Theoretical study of gallium nitride nanocage as a carrier for 5-fluorouracil anticancer drug

DFT study of Ti3C2 MXene nanosheets as a drug delivery system for 5-fluorouracil

In this study, we modeled a drug delivery system consisting of Ti3C2 MXene nanosheets as a carrier and 5-fluorouracil (FU) as a selected drug molecule using density functional theory (DFT) computations. During the adsorption procedure, electronic, magnetic and structural properties were calculated. Our results showed that the adsorption of FU drugs on the Ti3C2 surface is thermodynamically favorable. Our spin-polarized calculations also determined that the magnetization of Ti3C2 after FU adsorption does not change significantly, which is an important factor for magnetic hyperthermia and drug delivery. In addition, our calculations indicate that in the slightly acidic environment of tumor tissue, FU could start to be released (by increasing distance from the MXene surface and then instability of the complex) from the Ti3C2 surface without any substantial change in the structural properties. This study could provide a deep understanding of the interaction mechanism of 2-dimensional (2D) MXene materials with drugs at the atomistic scale and have an important contribution to the discovery and application of novel 2D materials as drug delivery systems.

Optical properties of nanostructured antiviral and anticancer drugs

We present a computational study on the optical absorption properties of some systems of interest in the field of drug delivery. In particular we considered as drug molecules favipiravir (T705, an antiviral molecule) and 5-fluorouracil (5FU, an anticancer molecule) and, on the other hand, pure fullerenes (C24, B12N12, Ga12N12) and doped fullerenes (C23B, CB11N12) are considered as nanocarriers. Some combined configurations between the drug molecules and the carrier nanostructures have been then studied. The optical absorption properties of the above mentioned drug molecules and their carrier nanostructures in the free and bound states are obtained by a TD-DFT method, in gas phase and in aqueous solution. We perform a detailed analysis of the modifications arising in the absorption spectra that take place in some linked configurations between the drug molecules and the carrier nanostructures. These changes could be of importance as an optical fingerprint of the realized drug/carrier link.

A dispersion-corrected DFT calculation on encapsulation of favipiravir drug used as antiviral against COVID-19 into carbon-, boron-, and aluminum-nitride nanotubes for optimal drug delivery systems combined with molecular docking simulations

Favipiravir (FAV) (6-fluoro-3-oxo-3,4-dihydropyrazine-2-carboxamide) is one of the most effective antiviral drugs which is cited for action against RNA-viral infections of COVID-19. In this study, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to investigate three nanotubes (NTs) with FAV drug as delivery systems. The encapsulated systems (ESs) consist of FAV drug inside carbon-carbon, aluminum nitride, and boron nitride. At B3LYP-D/6-31G(d,p) and CPCM/B3LYP-D/6-31G(d,p), the optimization of NTs, FAV, and its tautomeric forms and six ESs was investigated in gas and water environments. Five tautomeric forms of FAV were investigated, two keto forms (K1 and K2) and three enol forms (E1, E2, and E3). The results revealed that E3 and K2 isomeric forms represented the most stable structures in both media; thus, these two forms were encapsulated into the NTs. The stability and the synthesis feasibility of NTs have been proven by calculating their interaction energies. Non-covalent interactions (NCIs) were investigated in the ESs to show the type of NCI with the molecular voids. The binding energies, thermochemical parameters, and recovery times were investigated to understand the mechanism of FAV encapsulation and release. The encapsulated AlNNT systems are more favorable than those of BNNTs and CNTs in gas and aqueous environments with much higher binding energies. The quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) and recovery time analysis revealed the easier releasing of E3 from AlNNT over K2 form. Based on molecular docking simulations, we found that E3 and K2 FAV forms showed a high level of resistance to SARS-CoV-6M3M/6LU7/6W9C proteases.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11224-023-02182-4.

Transition Metal-Decorated B12N12-X (X = Au, Cu, Ni, Os, Pt, and Zn) Nanoclusters as Biosensors for Carboplatin

Theoretical studies on the adsorption, sensibility, and reactivity of a boron nitride nanocage decorated with Au, Cu, Ni, Os, Pt, and Zn metals as a biosensor material were carried out for the adsorption of carboplatin by applying the density functional theory computation at the B3LYP-GD3BJ/def2svp level of theory. All the optimized structures, as well as the calculations as regards the studied objective including electronic properties, geometry optimization parameters, adsorption energy studies, natural bond orbital analysis, topology studies, sensor mechanistic parameters, and thermodynamic properties (ΔG and ΔH), were investigated herein. As a result, the noticeable change in the energy gap of the studied surfaces when interacting with carboplatin accounted for the surfaces' reactivity, stability, conductivity, work function, and overall adsorption ability, implying that the studied decorated surfaces are good sensor materials for sensing carboplatin. Furthermore, the negative adsorption energies obtained for interacting surfaces decorated with Cu, Ni, Os, and Zn suggest that the surface has a superior ability to sense carboplatin as chemisorption was seen. Substantially, the geometric short adsorption bond length after adsorption, thermodynamically spontaneous reactions, and acceptable sensor mechanism results demonstrate that the investigated surfaces have strong sensing characteristics for sensing carboplatin.

Exploring the adsorption ability with sensitivity and reactivity of C12-B6N6, C12-Al6N6, and B6N6-Al6N6 heteronanocages towards the cisplatin drug: a DFT, AIM, and COSMO analysis

The DFT study on the adsorption behaviour of the C24, B12N12, and Al12N12 nanocages and their heteronanocages towards the anticancer drug cisplatin (CP) was performed in gas and water media. Among the three pristine nanocages, Al12N12 exhibited high adsorption energy ranging from -1.98 to -1.63 eV in the gas phase and -1.47 to -1.39 eV in water media. However, their heterostructures C12-Al6N6 and B6N6-Al6N6 showed higher interaction energies (-2.22 eV and -2.14 eV for C12-Al6N6 and B6N6-Al6N6) with a significant amount of charge transfer. Noteworthy variations in electronic properties were confirmed by FMO analysis and DOS spectra analysis after the adsorption of the cisplatin drug on B12N12 and B6N6-Al6N6 nanocages. Furthermore, an analysis of quantum molecular descriptors unveiled salient decrement in global hardness and increments in electrophilicity index and global softness occurred after the adsorption of CP on B12N12 and B6N6-Al6N6. On the other hand, the above-mentioned fluctuations are not so noteworthy in the case of the adsorption of CP on Al12N12, C12-B6N6, and C12-Al6N6. Concededly, energy calculation, FMO analysis, ESP map, DOS spectra, quantum molecular descriptors, dipole moment, COSMO surface analysis, QTAIM analysis, and work function analysis predict that B12N12 and B6N6-Al6N6 nanocages exhibit high sensitivity towards CP drug molecules.

miR-424-5p reduces 5-fluorouracil resistance possibly by inhibiting Src/focal adhesion kinase signalling-mediated epithelial-mesenchymal transition in colon cancer cells

OBJECTIVES

miR-424-5p negatively regulates various malignant biological behaviours in tumour cells. We explored the relationship between miR-424-5p and 5-fluorouracil resistance in colon cancer cells.

METHODS

We developed 5-fluorouracil-resistant HT-29 cells and detected miR-424-5p expression using real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. Cell viability was assessed using Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Immunofluorescence and western blotting were performed to determine protein levels. Apoptosis was detected by Annexin V-FITC/PI staining.

KEY FINDINGS

miR-424-5p was downregulated in 5-fluorouracil-resistant HT-29 cells. A miR-424-5p mimic enhanced the sensitivity of the resistant cells to 5-fluorouracil, whereas a miR-424-5p inhibitor promoted 5-fluorouracil resistance in HT-29 cells. Furthermore, the miR-424-5p mimic downregulated vimentin and upregulated E-cadherin in 5-fluorouracil-resistant HT-29 cells, whereas the miR-424-5p inhibitor exhibited opposite effects. The miR-424-5p inhibitor significantly inhibited 5-fluorouracil-induced HT-29 cell apoptosis and Src and focal adhesion kinase phosphorylation, whereas the miR-424-5p mimic showed opposite effects. Pretreatment with Src inhibitor 1 or focal adhesion kinase inhibitor 2 blocked the increase in Src and focal adhesion kinase phosphorylation and vimentin expression level and the decrease in E-cadherin expression level in miR-424-5p inhibitor-exposed HT-29 cells.

CONCLUSIONS

miR-424-5p suppressed epithelial-mesenchymal transition by inhibiting the Src/focal adhesion kinase signalling pathway to reduce 5-fluorouracil resistance in colon cancer cells.