A Nanocarrier Skin-Targeted Drug Delivery System using an Ascorbic Acid Derivative

Lipid-Based Gels for Delivery of 3-O-Ethyl L-Ascorbic acid in Topical Applications

This study explores the incorporation of 10% 3-O-ethyl L-ascorbic acid (ETVC), a derivative of vitamin C, into two lipid gel systems: a hydrogel (HG) consisting exclusively of lipids and water and a bigel (BG) combining the hydrogel with an oleogel made from olive oil and beeswax. We investigated the ETVC release profiles from both materials using synthetic membranes and measured their permeation through porcine skin in vitro. Additionally, the interaction of these lipid gel systems with the stratum corneum (SC) was determined. Results from the release study indicate that the BG exhibited slower ETVC release compared to the HG. The permeation experiments showed that the presence of lipids in the formulations enhanced ETVC retention in the skin. The HG delivered a higher amount to the SC, while the BG achieved greater retention in the epidermis. This difference is attributed to the different lipophilic nature of each material. The structural analysis of SC lipids revealed that the organization of surface lipids remained unaltered by the application of the gels. Finally, an in vitro efficacy test in porcine skin using methylene blue indicated that our ETVC gels exhibited antioxidant activity. These findings provide valuable insights into the potential of lipid-based gels for topical applications.

Smart delivery vehicles for cancer: categories, unique roles and therapeutic strategies

Chemotherapy and surgery remain the primary treatment modalities for cancers; however, these techniques have drawbacks, such as cancer recurrence and toxic side effects, necessitating more efficient cancer treatment strategies. Recent advancements in research and medical technology have provided novel insights and expanded our understanding of cancer development; consequently, scholars have investigated several delivery vehicles for cancer therapy to improve the efficiency of cancer treatment and patient outcomes. Herein, we summarize several types of smart therapeutic carriers and elaborate on the mechanism underlying drug delivery. We reveal the advantages of smart therapeutic carriers for cancer treatment, focus on their effectiveness in cancer immunotherapy, and discuss the application of smart cancer therapy vehicles in combination with other emerging therapeutic strategies for cancer treatment. Finally, we summarize the bottlenecks encountered in the development of smart cancer therapeutic vehicles and suggest directions for future research. This review will promote progress in smart cancer therapy and facilitate related research.

In Situ Formation of Fibronectin-Enriched Protein Corona on Epigenetic Nanocarrier for Enhanced Synthetic Lethal Therapy

PARP inhibitors (PARPi)-based synthetic lethal therapy demonstrates limited efficacy for most cancer types that are homologous recombination (HR) proficient. To potentiate the PARPi application, a nanocarrier based on 5-azacytidine (AZA)-conjugated polymer (PAZA) for the codelivery of AZA and a PARP inhibitor, BMN673 (BMN) is developed. AZA conjugation significantly decreased the nanoparticle (NP) size and increased BMN loading. Molecular dynamics simulation and experimental validations shed mechanistic insights into the self-assembly of effective NPs. The small PAZA NPs demonstrated higher efficiency of tumor targeting and penetration than larger NPs, which is mediated by a new mechanism of active targeting that involves the recruitment of fibronectin from serum proteins following systemic administration of PAZA NPs. Furthermore, it is found that PAZA carrier sensitize the HR-proficient nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to BMN, a combination therapy that is more effective at a lower AZA/BMN dosage. To investigate the underlying mechanism, the tumor immune microenvironment and various gene expressions by RNAseq are explored. Moreover, the BMN/PAZA combination increased the immunogenicity and synergized with PD-1 antibody in improving the overall therapeutic effect in an orthotopic model of lung cancer (LLC).

Gelled Liquid Crystal Nanocarriers for Improved Antioxidant Activity of Resveratrol

As many natural origin antioxidants, resveratrol is characterized by non-suitable physicochemical properties for its topical application. To allow its benefits to manifest on human skin, resveratrol has been entrapped within liquid crystal nanocarriers (LCNs) made up of glyceryl monooleate, a penetration enhancer, and DSPE-PEG 750. The nanosystems have been more deeply characterized by using dynamic light scattering and Turbiscan Lab® Expert optical analyzer, and they have been tested in vitro on NCTC 2544. The improved antioxidant activity of entrapped resveratrol was evaluated on keratinocyte cells as a function of its concentration. Finally, to really propose the resveratrol-loaded LCNs for topical use, the systems were gelled by using two different gelling agents, poloxamer P407 and carboxymethyl cellulose, to improve the contact time between skin and formulation. The rheological features of obtained gels were evaluated using two important methods (microrheology at rest and dynamic rheology), before testing their safety profile on human healthy volunteers. The obtained results showed the ability of LCNs to improve antioxidant activity of RSV and the gelled LCNs showed good rheological profiles. In conclusion, the results confirmed the potentiality of gelled resveratrol-loaded nanosystems for skin disease, mainly related to their antioxidant effects.

Engineering oncogene-targeted anisamide-functionalized pBAE nanoparticles as efficient lung cancer antisense therapies

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the leading causes of worldwide death, mainly due to the lack of efficient and safe therapies. Currently, NSCLC standard of care for consist on the use of traditional chemotherapeutics, non-selectively distributed through the whole body, thus causing severe side effects while not achieving high efficacy outcomes. Consequently, the need of novel therapies, targeted to modify specific subcellular routes aberrantly expressed only in tumor cells is still urgent. In this context, the delivery of siRNAs that can know-down overexpressed oncogenes, such as mTOR, could become the promised targeted therapy. However, siRNA effective delivery remains a challenge due to its compromised stability in biological fluids and its inability to cross biological and plasmatic membranes. Therefore, polymeric nanoparticles that efficiently encapsulate siRNAs and are selectively targeted to tumor cells could play a pivotal role. Accordingly, we demonstrate in this work that oligopeptide end-modified poly(beta aminoester) (OM-pBAE) polymers can efficiently complex siRNA in small nanometric particles using very low polymer amounts, protecting siRNA from nucleases attack. These nanoparticles are stable in the presence of serum, advantageous fact in terms of in vivo use. We also demonstrated that they efficiently transfect cells in vitro, in the presence of serum and are able to knock down target gene expression. Moreover, we demonstrated their antitumor efficacy by encapsulating mTOR siRNA, as a model antisense therapy, which showed specific lung tumor cell growth inhibition in vitro and in vivo. Finally, through the addition of anisamide functionalization to the surface of the nanoparticles, we proved that they become selective to lung tumor cells, while not affecting healthy cells. Therefore, our results are a first step in the discovery of a tumor cell-targeted efficient silencing nanotherapy for NSCLC patients survival improvement.

A SWOT analysis of nano co-crystals in drug delivery: present outlook and future perspectives

The formulation of poorly soluble drugs is an intractable challenge in the field of drug design, development and delivery. This is particularly problematic for molecules that exhibit poor solubility in both organic and aqueous media. Usually, this is difficult to resolve using conventional formulation strategies and has resulted in many potential drug candidates not progressing beyond early stage development. Furthermore, some drug candidates are abandoned due to toxicity or have an undesirable biopharmaceutical profile. In many instances drug candidates do not exhibit desirable processing characteristics to be manufactured at scale. Nanocrystals and co-crystals, are progressive approaches in crystal engineering that can solve some of these limitations. While these techniques are relatively facile, they also require optimisation. Combining crystallography with nanoscience can yield nano co-crystals that feature the benefits of both fields, resulting in additive or synergistic effects to drug discovery and development. Nano co-crystals as drug delivery systems can potentially improve drug bioavailability and reduce the side-effects and pill burden of many drug candidates that require chronic dosing as part of treatment regimens. In addition, nano co-crystals are carrier-free colloidal drug delivery systems with particle sizes ranging between 100 and 1000 nm comprising a drug molecule, a co-former and a viable drug delivery strategy for poorly soluble drugs. They are simple to prepare and have broad applicability. In this article, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the use of nano co-crystals are reviewed and a concise incursion into the salient aspects of nano co-crystals is undertaken.

A roadmap to pulmonary delivery strategies for the treatment of infectious lung diseases

Pulmonary drug delivery is a highly attractive topic for the treatment of infectious lung diseases. Drug delivery via the pulmonary route offers unique advantages of no first-pass effect and high bioavailability, which provides an important means to deliver therapeutics directly to lung lesions. Starting from the structural characteristics of the lungs and the biological barriers for achieving efficient delivery, we aim to review literatures in the past decade regarding the pulmonary delivery strategies used to treat infectious lung diseases. Hopefully, this review article offers new insights into the future development of therapeutic strategies against pulmonary infectious diseases from a delivery point of view.

Nano-Drug Delivery Systems: Possible End to the Rising Threats of Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is still one of the deadliest disease across the globe caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Mtb invades host macrophages and other immune cells, modifies their lysosome trafficking proteins, prevents phagolysosomes formation, and inhibits the TNF receptor-dependent apoptosis in macrophages and monocytes. Tuberculosis (TB) killed 1.4 million people worldwide in the year 2019. Despite the advancements in tuberculosis (TB) treatments, multidrugresistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) remains a severe threat to human health. The complications are further compounded by the emergence of MDR/XDR strains and the failure of conventional drug regimens to eradicate the resistant bacterial strains. Thus, new therapeutic approaches aim to ensure cure without relapse, to prevent the occurrence of deaths and emergence of drug-resistant strains. In this context, this review article summarises the essential nanotechnology-related research outcomes in the treatment of tuberculosis (TB), including drug-susceptible and drug-resistant strains of Mtb. The novel anti-tuberculosis drug delivery systems are also being detailed. This article highlights recent advances in tuberculosis (TB) treatments, including the use of novel drug delivery technologies such as solid lipid nanoparticles, liposomes, polymeric micelles, nano-suspensions, nano-emulsion, niosomes, liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles and microparticles for the delivery of anti-TB drugs and hence eradication and control of both drug-susceptible as well as drug-resistant strains of Mtb.

Characterization of Soluplus/ASC-DP Nanoparticles Encapsulated with Minoxidil for Skin Targeting

Soluplus (Sol) is an amphiphilic graft copolymer capable of forming self-assembled micelles and L-ascorbyl 2,6-dipalmitate (ASC-DP) aggregates spontaneously to form micelles. Micelles are used as drug carriers and can nanoparticulate drugs that are poorly soluble in water, such as minoxidil. The study aimed to prepare minoxidil-encapsulated nanoparticles using Sol/ASC-DP and evaluate their potential for targeted skin application. Sol/ASC-DP nanoparticles or Sol/ASC-DP with minoxidil were prepared using the hydration method, and physical evaluations were carried out, including assessments of particle size and zeta potential. Particle structure was evaluated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectra to assess particle stability and perform functional evaluations in skin penetration tests. TEM images showed spherical micelle-like particles of approximately 100 nm for Sol/ASC-DP at a 9:1 ratio and of approximately 80 nm for Sol/ASC-DP with incorporated minoxidil at a 9:1:0.5 ratio. Changes were also observed in the solid state, suggesting a hydrophobic interaction between Sol and ASC-DP. In addition, evaporated microparticles (Sol/ASC-DP/minoxidil = 9/1/0.5) improved the skin permeability of minoxidil. These results suggest that Sol/ASC-DP nanoparticles form a stable new nanoparticle due to hydrophobic interactions, which would improve the skin permeability of minoxidil.

Poly(amino ester)-Based Polymers for Gene and Drug Delivery Systems and Further Application toward Cell Culture System

Various synthetic polymers based on poly(amino ester) (PAE) are suggested as candidates for gene and drug delivery owing to their pH-responsiveness, which contributes to efficient delivery performance. PAE-based pH-responsive polymers are more biodegradable and hydrophilic than other types of pH-responsive polymers. The functionality of PAE-based polymers can be reinforced by using different chemical modifications to improve the efficiency of gene and drug delivery. Additionally, PAE-based polymers are used in many ways in the biomedical field, such as in transdermal delivery and stem cell culture systems. Here, the recent novel PAE-based polymers designed for gene and drug delivery systems along with their further applications toward adult stem cell culture systems are reviewed. The synthetic tactics are contemplated and pros and cons of each type of polymer are analyzed, and detailed examples of the different types are analyzed.

Radiolabelling of nanomaterials for medical imaging and therapy

Nanomaterials offer unique physical, chemical and biological properties of interest for medical imaging and therapy. Over the last two decades, there has been an increasing effort to translate nanomaterial-based medicinal products (so-called nanomedicines) into clinical practice and, although multiple nanoparticle-based formulations are clinically available, there is still a disparity between the number of pre-clinical products and those that reach clinical approval. To facilitate the efficient clinical translation of nanomedicinal-drugs, it is important to study their whole-body biodistribution and pharmacokinetics from the early stages of their development. Integrating this knowledge with that of their therapeutic profile and/or toxicity should provide a powerful combination to efficiently inform nanomedicine trials and allow early selection of the most promising candidates. In this context, radiolabelling nanomaterials allows whole-body and non-invasive in vivo tracking by the sensitive clinical imaging techniques positron emission tomography (PET), and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Furthermore, certain radionuclides with specific nuclear emissions can elicit therapeutic effects by themselves, leading to radionuclide-based therapy. To ensure robust information during the development of nanomaterials for PET/SPECT imaging and/or radionuclide therapy, selection of the most appropriate radiolabelling method and knowledge of its limitations are critical. Different radiolabelling strategies are available depending on the type of material, the radionuclide and/or the final application. In this review we describe the different radiolabelling strategies currently available, with a critical vision over their advantages and disadvantages. The final aim is to review the most relevant and up-to-date knowledge available in this field, and support the efficient clinical translation of future nanomedicinal products for in vivo imaging and/or therapy.

Pharmacokinetics Versus In Vitro Antiproliferative Potency to Design a Novel Hyperglycosylated hIFN-α2 Biobetter

PURPOSE

IFN4N is a glycoengineered version of recombinant human interferon alpha 2 (rhIFN-α2) that was modified to exhibit four N-glycosylation sites. It shows reduced in vitro specific biological activity (SBA) mainly due to R23 mutation by N23. However, it has improved pharmacokinetics and led to a high in vivo antitumor activity in mice. In order to prepare a new IFN-based biobetter, this work compares the influence of glycosylation (affecting pharmacokinetics) with the in vitro antiproliferative SBA on the in vivo efficacy.

METHODS

Based on IFN4N, three groups of muteins were designed, produced, and characterized. Group A: variants with the same glycosylation degree (4N) but higher in vitro antiproliferative SBA (R23 restored); group B: muteins with higher glycosylation degree (5N) but similar in vitro antiproliferative activity; and group C: variants with improved glycosylation (5N and 6N) and in vitro antiproliferative bioactivity.

RESULTS

Glycoengineering was successful for improving pharmacokinetics, and R23 restoration considerably increased in vitro antiproliferative activity of new muteins compared to IFN4N. Hyperglycosylation was able to improve the in vivo efficacy similarly to or even better than R23 restoration. Additionally, the highest glycosylated mutein exhibited the lowest immunogenicity.

CONCLUSIONS

Hyperglycosylation constitutes a successful strategy to prepare a novel IFN biobetter.

Characterization of Nanoparticles Using DSPE-PEG2000 and Soluplus

The aim of this study was to evaluate the characterized hydration method to prepare nanoparticles using Soluplus, a block copolymer with amphipathic properties, and distearoyl phosphatidyl ethanolamine (DSPE)-PEG2000 owing to particle size distribution, zeta potential, particle stability, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observed and 31P-NMR spectra. The results showed that, in a suspension of DSPE-PEG2000 and Soluplus at a ratio of 1/1, the prepared microparticles were stable for five days in the dark and at 25 °C. It was also confirmed that the 1/1 suspension of DSPE-PEG2000/Soluplus was stable for five days under the same conditions with the magnesium chloride solution. TEM measurements confirmed the presence of micelle-like particles of 50 to 150 nm in the 1/1 ratio mix of DSPE-PEG2000/Soluplus. 31P-NMR spectral data confirmed that DPSE-PEG2000/Soluplus at mixing ratio of 1/1 has a strong intermolecular with the phosphate group, indicated by the fact that the peak shift and the full width at half maximum were the largest compared with DSPE-PEG2000 with the intermolecular interaction. On the basis of the findings of this study, we conclude that microparticles can be formed using DSPE-PEG2000 and Soluplus via the hydration method, and that the optimum weight ratio of DSPE-PEG2000 to Soluplus is 1/1.

Dual-responsive, Methotrexate-loaded, Ascorbic acid-derived Micelles Exert Anti-tumor and Anti-metastatic Effects by Inhibiting NF-κB Signaling in an Orthotopic Mouse Model of Human Choriocarcinoma

Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN), the most aggressive form of which is choriocarcinoma, can result from over-proliferation of trophoblasts. Treating choriocarcinoma requires high doses of systemic chemotherapeutic agents, which result in nonspecific drug distribution and severe toxicity. To overcome these disadvantages and enhance chemotherapeutic efficacy, we synthesized redox- and pH-sensitive, self-assembling, ascorbic acid-derived (PEG-ss-aAPP) micelles to deliver the drug methotrexate (MTX). Methods: We developed and tested self-assembling PEG-ss-aAPP micelles, which release their drug cargo in response to an intracellular reducing environment and the acidity of the early lysosome or tumoral microenvironment. Uptake into JEG3 choriocarcinoma cancer cells was examined using confocal microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. We examined the ability of MTX-loaded PEG-ss-aAPP micelles to inhibit metastasis in an orthotopic mouse model of human choriocarcinoma. Results: Drug-loaded micelles had encapsulation efficiency above 95%. Particles were spherical based on transmission electron microscopy, with diameters of approximately 229.0 nm based on dynamic light scattering. The drug carrier responded sensitively to redox and pH changes, releasing its cargo in specific environments. PEG-ss-aAPP/MTX micelles efficiently escaped from lysosome/endosomes, and they were effective at producing reactive oxygen species, strongly inducing apoptosis and inhibiting invasion and migration. These effects correlated with the ability of PEG-ss-aAPP/MTX micelles to protect IκBα from degradation, which in turn inhibited translocation of NF-κB p65 to the nucleus. In an orthotopic mouse model of human choriocarcinoma, PEG-ss-aAPP/MTX micelles strongly inhibited primary tumor growth and significantly suppressed metastasis without obvious side effects. Conclusions: Our results highlight the potential of PEG-ss-aAPP micelles for targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic agents against choriocarcinoma.

Brain-transportable dipeptides across the blood-brain barrier in mice

Apart from nutrients required for the brain, there has been no report that naturally occurring peptides can cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The aim of this study was to identify the BBB-transportable peptides using in situ mouse perfusion experiments. Based on the structural features of Gly-N-methylated Gly (Gly-Sar), a reported BBB-transportable compound, 18 dipeptides were synthesized, and were perfused in the mouse brain for two minutes. Among the synthesized dipeptides, Gly-Sar, Gly-Pro, and Tyr-Pro were transported across the BBB with K_i values of 7.60 ± 1.29, 3.49 ± 0.66, and 3.53 ± 0.74 µL/g·min, respectively, and accumulated in the mouse brain parenchyma. Additionally, using MALDI-MS/MS imaging analysis of Tyr-Pro-perfused brain, we provide evidence for Tyr-Pro accumulation in the hippocampus, hypothalamus, striatum, cerebral cortex, and cerebellum of mouse brain.