Combination therapy using chemically distinct drugs has appeared as one of the promising strategies to improve anticancer treatment efficiency. In the present investigation, poly-(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) nanoparticles electrostatically conjugated with polyethylenimine (PEI)-based co-delivery system for epirubicin and paclitaxel (PLGA-PEI-EPI-PTX NPs) has been developed. The PLGA-PEI-EPI-PTX NPs exhibited a monodispersed size distribution with an average size of 240.93 ± 12.70 nm as measured through DLS and 70.8–145 nm using AFM. The zeta potential of 41.95 ± 0.65 mV from −17.45 ± 2.15 mV further confirmed the colloidal stability and PEI modification on PLGA nanoparticles. Encapsulation and loading efficiency along with in vitro release of drug for nanoparticles were done spectrophotometrically. The FTIR analysis of PLGA-PEI-EPI-PTX NPs revealed the involvement of amide moiety between polymer PLGA and PEI. The effect of nanoparticles on the cell migration was also corroborated through wound healing assay. The MTT assay demonstrated that PLGA-PEI-EPI-PTX NPs exhibited considerable anticancer potential as compared to the naïve drugs. Further, p53 protein expression analysed through western blot showed enhanced expression. This study suggests that combination therapy using PLGA-PEI-EPI-PTX NPs represent a potential approach and could offer clinical benefits in the future for lung cancer patients.

This study aims to determine the anticancer efficacy of diosgenin encapsulated poly-glycerol malate co-dodecanedioate (PGMD) nanoparticles. Diosgenin loaded PGMD nanoparticles (variants 7:3 and 6:4) were synthesized by the nanoprecipitation method. The synthesis of PGMD nanoparticles was systematically optimized employing the Box-Behnken design and taking into account the influence of various independent variables such as concentrations of each PGMD, diosgenin and PF-68 on the responses such as size and PDI of the particles. Mathematical modeling was done using the Quadratic second order modeling method and response surface analysis was undertaken to elucidate the factor-response relationship. The obtained size of PGMD 7:3 and PGMD 6:4 nanoparticles were 133.6 nm and 121.4 nm, respectively, as measured through dynamic light scattering (DLS). The entrapment efficiency was in the range of 77–83%. The in vitro drug release studies showed diffusion and dissolution controlled drug release pattern following Korsmeyer–Peppas kinetic model. Furthermore, in vitro morphological and cytotoxic studies were performed to evaluate the toxicity of synthesized drug loaded nanoparticles in model cell lines. The IC₅₀ after 48 h was observed to be 27.14 µM, 15.15 µM and 13.91 µM for free diosgenin, PGMD 7:3 and PGMD 6:4 nanoparticles, respectively, when administered in A549 lung carcinoma cell lines.

The current research work illustrates an economical and rapid approach towards the biogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles using aqueous Punica granatum leaves extract (PGL-AgNPs). The optimization of major parameters involved in the biosynthesis process was done using Box-Behnken Design (BBD). The effects of different independent variables (parameters), namely concentration of AgNO₃, temperature and ratio of extract to AgNO_3, on response viz. particle size and polydispersity index were analyzed. As a result of experiment designing, 17 reactions were generated, which were further validated experimentally. The statistical and mathematical approaches were employed on these reactions in order to interpret the relationship between the factors and responses. The biosynthesized nanoparticles were initially characterized by UV-vis spectrophotometry followed by physicochemical analysis for determination of particle size, polydispersity index and zeta potential via dynamic light scattering (DLS), SEM and EDX studies. Moreover, the determination of the functional group present in the leaves extract and PGL-AgNPs was done by FTIR. Antibacterial and antibiofilm efficacies of PGL-AgNPs against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria were further determined. The physicochemical studies suggested that PGL-AgNPs were round in shape and of ~37.5 nm in size with uniform distribution. Our studies suggested that PGL-AgNPs exhibit potent antibacterial and antibiofilm properties.

Congenital Pouch Colon (CPC) is a rare anorectal anomaly common to northwestern India, specifically Rajasthan. Despite efforts to understand the clinical genetic makeup of CPC, no attempt on identifying non-coding RNAs was done. We have earlier reported CPC’s rare variants from whole exome sequencing (WES) across 18 affected samples in a total of 64 subjects. A Smith–Waterman algorithm was used to infer a couple of lncRNAs from WES samples of CPC with predictions from the Noncode database. Further screening and quantification using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), we ascertained interactions using Micro Scale Thermophoresis (MST). We report the role of lnc-EPB41-1-1 shown to be promiscuously interacting with KIF13A substantiating their role in regulation.