Guzmán Carissimi

By Mercedes G. Montalbán, Guzmán Carissimi, A. Abel Lozano-Pérez, José Luis Cenis, Jeannine M. Coburn, David L. Kaplan and Gloria Víllora

Recently, much research has focused on the use of biopolymers, which are regarded as biodegradable, natural, and environmentally friendly materials. In this context, biopolymeric nanoparticles have attracted great attention in the last few years due to their multiple applications especially in the field of biomedicine. Ionic liquids have emerged as promising solvents for use in a wide variety of chemical and biochemical processes for their extraordinary properties, which include negligible vapor pressure, high thermal and chemical stability, lower toxicity than conventional organic solvents, and the possibility of tuning their physical–chemical properties by choosing the appropriate cation and anion. We here review the published works concerning the synthesis of biopolymeric nanoparticles using ionic liquids, such as trimethylsilyl cellulose or silk fibroin. We also mention our recent studies describing how high-power ultrasounds are capable of enhancing the dissolution process of silk proteins in ionic liquids and how silk fibroin nanoparticles can be directly obtained from the silk fibroin/ionic liquid solution by rapid desolvation in polar organic solvents. As an example, their potential biomedical application of curcumin-loaded silk fibroin nanoparticles for cancer therapy is also discussed.

Part of the book: Recent Advances in Ionic Liquids

By Guzmán Carissimi, Mercedes G. Montalbán, Marta G. Fuster and Gloria Víllora

This chapter presents a review on the design of nanoparticles which have been proposed as drug delivery systems in biomedicine. It will begin with a brief historical review of nanotechnology including the most common types of nanoparticles (metal nanoparticles, liposomes, nanocrystals and polymeric nanoparticles) and their advantages as drug delivery systems. These advantages include the mechanism of increased penetration and retention, the transport of insoluble drugs and the controlled release. Next, the nanoparticle design principles and the routes of administration of nanoparticles (parental, oral, pulmonary and transdermal) are discussed. Different routes of elimination of nanoparticles (renal and hepatic) are also analyzed.

Part of the book: 21st Century Nanostructured Materials

By Guzmán Carissimi, Mercedes G. Montalbán, Marta G. Fuster and Gloria Víllora

The use of nanoparticles in biomedical fields is a very promising scientific area and has aroused the interest of researchers in the search for new biodegradable, biocompatible and non-toxic materials. This chapter is based on the features of the biopolymer silk fibroin and its applications in nanomedicine. Silk fibroin, obtained from the Bombyx mori silkworm, is a natural polymeric biomaterial whose main features are its amphiphilic chemistry, biocompatibility, biodegradability, excellent mechanical properties in various material formats, and processing flexibility. All of these properties make silk fibroin a useful candidate to act as nanocarrier. In this chapter, the structure of silk fibroin, its biocompatibility and degradability are reviewed. In addition, an intensive review on the silk fibroin nanoparticle synthesis methods is also presented. Finally, the application of the silk fibroin nanoparticles for drug delivery acting as nanocarriers is detailed.

Part of the book: 21st Century Nanostructured Materials