cRGD-Functionalized Polymer Micelles for Targeted Doxorubicin Delivery

Hydrogen-bonded cytosine-endowed supramolecular polymeric nanogels: Highly efficient cancer cell targeting and enhanced therapeutic efficacy

We demonstrate that cytosine moieties within physically cross-linked supramolecular polymers not only manipulate drug delivery and release, but also confer specific targeting of cancer cells to effectively enhance the safety and efficacy of chemotherapy-and thus hold significant potential as a new perspective for development of drug delivery systems. Herein, we successfully developed physically cross-linked supramolecular polymers (PECH-PEG-Cy) comprised of hydrogen-bonding cytosine pendant groups, hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) side chains, and a hydrophobic poly(epichlorohydrin) main chain. The polymers spontaneously self-assemble into a reversibly hydrogen-bonded network structure induced by cytosine and directly form spherical nanogels in aqueous solution. Nanogels with a high hydrogen-bond network density (i.e., a higher content of cytosine moieties) exhibit outstanding long-term structural stability in cell culture substrates containing serum, whereas nanogels with a relatively low hydrogen-bond network density cannot preserve their structural integrity. The nanogels also exhibit numerous unique physicochemical characteristics in aqueous solution, such as a desirable spherical size, high biocompatibility with normal and cancer cells, excellent drug encapsulation capacity, and controlled pH-responsive drug release properties. More importantly, in vitro experiments conclusively indicate the drug-loaded PECH-PEG-Cy nanogels can selectively induce cancer cell-specific apoptosis and cell death via cytosine receptor-mediated endocytosis, without significantly harming normal cells. In contrast, control drug-loaded PECH-PEG nanogels, which lack cytosine moieties in their structure, can only induce cell death in cancer cells through non-specific pathways, which significantly inhibits the induction of apoptosis. This work clearly demonstrates that the cytosine moieties in PECH-PEG-Cy nanogels confer selective affinity for the surface of cancer cells, which enhances their targeted cellular uptake, cytotoxicity, and subsequent induction of programmed cell death in cancer cells.

Persistent Targeting DNA Nanocarrier Made of 3D Structural Unit Assembled from Only One Basic Multi-Palindromic Oligonucleotide for Precise Gene Cancer Therapy

Construction of a simple, reconfigurable, and stimuli-responsive DNA nanocarrier remains a technical challenge. In this contribution, by designing three palindromic fragments, a simplest four-sticky end-contained 3D structural unit (PS-unit) made of two same DNA components is proposed. Via regulating the rotation angle of central longitudinal axis of PS-unit, the oriented assembly of one-component spherical architecture is accomplished with high efficiency. Introduction of an aptamer and sticky tail warehouse into one component creates a size-change-reversible targeted siRNA delivery nanovehicle. Volume swelling of 20 nm allows one carrier to load 1987 siPLK1s. Once entering cancer cells and responding to glutathione (GSH) stimuli, siPLK1s are almost 100% released and original size of nanovehicle is restored, inhibiting the expression of PLK1 protein and substantially suppressing tumor growth (superior to commercial transfection agents) in tumor-bearing mice without systemic toxicity.

Developing Hypoxia-Sensitive System via Designing Tumor-Targeted Fullerene-Based Photosensitizer for Multimodal Therapy of Deep Tumor

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been approved for clinic. However, powerless efficiency for deep hypoxic tumor therapy remains an enormous challenge for PDT. Herein, a hypoxia-sensitive nanotherapeutic system (FTCD-SRGD) based on fullerene (C70 ) and anoxic activating chemical prodrug tirapazamine (TPZ) is rationally designed for multimodal therapy of deep hypoxic tumors. To enhance the accumulation and achieve specific drug release in tumor, the FTCD-SRGD is modified with cyclo(Arg-Gly-Asp-d-Phe-Lys) (cRGDfK) peptide and disulfide bonds. With the exacerbated hypoxic microenvironment created by C70 consuming O2 for generating reactive oxygen species (ROS), TPZ is activated to produce toxic radical species to ablate deep tumors, which achieves a synergistic treatment of C70 -mediated PDT and hypoxia-enhanced chemotherapy. Additionally, given this hypoxia-sensitive system-induced immunogenic cell death (ICD) activating anticancer cytotoxic T lymphocyte to result in more susceptible tumor to immunotherapy, FTCD-SRGD plus immune checkpoint inhibitor (anti-PD-L1) fully inhibit deep hypoxic tumors by promoting infiltration of effector T cells in tumors. Collectively, it is the first time to develop a multimodal therapy system with fullerene-based hypoxia-sensitive PS for deep tumors. The powerful multimodal nanotherapeutic system for combining hypoxia-enhanced PDT and immunotherapy to massacre deep hypoxic tumors can provide a paradigm to combat the present bottleneck of tumor therapy.

Revolutionizing Cancer Care: Advances in Carbon-Based Materials for Diagnosis and Treatment

Cancer involves intricate pathological mechanisms marked by complexities such as cytotoxicity, drug resistance, stem cell proliferation, and inadequate specificity in current chemotherapy approaches. Cancer therapy has embraced diverse nanomaterials renowned for their unique magnetic, electrical, and optical properties to address these challenges. Despite the expanding corpus of knowledge in this area, there has been less advancement in approving nano drugs for use in clinical settings. Nanotechnology, and more especially the development of intelligent nanomaterials, has had a profound impact on cancer research and treatment in recent years. Due to their large surface area, nanoparticles can adeptly encapsulate diverse compounds. Furthermore, the modification of nanoparticles is achievable through a broad spectrum of bio-based substrates, including DNA, aptamers, RNA, and antibodies. This functionalization substantially enhances their theranostic capabilities. Nanomaterials originating from biological sources outperform their conventionally created counterparts, offering advantages such as reduced toxicity, lower manufacturing costs, and enhanced efficiency. This review uses carbon nanomaterials, including graphene-based materials, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) based nanomaterials, and carbon quantum dots (CQDs), to give a complete overview of various methods used in cancer theranostics. We also discussed their advantages and limitations in cancer diagnosis and treatment settings. Carbon nanomaterials might significantly improve cancer theranostics and pave the way for fresh tumor diagnosis and treatment approaches. More study is needed to determine whether using nano-carriers for targeted medicine delivery may increase material utilization. More insight is required to explore the correlation between heightened cytotoxicity and retention resulting from increased permeability.

In vitro galactose-targeted study of RSPP050-loaded micelles against liver hepatocellular carcinoma

Andrographolide is in a group of diterpenoid lactone isolated from Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) NEES. One of the analogs is 19-O-triphenylmethylandrographolide (RSPP050) which possesses anticancer activity. In seeking to capitalise on the last property, we have investigated the in vitro tumour targeting capabilities and MRI imaging for hepatocellular carcinoma. In this study, we have designed galactose-targeted and non-targeted micelles comprised of poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(lactide) that enveloped RSPP050 as an anticancer agent and superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) as a contrast agent. The targeting abilities were endeavored by examining the cellular uptake with MTT assay, fluorescence microscopy, Prussian blue staining, and in vitro MRI. Targeted SPIO micelles as a T₂* contrast agent decreased the relative T2* MRI intensity at 3 h. Results revealed that galactose micelles displayed 10.91 ± 0.19% drug loading content, -37.17 ± 0.63 mV zeta potential, and these micelles at the concentration of 0.5 µg/ml exhibited higher cytotoxicity than non-targeted micelles and free RSPP050 after incubation for 24 h. Fluorescence microscopy and Prussian blue staining at 3 h demonstrated significant cellular uptake by HepG2 cells. Thus, anticancer activity of RSPP050 could be improved using galactose as a targeting ligand and theranostic function was achieved using SPIO.

Review on design strategies and considerations of polysaccharide-based smart drug delivery systems for cancer therapy

The unique natural advantages of polysaccharide materials have attracted attention in biomedical applications. The abundant modifiable functional groups on the polysaccharide materials surface can facilitate the synthesis of various multifunctional drug delivery carriers. Especially in tumor therapy, the designs of polysaccharide-based drug delivery carriers are diverse. Therefore, this review summarized several latest types of polysaccharide-based drug carriers designs, and focused on the latest design strategies and considerations of drug carriers with polysaccharides as the main structure. It is expected to provide some design ideas and inspiration for subsequent polysaccharide-based drug delivery systems.

An NIR Discrete Metallacycle Constructed from Perylene Bisimide and Tetraphenylethylene Fluorophores for Imaging-Guided Cancer Radio-Chemotherapy

To promote the clinical theranostic performances of platinum-based anticancer drugs, imaging capability is urgently desired, and their chemotherapeutic efficacy needs to be upgraded. Herein, a theranostic metallacycle (M) is developed for imaging-guided cancer radio-chemotherapy using perylene bisimide fluorophore (PPy) and tetraphenylethylene-based di-Pt(II) organometallic precursor (TPE-Pt) as building blocks. The formation of this discrete supramolecular coordination complex facilitates the encapsulation of M by a glutathione (GSH)-responsive amphiphilic block copolymer to prepare M-loaded nanoparticles (MNPs). TPE-Pt acts as a chemotherapeutic drug and also an excellent radiosensitizer, thus incorporating radiotherapy into the nanomedicine to accelerate the therapeutic efficacy and overcome drug resistance. The NIR-emission of PPy is employed to detect the intracellular delivery and tissue distribution of MNPs in real time. In vitro and in vivo investigations demonstrate the excellent anticancer efficacy combining chemotherapy and radiotherapy; the administration of this nanomedicine effectively inhibits the tumor growth and greatly extends the survival rate of cisplatin-resistant A2780CIS-tumor-bearing mice. Guided by in vivo fluorescence imaging, radio-chemotherapy is precisely carried out, which facilitates boosting of the therapeutic outcomes and minimizing undesired side effects. The success of this theranostic system brings new hope to supramolecular nanomedicines for their potential clinical translations.

Self-Protected DNAzyme Walker with a Circular Bulging DNA Shield for Amplified Imaging of miRNAs in Living Cells and Mice

Abnormal expression of miRNAs is often detected in various human cancers. DNAzyme machines combined with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) hold promise for detecting specific miRNAs in living cells but show short circulation time due to the fragility of catalytic core. Using miRNA-21 as the model target, by introducing a circular bulging DNA shield into the middle of the catalytic core, we report herein a self-protected DNAzyme (E) walker capable of fully stepping on the substrate (S)-modified AuNP for imaging intracellular miRNAs. The DNAzyme walker exhibits 5-fold enhanced serum resistance and more than 8-fold enhanced catalytic activity, contributing to the capability to image miRNAs much higher than commercial transfection reagent and well-known FISH technique. Diseased cells can accurately be distinguished from healthy cells. Due to its universality, DNAzyme walker can be extended for imaging other miRNAs only by changing target binding domain, indicating a promising tool for cancer diagnosis and prognosis.

Novel isoindigo compound with aggregation-induced emission: Br-Br bonding joint restriction of intramolecular motion and cell imaging properties

6,6'-Dibromided tert-butyloxycarbonyl isoindigo (Br-TBOCII) has intense fluorescence in the solid state via excitation with aggregation-induced emission (AIE), contrary to the classic heavy-atom effect. The unique AIE mechanism is attributed to the Br-Br bonding joint restricting intramolecular motion. Furthermore, the water-soluble nanoparticles Br-TBOCII/Pluronic® 127, possess robust photostability, low toxicity and good cell imaging performance.

Stimuli-Responsive Polymeric Nanosystems for Controlled Drug Delivery

Biocompatible nanosystems based on polymeric materials are promising drug delivery nanocarrier candidates for antitumor therapy. However, the efficacy is unsatisfying due to nonspecific accumulation and drug release of the nanoparticles in normal tissue. Recently, the nanosystems that can be triggered by tumor-specific stimuli have drawn great interest for drug delivery applications due to their controllable drug release properties. In this review, various polymers and external stimuli that can be employed to develop stimuli-responsive polymeric nanosystems are discussed, and finally, we delineate the challenges in designing this kind of Nanomedicine to improve the therapeutic efficacy.

Nanotechnology Assisted Chemotherapy for Targeted Cancer Treatment: Recent Advances and Clinical Perspectives

Nanotechnology has recently provided exciting platforms in the field of anticancer research with promising potentials for improving drug delivery efficacy and treatment outcomes. Nanoparticles (NPs) possess different advantages over the micro and bulk therapeutic agents, including their capability to carry high payloads of drugs, with prolonged half-life, reduced toxicity of the drugs, and increased targeting efficiency. The wide variety of nanovectors, coupled with different conjugation and encapsulation methods available for different theranostic agents provide promising opportunities to fine-tune the pharmacological properties of these agents for more effective cancer treatment methods. This review discusses applications of NPs-assisted chemotherapy in preclinical and clinical settings and recent advances in design and synthesis of different nanocarriers for chemotherapeutic agents. Moreover, physicochemical properties of different nanocarriers, their impacts on different tumor targeting strategies and effective parameters for efficient targeted drug delivery are discussed. Finally, the current approved NPs-assisted chemotherapeutic agents for clinical applications and under different phases of clinical trials are discussed.

Advancements in folate receptor targeting for anti-cancer therapy: A small molecule-drug conjugate approach

Targeted delivery combined with controlled release of drugs has a crucial role in future of personalized medicine. The majority of cancer drugs are intended to interfere with one or more cellular events. Anticancer agents can also be toxic to healthy cells, as healthy cells may also need to proliferate and avoid apoptosis. The focus of this review covers the principles, advantages, drawbacks and summarize criteria that must be met for design of small molecule-drug conjugates (SMDCs) to achieve the desired therapeutic potency with minimal toxicity. SMDCs are composed of a targeting ligand, a releasable bridge, a spacer, and a therapeutic payload. We summarize the criteria for the effective design that influences the selection of tumor specific receptor and optimum elements in the design of SMDCs. We also discuss the criteria for selecting the optimal therapeutic drug payload, spacer and linker. The linker chemistries and cleavage strategies are also discussed. Finally, we review the folate receptor targeting SMDCs that are in preclinical development and in clinical trials.

Size and PEG Length-Controlled PEGylated Monocrystalline Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanocomposite for MRI Contrast Agent

OBJECTIVE

PEGylated superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) is the most promising alternatives to gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) in MRI. This paper is to explore the imaging effects of PEGylated SPIO, which is influenced by particle sizes and surface polyethylene glycol (PEG) coating, using as MRI contrast agents at different magnetic field intensities.

METHODS

Firstly, nine PEGylated monocrystalline SPIO nanoparticles with different nanocrystal sizes and different molecular weights PEG coating were prepared, and then physical and biological properties were analyzed. Finally, MRI imaging in vivo was performed to observe the imaging performance.

RESULTS

Nine PEGylated monocrystalline SPIO nanoparticles have good relaxivities, serum stability, and biosecurity. At the same time, they show different imaging characteristics at different magnetic field intensities. Eight-nanometer SPIO@PEG5k is an effective T 2 contrast agent at 3.0 T (r 2/r 1 = 14.0), is an ideal T 1-T 2 dual-mode contrast agent at 1.5 T (r 2/r 1 = 6.52), and is also an effective T 1 contrast agent at 0.5 T (r 2/r 1 = 2.49), while 4-nm SPIO@PEG5k is a T 1-T 2 dual-mode contrast agent at 3.0 T (r 2/r 1 = 5.24), and is a useful T 1 contrast agent at 0.5 T (r 2/r 1 = 1.74) and 1.5 T (r 2/r 1 = 2.85). MRI studies in vivo at 3.0 T further confirm that 4-nm SPIO@PEG5k displays excellent T 1-T 2 dual-mode contrast enhancement, whereas 8-nm SPIO@PEG5k only displays T 2 contrast enhancement.

CONCLUSION

PEGylated SPIOs with different nanocrystal sizes and PEG coating can be used as T 1, T 2, or T 1-T 2 dual-mode contrast agents to meet the clinical demands of MRI at specific magnetic fields.

The Synergistic Effect of Hyperthermia and Chemotherapy in Magnetite Nanomedicine-Based Lung Cancer Treatment

Background

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer patient death in the world. There are many treatment options for lung cancer, including surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and combined therapy. Despite significant progress has been made in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer during the past few decades, the prognosis is still unsatisfactory.

Purpose

To resolve the problem of chemotherapy failure, we developed a magnetite-based nanomedicine for chemotherapy acting synergistically with loco-regional hyperthermia.

Methods

The targeting carrier consisted of a complex of superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) and poly(sodium styrene sulfonate) (PSS) at the core and a layer-by-layer shell with cisplatin (CDDP), together with methotrexate – human serum albumin conjugate (MTX−HSA conjugate) for lung cancer-specific targeting, referred to hereafter as SPIO@PSS/CDDP/HSA−MTX nanoparticles (NPs).

Results

SPIO@PSS/CDDP/HSA−MTX NPs had good biocompatibility and stability in physiological solutions. Furthermore, SPIO@PSS/CDDP/HSA−MTX NPs exhibited a higher temperature increase rate than SPIO nanoparticles under irradiation by a radiofrequency (RF) generator. Therefore, SPIO@PSS/CDDP/HSA−MTX NPs could be used as a hyperthermia inducer under RF exposure after nanoparticles preferentially targeted and then accumulated at tumor sites. In addition, SPIO@PSS/CDDP/HSA−MTX NPs were developed to be used during combined chemotherapy and hyperthermia therapy, exhibiting a synergistic anticancer effect better than the effect of monotherapy.

Conclusion

Both in vitro and in vivo results suggest that the designed SPIO@PSS/CDDP/HSA−MTX NPs are a powerful candidate nanoplatform for future antitumor treatment strategies.

Graphene Oxide as a Nanocarrier for Biochemical Molecules: Current Understanding and Trends

The development of an advanced and efficient drug delivery system with significant improvement in its efficacy and enhanced therapeutic value is one of the critical challenges in modern medicinal biology. The integration of nanomaterial science with molecular and cellular biology has helped in the advancement and development of novel drug delivery nanocarrier systems with precision and decreased side effects. The design and synthesis of nanocarriers using graphene oxide (GO) have been rapidly growing over the past few years. Due to its remarkable physicochemical properties, GO has been extensively used in efforts to construct nanocarriers with high specificity, selectivity, and biocompatibility, and low cytotoxicity. The focus of this review is to summarize and address recent uses of GO-based nanocarriers and the improvements as efficient drug delivery systems. We briefly describe the concepts and challenges associated with nanocarrier systems followed by providing critical examples of GO-based delivery of drug molecules and genes. Finally, the review delivers brief conclusions on the current understanding and prospects of nanocarrier delivery systems.

Nanocomposites for the delivery of bioactive molecules in tissue repair: vital structural features, application mechanisms, updated progress and future perspectives

In recent years, nanocomposites have attracted great attention in tissue repair as carriers for bioactive molecule delivery due to their biochemical and nanostructural similarity to that of physiological tissues, and controlled delivery of bioactive molecules. In this review, we aim to comprehensively clarify how the applications of nanocomposites for bioactive molecule delivery in tissue repair are achieved by focusing on the following aspects: (1) vital structural features (size, shape, pore, etc.) of nanocomposites that have crucial effects on the biological properties and function of bioactive molecule-delivery systems, (2) delivery performance of bioactive molecules possessing high entrapment efficiency of bioactive molecules and good controlled- and sustained-release of bioactive molecules, (3) application mechanisms of nanocomposites to deliver and release bioactive molecules in tissue repair, (4) updated research progress of nanocomposites for bioactive molecule delivery in hard and soft tissue repair, and (5) future perspectives in the development of bioactive molecule-delivery systems based on nanocomposites.

Salmonella-innovative targeting carrier: Loading with doxorubicin for cancer treatment

Cell- based targeted delivery is recently gain attention as a promising platform for delivery of anticancer drug in selective and efficient manner. As a new biotechnology platform, bacterial ghosts (BGs) have novel biomedical application as targeted drug delivery system (TDDS). In the current work, Salmonellas' BGs was utilized for the first time as hepatocellular cancer (HCC) in-vitro targeted delivery system. Successful BGs loading and accurate analysis of doxorubicin (DOX) were necessary steps for testing the applicability of DOX loaded BGs in targeting the liver cancer cells. Loading capacity was maximized to reach 27.5 µg/mg (27.5% encapsulation efficiency), by incubation of 10 mg BGs with 1 mg DOX at pH 9 in constant temperature (25 °C) for 10 min. In-vitro release study of DOX loaded BGs showed a sustained release (182 h) obeying Higuchi sustained kinetic release model. The death rate (tested by MTT assay) of HepG2 reached to 64.5% by using of 4 μg/ml, while it was about 51% using the same concentration of the free DOX (P value < 0.0001 One-way ANOVA analysis). The proliferative inhibitory concentration (IC50) of the DOX combined formula was 1.328 µg/ml that was about one third of the IC50 of the free DOX (3.374 μg/ml). Apoptosis analysis (tested by flow-cytometry) showed more accumulation in early apoptosis (8.3%) and late apoptosis/necrosis (91%) by applying 1 μg/ml BGs combined DOX, while 1 μg/ml free DOX showed 33.4% of cells in early apoptosis and 39.3% in late apoptosis/necrosis, (P value˃ 0.05: one-way ANOVA). In conclusion, DOX loaded Salmonellas' BGs are successfully prepared and tested in vivo with promising potential as hepatocellular cancer (HCC) targeted delivery system.

A pH sensitive thiolated β-cyclodextrin-modified nanoporous gold for controlled release of doxorubicin

This article reports a novel thiolated β-cyclodextrin (HS-β-CD) modified nanoporous gold (NPG) wire for pH sensitive delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) in controlled manner. Nanoporous gold is a versatile material because of its three-dimensional nanoscale network of pores, facile surface functionalization, biocompatibility, and high capacity for the DOX payload. HS-β-CD can form supramolecular inclusion complexes with DOX affording the possibility of altering the controlled release behavior. DOX is one of the most potent anti-tumor drugs used in the treatment of different cancers. The binding of HS-β-CD and DOX was examined using UV-Vis spectroscopy. The prepared NPG structure exhibited excellent properties for controlled drug release outlining the potential of a pH sensitive drug implant for biomedical applications. This delivery system could improve local targeting of the drug as well as alter the rate of release of DOX near tumors.

Integrin-Targeting Peptides for the Design of Functional Cell-Responsive Biomaterials

Integrins are a family of cell surface receptors crucial to fundamental cellular functions such as adhesion, signaling, and viability, deeply involved in a variety of diseases, including the initiation and progression of cancer, of coronary, inflammatory, or autoimmune diseases. The natural ligands of integrins are glycoproteins expressed on the cell surface or proteins of the extracellular matrix. For this reason, short peptides or peptidomimetic sequences that reproduce the integrin-binding motives have attracted much attention as potential drugs. When challenged in clinical trials, these peptides/peptidomimetics let to contrasting and disappointing results. In the search for alternative utilizations, the integrin peptide ligands have been conjugated onto nanoparticles, materials, or drugs and drug carrier systems, for specific recognition or delivery of drugs to cells overexpressing the targeted integrins. Recent research in peptidic integrin ligands is exploring new opportunities, in particular for the design of nanostructured, micro-fabricated, cell-responsive, stimuli-responsive, smart materials.

Chitosan based pH-responsive polymeric prodrug vector for enhanced tumor targeted co-delivery of doxorubicin and siRNA

The co-delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs and siRNA has gained increasing attentions owing to the enhanced antitumor efficacy over single administration. In this work, a chitosan-based pH-responsive prodrug vector was developed for the co-delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) and Bcl-2 siRNA. The accumulation of fabricated nanoparticles in hepatoma cells was enhanced by glycyrrhetinic acid receptor-mediated endocytosis. The cumulative release amount of the encapsulated DOX and siRNA reached 90.2 % and 81.3 % in 10 h, respectively. More strikingly, this nanoplatform can efficiently integrate gene- and chemo-therapies with a dramatically enhanced tumor inhibitory rate (88.0 %) in vivo. This co-delivery system may provide the latest strategy to meet the needs of combination therapies for tumors, offering safe and efficient improvements to the synergistic antitumor efficacy of gene-chemotherapies.

Comprehensive Review on Graphene Oxide for Use in Drug Delivery System

Motivated by the accomplishment of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene and graphene oxide (GO) has been widely investigated in the previous studies as an innovative medication nanocarrier for the loading of a variety of therapeutics as well as anti-cancer medications, poor dissolvable medications, antibiotics, antibodies, peptides, DNA, RNA and genes. Graphene provides the ultra-high drug-loading efficiency due to the wide surface area. Graphene and graphene oxide have been widely investigated for biomedical applications due to their exceptional qualities: twodimensional planar structure, wide surface area, chemical and mechanical constancy, sublime conductivity and excellent biocompatibility. Due to these unique qualities, GO applications provide advanced drug transports frameworks and transports of a broad range of therapeutics. In this review, we discussed the latest advances and improvements in the uses of graphene and GO for drug transport and nanomedicine. Initially, we have described what is graphene and graphene oxide. After that, we discussed the qualities of GO as a drug carrier, utilization of GO in drug transport applications, targeted drug transport, transport of anticancer medications, chemical control medicine releasee, co-transport of different medications, comparison of GO with CNTs, nano-graphene for drug transport and at last, we have discussed the graphene toxicity. Finally, we draw a conclusion of current expansion and the potential outlook for the future.

Nanotechnology as a Platform for the Development of Injectable Parenteral Formulations: A Comprehensive Review of the Know-Hows and State of the Art

Within recent decades, the development of nanotechnology has made a significant contribution to the progress of various fields of study, including the domains of medical and pharmaceutical sciences. A substantially transformed arena within the context of the latter is the development and production of various injectable parenteral formulations. Indeed, recent decades have witnessed a rapid growth of the marketed and pipeline nanotechnology-based injectable products, which is a testimony to the remarkability of the aforementioned contribution. Adjunct to the ability of nanomaterials to deliver the incorporated payloads to many different targets of interest, nanotechnology has substantially assisted to the development of many further facets of the art. Such contributions include the enhancement of the drug solubility, development of long-acting locally and systemically injectable formulations, tuning the onset of the drug’s release through the endowment of sensitivity to various internal or external stimuli, as well as adjuvancy and immune activation, which is a desirable component for injectable vaccines and immunotherapeutic formulations. The current work seeks to provide a comprehensive review of all the abovementioned contributions, along with the most recent advances made within each domain. Furthermore, recent developments within the domains of passive and active targeting will be briefly debated.

Emerging Strategies in Stimuli-Responsive Nanocarriers as the Drug Delivery System for Enhanced Cancer Therapy

The conventional Drug Delivery System (DDS) has limitations such as leakage of the drug, toxicity to normal cells and loss of drug efficiency, while the stimuli-responsive DDS is non-toxic to cells, avoiding the leakage and degradation of the drug because of its targeted drug delivery to the pathological site. Thus nanomaterial chemistry enables - the development of smart stimuli-responsive DDS over the conventional DDS. Stimuliresponsive DDS ensures spatial or temporal, on-demand drug delivery to the targeted cancer cells. The DDS is engineered by using the organic (synthetic polymers, liposomes, peptides, aptamer, micelles, dendrimers) and inorganic (zinc oxide, gold, magnetic, quantum dots, metal oxides) materials. Principally, these nanocarriers release the drug at the targeted cells in response to external and internal stimuli such as temperature, light, ultrasound and magnetic field, pH value, redox potential (glutathione), and enzyme. The multi-stimuli responsive DDS is more promising than the single stimuli-responsive DDS in cancer therapy, and it extensively increases drug release and accumulation in the targeted cancer cells, resulting in better tumor cell ablation. In this regard, a handful of multi-stimuli responsive DDS is in clinical trials for further approval. A comprehensive review is crucial for addressing the existing knowledge about multi-stimuli responsive DDS, and hence, we summarized the emerging strategies in tailored ligand functionalized stimuli-responsive nanocarriers as the DDS for cancer therapies.

Cancer-Targeting Nanoparticles for Combinatorial Nucleic Acid Delivery

Nucleic acids are a promising type of therapeutic for the treatment of a wide range of conditions, including cancer, but they also pose many delivery challenges. For efficient and safe delivery to cancer cells, nucleic acids must generally be packaged into a vehicle, such as a nanoparticle, that will allow them to be taken up by the target cells and then released in the appropriate cellular compartment to function. As with other types of therapeutics, delivery vehicles for nucleic acids must also be designed to avoid unwanted side effects; thus, the ability of such carriers to target their cargo to cancer cells is crucial. Classes of nucleic acids, hurdles that must be overcome for effective intracellular delivery, types of nonviral nanomaterials used as delivery vehicles, and the different strategies that can be employed to target nucleic acid delivery specifically to tumor cells are discussed. Additonally, nanoparticle designs that facilitate multiplexed delivery of combinations of nucleic acids are reviewed.

Hydrogen-bonded supramolecular micelle-mediated drug delivery enhances the efficacy and safety of cancer chemotherapy

Multiple hydrogen-bonded supramolecular polymers tend to form stable spherical micelles with oppositely charged anticancer drugs in biological environments, which improves cellular drug uptake and more effectively induces apoptosis in cancer cells.

Bioinspired Nanocomposites: Applications in Disease Diagnosis and Treatment

Recent advancement in the field of synthesis and application of nanomaterials provided holistic approach for both diagnosis as well as treatment of diseases. Briefly, three-dimensional scaffold and geometry of bioinspired nanocarriers modulate bulk properties of loaded drug at molecular/ atomic structures in a way to conjointly modulate pathological as well as altered metabolic states of diseases, in very predictable and desired manners at a specific site of the target. While, from the pharmacotechnical point of views, the bioinspired nanotechnology processes carriers either favor to enhance the solubility of poorly aqueous soluble drugs or enable well-controlled sustained release profiles, to reduce the frequency of drug regimen. Consequently, from biopharmaceutical point of view, these composite materials, not only minimize first pass metabolism but also significantly enhance in-vivo biodistribution, permeability, bio-adhesion and diffusivity. In lieu of the above arguments, the nano-processed materials exhibit an important role for diagnosis and treatments. In the diagnostic center, recent emergences and advancement in the tools and techniques to diagnose the unrevealed diseases with the help of instruments such as, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging etc; heavily depend upon nanotechnology-based materials. In this paper, a brief introduction and recent application of different types of nanomaterials in the field of tissue engineering, cancer treatment, ocular therapy, orthopedics, and wound healing as well as drug delivery system are thoroughly discussed.

Thermodynamic analysis of multivalent binding of functionalized nanoparticles to membrane surface reveals the importance of membrane entropy and nanoparticle entropy in adhesion of flexible nanoparticles

We present a quantitative model for multivalent binding of ligand-coated flexible polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) to a flexible membrane expressing receptors. The model is developed using a multiscale computational framework by coupling a continuum field model for the cell membrane with a coarse-grained model for the polymeric NPs. The NP is modeled as a self-avoiding bead-spring polymer chain, and the cell membrane is modeled as a triangulated surface using the dynamically triangulated Monte Carlo method. The nanoparticle binding affinity to a cell surface is mainly determined by the delicate balance between the enthalpic gain due to the multivalent ligand-receptor binding and the entropic penalties of various components including receptor translation, membrane undulation, and NP conformation. We have developed new methods to compute the free energy of binding, which includes these enthalpy and entropy terms. We show that the multivalent interactions between the flexible NP and the cell surface are subject to entropy-enthalpy compensation. Three different entropy contributions, namely, those due to receptor-ligand translation, NP flexibility, and membrane undulations, are all significant, although the first of these terms is the most dominant. However, both NP flexibility and membrane undulations dictate the receptor-ligand translational entropy making the entropy compensation context-specific, i.e., dependent on whether the NP is rigid or flexible, and on the state of the membrane given by the value of membrane tension or its excess area.

Y-Shaped Backbone-Rigidified Triangular DNA Scaffold-Directed Stepwise Movement of a DNAzyme Walker for Sensitive MicroRNA Imaging within Living Cells

DNA as a programmable molecule shows great potential in a wide variety of applications, with the dynamic DNA nanodevices such as DNA motors and walkers holding the most promise in controlled functions for biosensing and nanomedicine. However, a motor or walker that consists of DNA exclusively has not been shown to function within cells because of its susceptibility to endogenous nuclease-mediated degradation. In this contribution, we demonstrate a Y-shaped backbone-rigidified triangular DNA scaffold (YTDS)-directed DNAzyme walker that functions inside living cells to detect microRNAs (miRNAs) with high sensitivity. A novel Y-shaped backbone offers access to geometrically well-defined configurations and increases the rigidity of DNA assemblies, providing a unique, circular, and rigid DNA track within living cells without non-nucleic acid auxiliary materials and enabling the stepwise movement of DNAzyme in an inchworm fashion. This strategy is extended to the construction of larger rigid planar geometric polygon-based DNA walkers, demonstrating unprecedented opportunities to build dynamic DNA nanostructures with precise geometry and versatile functionality.

Enhancing Tumor Drug Distribution With Ultrasound-Triggered Nanobubbles

Issues with limited intratumoral drug penetration and heterogeneous drug distribution continue to impede the therapeutic efficacy of nanomedicine-based delivery systems. Ultrasound (US)-enhanced drug delivery has emerged as one effective means of overcoming these challenges. Acoustic cavitation in the presence of nanoparticles has shown to increase the cellular uptake and distribution of chemotherapeutic agents in vivo. In this study, we investigated the potential of a drug-loaded echogenic nanoscale bubbles in combination with low frequency (3 MHz), high energy (2 W/cm2) US for antitumor therapy. The doxorubicin-loaded nanobubbles (Dox-NBs) stabilized with an interpenetrating polymer mesh were 171.5 ± 20.9 nm in diameter. When used in combination with therapeutic US, Dox-NBs combined with free drug showed significantly higher (*p < 0.05) intracellular uptake and therapeutic efficacy compared with free drug. When injected intravenously in vivo, Dox-NBs + therapeutic US showed significantly higher (*p < 0.05) accumulation and better distribution of Dox in tumors when compared with free drug. This strategy provides an effective and simple method to increase the local dose and distribution of otherwise systemically toxic chemotherapeutic agents for cancer therapies.

Fast, Efficient, and Targeted Liposome Delivery Mediated by DNA Hybridization

Safety and efficacy, two significant parameters in drug administration, can be improved by site-specific delivery approaches. Here a fast, efficient, and targeted liposome delivery system steered by a DNA hybridization recognition mechanism is presented. For this purpose, lipid-terminated DNA is inserted in both liposome and cell membranes by simple mixing of the components. Cellular accumulation of cargo encapsulated in the liposomal core is substantially enhanced when the DNA sequence on the cell is complementary to that on the liposome. Additionally, in mixed cell populations, liposomes discriminate targets by their complementary DNA sequences. Exposure of cells to low temperature and endocytosis inhibitors suggests a caveolae-dependent endocytosis uptake pathway. Mechanistically, hybridization between DNA strands spatially traps liposomes and cell membranes in close proximity, consequently increases the local liposome concentration, and thereby enhances cellular uptake of liposomes and their payload. This programmable delivery system might contribute to new applications in molecular biology and drug delivery.

Study of biodistribution and systemic toxicity of glucose functionalized SPIO/DOX micelles

The present study examined the cytotoxicity and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) distribution of cancer-targeted, MRI-visible polymeric micelles that encapsulate doxorubicin (DOX) and superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) and are conjugated with glucose as a targeting ligand. In this study, the micelles were investigated the clinical potential of glucose-micelles, in vitro cytotoxicity assays of nonencapsulating or SPIO-and-DOX-coencapsulating micelles were performed on L929 mouse fibroblasts, and we found that glucose-micelles did not exert in vitro cytotoxic effects. Next, in vitro MRI detectability of glucose SPIO micelles was evaluated at the loaded SPIO content of 2.5% and 50%, and it was found that glucose-micelles can increase MRI relaxivity (r₂*) at high SPIO loading. Furthermore, 50% SPIO micelles persisted in the blood circulation for up to 5 days (slow liver clearance) as determined by in vivo MRI. For in vivo toxicity evaluation, 50% SPIO/DOX micelles at a dose up to 18 (mg DOX)/(kg body weight) showed no impact on animal health according to clinical chemistry and clinical hematology laboratory testing. Altogether, these results indicate that glucose-micelles can serve as an effective and safe drug delivery system.

Rational Design of Hybrid Peptides: A Novel Drug Design Approach

Peptides play crucial roles in various physiological and pathological processes. Consequently, the investigation of peptide-based drugs is a highlight in the research and development of new drugs. However, natural peptides are not always ideal choices for clinical application due to their limited number and sometimes cytotoxicity to normal cells. Aiming to gain stronger or specific or novel biological effects and overcome the disadvantages of natural peptides, artificial hybrid peptides have been designed by combining the sequence of two or more different peptides with varied biological functions. Compared to natural peptides, hybrid peptides have shown better therapeutic potentials against bacteria, tumors, and metabolic diseases. In this review, design strategies, structure features and recent development of hybrid peptides are summarized; future directions for the research and development of hybrid peptide drugs are also discussed.

Peptide ligand-mediated targeted drug delivery of nanomedicines

Targeted drug delivery is emerging as a promising strategy to achieve better clinical outcomes. Actively targeted drug delivery that utilizes overexpressed receptors or antigens on diseased tissues is receiving increasing scrutiny, especially due to the uncertainty of existence of the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect in cancer patients. Peptide ligands are advantageous over other classes of targeting ligands due to their accessibility of high-throughput screening, ease of synthesis, high specificity and affinity, etc. In this review, we briefly summarize the resources of peptide ligands and discuss the pitfalls and perspectives of peptide ligand-mediated targeted delivery of nanomedicines.

Nanostructured carriers as innovative tools for cancer diagnosis and therapy

Cancer accounts for millions of deaths every year and, due to the increase and aging of the world population, the number of new diagnosed cases is continuously rising. Although many progresses in early diagnosis and innovative therapeutic protocols have been already set in clinical practice, still a lot of critical aspects need to be addressed in order to efficiently treat cancer and to reduce several drawbacks caused by conventional therapies. Nanomedicine has emerged as a very promising approach to support both early diagnosis and effective therapy of tumors, and a plethora of different inorganic and organic multifunctional nanomaterials have been ad hoc designed to meet the constant demand for new solutions in cancer treatment. Given their unique features and extreme versatility, nanocarriers represent an innovative and easily adaptable tool both for imaging and targeted therapy purposes, in order to improve the specific delivery of drugs administered to cancer patients. The current review reports an in-depth analysis of the most recent research studies aiming at developing both inorganic and organic materials for nanomedical applications in cancer diagnosis and therapy. A detailed overview of different approaches currently undergoing clinical trials or already approved in clinical practice is provided.

Intravenous treatment of choroidal neovascularization by photo-targeted nanoparticles

Choroidal neovascularization (CNV) is the major cause of vision loss in wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Current therapies require repeated intravitreal injections, which are painful and can cause infection, bleeding, and retinal detachment. Here we develop nanoparticles (NP-[CPP]) that can be administered intravenously and allow local drug delivery to the diseased choroid via light-triggered targeting. NP-[CPP] is formed by PEG-PLA chains modified with a cell penetrating peptide (CPP). Attachment of a DEACM photocleavable group to the CPP inhibits cellular uptake of NP-[CPP]. Irradiation with blue light cleaves DEACM from the CPP, allowing the CPP to migrate from the NP core to the surface, rendering it active. In mice with laser-induced CNV, intravenous injection of NP-[CPP] coupled to irradiation of the eye allows NP accumulation in the neovascular lesions. When loaded with doxorubicin, irradiated NP-[CPP] significantly reduces neovascular lesion size. We propose a strategy for non-invasive treatment of CNV and enhanced drug accumulation specifically in diseased areas of the eye.

Current treatments of wet age-related macular degeneration require repeated injections of active drugs into the vitreous. Here Wang et al. develop nanoparticles that when injected intravenously can be targeted to the eye by irradiation with blue light, allowing local and enhanced drug release in the back of the eye, and providing an alternative to current delivery strategies.

Cancer-targeted and glutathione-responsive micellar carriers for controlled delivery of cabazitaxel

Novel type of multifunctional polymeric micelles (PMs) designated as HM-PMss/CTX micelles were developed in the present study for tumor-targeted and glutathione (GSH)-responsive delivery of cabazitaxel (CTX). The surface of the vehicles was modified with piloting molecules (HM-3 peptide), which targets α _v β ₃ integrin overexpressed on cancer cells, and the micelle core was cross-linked by GSH-disintegrable disulfide linkages for controlled drug release. HM-PMss/CTX micelles were prepared using a mixture of two functionalized amphiphilic block copolymers and found to physically encapsulate CTX with excellent entrapment efficiency (93.94 ± 4.19%), drug-loading capacity (8.39 ± 2.28%), and a narrow size distribution. In vitro release profiles showed that CTX remained stably entrapped in the micelles in a release medium without GSH or with GSH of low concentration, while undergoing a rapid release in a highly reductive environment. Cellular uptake experiments showed that the conjugation of the targeting peptide, containing an arginine-glycine-aspartate sequence, enhanced the cellular uptake of HM-PMss/CTX micelles via α _v β ₃ integrin-mediated endocytosis. In vitro cell viability measurements revealed that blank micelles were biocompatible, while HM-PMss/CTX micelles, owing to their tumor-targeting ability and GSH sensitivity, effectively inhibited the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. These results indicate that HM-PMss/CTX micelles could be a promising platform for future intelligent drug delivery in cancer therapy.

Advances in Receptor-Mediated, Tumor-Targeted Drug Delivery

Receptor-mediated drug delivery presents an opportunity to enhance therapeutic efficiency by accumulating drug within the tissue of interest and reducing undesired, off-target effects. In cancer, receptor overexpression is a platform for binding and inhibiting pathways that shape biodistribution, toxicity, cell binding and uptake, and therapeutic function. This review will identify tumor-targeted drug delivery vehicles and receptors that show promise for clinical translation based on quantitative in vitro and in vivo data. The authors describe the rationale to engineer a targeted drug delivery vehicle based on the ligand, chemical conjugation method, and type of drug delivery vehicle. Recent advances in multivalent targeting and ligand organization on tumor accumulation are discussed. Revolutionizing receptor-mediated drug delivery may be leveraged in the therapeutic delivery of chemotherapy, gene editing tools, and epigenetic drugs.

Glucose-installed biodegradable polymeric micelles for cancer-targeted drug delivery system: synthesis, characterization and in vitro evaluation

Glucose metabolism of cancer can be used as a strategy to target cancer cells which exhibit altered glycolytic rate. The facilitated glucose transporter (Glut) plays an important role in enhancement glycolytic rate resulting in increased glucose uptake into cancer cells. ¹⁸FGD-PET image is an example for using Glut as a targeting to diagnose the high glycolytic rate of tumor. Thus, Glut may be adapted to target cancer cells for drug delivery system. Herein, biodegradation polymeric micelles target cancer cells by Glut was fabricated. The amphiphilic block copolymer of poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PEG-b-PCL) was synthesized where terminal group of the PEG chain was installed with glucose molecules. The ¹H-NMR confirmed the existence of glucose moiety from two distinct peaks (5.2 and 4.7 ppm) of protons at anomeric carbon of glucose. Glucose-PEG-b-PCL spontaneously forms micelles in an aqueous solution. The size and zeta potential were 22 nm and -7 mv, respectively. Glucose-micelles have high stability, and no evidence of cytotoxicity was found after incubation for 7 days. Doxorubicin, used as a fluorescent probe, was loaded into glucose-micelles. The enhanced amount of doxorubicin as a result of glucose-micelles in PC-3, MCF-7 and HepG2 was evaluated by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometer. Glucose molecules on the surface of micelles increased internalization and enhanced uptake of micelles via bypassing endocytosis pathway. These results show the use of glucose as a targeting ligand on the micelle surface to target cancer cells via Glut.

A comprehensive review on histone-mediated transfection for gene therapy

Histone has been considered to be an effective carrier in non-viral gene delivery due to its unique properties such as efficient DNA binding ability, direct translocation to cytoplasm and favorable nuclear localization ability. Meanwhile, the rapid development of genetic engineering techniques could facilitate the construction of multifunctional fusion proteins based on histone molecules to further improve the transfection efficiency. Remarkably, histone has been demonstrated to achieve gene transfection in a synergistic manner with cationic polymers, affording to a significant improvement of transfection efficiency. In the review, we highlighted the recent developments and future trends in gene delivery mediated by histones or histone-based fusion proteins/peptides. This review also discussed the mechanism of histone-mediated gene transfection and provided an outlook for future therapeutic opportunities in the viewpoint of transfection efficacy and biosafety.