A nanofibrous mat comprising: electrospun nanofibres forming said mat; and ceramic particles dispersed throughout said nanofibres and comprising a ceramic matrix and a dopant releasably encapsulated within said ceramic matrix, wherein the ceramic particles are dispersed throughout the nanofibres during electrospinning of the nanofibres, whereby said dopant is protected by said ceramic matrix during said electrospinning.

The task of the invention is therefore making available transfer capsules that are taken up by the target cell type and permanently or transiently modify the target cell, without exerting any toxic effects on the cell during this process.

The solution according to the invention consists of the use of monodisperse cores, so as to produce polyelectrolyte nanocapsules having cell-specific sizes from them. The sizes for hematopoietic cells are in a range of 20-80 nm, preferably in a range of 40-60 nm. In this regard, the sizes of the particles must be in a very narrow range, so as to prevent toxic effects from occurring. In order to keep the toxicity of the nanocapsules low, it is furthermore important to remove the nanoparticles around which the capsules are built up (cores) before use. Methods in this regard are known from the state of the art (for example dissolution by means of EDTA).

A further task is the stabilization of the transfer capsules.

The solution according to the invention consists in the modification of the capsules, the layers and/or the cargo to be packed, by means of functional groups, which allows stabilization and thereby long-term storage at room temperature.

The third task is the targeted introduction of the transfer capsules.

The solution according to the invention is a functionalization of the layers by way of chemical modifications and/or supplementing of the layers with antibodies, proteins or peptides.

There is provided a process for the preparation of composition in the form of a plurality of particles having a weight-, number-, and/or volume-based mean diameter that is between amount 10 nm and about 700 μm, which particles comprise: (a) solid cores, preferably comprising a biologically active agent; and (b) two or more sequentially applied, discrete layers, each of which comprises at least one separately applied coating material, and which two or more layers together surround, enclose and/or encapsulate said cores, which process comprises the sequential steps of: (1) applying an initial layer of at least one coating material to said solid cores by way of a gas phase deposition technique; (2) discharging the coated particles from the gas phase deposition reactor and subjecting the coated particles to agitation to disaggregate particle aggregates formed during step (1) by way of mechanical sieving technique; (3) reintroducing the disaggregated, coated particles from step (2) into the gas phase deposition reactor and applying a further layer of at least one coating material to the reintroduced particles; and (1) optionally repeating steps (2) and (3) one or more times to increase the total thickness of the at least one coating material that enclose(s) said solid core. The gas phase deposition technique is preferably atomic layer deposition. When the cores comprise biologically active agent, the compositions may provide for the delayed or sustained release of said active agent without a burst effect.

The present disclosure presents nanoparticle compositions for use in the treatment, prevention, or imaging of a disease (e.g., cancer), methods of treating, preventing, or imaging a disease in a subject in need thereof with the nanoparticle compositions, and methods of preparing the nanoparticle compositions of the disclosure. The nanoparticle compositions can include a magnetic nanoparticle ferric chloride, ferrous chloride, or a combination thereof, and a dextran coating functionalized with one or more amine groups.

The invention pertains to a method for treating a neoplasm, such as colorectal cancer, using hollow silica spheres (“HSS”). It also is directed to a method for making uncalcined HSS, calcined HSS from which phenyl groups have been removed, and HSS incorporating particles of Fe.sub.3O.sub.4, as well as compositions containing HSS.

A nanocomposite comprising a nanocarrier, a pharmaceutical compound disposed on a surface of the nanocarrier, and a biocompatible coating disposed on the pharmaceutical compound. The nanocarrier comprises nanotubes of a silicate or aluminosilicate material, preferably halloysite, and nanoparticles of a magnetic transition metal ferrite material of formula MFe.sub.2O.sub.4, where M is selected from the group consisting of zinc, nickel, copper, manganese, and cobalt, the nanoparticles being disposed on an interior and/or an exterior surface of the nanotubes. The pharmaceutical compound is disposed in the pores and/or on the surface of the nanocarrier by a solution phase impregnation process. The nanomedicinal composition is used in a method of treating pulmonary infections. The nanomedicinal composition may be administered by inhalation.

Disclosed herein, inter alia, are compositions and methods of modulating macrophage activity. Provided is a method of treating a disease (e.g., a macrophage-associated disease, autoimmune disease, inflammatory disease, or a cancer of an organ in the intraperitoneal cavity), the method including intraperitoneally administering to a subject in need thereof a therapeutically effective amount of a nanoparticle composition or pharmaceutical composition. Provided is a silica nanoparticle non-covalently bound to a plurality of nucleic acids, wherein the silica nanoparticle has a net positive charge in the absence of the plurality of nucleic acids. Provided is a pharmaceutical composition including a nanoparticle composition as described herein, and a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient.

The present invention relates in one aspect to the discovery of novel mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) templated around and comprising benzalkonium chloride (BAC). In certain embodiments, the BAC-SiO.sub.2 mesoporous nanoparticles are capable of sustained release of BAC under acidic conditions, thereby acting as a long release antimicrobial agent. In other embodiments, the BAC-SiO.sub.2 mesoporous nanoparticles can be incorporated into a variety of consumer products as an antimicrobial agent additive, including for example, but not limited to, surgical dressings, bandages, deodorants, soaps, facial cleansers and industrial cleaners.

The presently disclosed subject matter relates to nitric oxide-releasing particles for delivering nitric oxide, and their use in biomedical and pharmaceutical applications.

The present invention relates to a platelet aggregating agent containing amorphous polyphosphate as an active ingredient, wherein the polyphosphate is a Ca salt of polyphosphate. The platelet aggregating agent acts on damaged gastrointestinal mucosa in inflammatory bowel disease and exerts a platelet aggregating action, thereby allowing remission/improvement of the inflammatory bowel disease.