RNA plays important roles as a gene-silencing agent, a therapeutic agent for clinical treatment, and in the differentiation, proliferation, and development of cells. However, RNA is very difficult to work with due to its sensitivity and fragility. Another obstacle in using RNA for gene delivery/silencing is its negative charge, which causes its repulsion by cell membranes, which are also negatively charged. Our recent study showed that miR-125b is upregulated in glioblastoma (GMB) and plays an oncogenic role in GMB cells by promoting cell proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis. Endogenous miR-125b can be blocked by transfection of its antisense RNA molecule, miR-125b antisense (miR-125b-AS). Thus, miR- 125b-AS can be developed as an RNA-based agent for cancer treatment. However, instability during storage and difficulty in delivery into cells has limited the use of RNA-based therapies thus far. In the current work, we demonstrate a short and simple one-step technique for the preparation of positively charged RNA nanospheres (miR-125b-RNS and miR-125b-AS-RNS) coated with a bioavailable polymer, polyethylenimine (PEI). These RNA nanospheres are able to penetrate the cell directly without the use of liposomes. Our study confirmed that converting miR-125b and miR-125b-AS into nanospheres is a viable approach for storing RNA. In addition, this study provides evidence that PEI-coated RNA nanospheres have the potential to be used as a novel class of anticancer agents.

The antibacterial properties of nano-metal oxides (ZnO, CuO) are based on the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This work reveals that the antibacterial properties of these nano-metal oxides are strongly dependent on their crystalline structure. The antibacterial activity of the nanooxides was tested against four types of bacteria that commonly cause nosocomial infections. The sonochemical method was applied not only for synthesis of nanooxides but also to their coating on textiles. The antibacterial properties of textiles coated with commercial and sonochemically prepared nano-metal oxides were evaluated and compared. The toxicity was evaluated on human lung cells and amphibian embryos, as representative models for inhalation and aquatic toxicology. The sonochemically prepared metal nanooxides are better antimicrobials than commercially available metal oxides with the same particle size range. It was found that the crystallites which have more defects and less organized structure are more toxic. The formation of ROS was studied by electron spin resonance (ESR) measurements for both the sonochemically prepared and commercial samples of ZnO/CuO nanoparticles. A significant increase in the production of radical species was found in the more defective, sonochemically prepared samples, as compared to the commercial ones. Since modulation of the nanoparticle defects influenced their toxicity, the possibility of engineering safer nano-antibacterials is indicated.

In this study we examined the cytotoxic effect of ZnO nanoparticles on various human cancer and normal cells. We found that the ZnO nanoparticles exerted a cytotoxic effect on the human glioma cell lines A172, U87, LNZ308, LN18, and LN229, whereas no cytotoxic effect was observed on normal human astrocytes. Similarly, the ZnO nanoparticles induced cell death in breast and prostate cancer cell lines while no major effect was observed in the respective normal breast and prostate cell lines. Using the fluorescent dye 2, 7-dichlorofluorescein diacetate, we found that treatment of the glioma cells with ZnO nanoparticles induced a large increase in the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and treatment of the cells with N-acetyl cysteine decreased the cytotoxic effect of the ZnO nanoparticles. In contrast, a smaller effect on ROS generation was observed in the normal astrocytes. These results suggest that ZnO nanoparticles may be employed as a selective cytotoxic agent for the eradication of cancer cells.