The microbial synthesis of nanoparticles is a green chemistry approach that combines nanotechnology and microbial biotechnology. The aim of this study was to obtain silver nanoparticles (SNPs) using aqueous extract from the filamentous fungus Fusarium oxysporum as an alternative to chemical procedures and to evaluate its antifungal activity. SNPs production increased in a concentration-dependent way up to 1 mM silver nitrate until 30 days of reaction. Monodispersed and spherical SNPs were predominantly produced. After 60 days, it was possible to observe degenerated SNPs with in additional needle morphology. The SNPs showed a high antifungal activity against Candida and Cryptococcus , with minimum inhibitory concentration values ≤ 1.68 µg/mL for both genera. Morphological alterations of Cryptococcus neoformans treated with SNPs were observed such as disruption of the cell wall and cytoplasmic membrane and lost of the cytoplasm content. This work revealed that SNPs can be easily produced by F. oxysporum aqueous extracts and may be a feasible, low-cost, environmentally friendly method for generating stable and uniformly sized SNPs. Finally, we have demonstrated that these SNPs are active against pathogenic fungi, such as Candida and Cryptococcus .

In this work, theospheres (innovative lipid nanoparticles) were prepared by the high pressure homogenization technique using different surfactants for dapsone encapsulation. Mean particle size ranged from 105 to 153 nm and negative zeta potentials were obtained for all theosphere formulations. Atomic force microscopy images confirmed the spherical shape of theospheres. The HPLC method used to determine dapsone-loaded theospheres was selective, linear, exact and precise. The entrapment efficiency of dapsone was 91.4%. Theospheres provided controlled release of idebenone (52.7 ± 1.6%) in comparison to the free drug (103.1 ± 1.9%).

Organismos com simetria bilateral precisam trocar informações entre os lados direito e esquerdo de seus corpos a fim de integrar insumos sensoriais e coordenar o controle motor. Assim, um importante ponto de escolha para axônios em desenvolvimento é a linha média do sistema nervoso central. O cruzamento deste ponto é influenciado por moléculas altamente conservadas filogeneticamente, solúveis ou ligadas a membranas, tais como a sub-família L1, laminina, netrinas, "slits", semaforinas, receptores tipo Eph e "ephrinas", etc. Além disso, existe grande quantidade de evidências circunstanciais para um papel dos proteoglicanos (PGs) ou suas metades glicosaminoglicanas (GAG) no crescimento e orientação de axônios, geralmente obtida em modelos simplificados. Um modelo de complexidade intermediária é o de co-culturas de neurônios jovens e tapetes (culturas confluentes) de astrócitos obtidos de setores medial e lateral do mesencéfalo embrionário de roedores, pouco após a formação de suas comissuras. A produção de neuritos nestas culturas revela que, independentemente da localização prévia dos neurônios no mesencéfalo, astrócitos mediais exercem um efeito inibitório ou não-permissivo sobre o crescimento de neuritos que se correlaciona com um maior teor tanto de heparan quanto de condroitin sulfato (HS e CS). O tratamento com liases de GAGs mostra efeitos minoritários de CS e revela um papel majoritário inibitório ou não-permissivo para HS. Os resultados são discutidos em termos do conhecimento atualmente disponível sobre ligações de HSPGs a proteínas interativas e enfatizam a importância de compreender os arranjos de polissacarídeos gliais, adicionalmente ao conjunto de suas proteínas, para melhor compreensão das interações neuro-gliais.

Bilaterally symmetric organisms need to exchange information between the left and right sides of their bodies to integrate sensory input and to coordinate motor control. Thus, an important choice point for developing axons is the Central Nervous System (CNS) midline. Crossing of this choice point is influenced by highly conserved, soluble or membrane-bound molecules such as the L1 subfamily, laminin, netrins, slits, semaphorins, Eph-receptors and ephrins, etc. Furthermore, there is much circumstantial evidence for a role of proteoglycans (PGs) or their glycosaminoglycan (GAG) moieties on axonal growth and guidance, most of which was derived from simplified models. A model of intermediate complexity is that of cocultures of young neurons and astroglial carpets (confluent cultures) obtained from medial and lateral sectors of the embryonic rodent midbrain soon after formation of its commissures. Neurite production in these cocultures reveals that, irrespective of the previous location of neurons in the midbrain, medial astrocytes exerted an inhibitory or non-permissive effect on neuritic growth that was correlated to a higher content of both heparan and chondroitin sulfates (HS and CS). Treatment with GAG lyases shows minor effects of CS and discloses a major inhibitory or non-permissive role for HS. The results are discussed in terms of available knowledge on the binding of HSPGs to interative proteins and underscore the importance of understanding glial polysaccharide arrays in addition to its protein complement for a better understanding of neuron-glial interactions.