Disclosed are biodegradable nanocarriers that have a net positive surface charge and zeta potential between about +2 to about +20 mV. The positive surface charge of the nanocarriers is provided by peptides that are covalently attached to the surface of the nanocarriers. The nanocarriers may comprise a drug and may be administered for localized and sustained delivery of the drug.

The present disclosure relates to a rosmarinic acid derivative, rosmarinic acid-derived particles, and a composition containing same for treating an inflammatory disease. The use of the rosmarinic acid derivative and rosmarinic acid-derived particles of the present disclosure enables the utilization of rosmarinic acid, which has been restricted in the utilization thereof due to low water solubility and low bioavailability, for a medicinal purpose.

The present invention concerns a block copolymer having at least one oligo- or polysaccharide block and at least one elastin-like polypeptide block, wherein said block copolymer comprises at least one repetitive unit having the following formula (I):

##STR00001##

wherein R′ is the side chain of a natural or synthetic amino acid other than proline and derivatives thereof.

A hyaluronic acid-drug conjugate synthesized by introducing a drug to an aldehyde group at the end of hyaluronic acid is provided. Such a hyaluronic acid-drug conjugate allows a drug to be conjugated without modifying the repeating structure of hyaluronic acid, thereby simplifying degradation products.

Provided are an extract, which is a fractionated component 1 of a water extract of a plant powder, wherein the fractionated component 1 is a fractionated component having a fractionation molecular weight of 12,000 or greater, wherein an ethanol-undissolved component of the fractionated component 1 exhibits a peak attributable to carboxylic acid in a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) measurement and exhibits a peak attributable to cellulose in a gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) measurement, and wherein an ethanol-dissolved component of the fractionated component 1 exhibits a peak attributable to carboxylic acid in the FT-IR measurement and exhibits a peak attributable to a plant protein in the GC-MS measurement, and a water-purifying agent containing the extract.

A delivery device for a active agent comprises nanoparticles based on a biopolymer such as starch. The delivery device may also be in the form of an aptamer-biopolymer-active agent conjugate wherein the aptamer targets the device for the treatment of specific disorders, such as cancer. The delivery device survives for a period of time in the body sufficient to allow for transport and uptake of the delivery device into targeted cells. The degree of crosslinking can provide a desired release profile of the active agent at, near or inside the target cells. The nanoparticles may be made by applying a high shear force in the presence of a cross linker. The particles may be predominantly in the range of 50-150 nm and form a colloidal dispersion of crosslinked hydrogel particles in water.

The present invention concerns therapeutics for autoimmune diseases and provides removal of inflammation-causing autoantibodies. In order to target the disease in the most efficient manner, a nanoconjugate complex is provided, comprising at least one specific antigen component recognized by autoantibodies related to the autoimmune disease, at least one helper moiety, and a nanoparticle carrier connecting the components. Each component of the therapeutic nanoconjugate complex has a specific function, yielding a nanoconjugate complex which facilitates specific binding, forming a stable antibody-therapeutic complex in the blood stream and rapid clearance of this complex to the liver.

The present invention relates to a water-dispersible single-chain dextran methacrylate or acrylate based nanoconjugate, which comprises a water-dispersible single-chain dextran methacrylate or acrylate based nanoparticle and one or more hydrophilic active ingredients, and having: a particle size from 3 nm to 50 nm, a zeta potential from −25 mV to +20 mV, a percentage of intra-molecular crosslinking from 3% to 45% molar % of the total amount of monomer units present in the dextran methacrylate or acrylate chain, and a drug loading from 20% to 40% by weight of the drug in relation to the total weight of the nanoconjugate. It also relates to processes for their preparation, compositions containing them and their use in therapy.

The invention relates to a bio-conjugate comprising a chitosan derivative coupled to antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) for use in the treatment or prevention of microbial infections such as wound healing. The invention also provides a nanoparticles formulation or a gel/hydrogel formulation or a lyophilized foam formulation comprising the bio-conjugate of the invention.

This disclosure relates to hyaluronic acid nanoparticles containing an anticancer agent such as a NADPH oxidase (NOX) inhibitor for targeted delivery to cancerous cells or tumors. In certain embodiments, the nanoparticles are made up of hyaluronic acid conjugated to hydrophobic moieties. In certain embodiments, the hydrophobic moieties are steroid based compounds, such as 5beta-cholanic acid.