11 documents found, page 1 of 2
On the size-dependent internalization of sub-hundred polymeric nanoparticles
Gimondi, Sara; Castro, Joana Isabel Martins Cosme Vieira; Reis, R. L.; Ferreira, Helena; Neves, N. M.The understanding of the interaction between nanoparticles (NPs) and cells is crucial to design nanocarriers with high therapeutic relevance. In this study, we exploited a microfluidics device to synthesize homogeneous suspensions of NPs with ≈ 30, 50, and 70 nm of size. Afterward, we investigated their level and mechanism of internalization when exposed to different types of cells (endothelial cells, macrophag...
Antibacterial activity testing methods for hydrophobic patterned surfaces
Perez-Gavilan, Ana; Castro, Joana Isabel Martins Cosme Vieira; Arana, Ainara; Merino, Santos; Retolaza, Aritz; Alves, Sofia A.; Francone, AchilleOne strategy to decrease the incidence of hospital-acquired infections is to avoid the survival of pathogens in the environment by the development of surfaces with antimicrobial activity. To study the antibacterial behaviour of active surfaces, different approaches have been developed of which ISO 22916 is the standard. To assess the performance of different testing methodologies to analyse the antibacterial ac...
A new chalcone derivative with promising antiproliferative and anti-invasion ac...
Mendanha, Daniel; Castro, Joana Isabel Martins Cosme Vieira; Moreira, Joana; Costa, Bruno Marques; Cidade, Honorina; Pinto, MadalenaGlioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and most deadly primary malignant brain tumor. Current therapies are not effective, the average survival of GBM patients after diagnosis being limited to few months. Therefore, the discovery of new treatments for this highly aggressive brain cancer is urgently needed. Chalcones are synthetic and naturally occurring compounds that have been widely investigated as anticancer ...
Bottom-up development of nanoimprinted PLLA composite films with enhanced antib...
Psochia, Eleni; Papadopoulos, Lazaros; Gkiliopoulos, Dimitrios J.; Francone, Achille; Grigora, Maria-Eirini; Tzetzis, DimitriosIn this work, polymer nanocomposite films based on poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) were reinforced with mesoporous silica nanoparticles, mesoporous cellular foam (MCF) and Santa Barbara amorphous-15 (SBA). PLLA is a biobased aliphatic polyester, that possesses excellent thermomechanical properties, and has already been commercialized for packaging applications. The aim was to utilize nanoparticles that have already ...
Biomimetic and cell-based nanocarriers – New strategies for brain tumor targeting
Mendanha, D.; Castro, Joana Isabel Martins Cosme Vieira; Ferreira, Helena Susana Costa Machado; Neves, N. M.In the last two decades no significant advances were achieved in the treatment of the most frequent and malignant types of brain tumors. The main difficulties in achieving progress are related to the incapacity to deliver drugs in therapeutic amounts into the central nervous system and the associated severe side effects. Indeed, to obtain effective treatments, the drugs should be able to cross the intended biol...
Intracellular autofluorescence as a new biomarker for cancer stem cells in glio...
Castro, Joana Isabel Martins Cosme Vieira; Gonçalves, Celine Saraiva; Martins, Eduarda P.; Miranda-Lorenzo, Irene; Cerqueira, Mariana TeixeiraThe identification of cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are implicated in tumor initiation, progression, therapy resistance, and relapse, is of great biological and clinical relevance. In glioblastoma (GBM), this is still a challenge, as no single marker is able to universally identify populations of GBM cancer stem cells (GSCs). Indeed, there is still controversy on whether biomarker-expressing cells fulfill the...
MCT1 is a new prognostic biomarker and its therapeutic inhibition boosts respon...
Miranda-Gonçalves, Vera; Gonçalves, Celine Saraiva; Granja, Sara Costa; Castro, Joana Isabel Martins Cosme Vieira; Reis, Rui M.; Costa, Bruno M.<i>Background:</i> Glioblastomas (GBMs) present remarkable metabolism reprograming, in which many cells display the “Warburg effect”, with the production of high levels of lactate that are extruded to the tumour microenvironment by monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs). We described previously that MCT1 is up-regulated in human GBM samples, and MCT1 inhibition decreases glioma cell viability and aggressiveness. I...
Impact of surface topography on the bacterial attachment to micro- and nano-pat...
Francone, Achille; Merino, Santos; Retolaza, Aritz; Ramiro, Jorge; Alves, Sofia A.; Castro, Joana Isabel Martins Cosme Vieira; Neves, N. M.The development of antimicrobial surfaces has become a high priority in recent times. There are two ongoing worldwide health crises: the COVID-19 pandemic provoked by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the antibiotic-resistant diseases provoked by bacteria resistant to antibiotic-based treatments. The need for antimicrobial surfaces against bacteria and virus is a common factor to both crises. Most extended strategies to...
WNT6 is a novel oncogenic prognostic biomarker in human glioblastoma
Gonçalves, Céline S.; Castro, Joana Isabel Martins Cosme Vieira; Pojo, Marta; Martins, Eduarda P.; Queirós, Sandro Filipe Monteiro; Chautard, EmmanuelGlioblastoma (GBM) is a universally fatal brain cancer, for which novel therapies targeting specific underlying oncogenic events are urgently needed. While the WNT pathway has been shown to be frequently activated in GBM, constituting a potential therapeutic target, the relevance of WNT6, an activator of this pathway, remains unknown. Methods: WNT6 protein and mRNA levels were evaluated in GBM. WNT6 levels were...
The impact of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and their secretome as a treatment for gli...
Gomes, E. D.; Castro, Joana Isabel Martins Cosme Vieira; Costa, B. M.; Salgado, A. J.In recent years, we have witnessed a significant increase in the amount of studies using Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) for cancer therapy, mostly as vectors for drug or gene delivery strategies. This is because of their intrinsic capacity of homing into tumor niches. However, the interactions between MSCs themselves and tumor cells is not fully understood, with contradictory results frequently being observed re...