Nanobiotechnology

Delia Alexandra Nita, is currently PhD student at the University of Bucharest, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Romania. She has earned her Master degree in 2013 with the thesis “Evaluation of renal function by analysis of biochemical parameters for dialysis patients”. She is specialist biochemist (in Medical Biochemistry) at the Clinica Polisano, Bucharest, Romania and her current fields of interest include biochemistry and immunology. She has attended a national conference with 1 oral presentation, and has participated with two posters at 2 national and international Molecular Biology conferences.

Quantum dots (QDs) are nanocrystalline semiconductor materials that have been recently tested for biological applications such as cancer therapy, cellular imaging and drug delivery. The purpose of this study was to evaluate in vivo the degree of oxidative stress generated at the liver level following administration of Si / SiO2 QDs. Silicon QDs toxicity was investigated by injection into the codified vein of these Si / SiO2 QDs in Swiss mice, being tested in 3 different concentrations (1, 10 and 100 mg QDs / kg body weight). After 24 hours of nanoparticle administration, the mice were sacrificed and liver tissue was sampling. From the total protein extracts, were measured the specific activities of the antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), glutathione reductase (Gred), glutathione S-transferase (GST), glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), as well as reduced glutathione (GSH) and malonaldehyde (MDA) concentration, the results have been reported to mice injected with phisiological serum. The analyzes showed that the highest dose (100 mg QDs / kg body weight), 30% decrease in CAT activity, 22% G6PDH activity, 15% GST activity, and 20% GPX and GSH concentration. The determinations performed demonstrate the lack of toxicity of Si / SiO2 QDs to concentrations of 10 mg/kg body, not affecting the redox balance at the liver.

Yuvapriya is working as a trainee scientific relation at OMICS international. She was graduated with honour from SASTRA UNIVERSITY with a master degree in Medical Nanotechnology. She is experienced in handling laboratory instruments, organizing events and teaching. She is interested in research on smart nanosystems.

Bacterial biofilms are widely associated with persistent infections. Prevalent virulence and high resistance to conventional antibiotics makes biofilms tough to be eliminated. Hence biofilms are regarded as good therapeutic targets. Herein, Ag-doped Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles for the treatment biofilm inhibition and pre-formed biofilms were prepared by sol-gel method. The saturated crystalline phase was checked by varying the concentration of capping agent (Hexylamine) and the morphology of nanoparticle that was tuned by varying capping agent structure (Heptylamine and Octylamine) with increasing alkyl chain. The P-XRD analysis confirmed the ZnO@Ag formation and further annealing increased the crystallinity and surface morphology of the composite. The antibiofilm effect was studied using live and dead cell assay. It is evident that the size of ZnO nanoparticles decreases after Ag doping and a small amount of Ag is doped onto ZnO crystal. Further, ZnO@Ag NPs are well characterized by FE-SEM, HR-TEM to study the surface morphology and UV-vis-DRS for its optical absorption and band gap studies. Therefore, Ag doping can markedly promote the biofilm inhibition and pre-formed antibiofilm activity of ZnO nanoparticles.