Scopus İndeksli Yayınlar Koleksiyonu / Scopus Indexed Publications Collection

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11147/7148

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  • Article
    Recent Developments in the Treatment of Leishmaniasis: Natural Compounds, Drug Targets, in Silico Molecular Docking Approaches, and Nanocarriers
    (Elsevier B.V., 2025) Gürbüz Çolak, N.; 01. Izmir Institute of Technology
    Leishmaniasis is a common tropical disease caused by Leishmania protozoa. It affects 0.9 to 1.6 million people, causing 20,000–30,000 deaths annually. There are no effective vaccines, and current treatments have severe side effects. Drug resistance is a major obstacle in treating leishmaniasis. The necessity of drug discovery is indisputable. Natural compounds are promising candidates for drug discovery studies because of their diverse chemical structures and bioactivities. Experimental screening of compound libraries imposes high costs and is time-consuming. The molecular docking approach is beneficial for exploring new therapeutics in silico as it allows the screening of millions of drug candidates. Even if new drug candidates are discovered, delivery of the active ingredient to the target remains controversial. Nanocarriers are promising nanosystems that can address the drawbacks of drug delivery. This chapter focuses on natural compounds as drug candidates, targets, in silico drug discovery, and drug delivery for the treatment of leishmaniasis. © 2025 Elsevier Inc.
  • Article
    Citation - Scopus: 13
    Her2-Targeted, Degradable Core Cross-Linked Micelles for Specific and Dual Ph-Sensitive Dox Release
    (John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2022) Bayram, N.N.; Baran, Yusuf; Ulu, Gizem Tuğçe; Topuzoğulları, M.; Baran, Y.; Dinçer, İşoğlu, S.; 04.03. Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics; 04. Faculty of Science; 01. Izmir Institute of Technology; 01.01. Units Affiliated to the Rectorate
    Here, a targeted, dual-pH responsive, and stable micelle nanocarrier is designed, which specifically selects an HER2 receptor on breast cancer cells. Intracellularly degradable and stabilized micelles are prepared by core cross-linking via reversible addition−fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization with an acid-sensitive cross-linker followed by the conjugation of maleimide–doxorubicin to the pyridyl disulfide-modified micelles. Multifunctional nanocarriers are obtained by coupling HER2-specific peptide. Formation of micelles, addition of peptide and doxorubicin (DOX) are confirmed structurally by spectroscopical techniques. Size and morphological characterization are performed by Zetasizer and transmission electron microscope (TEM). For the physicochemical verification of the synergistic acid-triggered degradation induced by acetal and hydrazone bond degradation, Infrared spectroscopy and particle size measurements are used. Drug release studies show that DOX release is accelerated at acidic pH. DOX-conjugated HER2-specific peptide-carrying nanocarriers significantly enhance cytotoxicity toward SKBR-3 cells. More importantly, no selectivity toward MCF-10A cells is observed compared to HER2(+) SKBR-3 cells. Formulations cause apoptosis depending on Bax and Caspase-3 and cell cycle arrest in G2 phase. This study shows a novel system for HER2-targeted therapy of breast cancer with a multifunctional nanocarrier, which has higher stability, dual pH-sensitivity, selectivity, and it can be an efficient way of targeted anticancer drug delivery. © 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH
  • Article
    Citation - WoS: 8
    Citation - Scopus: 12
    Adjuvant Potency of Astragaloside Vii Embedded Cholesterol Nanoparticles for H3n2 Influenza Vaccine
    (TÜBİTAK, 2020) Genç, Rukan; Bedir, Erdal; Yakuboğulları, Nilgün; Yakuboğulları, Nilgün; Nalbantsoy, Ayşe; Coven, Fethiye; Bedir, Erdal; 01.01. Units Affiliated to the Rectorate; 03.01. Department of Bioengineering; 01. Izmir Institute of Technology; 03. Faculty of Engineering
    Adjuvants are substances that increase the immune response to a given antigen. In the development of novel vaccine adjuvants/systems, saponins are one of the most attractive molecules due to their altered immunomodulatory activities. In this study, we tried to develop PEG (polyethylene glycol)/cholesterol-based lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to deliver the Astragaloside VII (AST-VII) and potentiate adjuvant properties of AST-VII for the influenza vaccine. In the formation of PEG/cholesterol/AST-VII-based LNPs (PEG300: Chol-AST-VII LNPs), 3 different primary solvents (acetone, ethanol, and chloroform) were evaluated, employing their effects on hydrodynamic particle size, distribution, surface chemistry, and colloidal stability. Prepared nanoparticles were simply admixtured with inactivated influenza antigen (H3N2) and applied to PMA (phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate)-ionomycin treated human whole blood to evaluate their cytokine release profile. PEG300: Chol-AST-VII LNPs (80.2 +/- 7.7 nm) were obtained using chloroform as a desolvation agent. Co-treatment of PMA-ionomycin with AST-VII and PEG300: Chol-AST-VII LNPs significantly increased the levels of IL-2 and IFN-gamma, compared to PMA-ionomycin alone. In the presence of H3N2, AST-VII was able to augment IL-17A, while PEG300: Chol-AST-VII LNPs stimulated the production of IFN-gamma. Hemolysis was only observed in PEG300: Chol-AST-VII LNPs (250 mu g/mL) treatment. AST-VII and AST-VII-integrated LNPs could be used as efficacious adjuvants for an inactivated H3N2 vaccine in vitro, and cytokine response through Th1/Th17 route was reported.