Amin Rahiminejad, Mojgan Heydari, Fariba Tajabadi,
Volume 22, Issue 1 (March 2025)
Abstract
Targeted drug delivery systems have been developed to overcome the disadvantages of conventional drug delivery systems and folate is one of the targeting molecules that has received attention in recent years. The attachment of this molecule to the surface of niosomal carriers has been achieved using Castor oil as an intermediate molecule. We synthesized caster folate (CF) and incorporate to noisome structure as biocompatible component for targeted delivery of anticancer drug Doxorubicin. This research studies the novelty of castor folate ester in the scope of niosome-based drug delivery systems. The aim was to investigate the feasibility of manufacturing and evaluating a niosomal carrier containing the drug doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) and its targeting by the combination of CF. The results of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) confirm chemical bounding between folic acid and castor oil. SEM showed good morphology with spherical structure of niosomes. These niosomes have particles size of 330 to 538 nm for different samples. Also, zeta potential was -28 to -40 mV that results good stability. The addition of CF to niosomal samples increased wettability and drug loading efficacy and along with DLS and zeta potential results confirms the folate impact on surface hydrophilicity of niosome spheres. The prepared formulations increased the effectiveness of doxorubicin on L929 fibroblast cells. The proposed biocompatible component showed the role of CF in the architectural integrity of niosomal lipid bilayers.
Mohsen Ghasvari, M. Reza Aboutalebi, Ali Zamanian, Maryam Tajabadi,
Volume 23, Issue 3 (September 2026)
Abstract
In recent years, Mg- based alloys have been considered as a biodegradable biomaterial for implant applications. However, the high corrosion rate and hydrogen gas evolution in an aqueous environment are the most important challenges for these alloys. This study has focused on optimizing the biocorrosion properties of bioalloys in Mg-Zn-Ca system, using a combined approach of thermodynamic simulations, and response surface methodology (RSM). In, Mg2Ca and CaxMgyZnz precipitates have a significant effect on corrosion mechanisms. It is believed that, in the Mg-Zn-Ca alloy system, the Mg2Ca secondary phase usually enhances corrosion rate with microgalvanic coupling mechanisms. The ternary phases CaxMgyZnz have less detrimental effects on corrosion resistance. To minimize harmful phases, CompuTherm’s PANDAT software was utilized for phase evolution prediction, with outputs directly validated against experimental measurements. Potentiodynamic tafel polarization experiments and long-term immersion tests were conducted to evaluate the corrosion rate. In order to design an alloy with the least detrimental phase, a statistical model (RSM) was developed based on predicted results from thermodynamic model. The results showed that the ZX31 (Mg-2.6Zn-1Ca) exhibited the highest corrosion potential (-1.6336 VAg/AgCl) and the lowest corrosion current density (216 µA/cm2), showing higher biocorrosion resistance compared to ZX24 (Mg-2.3Zn-4.0Ca) and ZX15 (Mg-1.3Zn-4.8Ca).
