Fabrication of a magnetite nanoparticle-loaded polymeric nanoplatform for magnetically guided drug delivery

Chlorophenyl thiophene silicon phthalocyanine: Synthesis, two-photon bioimaging-guided lysosome target, and in vitro photodynamic efficacy

The development of efficient photosensitizers with high singlet oxygen quantum yield, strong fluorescent emission, excellent photostability, and specific organelle targeting is in great demand for the enhancement of PDT treatment efficiency. This study designed and synthesized a new two-photon photosensitizer chlorophenyl thiophene axially substituted silicon (IV) phthalocyanine (CBT-SiPc). CBT-SiPc showed specific targeting of lysosomes in living cells and good biocompatibility. Furthermore, high ¹O₂ generation efficiency and high PDT efficiency in MCF-7 breast cancers under irradiation were also demonstrated. The novel CBT-SiPc showed great potential in the application of lysosome-targeted and two-photon bioimaging-guided photodynamic cancer therapy.

Mechanistic and energetic studies of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles as a cyclophosphamide anticancer drug nanocarrier: A quantum mechanical approach

Using Fe6(OH)18(H2O)6 as a ring cluster model for superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, noncovalent configurations and three mechanisms of covalent functionalization of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles with cyclophosphamide an anticancer drug were studied. Quantum molecular descriptors, solvation, and binding energies of noncovalent interactions were investigated the in gas and solution phases at the B3LYP and M06-2X density functional levels. In the vicinity of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, the reactivity of the drug increases, showing cyclophosphamide can probably bind to superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles through Cl ( k1 mechanism), P=O ( k2 mechanism), and NH in a six-membered ring ( k3 mechanism) groups. The activation parameters of all pathways were calculated, indicating the high barriers related to the k1 and k2 mechanisms are higher the barrier related to the k3 mechanism. The k3 mechanism is also spontaneous and exothermic and is therefore the preferred mechanism for covalent functionalization.

Quantum Mechanical Study of γ-Fe2O3 Nanoparticle as a Nanocarrier for Anticancer Drug Delivery

Using density functional theory (DFT), noncovalent interactions and four mechanisms of covalent functionalization of melphalan anticancer drug onto γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles have been studied. Quantum molecular descriptors of noncovalent configurations were investigated. It was specified that binding of melphalan onto γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles is thermodynamically suitable. Hardness and the gap of energy between LUMO and HOMO of melphalan are higher than the noncovalent configurations, showing the reactivity of drug increases in the presence of γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles. Melphalan can bond to γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles through NH2 (k 1 mechanism), OH (k 2 mechanism), C=O (k 3 mechanism) and Cl (k 4 mechanism) groups. The activation energies, the activation enthalpies and the activation Gibbs free energies of these reactions were calculated. Thermodynamic data indicate that k 3 mechanism is exothermic and spontaneous and can take place at room temperature. These results could be generalized to other similar drugs.

Integrin α(V)β(3)-targeted magnetic nanohybrids with enhanced antitumor efficacy, cell cycle arrest ability, and encouraging anti-cell-migration activity

Organic/inorganic nanohybrids, which integrate advantages of the biocompatibility of organic polymers and diversified functionalities of inorganic nanoparticles, have been extensively investigated in recent years. Herein, we report the construction of arginine-glycine-aspartic acid-cysteine (RGDC) tetrapeptide functionalized and 10-hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT)-encapsulated magnetic nanohybrids (RFHEMNs) for integrin αVβ3-targeted drug delivery. The obtained RFHEMNs were near-spherical in shape with a homogeneous size about 50 nm, and exhibited a superparamagnetic behavior. In vitro drug release study showed a sustained and pH-dependent release profile. Cell viability tests revealed that RFHEMNs displayed a significant enhancement of cytotoxicity against αVβ3-overexpressing A549 cells, as compared to free HCPT and nontargeting micelles. Flow cytometry analysis indicated that this cytotoxic effect was associated with dose-dependent S phase arrest. Finally, RFHEMNs exerted encouraging anti-cell-migration activity as determined by an in vitro wound-healing assay and a transwell assay. Overall, we envision that this tumor-targeting nanoscale drug delivery system may be of great application potential in chemotherapy of primary tumor and their metastases.