Cell death-inducing properties of selected dendrimers against different breast cancer and leukemia cell lines

Biogenic nanoparticles: pioneering a new era in breast cancer therapeutics-a comprehensive review

Breast cancer, a widespread malignancy affecting women globally, often arises from mutations in estrogen/progesterone receptors. Conventional treatments like surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy face limitations such as low efficacy and adverse effects. However, nanotechnology offers promise with its unique attributes like targeted delivery and controlled drug release. Yet, challenges like poor size distribution and environmental concerns exist. Biogenic nanotechnology, using natural materials or living cells, is gaining traction for its safety and efficacy in cancer treatment. Biogenic nanoparticles synthesized from plant extracts offer a sustainable and eco-friendly approach, demonstrating significant toxicity against breast cancer cells while sparing healthy ones. They surpass traditional drugs, providing benefits like biocompatibility and targeted delivery. Thus, this current review summarizes the available knowledge on breast cancer (its types, stages, histopathology, symptoms, etiology and epidemiology) with the importance of using biogenic nanomaterials as a new and improved therapy. The novelty of this work lies in its comprehensive examination of the challenges and strategies for advancing the industrial utilization of biogenic metal and metal oxide NPs. Additionally; it underscores the potential of plant-mediated synthesis of biogenic NPs as effective therapies for breast cancer, detailing their mechanisms of action, advantages, and areas for further research.

Anticancer Potential of Dendritic Poly(aryl ether)-Substituted Polypyridyl Ligand-Based Ruthenium(II) Coordination Entities

This paper studies the anticancer potency of dendritic poly(aryl ether)-substituted polypyridyl ligand-based ruthenium(II) coordination entities. The dendritic coordination entities were successfully designed, synthesized, and characterized by different spectral methods such as Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), 1H and 13C- NMR, and mass spectrometry. Further, to understand the structure and solvation behavior of the coordination entities, we performed all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The behavior, configuration, and size of the coordination entities in DMSO and water were studied by calculating the radius of gyration (Rg) and solvent-accessible surface area (SASA). The MTT assay was used to assess the in vitro cytotoxicity of all of the coordination entities against cancerous A549 (lung cancer cells), MDA MB 231 (breast cancer cells), and HepG2 (liver cancer cells) and was found to be good with comparable IC50 values with respect to the standard drug cisplatin. The coordination entities exhibited dose dependence, and the highest activity was shown against HepG2 cell lines in comparison to the other cancer cell lines. In addition, fluorescence staining studies, such as AO/EB, DAPI, and cell death analysis by PI staining, were performed on the coordination entities to understand the apoptosis mechanism. Furthermore, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) assays confirmed apoptosis in cancer cells via the mitochondrial pathway. The DNA fragmentation assay was done followed by molecular docking analysis with DNA executed to strengthen and support the experimental observations.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of salophen nickel(II) and cobalt(III) complexes as potential anticancer compounds

Recent in vitro investigations of N,N'-bis(salicylidene)-1,2-phenylenediamine (SAP) iron(III) complexes substituted with alkyl (ethyl, propyl, butyl) carboxylates at position 4 in tumor and leukemia cells revealed strong cytotoxic activity. In continuation of this study, analogous nickel(II) and cobalt(III) complexes were synthesized and tested in HL-60 leukemia, and cisplatin-sensitive and -resistant A2780 ovarian cancer cell lines. The biological activity depended on the extent of cellular uptake and the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Inactive [(Ni(II)SAP] complexes (1-3) only marginally accumulated in tumor cells and did not induce ROS. The cellular uptake of [Co(III)SAP]Cl complexes (4-6) into the cells depended on the length of the ester alkyl chain (ethyl, 4 < propyl, 5 < butyl, 6). The cytotoxicity correlated with the presence of ROS. The low cytotoxic complex 4 induced only few ROS, while 5 and 6 caused a good to outstanding antiproliferative activity, exerted high ROS generation, and induced cell death after 48 h. Necrostatin-1 prevented the biological effects, proving necroptosis as part of the mode of action. Interestingly, the effects of 5 and 6 were not reversed by Ferrostatin-1, but even enhanced upon simultaneous application to the tumor cells.

Safety Challenges and Application Strategies for the Use of Dendrimers in Medicine

Dendrimers are used for a variety of applications in medicine but, due to their host–guest and entrapment characteristics, are particularly used for the delivery of genes and drugs. However, dendrimers are intrinsically toxic, thus creating a major limitation for their use in biological systems. To reduce such toxicity, biocompatible dendrimers have been designed and synthesized, and surface engineering has been used to create advantageous changes at the periphery of dendrimers. Although dendrimers have been reviewed previously in the literature, there has yet to be a systematic and comprehensive review of the harmful effects of dendrimers. In this review, we describe the routes of dendrimer exposure and their distribution in vivo. Then, we discuss the toxicity of dendrimers at the organ, cellular, and sub-cellular levels. In this review, we also describe how technology can be used to reduce dendrimer toxicity, by changing their size and surface functionalization, how dendrimers can be combined with other materials to generate a composite formulation, and how dendrimers can be used for the diagnosis of disease. Finally, we discuss future challenges, developments, and research directions in developing biocompatible and safe dendrimers for medical purposes.