Department of Biotechnology

About: Department of Biotechnology is a government organization based out in New Delhi, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Silver nanoparticle. The organization has 4800 authors who have published 5033 publications receiving 82022 citations.

How Corona Formation Impacts Nanomaterials as Drug Carriers.

Abstract: As drugs/drug carriers, upon encountering physiological fluids, nanoparticles adsorb biological molecules almost immediately to form a biocorona, which is often simply called a corona. Once the corona is formed, it dictates the subsequent fate of the drug nanoparticle as a therapeutic agent. Protein adsorption on micron-size or even bigger particles was originally described by the Vroman effect. It has served as a useful framework to understand the corona formation. Proteins that are irreversibly adsorbed on nanoparticles form what is called a hard corona. Beyond that is the exchangeable population of proteins, which constitute the dynamic structure called a soft corona. More than the abundance, the affinity of the proteins toward the nanoparticles decides which ones end up in the corona. For example, the more common serum albumin, which is deposited initially, is displaced by fibrinogen, which has a higher affinity for gold nanoparticles. The curvature of the particle is a crucial parameter with bigger particles generally able to bind a more diverse population of proteins from the physiological milieu. The earlier perception of the corona formation being a challenge for drug targeting, etc. has been turned into an opportunity by engineering corona to manipulate properties like circulating half-lives, capacity to evade the immune system, and targeting or even overcoming the blood-brain barrier. The most commonly used techniques for particle characterization, including dynamic light scattering (DLS), differential sedimentation centrifugation, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and SDS-PAGE, have been adopted to study corona formation in the past. Many newer tools, for example, a combination of capillary electrophoresis with mass spectrometry, are being used to study the corona composition. The comparison of interlaboratory results is a problem because of the lack of standard protocols. This has hindered the ability to obtain more precise information about the corona composition. That, in turn, affects our prospects to use nanoparticles as drugs/drug carriers. This overview is an attempt to assess our understanding of corona formation critically and to outline the complexities involved in gaining precise information. The discussion is largely focused on findings of the last year or so.

Soluble‐eggshell‐membrane‐protein‐modified porous silk fibroin scaffolds with enhanced cell adhesion and proliferation properties

Abstract: In this study, a porous silk fibroin (SF) scaffold was modified with soluble eggshell membrane protein (SEP) with the aim of improving the cell affinity properties of the scaffold for tissue regeneration. The pore size and porosity of the prepared scaffold were in the ranges 200–300 μm and 85–90%, respectively. The existence of SEP on the scaffold surface and the structural and thermal stability were confirmed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. The cell culture study indicated a significant improvement in the cell adhesion and proliferation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on the SF scaffold modified with SEP. The cytocompatibility of the SEP-conjugated SF scaffold was confirmed by a 3-(4,5-dimethyltriazol-2-y1)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium assay. Thus, this study demonstrated that the biomimic properties of the scaffold could be enhanced by surface modification with SEP. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 40138.

Anti-larvicidal Activity of Silver Nanoparticles Synthesized from Sargassum polycystum Against Mosquito Vectors

Abstract: Mosquitoes act as vectors of pathogens and parasites that cause dreadful diseases (malaria, dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, lymphatic filariasis and Japanese encephalitis) in human beings. Synthetic chemical insecticides cause undesirable consequences in human beings and thus affect the ecosystem. Marine source based nanosynthesis has been reported as cheap and cost effective alternative for mosquito management. We have developed an ecofriendly protocol for the synthesis of nanoparticles using seaweed extract. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using UV–visible spectroscopy, FTIR, SEM, EDAX and XRD. We found that the extract treated at 60 °C was found to be more effective in synthesizing the nanoparticles. SEM analysis revealed that the Sp-AgNPs were predominantly cubical in shape and size ranges from 20 to 88 nm. The three strong diffraction peaks were observed by XRD analysis and it confirmed the crystalline nature of silver nanoparticles. Synthesized Sp-AgNPs were tested against four mosquitoes larvaes (An. stephensi, Ae. aegypti, Cx. quinquefasciatus and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus) and their mortality was examined. We found that Ae. aegypti has shown higher mortality rate of about 80% and 90% after 48 h and 72 h of treatment with Sp-AgNPs and moderately toxic against Cx. quinquefasciatus larvae and it has shown maximum of 80% mortality rate at 72 h of treatment. The mosquito larvae An. stephensi and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus has shown less response compared to others tested. So we believe that, fabricated Sp-AgNPs will be the promising eco-friendly tool to control Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus vectors.