Gabriela Vochita
Research Scientist I - Department lead Biologie Experimentală și Aplicată
Publications
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article
Biocomposite Complex Hydrogels With Antimicrobial Activity Suitable For Wound Healing |
Rata Delia Mihaela; Cadinoiu Anca Niculina; Vochita Gabriela; Gherghel Daniela; Lakkaboyana Sivarama Krishna; Fuioaga Codrin Paul; Atanase Leonard Ionut; Ichim Daniela Luminita | Journal Of Polymer Science, 2025 | |
AbstractSkin defects caused by injuries such as burns that exceed a certain diameter no longer heal spontaneously and require more complex interventions. Hydrogels have received special attention due to their unique ability to block the penetration of bacteria into wounds as they can absorb contaminated exudates and exhibit a high degree of flexibility. This study is focused on the preparation and characterization of novel antibacterial biocomposite hydrogels based on two carbohydrates, alginate and hyaluronic acid (HA), with immobilized ZnO NPs and curcumin-loaded electrospun nanofibers to improve the efficacy of the wound healing process. The hydrogel matrix was obtained after crosslinking HA and alginate in the presence of the DMT-MM activator. Hydrogels were physicochemically characterized by FT-IR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-Vis spectroscopy, and the swelling degree was also investigated. It appeared that the swelling behavior of the biocomposite hydrogels was influenced by the amount of ZnO NPs and by the presence of nanofibers. Biodegradability, hemolysis, cell viability, antimicrobial, and in vitro irritability tests were carried out to assess their biological properties. The obtained results highlighted that these hydrogels are biodegradable, hemocompatible, non-cytotoxic, and non-irritating and have good antimicrobial activity. Based on the obtained results, these materials might be interesting candidates for wound healing treatment. |
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article
Design And Characterization Of Curcumin-Loaded Electrospun Nanofibers Based On Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) And Sodium Alginate |
Rata Delia Mihaela; Cadinoiu Anca Niculina; Gradinaru Luiza Madalina; Fuioaga Paul Codrin; Vochita Gabriela; Delaite Christelle; Atanase Leonard Ionut | Express Polymer Letters, 2025 | |
AbstractCurcumin (CRC) is a natural active principle with important anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, and antitumor properties but has some limitations, such as poor bioavailability, low water solubility, and rapid metabolism. To preserve CRC's benefits and eliminate its limitations, novel CRC-loaded core-shell electrospun nanofibers were designed. The nanofibers were prepared by co-axial electrospinning method using poly(vinyl alcohol)/CRC as core and poly(vinyl alcohol)/sodium alginate as shell. Polymer coating protects the CRC, increasing its stability. The swelling degree of CRC- loaded nanofibers at pH 5.4 was around 326% higher than at pH 7.4 (297%) due to the repulsions of the anion-anion COO- groups. The release efficiency of CRC at pH 7.4 was 81%, while at pH 5.4 was about 96%. In the first 6 h, there was a slower release of CRC from the nanofibers in both acidic and slightly alkaline environments. Nanofibers showed good hemocompatibility, the values being between 2.36-3.22% after the first 90 min of contact, and after 180 min of treatment, the degree of erythrocyte lysis was between 3.78 and 4.93%. Cell viability assay on V79-4 Chinese hamster fibroblasts demonstrated that treatment with free CRC led to a value of 39% whereas for CRC-loaded nanofibers, the cell viability value increased to 59.66%. The results of the present study indicated that CRC-loaded electrospun nanofibers can have great potential for biomedical applications. |
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article
Double Peptide-Functionalized Carboxymethyl Chitosan-Coated Liposomes Loaded With Dexamethasone As A Potential Strategy For Active Targeting Drug Delivery |
Iftode Loredana; Cadinoiu Anca Niculina; Rata Delia Mihaela; Atanase Leonard Ionut; Vochita Gabriela; Radulescu Luminita; Popa Marcel; Gherghel Daniela | International Journal Of Molecular Sciences, 2025 | |
AbstractLiposomes are intensively used as nanocarriers for biology, biochemistry, medicine, and in the cosmetics industry and their non-toxic and biocompatible nature makes these vesicles attractive systems for biomedical applications. Moreover, the conjugation of specific ligands to liposomes increases their cellular uptake and therapeutic efficiency. Considering these aspects, the aim of the present study was to obtain new formulations of cationic liposomes coated with dual-peptide functionalized carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) for the treatment of inner ear diseases. In order to achieve efficient active targeting and ensuring a high efficacy of the treatment, CMCS was functionalized with Tet1 peptide, to target specific ear cells, and TAT peptide, to ensure cellular penetration. Furthermore, dexamethasone phosphate was loaded as a model drug for the treatment of ear inflammation. The infrared spectroscopy confirmed the functionalization of CMCS with the two specific peptides. The mean diameter of the uncovered liposomes varied between 167 and 198 nm whereas the CMCS-coated liposomes ranged from 179 to 202 nm. TEM analysis showed the spherical shape and unilamellar structure of liposomes. The release efficiency of dexamethasone phosphate after 24 h from the uncoated liposomes was between 37 and 40% and it appeared that the coated liposomes modulated this release. The obtained results demonstrated that the liposomes are hemocompatible since, for a tested concentration of 100 mu g/mL, the liposome suspension had a lysis of erythrocytes lower than 2.5% after 180 min of incubation. In addition, the peptide-functionalized CMCS-coated liposomes induced a non-significant effect on the viability of normal V79-4 cells after 48 h, at the highest doses. Values of 71.31% were recorded (CLCP-1), 77.28% (CLCP-2) and 74.36% (CLCP-3), correlated with cytotoxic effects of 28.69%, 22.72%, and 25.64%. |
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article
Peptide-Functionalized Magnetic Microcapsules Loaded With Dexamethasone For Dual Active Targeted Treatment Of Inner Ear Inflammation |
Rata Delia Mihaela; Cadinoiu Anca Niculina; Atanase Leonard Ionut; Vochita Gabriela; Sande Sverre Arne; Popa Marcel | Polymer, 2025 | |
AbstractConventional administration of drugs to the inner ear involves therapeutic instability and non-specificity of release, and to overcome these limitations, various drug delivery systems have been developed. The aim of this study was to prepare and characterize peptides-functionalized oligochitosan microcapsules loaded with Dexamethasone and magnetic nanoparticles, which can be used for dual active targeted treatment of inner ear inflammation. The diameter of spherical microcapsules in aqueous solutions was found in the micrometer range. In vitro dexamethasone release kinetics, capsules biodegradation, haemolysis and cellular viability on V79-4 normal cells were also investigated. The release efficiency of dexamethasone from the microcapsules was between 74 % and 99.8 % after 24 h. Obtained results indicated that all analyzed microcapsules showed hemolysis degrees lower than 3 %, which demonstrated their non-hemolytic character. The viability and morphology tests on V79-4 cells depended on the administered dose and after a 48-h treatment, all analyzed capsules showed a non-toxic, weak or moderately cytotoxic effect. |
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article
Comparative In Vitro Study Between Biocompatible Chitosan-Based Magnetic Nanocapsules And Liposome Formulations With Potential Application In Anti-Inflammatory Therapy |
Vochita Gabriela; Cadinoiu Anca Niculina; Rata Delia-Mihaela; Atanase Leonard Ionut; Popa Marcel; Mahdieh Athar; Mihai Cosmin-Teodor; Stache Alexandru-Bogdan; Moldovan Cristina-Veronica; Bacaita Elena Simona; Condriuc Iustina Petra; Gherghel Daniela | International Journal Of Molecular Sciences, 2024 | |
AbstractThis study describes the comparison between the interaction of a series of peptide-functionalized chitosan-based nanocapsules and liposomes with two cell lines, i.e., mouse macrophages RAW 264.7 and human endothelial cells EA.hy926. Both types of nanocarriers are loaded with magnetic nanoparticles and designed for anti-inflammatory therapy. The choice of these magnetic nanostructures is argued based on their advantages in terms of size, morphology, chemical composition, and the multiple possibilities of modifying their surface. Moreover, active targeting might be ensured by using an external magnetic field. To explore the impact of chitosan-based nanocapsules and liposomes on cell cytophysiology, the cell viability, using the MTT assay, and cell morphology were investigated. The results revealed low to moderate cytotoxicity of free nanocapsules and significant cytotoxicity induced by chitosan-coated liposomes loaded with dexamethasone, confirming its release from the delivery system. Thus, after 48 h of treatment with nanocapsules, the viability of RAW 264.7 cells varied between 88.18% (OCNPM-1I, 3.125 mu g/mL) and 76.37% (OCNPM-1, 25 mu g/mL). In the same conditions, EA.hy926 cell viability was between 99.91% (OCNPM-3, 3.125 mu g/mL) and 75.15% (OCNPM-3, 25 mu g/mL) at the highest dose (25 mu g/mL), the values being comparable for both cell lines. Referring to the cell reactivity after dexamethasone-loaded liposome application, the lowest viability of RAW 264.7 cells was 41.25% (CLDM5CP-1, 25 mu g/mL) and 58.20% (CLDMM2CP-1 1.25 mu g/mL) in the endothelial cell line, proving a selective character of action of nanocarriers. The cell morphology test, performed to support and confirm the results obtained by the MTT test, revealed a differentiated response for the two types of nano-carriers. As expected, an intense cytotoxic effect in the case of dexamethasone-loaded liposomes and a lack of cytotoxicity for drug-free nanocapsules were noticed. Therefore, our study demonstrated the biocompatible feature of the studied nanocarriers, which highlights them for future research as potential drug delivery systems for pharmacological applications, including anti-inflammatory therapy. |
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article
In vitro cytophysiological response induced by three food additives on some mammalian cell line models |
Gherghel D., Mihai C.-T., Vochita G., Rosu C. M. | Journal of Experimental and Molecular Biology, 2024 | |
AbstractThis research is focused on cellular response to sodium metabisulphite (E223), sodium benzoate (E211), and sodium nitrite (E250) application on two normal mammalian cells, namely MCF-12A (ATCC CRL-3598) and Vero (ATCC CCL-81). The monitored parameters were cell viability (MTT assay), cell morphology (optical microscopy) and cell survival (clonogenic assay). The treatment was applied in doses of 12.5; 25; 50 and 100 µg/mL. According to all tests assessed, our results proved a dose-response relationship, the most sensibility presented the MCF-12A cell line. |
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article
Peptide-Functionalized Chitosan-Based Microcapsules For Dual Active Targeted Treatment Of Lung Infections |
Rata Delia Mihaela; Cadinoiu Anca Niculina; Atanase Leonard Ionut; Popa Marcel; Mihai Cosmin Teodor; Vochita Gabriela | International Journal Of Biological Macromolecules, 2024 | |
AbstractLung infections, such as: pneumonia, chronic obstructive cystic fibrosis, tuberculosis are generally caused by viruses, bacteria and fungi. As these infections are very difficult to treat, new therapeutic approaches are investigated in order to maximize the efficiency of the treatment and to reduce the major complications that can occur. The main objective of this study was focused on the preparation of drug-loaded peptides-functionalized microcapsules, obtained by a double emulsion, based on carboxylated chitosan (CMCS), poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and an activator [4-(4,6-dimethoxy-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)-4-methylmorpholinium chloride] (DMT-MM), for the dual active targeting and treatment of pulmonary infections. The microcapsules were functionalized on the surface with both CGSPGWVRC and indolicidin (IN) peptides, as effective ligands for the active targeting of both alveolar capillary endothelial cells and bacterial cells. FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the formation of ester and amide bonds into the structure of prepared microcapsules. Microcapsules diameter varied between 893 and 965 nm. The swelling degree in PBS, at pH 7.4, ranged between 1760 %- 2100 %. All the analyzed samples showed hemolysis degrees lower than 2 %, which demonstrated their non-hemolytic character. Evaluation of the impact of microcapsules on WI-38 normal human lung cells and RAW 264.7 mouse macrophages revealed a non-toxic or slightly cytotoxic effect. Internalization assay proved that microcapsules were localized at intracellular level. |
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article
Α-Chitosan And Β-Oligochitosan Mixtures-Based Formula For In Vitro Assessment Of Melanocyte Cells Response |
Schroder Verginica; Gherghel Daniela; Apetroaei Manuela Rossemary; Gijiu Cristiana Luminita; Isopescu Raluca; Dinculescu Daniel; Apetroaei Miruna-Maria; Enache Laura Elena; Mihai Cosmin-Teodor; Rau Ileana; Vochita Gabriela | International Journal Of Molecular Sciences, 2024 | |
AbstractChitosan is a natural polymer with numerous biomedical applications. The cellular activity of chitosan has been studied in various types of cancer, including melanoma, and indicates that these molecules can open new perspectives on antiproliferative action and anticancer therapy. This study analyzes how different chitosan conformations, such as alpha-chitosan (CH) or beta-oligochitosan (CO), with various degrees of deacetylation (DDA) and molar mass (MM), both in different concentrations and in CH-CO mixtures, influence the cellular processes of SK-MEL-28 melanocytes, to estimate the reactivity of these cells to the applied treatments. The in vitro evaluation was carried out, aiming at the cellular metabolism (MTT assay), cellular morphology, and chitinase-like glycoprotein YKL-40 expression. The in vitro effect of the CH-CO mixture application on melanocytes is obvious at low concentrations of alpha-chitosan/beta-oligochitosan (1:2 ratio), with the cell's response supporting the hypothesis that beta-oligo-chitosan amplifies the effect. This oligochitosan mixture, favored by the beta conformation and its small size, penetrates faster into the cells, being more reactive when interacting with some cellular components. Morphological effects expressed by the loss of cell adhesion and the depletion of YKL-40 synthesis are significant responses of melanocytes. beta-oligochitosan (1.5 kDa) induces an extension of cytophysiological effects and limits the cell viability compared to alpha-chitosan (400-900 kDa). Statistical analysis using multivariate techniques showed differences between the CH samples and CH-CO mixtures. |
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article
Biochemical Responses Of Silybum Marianum Seedlings To Independent And Combined Salt And Sio2 Treatments |
Oprica Lacramioara; Grigore Marius-Nicusor; Vochita Gabriela; Jijie Roxana; Popovici Lucia-Florina | Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca, 2023 | |
AbstractIn recent years, silicon dioxide (SiO2) particles have drawn increasing attention due to their potential to enhance plant tolerance to various stresses by modulating physiological and biochemical processes. Salinity is an important abiotic stress with a harmful impact on crop growth and productivity. In this context, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of silicon dioxide (SiO2) addition on milk thistle (Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn.) under salinity stress. Thus, individual and combined effects of the application of sodium chloride (NaCl, 50 and 100 mM) and SiO2 particles (0.1 mM) on some physiological and oxidative stress parameters, such as growth variables, photosynthetic pigments and soluble protein contents, the levels of an oxidative stress biomarker (malondialdehyde), and the specific activity of several antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidase) were evaluated. The results revealed that salt stress (100 mM) inhibited plant growth and decreased chlorophyll and carotenoid levels, whereas the added SiO2 partially mitigated these negative effects. In addition, the 100 mM NaCl treatment significantly increased peroxidise (POD) activity and decreased soluble protein content after 22 days, while no significant differences were found for group subjected to salt stress in the presence of SiO2. Results suggest that application of SiO2 on salt-stressed milk thistle may modify the seedling metabolism and increase the plant salt tolerance capacity. |
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article
Cytogenetic And Biochemical Responses Of Wheat Seeds To Proton Irradiation At The Bragg Peak |
Oprica Lacramioara; Vochita Gabriela; Grigore Marius-Nicusor; Shvidkiy Sergey; Molokanov Alexander; Gherghel Daniela; Les Anda; Creanga Dorina | Plants-Basel, 2023 | |
AbstractThe present study aimed to evaluate the morphological, cytogenetic and biochemical changes in wheat seedlings as affected by seed exposure to a proton beam at the Bragg peak. The average energy of the proton beam was of 171 MeV at the entrance into the irradiator room while at the point of sample irradiation the beam energy was of 150 MeV, with the average value of the Linear Energy Transfer of 0.539 keV/mu m and the dose rate of 0.55 Gy/min, the radiation doses being of the order of tens of Gy. Cytogenetic investigation has revealed the remarkable diminution of the mitotic index as linear dose-response curve as well as the spectacular linear increase of the aberration index. Analyzing some biometric parameters, it was found that neither dry matter nor water content of wheat seedlings was influenced by proton beam exposure. Studying the biochemical parameters related to the antioxidant defense system, we found that the irradiation caused the slight increasing tendency of peroxidase activity as well as the decreasing trend in the activity of superoxidedismutase in the seedlings grown from the irradiated seeds. The level of malonedialdehyde (MDA) and total polyphenols showed an increasing tendency in all seedling variants corresponding to irradiated seeds, compared to the control. We conclude that the irradiation clearly induced dose-response curves at the level of cytogenetic parameters together with relatively slight variation tendency of some biochemical parameters related to the antioxidant defense system while imperceptible changes could be noticed in the biometric parameters. |
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