Ceren Kimna

Helmholtz Zentrum München Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH) | HZM

Gaining control over the delivery of therapeutics to a specific disease site is still very challenging. However, especially when cytotoxic drugs such as chemotherapeutics are used, the importance of a control mechanism that can differentiate ‘sick’ target cells from the surrounding, healthy tissue is pivotal. Here, we designed a nanoparticle based...

All implantation surgeries carry the risk of immediate or recurring infections at the surgical site. To combat this problem, employing implant coatings can be a useful strategy. A multi‐layered surface coating that actively responds to two different physiological stimuli with the liberation of two independent drug doses is presented here; the first...

Most medical therapies require repeated, sequential administration of therapeutic agents in well-defined intervals and over extended time windows. Typically, the patient is in charge of applying the individual drug doses, and insufficient patient compliance reduces the efficiency of the treatment. Therefore, the development of a smart delivery mech...

Photocatalytic Nanozymes Highly active, efficient, and durable catalysts for light‐driven carbon dioxide and water conversion to fuels are pivotal for a sustainable energy cycle. In article number 2207380, Philip M. Stanley, Julien Warnan, Roland A. Fischer, and co‐workers demonstrate a photocatalytic nanozyme that stems from the synergy between a...

Syngas, a mixture of CO and H2, is a high‐priority intermediate for producing several commodity chemicals, e.g., ammonia, methanol, and synthetic hydrocarbon fuels. Accordingly, parallel sunlight‐driven catalytic conversion of CO2 and protons to syngas is a key step toward a sustainable energy cycle. State‐of‐the‐art catalytic systems and materials...

Owing to the unhealthy lifestyle and genetic susceptibility of today's population, atherosclerosis is one of the global leading causes of life-threatening cardiovascular diseases. Although a rapid intervention is required for severe blood vessel constrictions, a systemic administration of anticoagulant drugs is not the preferred method of choice as...

Tissue healing is a challenging process that requires the successful and simultaneous management of conflicting priorities. While promoting wound closure, a battle must be won against different external factors that may adversely affect the healing process. Here this problem is approached by creating asymmetrically designed double‐layer Janus‐type...

Although nanofillers contribute to improved physical characteristics and biological functionalities of polymer‐based biomaterials, their dispersion in polymer matrices is still a challenging issue in terms of obtaining consistency for the inherent properties. To tackle this problem, homogenization techniques are applied to disperse the nanofillers...

Biopolymer-based drug carriers are commonly used for the development of safe delivery systems. However, biopolymer-based systems are often highly sensitive to the acidic pH levels in the stomach and release most of their cargo before they have reached their point of destination. Such premature drug release combined with the resulting high dose requ...

With the “many-headed” slime mold Physarum polycelphalum having been voted the unicellular organism of the year 2021 by the German Society of Protozoology, we are reminded that a large part of nature's huge variety of life forms is easily overlooked – both by the general public and researchers alike. Indeed, whereas several animals such as mussels...

Objectives In this study, we aim at deciphering the phenolic content of Vitex agnus-castus L. leaf and fruit extracts prepared with different methods and relate it to their antioxidant activity. Methods In this study, phenolic compounds and the antioxidant potential of the ethanol fruit and leaf extracts of V. agnus-castus L. (Chaste tree) were ev...

One of the main challenges in the field of drug delivery remains the development of strategies to efficiently transport pharmaceuticals across mucus barriers, which regulate the passage and retention of molecules and particles in all luminal spaces of the body. A thorough understanding of the molecular mechanisms, which govern such selective permea...

To overcome the natural barriers of the ocular system that limit the topical delivery of therapeutically active molecules to the posterior eye, nanoscale drug carriers can be used to improve transcorneal drug transport. So far, using mucoadhesive drug carriers has been put forward as the most promising strategy to optimize drug transport. However,...

Current advances in DNA nanotechnology pinpoint exciting perspectives for the design of customized, patient-specific treatments. This advance is made possible by the exceptionally high precision and specificity that are typical for DNA base pairing on the one hand and our growing ability to harness those features in synthetic, DNA-based constructs...

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Polymer-based scaffolds have already gained popularity in many biomedical applications due to convenient routes for fabrication and favourable structural, physicochemical and functional characteristics. However, polymeric scaffolds lack osteoconductivity and some synthetic polymers carry the risk of inflammatory response caused by degradation by-pr...

Recently, functional multilayer scaffolds with controlled drug release ability come into prominence for wound healing applications to mimic the layered structure of skin tissue and prevent the possible infections at the defect site. In this study, controlled antibiotic releasing zein bilayer membranes were fabricated for treatment of acute skin inf...

Despite the advancements in bone transplantation operations, inflammation is still a serious problem that threatens human health at the post-implantation period. Conventional antibiotic therapy methods may lead to some side effects such as ototoxicity and nephrotoxicity, especially when applied in high doses. Therefore, local drug delivery systems...

Most medical therapies require repeated, sequential administration of therapeutic agents in well-defined intervals and over extended time windows. Typically, the patient is in charge of applying the individual drug doses, and insufficient patient compliance reduces the efficiency of the treatment. Therefore, the development of a smart delivery mech...

Recently, natural polymers are reinforced with silica particles for hard tissue engineering applications to induce bone regeneration. In this study, as two novel bioactive agents, effects of diatomite and polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes(POSS) on chitosan (CS)/Na-carboxymethylcellulose (Na-CMC) polymer blend scaffolds are examined. In addition...

Recently, usage of marine-derived materials in biomedical field has come into prominence due to their promising characteristics such as biocompatibility, low immunogenicity and wide accessibility. Among these marine sources, cuttlebone has been used as a valuable component with its trace elemental composition in traditional medicine. Recent studies...

Medicinal plants are attracting considerable interest as a potential therapeutic agent for bone tissue regeneration. Cissus quadrangularis L. is also a medicinal plant known with its osteogenic activity. In this study, a phytochemical scaffold was produced by incorporating Cissus quadrangularis with chitosan/Na-carboxymethyl cellulose blend by lyop...