This review summarizes articles that have been reported in literature on liposome-based strategies for effective drug delivery across the blood–brain barrier. Due to their unique physicochemical characteristics, liposomes have been widely investigated for their application in drug delivery and in vivo bioimaging for the treatment and/or diagnosis of neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, stroke, and glioma. Several strategies have been used to deliver drug and/or imaging agents to the brain. Covalent ligation of such macromolecules as peptides, antibodies, and RNA aptamers is an effective method for receptor-targeting liposomes, which allows their blood–brain barrier penetration and/or the delivery of their therapeutic molecule specifically to the disease site. Additionally, methods have been employed for the development of liposomes that can respond to external stimuli. It can be concluded that the development of liposomes for brain delivery is still in its infancy, although these systems have the potential to revolutionize the ways in which medicine is administered.

Approximately 20% of the world’s population will be around or above 65 years of age by the next decade. Out of these, 40% are suspected to have cardiovascular diseases as a cause of mortality. Arteriosclerosis, characterized by increased vascular calcification, impairing Windkessel effect and tissue perfusion, and determining end-organ damage, is a hallmark of vascular pathology in the elderly population. Risk factors accumulated during aging affect the normal physiological and vascular aging process, which contributes to the progression of arteriosclerosis. Traditional risk factors, age-associated diseases, and respective regulating mechanisms influencing vascular calcification and vascular stiffness have been extensively studied for many years. Despite the well-known fact that aging alone can induce vascular damage, specific mechanisms that implicate physiological aging in vascular calcification, contributing to vascular stiffness, are poorly understood. This review focuses on mechanisms activated during normal aging, for example, cellular senescence, autophagy, extracellular vesicles secretion, and oxidative stress, along with the convergence of premature aging models’ pathophysiology, such as Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria (prelamin accumulation) and Klotho deficiency, to understand vascular calcification in aging. Understanding the mechanisms of vascular damage in aging that intersect with age-associated diseases and risk factors is crucial to foster innovative therapeutic targets to mitigate cardiovascular disease. Visual Overview—: An online visual overview is available for this article.

Peer reviewed article authored by (Silva AC, Oliveira TR, Mamani JB, Malheiros SMF, Malavolta L, Pavon LF, Sibov TT, Amaro E Jr, Tannús A, Vidoto ELG, Matins MJ, Santos RS, Gamarra LF). Read article or submit your manuscript for publishing.

Nowadays the use of magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) in medical applications has exceeded expectations. In molecular imaging, MNP based on iron oxide coated with appropriated materials have several applications in vitro and in vivo studies. For applications in nanobiotechnology these MNP must present some characteristics such as size smaller than 100 nanometers, high magnetization values, among others. Therefore the MNP have physical and chemical properties that are specific to certain studies which must be characterized for quality control of the nanostructured material. This study presents the synthesis and characterization of MNP of magnetite (Fe3O4) dispersible in water with perspectives in a wide range of biomedical applications. The characterization of the colloidal suspension based on MNP stated that the average diameter is (12.6±0.2) nm determined by Transmission Electron Microscopy where the MNP have the crystalline phase of magnetite (Fe3O4) that was identified by Diffraction X-ray and confirmed by Mössbauer Spectroscopy. The blocking temperature of (89±1) K, Fe3O4 MNP property, was determined from magnetic measurements based on the Zero Field Cooled and Field Cooled methods. The hysteresis loops were measured at different temperatures below and above blocking temperature. The magnetometry determined that the MNP showed superparamagnetic behavior confirmed by ferromagnetic resonance.