with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) methodology, and a statistical comparison was performed between Cs and Cs‐HA scaffolds (pore size, shape and distribution). Moreover, functional properties such as mechanical behavior, antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity were also assessed. Results showed that these 3D scaffolds have great potential for biomedical use, as biocompatible and antibacterial structures.
- Poly(l-lactide-co-caprolactone-co-glycolide)-based nanoparticles as delivery platform: effect of the surfactants on characteristics and delivery efficiencyPublication . Rebanda, Magda M.; Bettini, Simona; Blasi, Laura; Gaballo, Antonio; Ragusa, Andrea; Quarta, Alessandra; Piccirillo, ClaraPolymeric nanoparticles made of the copolymer Poly(L-lactide-co-caprolactone-co-glycolide) were prepared using the solvent evaporation method. Two different surfactants, polyvinyl alcohol and dextran, and a mixture of the two were employed. The three types of nanoparticles were used as hosting carriers of two chemotherapeutic drugs, the hydrophilic doxorubicin and the hydrophobic SN-38. The morphostructural characterization showed similar features for the three types of nanoparticles, while the drug encapsulation efficiency indicated that the dextran-based systems are the most effective with both drugs. Cellular studies with breast cancer cells were performed to compare the delivery capability and the cytotoxicity profile of the three nanosystems. The results show that the unloaded nanoparticles are highly biocompatible at the administered concentrations and confirmed that dextran-coated nanoparticles are the most efficient vectors to release the two drugs, exerting cytotoxic activity. PVA, on the other hand, shows limited drug release in vitro, probably due to strong interactions with both drugs. Data also show the release is more efficient for doxorubicin than for SN-38; indeed, the doxorubicin IC50 value for the dextran-coated nanoparticles was about 35% lower than the free drug. This indicates that these nanocarriers are suitable candidates to deliver hydrophilic drugs while needing further modification to host hydrophobic molecules.