Lipogels responsive to near-infrared light for the triggered release of therapeutic agents

Potent cancer therapy by liposome microstructure tailoring with active-to-passive targeting and shell-to-core thermosensitive features

Liposomes have been widely studied as drug carriers for clinical application, and the key issue is how to achieve effective delivery through targeting strategies. Even though certain cell-level targeting or EPR effect designs have been developed, reaching sufficient drug concentration in intracellular regions remains a challenge due to the singularity of functionality. Herein, benefiting from the unique features of tumor from tissue to cell, a dual-thermosensitive and dual-targeting liposome (DTSL) was creatively fabricated through fine microstructure tailoring, which holds intelligent both tissue-regulated active-to-passive binding and membrane-derived homologous-fusion (HF) properties. At the micro level, DTSL can actively capture tumor cells and accompany the enhanced HF effect stimulated by self-constriction, which achieves a synergistic promotion effect targeting tissues to cells. As a result, this first active-then passive targeting process makes drug delivery more accurate and effective, and after dynamic targeting into cells, the nucleus of DTSL undergoes further thermally responsive contraction, fully releasing internal drugs. In vivo experiments showed that liposomes with dual targeting and dual thermosensitive features almost completely inhibited tumor growth. Summarized, these results provide a reference for a rational design and microstructural tailoring of the liposomal co-delivery system of drugs, suggesting that active-to-passive dual-targeting DTSL can function as a new strategy for cancer treatment.

Nanomedical research and development in Spain: improving the treatment of diseases from the nanoscale

The new and unique possibilities that nanomaterials offer have greatly impacted biomedicine, from the treatment and diagnosis of diseases, to the specific and optimized delivery of therapeutic agents. Technological advances in the synthesis, characterization, standardization, and therapeutic performance of nanoparticles have enabled the approval of several nanomedicines and novel applications. Discoveries continue to rise exponentially in all disease areas, from cancer to neurodegenerative diseases. In Spain, there is a substantial net of researchers involved in the development of nanodiagnostics and nanomedicines. In this review, we summarize the state of the art of nanotechnology, focusing on nanoparticles, for the treatment of diseases in Spain (2017-2022), and give a perspective on the future trends and direction that nanomedicine research is taking.

Tuning Peptide-Based Hydrogels: Co-Assembly with Composites Driving the Highway to Technological Applications

Self-assembled peptide-based gels provide several advantages for technological applications. Recently, the co-assembly of gelators has been a strategy to modulate and tune gel properties and even implement stimuli-responsiveness. However, it still comprises limitations regarding the required library of compounds and outcoming properties. Hence, efforts have been made to combine peptide-based gels and (in)organic composites (e.g., magnetic nanoparticles, metal nanoparticles, liposomes, graphene, silica, clay, titanium dioxide, cadmium sulfide) to endow stimuli-responsive materials and achieve suitable properties in several fields ranging from optoelectronics to biomedical. Herein, we discuss the recent developments with composite peptide-based gels including the fabrication, tunability of gels' properties, and challenges on (bio)technological applications.

Toward continuous production of high-quality nanomaterials using microfluidics: nanoengineering the shape, structure and chemical composition

Over the last decade, a multitude of synthesis strategies has been reported for the production of high-quality nanoparticles. Wet-chemical methods are generally the most efficient synthesis procedures since high control of crystallinity and physicochemical properties can be achieved. However, a number of challenges remain from inadequate reaction control during the nanocrystallization process; specifically variability, selectivity, scalability and safety. These shortcomings complicate the synthesis, make it difficult to obtain a uniform product with desired properties, and present serious limitations for scaling the production of colloidal nanocrystals from academic studies to industrial applications. Continuous flow reactors based on microfluidic principles offer potential solutions and advantages. The reproducibility of reaction conditions in microfluidics and therefore product quality have proved to exceed those obtained by batch processing. Considering that in nanoparticles' production not only is it crucial to control the particle size distribution, but also the shape and chemical composition, this review presents an overview of the current state-of-the-art in synthesis of anisotropic and faceted nanostructures by using microfluidics techniques. The review surveys the available tools that enable shape and chemical control, including secondary growth methods, active segmented flow, and photoinduced shape conversion. In addition, emphasis is placed on the available approaches developed to tune the structure and chemical composition of nanomaterials in order to produce complex heterostructures in a continuous and reproducible fashion.

Smart MXene/agarose hydrogel with photothermal property for controlled drug release

Smart hydrogels responsive to minimally invasive near-infrared (NIR) light have great potential in localized drug delivery for cancer treatment, but they still show some limitations such as low photothermal conversion, poor photothermal stability, and improper temperature range in biomedical applications. In this paper, the two-dimensional MXene nanosheets with high photothermal conversion efficiency as well as photothermal stability was firstly prepared, then the MXene nanosheets and the therapeutic drug were embedded in the low-melting-point agarose hydrogel network to fabricate the drug-loaded MXene/agarose hydrogel (MXene@Hydrogel). With the addition of low concentration of MXene (20 ppm), the MXene@Hydrogel could quickly rise to 60 °C under NIR irradiation and melt to release the encapsulated drugs. Importantly, the drug on/off release and the kinetics could be easily controlled with varied agarose concentration, MXene concentration, light intensity, and exposure time. In addition, the drug doxorubicin retained the anticancer activity after released from the MXene@Hydrogel network under NIR irradiation. With the excellent biocompatibility, the newly fabricated NIR-responsive MXene@Hydrogel offers a novel way for the development of smart hydrogel-based drug delivery system for localized cancer treatment.

Emulsion, hydrogel and emulgel systems and novel applications in cannabinoid delivery: a review

Emulsions, hydrogels and emulgels have attracted a high interest as tools for the delivery of poorly soluble hydrophobic nutraceuticals by enhancing their stability and bioavailability. This review provides an overview of these delivery systems, their unique qualities and their interactions with the human gastrointestinal system. The modulation of the various delivery systems to enhance the bioavailability and modify the release profile of bioactive encapsulates is highlighted. The application of the delivery systems in the delivery of cannabinoids is also discussed. With the recent increase of cannabis legalization across North America, there is much interest in developing cannabis edibles which can provide a consistent dose of cannabinoids per portion with a rapid time of onset. Indeed, the long time of onset of psychoactive effects and varied metabolic responses to these products result in a high risk of severe intoxication due to overconsumption. Sophisticated emulsion or hydrogel-based delivery systems are one potential tool to achieve this goal. To date, there is a lack of evidence linking specific classes of delivery systems with their pharmacokinetic profiles in humans. More research is needed to directly compare different classes of delivery systems for the gastrointestinal delivery of cannabinoids.

Near-infrared photothermal liposomal nanoantagonists for amplified cancer photodynamic therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been demonstrated to be a promising strategy for the treatment of cancer, while its therapeutic efficacy is often compromised due to excessive concentrations of glutathione (GSH) as a reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger in cancer cells. Herein, we report the development of near-infrared (NIR) photothermal liposomal nanoantagonists (PLNAs) for amplified PDT through through the reduction of intracellular GSH biosynthesis. Such PLNAs were constructed via encapsulating a photosensitizer, indocyanine green (ICG) and a GSH synthesis antagonist, l-buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) into a thermal responsive liposome. Under NIR laser irradiation at 808 nm, PLNAs generate mild heat via a ICG-mediated photothermal conversion effect, which leads to the destruction of thermal responsive liposomes for a controlled release of BSO in a tumor microenvironment, ultimately reducing GSH levels. This amplifies intracellular oxidative stresses and thus synergizes with PDT to afford an enhanced therapeutic efficacy. Both in vitro and in vivo data verify that PLNA-mediated phototherapy has an at least 2-fold higher efficacy in killing cancer cells and inhibiting tumor growth compared to sole PDT. This study thus demonstrates a NIR photothermal drug delivery nanosystem for amplified photomedicine.

Hybrid Nanosystems for Biomedical Applications

Inorganic/organic hybrid nanosystems have been increasingly developed for their versatility and efficacy at overcoming obstacles not readily surmounted by nonhybridized counterparts. Currently, hybrid nanosystems are implemented for gene therapy, drug delivery, and phototherapy in addition to tissue regeneration, vaccines, antibacterials, biomolecule detection, imaging probes, and theranostics. Though diverse, these nanosystems can be classified according to foundational inorganic/organic components, accessory moieties, and architecture of hybridization. Within this Review, we begin by providing a historical context for the development of biomedical hybrid nanosystems before describing the properties, synthesis, and characterization of their component building blocks. Afterward, we introduce the architectures of hybridization and highlight recent biomedical nanosystem developments by area of application, emphasizing hybrids of distinctive utility and innovation. Finally, we draw attention to ongoing clinical trials before recapping our discussion of hybrid nanosystems and providing a perspective on the future of the field.

Smart nanotheranostic hydrogels for on-demand cancer management

Theranostics is a revolution in cancer therapy. Hydrogels have many implications as a drug delivery vehicle and theranostics hydrogels could be a model nanotherapeutic for simultaneous cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Fabricating an intelligent cell-like nano-prodrug via hierarchical self-assembly based on the DNA skeleton for suppressing lung metastasis of breast cancer

A new intelligent cell-like nanostructure is designed for suppressing lung metastasis of breast cancer.

Pro-angiogenic near infrared-responsive hydrogels for deliberate transgene expression

CuS nanoparticles (CuSNP) are degradable, readily prepared, inexpensive to produce and efficiently cleared from the body. In this work, we explored the feasibility of CuSNP to function as degradable near infrared (NIR) nanotransducers within fibrin-based cellular scaffolds. To prepare NIR-responsive CuSNP hydrogels, fibrinogen was dissolved in cell culture medium and supplemented with aqueous dispersions of CuSNP. Fibrinogen polymerization was catalyzed by the addition of thrombin. In some experiments, HUVEC, C3H/10T1/2 or C3H/10T1/2-fLuc cells, that harbor a heat-activated and rapamycin-dependent gene switch for regulating the expression of firefly luciferase transgene, were incorporated to the sol phase of the hydrogel. For in vivo experiments, hydrogels were injected subcutaneously in the back of adult C3H/HeN mice. Upon NIR irradiation, CuSNP hydrogels allowed heat-inducible and rapamycin-dependent transgene expression in cells contained therein, in vitro and in vivo. C3H/10T1/2 cells cultured in CuSNP hydrogels increased metabolic activity, survival rate and fibrinolytic activity, which correlated with changes at the transcriptome level. Media conditioned by CuSNP hydrogels increased viability of HUVEC which formed pseudocapillary structures and remodeled protein matrix when entrapped within these hydrogels. After long-term implantation, the skin patches that covered the CuSNP hydrogels showed increased capillary density which was not detected in mice implanted with matrices lacking CuSNP. In summary, NIR-responsive scaffolds harboring CuSNP offer compelling features in the tissue engineering field, as degradable implants with enhanced integration capacity in host tissues that can provide remote controlled deployment of therapeutic gene products.

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

Hydrogels composed of fibrin embedding copper sulfide nanoparticles (CuSNP) efficiently convert incident near infrared (NIR) energy into heat and can function as cellular scaffolding. NIR laser irradiation of CuSNP hydrogels can be employed to remotely induce spatiotemporal patterns of transgene expression in genetically engineered multipotent stem cells. CuSNP incorporation in hydrogel architecture accelerates the cell-mediated degradation of the fibrin matrix and induces pro-angiogenic responses that may facilitate the integration of these NIR-responsive scaffolds in host tissues. CuSNP hydrogels that harbor cells capable of controlled expression of therapeutic gene products may be well suited for tissue engineering as they are biodegradable, enhance implant vascularization and can be used to deploy growth factors in a desired spatiotemporal fashion.

Photoresponsive Drug/Gene Delivery Systems

Light as an external stimulus can be precisely manipulated in terms of irradiation time, site, wavelength, and density. As such, photoresponsive drug/gene delivery systems have been increasingly pursued and utilized for the spatiotemporal control of drug/gene delivery to enhance their therapeutic efficacy and safety. In this review, we summarized the recent research progress on photoresponsive drug/gene delivery, and two major categories of delivery systems were discussed. The first category is the direct responsive systems that experience photoreactions on the vehicle or drug themselves, and different materials as well as chemical structures responsive to UV, visible, and NIR light are summarized. The second category is the indirect responsive systems that require a light-generated mediator signal, such as heat, ROS, hypoxia, and gas molecules, to cascadingly trigger the structural transformation. The future outlook and challenges are also discussed at the end.

Recent advances in near-infrared light-responsive nanocarriers for cancer therapy

In recent years, research has focused on the development of smart nanocarriers that can respond to specific stimuli. Among the various stimuli-responsive platforms for cancer therapy, near-infrared (NIR) light (700-1000nm)-responsive nanocarriers have gained considerable interest because of their deeper tissue penetration capacity, precisely controlled drug release, and minimal damage towards normal tissues. In this review, we outline various therapeutic applications of NIR-responsive nanocarriers in drug delivery, photothermal therapy (PTT), photodynamic therapy (PDT), and bioimaging. We also highlight recent trends towards NIR-responsive combinatorial therapy and multistimuli-responsive nanocarriers for improving therapeutic outcomes.