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Slow-release fertilizers (SRFs) play an essential and necessary role in sustainable agriculture. Using slow-release and environment friendly fertilizers can increase the growth of plants and reduce the loss of nutrients. Considering the deficiency of iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) in calcareous soils, a slow-release fertilizer was prepared based on the polymeric nanocomposite, which contains NPK, Fe, and Zn. Its potential was evaluated on tomato plant growth by conducting an experiment in a factorial completely randomized design with three replications. Two levels of salinity (2 and 5 ds m -1 , two types of soil texture) clay loam and sandy loam) and five levels of fertilizers were examined in the experiment. To this, the graphene oxide-chitosan coated-humic acid@Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles (Fe 3 O 4 @HA@GO-Cs), and the graphene oxide-chitosan coated-ammonium zinc phosphate (AZP@GO-Cs) were used as Fe and Zn sources, respectively. Then, the optimal Fe and Zn fertilizers in the presence of urea, phosphorus, and potassium slow- release fertilizers (SRF) were investigated under greenhouse conditions. The results indicated that the best improvement in growth and nutrient uptake in plants was achieved by using the SRF. Notably, in the shoots of tomato plants, the nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, Fe, and Zn concentration increased by 44, 66, 46, 75, and 74% compared to the control. The use of nanofertilizer can be an effective, biocompatible, and economical option to provide Fe and Zn demand in plants., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) does not respond to HER2-targeted and hormone-based medicines. Epidermal growth factor receptor 1 (EGFR1) is commonly overexpressed in up to 70% of TNBC cases, so targeting cancer cells via this receptor could emerge as a favored modality for TNBC therapy due to its target specificity. The development of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) as carriers for siRNAs remains a rapidly growing area of research. For this purpose, a multi-functionalized KIT-6 containing the guanidinium ionic liquid (GuIL), PEI and PEGylated folic acid (FA-PEG) was designed. Accordingly, KIT-6 was fabricated and modified with FA-PEG and PEI polymers attached on the surface and the GuIL placed in the mesopores. Subsequent to confirming the structure of this multi-functionalized KIT-6- based nanocarrier using TEM, SEM, AFM, BET, BJH, DLS and Zeta Potential, it was investigated for uploading and transferring the anti-EGFR1 siRNAs to the MD-MBA-231 cell line. The rate of cellular uptake, cellular localization and endolysosomal escape was evaluated based on the fluorescent intensity of FAM-labelled siRNA using flowcytometry analysis and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The 64% cellular uptake after 4 h incubation, clearly suggested the successful delivery of siRNA into the cells and, CLSM demonstrated that siRNA@[FA-PEGylated/PEI@GuIL@KIT-6] may escape endosomal entrapment after 6 h incubation. Using qPCR, quantitative evaluation of EGFR1 gene expression, a knockdown of 82% was found, which resulted in a functional change in the expression of EGFR1 targets. Co-treatment of chemotherapy drug "carboplatin" in combination with siRNA@[FA-PEGylated/PEI@GuIL@KIT-6] exhibited a remarkable cytotoxic effect in comparison to carboplatin alone., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

In this study, a novel catalyst is introduced based on the immobilization of palladium onto dipyrido (3,2- a :2',3'- c ) phenazine-modified mesoporous silica nanoparticles. The dipyrido (3,2- a :2',3'- c ) phenazine (Py 2 PZ) ligand is synthesized in a simple method from the reaction of 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione and 3,4-diaminobenzoic acid as starting materials. The ligand is used to functionalize mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) and modify their surface chemistry for the immobilization of palladium. The palladium-immobilized dipyrido (3,2- a :2',3'- c ) phenazine-modified mesoporous silica nanoparticles (Pd@Py 2 PZ@MSNs) are synthesized and characterized by several characterization techniques, including TEM, SEM, FT-IR, TGA, ICP, XRD, and EDS analyses. After the careful characterization of Pd@Py 2 PZ@MSNs, the activity and efficiency of this catalyst is examined in carbon-carbon bond formation reactions. The results are advantageous in water and the products are obtained in high isolated yields. In addition, the catalyst showed very good reusability and did not show significant loss in activity after 10 sequential runs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Sayahi, Toosibashi, Bahmaei, Lijan, Ma'Mani, Mahdavi and Bahadorikhalili.)

Xylanase improves poultry nutrition by degrading xylan in the cell walls of feed grains and release the entrapped nutrients. However, the application of xylanase as a feed supplement is restricted to its low stability in the environment and gastrointestinal (GI) tract of poultry. To overcome these obstacles, Zeozyme NPs as a smart pH-responsive nanosystem was designed based on xylanase immobilization on zeolitic nanoporous as the major cornerstone that was modified with L-lysine. The immobilized xylanase was followed by encapsulating with a cross-linked CMC-based polymer. Zeozyme NPs was structurally characterized using TEM, SEM, AFM, DLS, TGA and nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms at liquid nitrogen temperature. The stability of Zeozyme NPs was evaluated at different temperatures, pH, and in the presence of proteases. Additionally, the release pattern of xylanase was investigated at a digestion model mimicking the GI tract. Xylanase was released selectively at the duodenum and ileum (pH 6-7.1) and remarkably preserved at pH ≤ 6 including proventriculus, gizzard, and crop (pH 1.6-5). The results confirmed that the zeolite equipped with the CMC matrix could enhance the xylanase thermal and pH stability and preserve its activity in the presence of proteases. Moreover, Zeozyme NPs exhibited a smart pH-dependent release of xylanase in an in vitro simulated GI tract., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Main Conclusion: Engineered nanocarriers have great potential to deliver different genetic cargos to plant cells and increase the efficiency of plant genetic engineering. Genetic engineering has improved the quality and quantity of crops by introducing desired DNA sequences into the plant genome. Traditional transformation strategies face constraints such as low transformation efficiency, damage to plant tissues, and genotype dependency. Smart nanovehicle-based delivery is a newly emerged method for direct DNA delivery to plant genomes. The basis of this new approach of plant genetic transformation, nanomaterial-mediated gene delivery, is the appropriate protection of transferred DNA from the nucleases present in the cell cytoplasm through the nanocarriers. The conjugation of desired nucleic acids with engineered nanocarriers can solve the problem of genetic manipulation in some valuable recalcitrant plant genotypes. Combining nano-enabled genetic transformation with the new and powerful technique of targeted genome editing, CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats), can create new protocols for efficient improvement of desired plants. Silica-based nanoporous materials, especially mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs), are currently regarded as exciting nanoscale platforms for genetic engineering as they possess several useful properties including ordered and porous structure, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and surface chemistry. These specific features have made MSNs promising candidates for the design of smart, controlled, and targeted delivery systems in agricultural sciences. In the present review, we discuss the usability, challenges, and opportunities for possible application of nano-enabled biomolecule transformation as part of innovative approaches for target delivery of genes of interest into plants., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: There is a great interest in the efficient intracellular delivery of Cas9-sgRNA ribonucleoprotein complex (RNP) and its possible applications for in vivo CRISPR-based gene editing. In this study, a nanoporous mediated gene-editing approach has been successfully performed using a bi-functionalized aminoguanidine-PEGylated periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO) nanoparticles (RNP@AGu@PEG 1500 -PMO) as a potent and biocompatible nanocarrier for RNP delivery., Results: The bi-functionalized MSN-based nanomaterials have been fully characterized using electron microscopy (TEM and SEM), nitrogen adsorption measurements, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The results confirm that AGu@PEG 1500 -PMO can be applied for gene-editing with an efficiency of about 40% as measured by GFP gene knockdown of HT1080-GFP cells with no notable change in the morphology of the cells., Conclusions: Due to the high stability and biocompatibility, simple synthesis, and cost-effectiveness, the developed bi-functionalized PMO-based nano-network introduces a tailored nanocarrier that has remarkable potential as a promising trajectory for biomedical and RNP delivery applications.

A biogenic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs)-based nanocarrier has been used for improving the stability and recyclability of PersiXyn2 as a recombinant xylanase enzyme. The biogenic MSNs (called RKIT-6 henceforth) were synthesized via a soft templating method using rice husk biomass as a renewable silica source. Then bis-(2-aminoethyl) ether modified RKIT-6 (denoted as bis-AE@RKIT-6) was prepared through the furnishing surface with bis-(2-aminoethyl) ether, as a pendant anchoring agent to immobilize PersiXyn2. The nanomaterials were characterized using nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), molecular docking (MD) study, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). After immobilizing, PersiXyn2@bis-AE@RKIT-6, the optimal temperature of enzyme performance was improved more than 10 °C in comparison with the free enzyme. Such a way that PersiXyn2@bis-AE@RKIT-6 sample could maintain 90% of its maximum activity at the range of 30-60 °C. PersiXyn2@bis-AE@RKIT-6 also enhanced the degradation of lignocellulosic agro-waste (rice straw) and reducing sugar production up to 35% in comparison to the free enzyme. Moreover, PersiXyn2@bis-AE@RKIT-6 could be recycled for ninth runs with a reasonable decrease in its activity. This study presents an efficient nano-biocatalyst which in a more comprehensive sense can be considered as a promising candidate in the fields of animal feed and lignocellulosic biomasses saccharification., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing for financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Imidazolium-based ionic liquid functionalized PEGylated mesoporous silica nanoparticles MCM-41 (denoted as [ImIL-PEGylated@MCM-41] NPs) is synthesized and evaluated as an efficient and reliable pH-sensitive nano-carrier for controlled release of cationic Lapatinib (Lap) drug. This nano-DDS was fully characterized by dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, N 2 adsorption-desorption measurement, and differential scanning calorimeter. Furthermore, the drug loading content and in-vitro drug release profile were studied. The entrapment and loading efficiency of the optimized formulation for Lap were 91 ± 2.0% and 32.21 ± 2.70%, respectively. The results of cytotoxicity assay demonstrated that ImIL-PEG@MCM-41 has no significant toxicity on both cancerous and normal cell lines and the anticancer activity of Lap@ImIL-PEG@MCM-41 was comparable to free drug in case of human breast cells (SKBR3) and human embryonic kidney 293 cells (HEK-293). Meanwhile, three-dimensional (3D) cell culture was performed by multicellular tumor spheroids for understanding of cell response to drugs in physiologically 3D microenvironments. The results of Lap@ImIL-PEG@MCM-41 uptake during 48 hours showed a gradual release of the Lap through the multicellular tumor spheroids. This showed that the pH-responsive controlled release of Lapatinib leads to the satisfactory results in the in vitro breast cancer therapy.

Sulforaphane (SF) was loaded into the multi-functioned rattle-structured gold nanorod mesoporous silica nanoparticles core-shell to improve its stability and efficacy through its efficient delivery to tumors. The rattle-structured gold nanorod mesoporous silica nanoparticles (rattle-structured AuNR@mSiO 2 core-shell NPs) were obtained by covering the surface of Au NPs with Ag and mSiO 2 shell and subsequently selective Ag shell etching strategy. Then the surface of rattle-structured AuNR@mSiO 2 NPs was decorated with thiolated polyethylene glycol-FITC and thiolated polyethylene glycol-folic acid to the designed form. The obtained FITC/FA@ [rattle-structured AuNR@mSiO 2 ] NPs was characterized by different techniques including energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM & TEM), UV-visible spectrophotometer and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The FITC/FA@ [rattle-structured AuNR@mSiO 2 ] NPs has an average diameter around ~33 nm, which increases to ~38 nm after the loading of sulforaphane. The amount of the loaded drug was ~ 2.8×10-4 mol of SF per gram of FITC/FA@ [rattle-structured AuNR@mSiO 2 ] NPs. The rattle-structured AuNR@mSiO 2 and FITC/FA@ [rattle-structured AuNR@mSiO 2 ] NPs showed little inherent cytotoxicity, whereas the SF loaded FITC/FA@ [rattle-structured AuNR@mSiO 2 ] NPs was highly cytotoxic in the case of MCF-7 cell line. Finally, Fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry were used to demonstrate that the nanoparticles could be accumulated in specific regions and SF loaded FITC/FA@ [Fe 3 O 4 @Au] NPs efficiently induce apoptosis in MCF-7 cell line Graphical Abstract., Competing Interests: The authors report no declarations of interest., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Purpose: In this research, aspartic acid functionalized PEGylated mesoporous silica nanoparticlesgraphene oxide nanohybrid (As-PEGylated-MSN@GO) prepared as a pH-responsive drug carrier for the curcumin delivery. For better camouflage during blood circulation, poly(ethylene glycol) was decorated on the surface of MSN@GO nanohybrid., Materials and Methods: The nanocarrier was characterized by using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), UV-vis spectroscopy, thermal gravimetry analysis (TGA), FT-IR, SEM and TEM., Results: The size of modified MSN@GO was around 75.8 nm and 24% wt. of curcumin was loaded on the final nanohybrid. pHdecrement from 7.4 to 5.8 the release medium led to increase the cumulative amount of drug release from 54% to 98%., Conclusions: As-functionalized MSN@GO had no cytotoxicity against human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) and human mammary epithelial (MCF10A) as cancerous and normal cell lines, respectively. Whereas curcuminloaded nanohybrid showed excellent killing capability against MCF-7 cells., (Copyright © 2018 Medical University of Bialystok. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Theranostic polymeric NPs developed for both cancer diagnosis and cancer therapy. This multifunctional polymeric vehicle was prepared by a single emulsion evaporation method, using carboxyl-terminated PLGA. LHRH as a targeting moiety, was conjugated to the surface of polymeric carrier by applying polyethylene glycol. The results indicated that the diameter of NPs was ~185.4±4.6nm as defined by DLS. The entrapment efficacy of docetaxel, silibinin, and SPIONs was 84.6±4.1%, 80.6±2.7%, and 77.9±4.3%, respectively. The NPs showed a triphasic in-vitro drug release pattern. MTT assay was done on two cell lines, MCF-7 and SKOV-3. Enhanced cellular uptake ability of the targeted NPs to MCF-7 was evaluated in-vitro by confocal laser scanning microscopy. The results indicated that compared to non-targeted NPs, the LHRH targeted NPs had significant efficacy at IC50 concentration. The effect of the NPs on VEGF expression in MCF-7 and SKOV-3 cells was investigated by Real-Time PCR method. VEGF mRNA level expression in MCF-7 cell line reduced by 83% in comparison to control cell line. The designed NPs can be used as promising multifunctional platform for detection and targeted drug delivery in breast cancer., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A novel design of gold-coated iron oxide nanoparticles was fabricated as a potential delivery system to improve the efficiency and stability of d, l-sulforaphane as an anticancer drug. To this purpose, the surface of gold-coated iron oxide nanoparticles was modified for sulforaphane delivery via furnishing its surface with thiolated polyethylene glycol-folic acid and thiolated polyethylene glycol-FITC. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by different techniques such as FTIR, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The average diameters of the synthesized nanoparticles before and after sulforaphane loading were obtained ∼ 33 nm and ∼ 38 nm, respectively, when ∼ 2.8 mmol/g of sulforaphane was loaded. The result of cell viability assay which was confirmed by apoptosis assay on the human breast cancer cells (MCF-7 line) as a model of in vitro-cancerous cells, proved that the bare nanoparticles showed little inherent cytotoxicity, whereas the sulforaphane-loaded nanoparticles were cytotoxic. The expression rate of the anti-apoptotic genes (bcl-2 and bcl-xL), and the pro-apoptotic genes (bax and bak) were quantified, and it was found that the expression rate of bcl-2 and bcl-xL genes significantly were decreased when MCF-7 cells were incubated by sulforaphane-loaded nanoparticles. The sulforaphane-loaded into the designed gold-coated iron oxide nanoparticles, acceptably induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells.

Aminopropyl functionalized PEGylated mesoporous silica nanoparticles [H2N-Pr@PEGylated SBA-15] were synthesized and evaluated as a promising biocompatible additive to study the activity and thermal reversibility and stability of human carbonic anhydrase II (HCA II). For this purpose, the additive was prepared by covalent amino propyl functionalization of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) bearing PEG moiety as linker. The MSNs was fully characterized using different techniques including transmission electron microscopy, N2 adsorption-desorption measurements, thermal gravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering. The average particle size of [H2N-Pr@PEGylated SBA-15] was about 80 nm and showed high loading capacity for HCA II at pH 7.75 as a target protein. The efficiency of [H2N-Pr@PEGylated SBA-15] in improving reversibility of HCA II was investigated by various techniques including UV-vis, 1,8-Anilinonaphtalene Sulfonate (ANS) fluorescence, circular dichroism (CD), and differential scanning calorimetry. Our results showed that [H2N-Pr@PEGylated SBA-15] can increase the protein thermal reversibility and stability. Herein, kinetic studies were applied to confirm the ability of [H2N-Pr@PEGylated SBA-15] in increasing the activity of HCA II at high temperatures. Together our results present the [H2N-Pr@PEGylated SBA-15] as a water-dispersible and efficient additive for improving the activity, and thermal reversibility and stability of enzyme., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this research, we have synthesized guanidine functionalized PEGylated mesoporous silica nanoparticles as a novel and efficient drug delivery system (DDS). For this purpose, guanidine functionalized PEGylated I3ad mesoporous silica nanoparticle KIT-6 [Gu@PEGylated KIT-6] was utilized as a promising system for the effective delivery of curcumin into the breast cancer cells. The modified mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) was fully characterized by different techniques such as transmission and scanning electron microscopy (TEM & SEM), N2 adsorption-desorption measurement, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The average particle size of [Gu@PEGylated KIT-6] and curcumin loaded [Gu@PEGylated KIT-6] nanoparticles were about 60 and 70 nm, respectively. This new system exhibited high drug loading capacity, sustained drug release profile, and high and long term anticancer efficacy in human cancer cell lines. It showed pH-responsive controlled characteristics and highly programmed release of curcumin leading to the satisfactory results in in vitro breast cancer therapy. Our results depicted that the pure nanoparticles have no cytotoxicity against human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7), mouse breast cancer cells (4T1), and human mammary epithelial cells (MCF10A)., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Modified β-casein (mβ-CN) was investigated as an efficient additive for thermal reversibility of human carbonic anhydrase II (HCA II) at pH 7.75. The mβ-CN was obtained via modification of β-casein (β-CN) acidic residues using Woodward's reagent K. The effects of mβ-CN on the reversibility and stability of HCA II were determined by differential scanning calorimetry, UV-vis, and 1-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonic acid fluorescence spectroscopic methods. The mβ-CN, as an additive, enhanced thermal reversibility of HCA II by 33%. Together, our results indicated that mβ-CN is very efficient in decreasing thermal aggregation and enhancing the stability of HCA II. Using theoretical studies, we propose that the mechanism for thermal reversibility is mediated through formation of a salt bridge between the Woodward part of mβ-CN and the Zn ion of HCA II., (© 2013 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.)

Silica nanoparticle supported imidazolium ionic liquid [SNImIL] was synthesized and utilized as a biocompatible additive for studying the thermal reversibility of human carbonic anhydrase II (HCA II). For this purpose, we prepared additive by modification of nanoparticles through the grafting of ionic liquids on the surface of nanoparticles (SNImIL). The SNImIL were fully characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and thermo gravimetric analysis. The characterization of HCA II was investigated by various techniques including UV-vis and ANS fluorescence spectrophotometry, differential scanning calorimetry, and docking study. SNImIL induced disaggregation, enhanced protein stability and increased thermal reversibility of HCA II by up to 42% at pH 7.75., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The immobilization of β-lactoglobulin-B (BLG-B) onto the amine-functionalized KIT-6 [n-PrNH(2)-KIT-6], which has average pore diameter around 6.5 nm, was studied. [n-PrNH(2)-KIT-6] proved to be highly effective agent for BLG-B adsorption. UV-visible spectroscopy studies demonstrated that the immobilized BLG-B was less prone to thermally induced aggregation than the free protein. Circular dichroism (CD) spectra of free and immobilized BLG-B were recorded and significant differences in both the backbone and aromatic regions of the spectra were observed upon thermic stress. The obtained results showed that structural elements of the immobilized BLG-B are kept strongly together, making the protein more resistant to heat denaturation. The melting temperatures of the free and immobilized BLG-B were measured by far-UV CD, which showed 19 °C higher heat resistance of the immobilized BLG-B compared with its free form. Acrylamide quenching of fluorescence of free and immobilized forms of BLG-B as a function of temperature revealed that the immobilized BLG-B was more resistant to Trp quenching. Therefore immobilization of BLG-B onto [n-PrNH(2)-KIT-6] is accompanied by favorable structural stability of BLG-B in the confined space., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Immobilization of enzymes into the mesoporous nanomaterials results in formation of more stable and even more active versions of biocatalysts. The effect of surface functionalization of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) on its adsorption characteristics and stability of superoxide dismutase (SOD) was investigated. For this purpose, non-functionalized (KIT-6) and aminopropyl-functionalized cubic Ia3d mesoporous silica ([n-PrNH(2)-KIT-6]) nanoparticles with 3-dimensional pores were used as supports. It was observed that the amount of enzyme adsorbed on/within MSNs is dependent on the initial enzyme concentration for both KIT-6 and [n-PrNH(2)-KIT-6] mesoporous silicas. However a stronger interaction between SOD and [n-PrNH(2)-KIT-6] was observed relative to KIT-6. Increasing temperature favors a larger amount of SOD immobilization into KIT-6, while it was negligible for [n-PrNH(2)-KIT-6]. Immobilized SOD was more stable against urea and thermal denaturation relative to free enzyme and this improvement of stability was more pronounced for SOD into the [n-PrNH(2)-KIT-6] than KIT-6. These results may be useful in determining the mechanism(s) of protein immobilization and stabilization into the solid supports., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Pure homogeneous nano sized biocompatible fluorapatite (FAp) particles were synthesized by a wet chemical procedure using water soluble tetra-butylammonium fluoride (TBAF) without using high temperatures and any purification processes. Combination of the Bragg's law and the plane-spacing equation for the two high intensity lines, namely, (002) and (300), gives a=9.3531 Å, c=6.8841 Å, confirms the identity of the highly crystalline synthetic material as well as its purity. The effect of various pH's in crystal formation and on their size was also evaluated. The calculated crystallinities were excellent with a rate around 5.0. The synthesized nano FAp was fully characterized by spectroscopic techniques (XRD, SEM, EDS, BET, FT-IR and ICP-AES). The nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm showed a type IV diagram and calculation of the surface area was investigated as well., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this research, the immobilization of superoxide dismutase (SOD) onto aminopropyl-functionalized KIT-6 [n-PrNH(2)-KIT-6] was investigated. This organo-functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticle was prepared using a non-ionic surfactant and was fully characterized by XRD, nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm assay, IR and TGA techniques. An activity assay demonstrated that the immobilized SOD had a higher activity than the free enzyme. Further investigations using FT-IR, circular dichroism (CD), and probe 1-anilino-8-naphthalene sulfonate (ANS) fluorescence intensity measurements indicated that the structure of the enzyme did not change upon binding to the mesoporous silica, and that immobilized SOD was also less affected by higher temperatures. The melting temperatures of the free and immobilized enzymes were measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), which showed that a fraction of immobilized enzyme was more stable and revealed that immobilized enzyme was partly reversible., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)