Doxorubicin is one of the most widely used anti-cancer drugs, but side effects and selectivity problems create a demand for alternative drug delivery systems. Herein we describe a hybrid magnetic nanomaterial as a pH-dependent doxorubicin release carrier. This nanocarrier comprises magnetic iron oxide cores with a diameter of 10 nm, enveloped in a hybrid material made of siliceous shells and ĸ-carrageenan. The hybrid shells possess high drug loading capacity and a favorable drug release profile, while the iron oxide cores allows easy manipulation via an external magnetic field. The pH responsiveness was assessed in phosphate buffers at pH levels equivalent to those of blood (pH 7.4) and tumor microenvironment (pH 4.2 and 5). The nanoparticles have a loading capacity of up to 12.3 wt.% and a release profile of 80% in 5 h at acidic pH versus 25% at blood pH. In vitro drug delivery tests on human breast cancer and non-cancer cellular cultures have shown that, compared to the free drug, the loaded nanocarriers have comparable antiproliferative effect but a less intense cytotoxic effect, especially in the non-cancer cell line. The results show a clear potential for these new hybrid nanomaterials as alternative drug carriers for doxorubicin.

Gestational diabetes, affecting about 10% of pregnancies, is characterized by impaired glucose regulation and can lead to complications for health of pregnant women and their offspring. The microbiota, the resident microbes within the body, have been linked to the development of several metabolic conditions. This systematic review with meta-analysis aims to summarize the evidence on the differences in microbiota composition in pregnant women with gestational diabetes and their offspring compared to healthy pregnancies. A thorough search was conducted in the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases, and data from 21 studies were analyzed utilizing 41 meta-analyses. In the gut microbiota, Bifidobacterium and Alistipes were found to be more abundant in healthy pregnancies, while Roseburia appears to be more abundant in gestational diabetes. The heterogeneity among study findings regarding the microbiota in the meconium is considerable. The placental microbiota exhibited almost no heterogeneity, with an increased abundance of Firmicutes in the gestational diabetes group and a higher abundance of Proteobacteria in the control. The role of the microbiota in gestational diabetes is reinforced by these findings, which additionally point to the potential of microbiome-targeted therapies. To completely comprehend the interactions between gestational diabetes and the microbiome, standardizing methodologies and further research is necessary.