An RGD-modified hollow silica@Au core/shell nanoplatform for tumor combination therapy

Advances in Drug Delivery Systems for the Treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a common and catastrophic hematological neoplasm with high mortality rates. Conventional therapies, including chemotherapy, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), immune therapy, and targeted agents, have unsatisfactory outcomes for AML patients due to drug toxicity, off-target effects, drug resistance, drug side effects, and AML relapse and refractoriness. These intrinsic limitations of current treatments have promoted the development and application of nanomedicine for more effective and safer leukemia therapy. In this review, the classification of nanoparticles applied in AML therapy, including liposomes, polymersomes, micelles, dendrimers, and inorganic nanoparticles, is reviewed. In addition, various strategies for enhancing therapeutic targetability in nanomedicine, including the use of conjugating ligands, biomimetic-nanotechnology, and bone marrow targeting, which indicates the potential to reverse drug resistance, are discussed. The application of nanomedicine for assisting immunotherapy is also involved. Finally, the advantages and possible challenges of nanomedicine for the transition from the preclinical phase to the clinical phase are discussed.

Synthesis of Mesoporous Silica Using the Sol-Gel Approach: Adjusting Architecture and Composition for Novel Applications

The sol-gel chemistry of silica has long been used for manipulating the size, shape, and microstructure of mesoporous silica particles. This manipulation is performed in mild conditions through controlling the hydrolysis and condensation of silicon alkoxide. Compared to amorphous silica particles, the preparation of mesoporous silica, such as MCM-41, using the sol-gel approach offers several unique advantages in the fields of catalysis, medicament, and environment, due to its ordered mesoporous structure, high specific surface area, large pore volume, and easily functionalized surface. In this review, our primary focus is on the latest research related to the manipulation of mesoporous silica architectures using the sol-gel approach. We summarize various structures, including hollow, yolk-shell, multi-shelled hollow, Janus, nanotubular, and 2D membrane structures. Additionally, we survey sol-gel strategies involving the introduction of various functional elements onto the surface of mesoporous silica to enhance its performance. Furthermore, we outline the prospects and challenges associated with mesoporous silica featuring different structures and functions in promising applications, such as high-performance catalysis, biomedicine, wastewater treatment, and CO2 capture.

Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles-Enhanced Microarray Technology for Highly Sensitive Simultaneous Detection of Multiplex Foodborne Pathogens

Ensuring food safety is paramount for the food industry and global health concerns. In this study, we have developed a method for the detection of prevalent foodborne pathogenic bacteria, including Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Listeria spp., Shigella spp., Campylobacter spp., Clostridium spp., and Vibrio spp., utilizing antibody-aptamer arrays. To enhance the fluorescence signals on the microarray, the mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) conjugated with fluorescein, streptavidin, and seven detection antibodies-biotin were employed, forming fluorescein doped mesoporous silica nanoparticles conjugated with detection antibodies (MSNs-Flu-SA-Abs) complexes. The array pattern was designed for easy readability and enabled the simultaneous detection of all seven foodborne pathogens, referred to as the 7FP-biochip. Following the optimization of MSNs-Flu-SA-Abs complexes attachment and enhancement of the detection signal in fluorescent immunoassays, a high level of sensitivity was achieved. The detection limits for the seven pathogens in both buffer and food samples were 102 CFU/mL through visual screening, with fluorescent intensity quantification achieving levels as low as 20-34 CFU/g were achieved on the antibody-aptamer arrays. Our antibody-aptamer array offers several advantages, including significantly reduced nonspecific binding with no cross-reaction between bacteria. Importantly, our platform detection exhibited no cross-reactivity among the tested bacteria in this study. The multiplex detection of foodborne pathogens in canned tuna samples with spiked bacteria was successfully demonstrated in real food measurements. In conclusion, our study presents a promising method for detecting multiple foodborne pathogens simultaneously. With its high sensitivity and specificity, the developed antibody-aptamer array holds great potential for enhancing food safety and public health.

Silicon-containing nanomedicine and biomaterials: materials chemistry, multi-dimensional design, and biomedical application

The invention of silica-based bioactive glass in the late 1960s has sparked significant interest in exploring a wide range of silicon-containing biomaterials from the macroscale to the nanoscale. Over the past few decades, these biomaterials have been extensively explored for their potential in diverse biomedical applications, considering their remarkable bioactivity, excellent biocompatibility, facile surface functionalization, controllable synthesis, etc. However, to expedite the clinical translation and the unexpected utilization of silicon-composed nanomedicine and biomaterials, it is highly desirable to achieve a thorough comprehension of their characteristics and biological effects from an overall perspective. In this review, we provide a comprehensive discussion on the state-of-the-art progress of silicon-composed biomaterials, including their classification, characteristics, fabrication methods, and versatile biomedical applications. Additionally, we highlight the multi-dimensional design of both pure and hybrid silicon-composed nanomedicine and biomaterials and their intrinsic biological effects and interactions with biological systems. Their extensive biomedical applications span from drug delivery and bioimaging to therapeutic interventions and regenerative medicine, showcasing the significance of their rational design and fabrication to meet specific requirements and optimize their theranostic performance. Additionally, we offer insights into the future prospects and potential challenges regarding silicon-composed nanomedicine and biomaterials. By shedding light on these exciting research advances, we aspire to foster further progress in the biomedical field and drive the development of innovative silicon-composed nanomedicine and biomaterials with transformative applications in biomedicine.

Multifunctional mesoporous silica nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are recognized as a prime example of nanotechnology applied in the biomedical field, due to their easily tunable structure and composition, diverse surface functionalization properties, and excellent biocompatibility. Over the past two decades, researchers have developed a wide variety of MSNs-based nanoplatforms through careful design and controlled preparation techniques, demonstrating their adaptability to various biomedical application scenarios. With the continuous breakthroughs of MSNs in the fields of biosensing, disease diagnosis and treatment, tissue engineering, etc., MSNs are gradually moving from basic research to clinical trials. In this review, we provide a detailed summary of MSNs in the biomedical field, beginning with a comprehensive overview of their development history. We then discuss the types of MSNs-based nanostructured architectures, as well as the classification of MSNs-based nanocomposites according to the elements existed in various inorganic functional components. Subsequently, we summarize the primary purposes of surface-functionalized modifications of MSNs. In the following, we discuss the biomedical applications of MSNs, and highlight the MSNs-based targeted therapeutic modalities currently developed. Given the importance of clinical translation, we also summarize the progress of MSNs in clinical trials. Finally, we take a perspective on the future direction and remaining challenges of MSNs in the biomedical field.

Targeting active sites of inflammation using inherent properties of tissue-resident mast cells

Mast cells play a pivotal role in initiating and directing host's immune response. They reside in tissues that primarily interface with the external environment. Activated mast cells respond to environmental cues throughout acute and chronic inflammation through releasing immune mediators via rapid degranulation, or long-term de novo expression. Mast cell activation results in the rapid release of a variety of unique enzymes and reactive oxygen species. Furthermore, the increased density of mast cell unique receptors like mas related G protein-coupled receptor X2 also characterizes the inflamed tissues. The presence of these molecules (either released mediators or surface receptors) are particular to the sites of active inflammation, and are a result of mast cell activation. Herein, the molecular design principles for capitalizing on these novel mast cell properties is discussed with the goal of manipulating localized inflammation. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Mast cells are immune regulating cells that play a crucial role in both innate and adaptive immune responses. The activation of mast cells causes the release of multiple unique profiles of biomolecules, which are specific to both tissue and disease. These unique characteristics are tightly regulated and afford a localized stimulus for targeting inflammatory diseases. Herein, these important mast cell attributes are discussed in the frame of highlighting strategies for the design of bioresponsive functional materials to target regions of inflammations.

Application of a Dual-Probe Coloading Nanodetection System in the Process Monitoring and Efficacy Assessment of Photodynamic Therapy: An In Vitro Study

The oxygen-consuming property of photodynamic therapy (PDT) affects its effects and aggravates tumor hypoxia, thus upregulating the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) to exacerbate tumor metastasis and lead to treatment failure. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the dynamic changes in the factors related to PDT and tumor development trends in real time, thus helping to improve PDT efficiency. This study fabricated a fluorescent probe, TPE-2HPro, and a fluorescein-labeled aptamer probe, FAM-Aptamer_VEGF, to detect hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and VEGF through the photoinduced electron-transfer effect and the specific affinity of the aptamer to VEGF, respectively. The two probes were loaded into the inner pores and absorbed on the surface of polydopamine coating-wrapped mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN@PDA) to construct the dual-probe-loaded system, MSN_TH@PDA_Apt, which was kept stable in fetal bovine serum (FBS) solution and achieved pH-responsive release behavior, thus helping to increase the accumulation of the two probes in tumor cells. The dichloroacetic acid-mediated in vitro antitumor tests showed that the changing trends of H₂O₂ and VEGF levels were consistent with the results of related mechanism studies and could be monitored by MSN_TH@PDA_Apt. The in vitro chlorin e6 (Ce6)-mediated PDT treatment demonstrated that when the illumination condition was 650 nm, 50 mW/cm² for 10 min, cells were more inclined to metastasis and invasion rather than death due to a substantial increase in VEGF expression at the low Ce6 concentrations. With the increase of the Ce6 concentration, the growth of the H₂O₂ level gradually exceeded that of VEGF, and the reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated cell death dominated when the Ce6 concentration was about 2 times its IC₅₀ values. Besides, hypoxia also affected the H₂O₂ and VEGF changes. These results demonstrated that MSN_TH@PDA_Apt could precisely monitor and assess the tumor development trends during PDT treatment, thus helping improve the treatment effect.

Nanomedicine-boosting icaritin-based immunotherapy of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma

Traditional treatments for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), such as surgical resection, transplantation, radiofrequency ablation, and chemotherapy are unsatisfactory, and therefore the exploration of powerful therapeutic strategies is urgently needed. Immunotherapy has emerged as a promising strategy for advanced HCC treatment due to its minimal side effects and long-lasting therapeutic memory effects. Recent studies have demonstrated that icaritin could serve as an immunomodulator for effective immunotherapy of advanced HCC. Encouragingly, in 2022, icaritin soft capsules were approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China for the immunotherapy of advanced HCC. However, the therapeutic efficacy of icaritin in clinical practice is impaired by its poor bioavailability and unfavorable in vivo delivery efficiency. Recently, functionalized drug delivery systems including stimuli-responsive nanocarriers, cell membrane-coated nanocarriers, and living cell-nanocarrier systems have been designed to overcome the shortcomings of drugs, including the low bioavailability and limited delivery efficiency as well as side effects. Taken together, the development of icaritin-based nanomedicines is expected to further improve the immunotherapy of advanced HCC. Herein, we compared the different preparation methods for icaritin, interpreted the HCC immune microenvironment and the mechanisms underlying icaritin for treatment of advanced HCC, and discussed both the design of icaritin-based nanomedicines with high icaritin loading and the latest progress in icaritin-based nanomedicines for advanced HCC immunotherapy. Finally, the prospects to promote further clinical translation of icaritin-based nanomedicines for the immunotherapy of advanced HCC were proposed.

Subcellular-Targeted Near-Infrared-Responsive Nanomedicine with Synergistic Chemo-photothermal Therapy against Multidrug Resistant Cancer

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is a major obstacle to effective cancer treatment. Therefore, developing effective approaches for overcoming the limitation of MDR in cancer therapy is very essential. Chemotherapy combined with photothermal therapy (PTT) is a potential therapeutic option against MDR. Herein, we developed a subcellular-targeted near-infrared (NIR)-responsive nanomedicine (Fe₃O₄@PDA-TPP/S₂-PEG-hyd-DOX, abbreviated as Fe₃O₄-ATSPD) as a new photothermal agent with improved photothermal stability and efficiency. This system demonstrates high stability in blood circulation and can be accumulated at the tumor site by magnetic targeting enhanced permeability and retention effect (EPR). Near-infrared (NIR) irradiation at the tumor site generates a photothermal effect from the photosensitizer Fe₃O₄@PDA, leading to a dramatic decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential. Simultaneously, the conjugated drugs released under low pH condition in endosomes or lysosomes cause nucleus DNA damage and cell apoptosis. This subcellular-targeted NIR-responsive nanomedicine with efficient integration of diagnosis and therapy could significantly enhance MDR cancer treatment by combination of chemotherapy and PTT.

Multidisciplinary strategies to enhance therapeutic effects of flavonoids from Epimedii Folium: Integration of herbal medicine, enzyme engineering, and nanotechnology

Flavonoids such as baohuoside I and icaritin are the major active compounds in Epimedii Folium (EF) and possess excellent therapeutic effects on various diseases. Encouragingly, in 2022, icaritin soft capsules were approved to reach the market for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China. Moreover, recent studies demonstrate that icaritin can serve as immune-modulating agent to exert anti-tumor effects. Nonetheless, both production efficiency and clinical applications of epimedium flavonoids have been restrained because of their low content, poor bioavailability, and unfavorable in vivo delivery efficiency. Recently, various strategies, including enzyme engineering and nanotechnology, have been developed to increase productivity and activity, improve delivery efficiency, and enhance therapeutic effects of epimedium flavonoids. In this review, the structure-activity relationship of epimedium flavonoids is described. Then, enzymatic engineering strategies for increasing the productivity of highly active baohuoside I and icaritin are discussed. The nanomedicines for overcoming in vivo delivery barriers and improving therapeutic effects of various diseases are summarized. Finally, the challenges and an outlook on clinical translation of epimedium flavonoids are proposed.

Targeted Recruitment and Degradation of Estrogen Receptor α by Photothermal Polydopamine Nanoparticles for Breast Tumor Ablation

The major challenges of photothermal therapy (PTT) toward clinical application are the severe skin injury and inflammation response associated with high power laser irradiation. Herein, polydopamine nanoparticles (PDA-EST and PDA-RAL) targeted to estrogen receptor α (ERα) for efficient ablation of breast tumor under a low irradiation density of 0.1 W cm^-2 are reported. These nanoparticles are capable of recruiting ERα on their surface and induce a complete ERα degradation via localized heat. Owing to the ERα targetability, PDA-EST and PDA-RAL strongly suppress the proliferation of breast cancer cells without causing significant inflammation. This work provides a generalized method for enhancing PTT efficacy under low irradiation density.

Hydrogel co-loading SO2 prodrug and FeGA nanoparticles for enhancing chemodynamic therapy by photothermal-triggered SO2 gas therapy

Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) is an effective anti-tumor method, while CDT alone cannot achieve a good therapeutic effect. Moreover, the overexpression of glutathione (GSH) in tumor cells dramatically limits the efficiency of CDT. Here, we proposed a hydrogel co-loading SO2 prodrug and FeGA nanoparticles (NPs) for enhancing CDT by photothermal-triggered SO2 gas therapy (FBH) system by mixing benzothiazolyl sulfonates (BTS) and FeGA NPs in a certain ratio and encapsulating them in a heat-sensitive hydrogel. FeGA NPs could accelerate the release of Fe2+ under acidic conditions and light, and combine with excess H2O2 in the tumor for chemokinetic treatment. BTS, as a water-soluble prodrug of SO2, can accurately control the release of SO2 gas by virtue of the excellent photothermal conversion ability of FeGA NPs and the acidic pH value of tumor site. SO2 can not only induce cell apoptosis, but also consume excess GSH in cancer cells and increase the content of reactive oxygen species, which seriously destroyed the redox balance in cancer cells and further promotes the therapeutic effect of Fenton reaction. The intelligent FBH system provided a new approach for the synergistic treatment of CDT and SO2 gas, which demonstrated good anticancer effects both in vivo and in vitro.

CuS nanoparticles and camptothecin co-loaded thermosensitive injectable hydrogel with self-supplied H2O2 for enhanced chemodynamic therapy

Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) is a kind of anti-tumor strategy emerging in recent years, but the concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in the tumor microenvironment is insufficient, and it is difficult for a single CDT to completely inhibit tumor growth. Here, we designed a CuS nanoparticles (NPs) and camptothecin (CPT) co-loaded thermosensitive injectable hydrogel (SCH) with self-supplied H₂O₂ for enhanced CDT. SCH is composed of CuS NPs and CPT loaded into agarose hydrogel according to a certain ratio. We injected SCH into the tumor tissue of mice, and under the irradiation of near-infrared region (NIR) laser at 808 nm, CuS NPs converted the NIR laser into heat to realize photothermal therapy (PTT), and at the same time, the agarose hydrogel was changed into a sol state and CPT was released. CPT activates nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase, increases the level of H₂O₂ inside the tumor, and realizes the self-supply of H₂O₂. At the same time, CuS can accelerate the release of Cu²⁺ in an acidic environment and light, combined with H₂O₂ generated by CPT for CDT treatment, and consume glutathione in tumor and generate hydroxyl radical, thus inducing tumor cell apoptosis. The SCH system we constructed achieved an extremely high tumor inhibition rate in vitro and in vivo, presenting a new idea for designing future chemical kinetic systems.

Cellulose-based functional hydrogels derived from bamboo for product design

Hydrogels have outstanding research and application prospects in the field of product design. Among them, the design and preparation of cellulose-based functional hydrogels derived from bamboo have attracted increasing research interest. Cellulose-based hydrogels not only have the skeleton function of hydrogels, but also retain excellent specificity, smart structural design, precise molecular recognition ability, and superior biocompatibility. Cellulose-based hydrogels show important application prospects in various fields, such as environmental protection, biomedicine, and energy. What's more, they are potentially viable for application in food packaging and plant agriculture, such as fertilizers release and crop production. Recently, researchers have extracted cellulose from bamboo and generated a variety of cellulose-based functional hydrogels with excellent properties by various cross-linking methods. In addition, a variety of multifunctional hybrid cellulose-based hydrogels have been constructed by introducing functional components or combining them with other functional materials, thus expanding the breadth and depth of their applications. Herein, we elaborate on advances in the field of cellulose-based hydrogels and highlight their applications in food packaging and plant agriculture. Meanwhile, the existing problems and prospects are summarized. The review provides a reference for the further development of cellulose-based hydrogels.

A review on the latest developments of mesoporous silica nanoparticles as a promising platform for diagnosis and treatment of cancer

Cancer is the second cause of human mortality after cardiovascular disease around the globe. Conventional cancer therapies are chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. In fact, due to the lack of absolute specificity and high drug concentrations, early recognition and treatment of cancer with conventional approaches have become challenging issues in the world. To mitigate against the limitations of conventional cancer chemotherapy, nanomaterials have been developed. Nanomaterials exhibit particular properties that can overcome the drawbacks of conventional therapies such as lack of specificity, high drug concentrations, and adverse drug reactions. Among nanocarriers, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have gained increasing attention due to their well-defined pore size and structure, high surface area, good biocompatibility and biodegradability, ease of surface modification, and stable aqueous dispersions. This review highlights the current progress with the use of MSNs for the delivery of chemotherapeutic agents for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Various stimuli-responsive gatekeepers, which endow the MSNs with on-demand drug delivery, surface modification strategies for targeting purposes, and multifunctional MSNs utilized in drug delivery systems (DDSs) are also addressed. Also, the capability of MSNs as flexible imaging platforms is considered. In addition, physicochemical attributes of MSNs and their effects on cancer therapy with a particular focus on recent studies is emphasized. Moreover, major challenges to the use of MSNs for cancer therapy, biosafety and cytotoxicity aspects of MSNs are discussed.

Biomimetic superhydrophobic metal/nonmetal surface manufactured by etching methods: A mini review

As an emerging fringe science, bionics integrates the understanding of nature, imitation of nature, and surpassing nature in one aspect, and it organically combines the synergistic complementarity of function and structure–function integrated materials which is of great scientific interest. By imitating the microstructure of a natural biological surface, the bionic superhydrophobic surface prepared by human beings has the properties of self-cleaning, anti-icing, water collection, anti-corrosion and oil–water separation, and the preparation research methods are increasing. The preparation methods of superhydrophobic surface include vapor deposition, etching modification, sol–gel, template, electrostatic spinning, and electrostatic spraying, which can be applied to fields such as medical care, military industry, ship industry, and textile. The etching modification method can directly modify the substrate, so there is no need to worry about the adhesion between the coating and the substrate. The most obvious advantage of this method is that the obtained superhydrophobic surface is integrated with the substrate and has good stability and corrosion resistance. In this article, the different preparation methods of bionic superhydrophobic materials were summarized, especially the etching modification methods, we discussed the detailed classification, advantages, and disadvantages of these methods, and the future development direction of the field was prospected.

Stimuli-Responsive Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices

Electrochemical energy storage (EES) devices have been swiftly developed in recent years. Stimuli-responsive EES devices that respond to different external stimuli are considered the most advanced EES devices. The stimuli-responsive EES devices enhanced the performance and applications of the EES devices. The capability of the EES devices to respond to the various external stimuli due to produced advanced EES devices that distinguished the best performance and interactions in different situations. The stimuli-responsive EES devices have responsive behavior to different external stimuli including chemical compounds, electricity, photons, mechanical tensions, and temperature. All of these advanced responsiveness behaviors have originated from the functionality and specific structure of the EES devices. The multi-responsive EES devices have been recognized as the next generation of stimuli-responsive EES devices. There are two main steps in developing stimuli-responsive EES devices in the future. The first step is the combination of the economical, environmental, electrochemical, and multi-responsiveness priorities in an EES device. The second step is obtaining some advanced properties such as biocompatibility, flexibility, stretchability, transparency, and wearability in novel stimuli-responsive EES devices. Future studies on stimuli-responsive EES devices will be allocated to merging these significant two steps to improve the performance of the stimuli-responsive EES devices to challenge complicated situations.

Oxygen self-supplied enzyme nanogels for tumor targeting with amplified synergistic starvation and photodynamic therapy

Tumor tissues need vast supply of nutrients and energy to sustain the rapid proliferation of cancer cells. Cutting off the glucose supply represents a promising cancer therapy approach. Herein, a tumor tissue-targeted enzyme nanogel (rGCP nanogel) with self-supply oxygen capability was developed. The enzyme nanogel synergistically enhanced starvation therapy and photodynamic therapy (PDT) to mitigate the rapid proliferation of cancer cells. The rGCP nanogel was fabricated by copolymerizing two monomers, porphyrin and cancer cells-targeted, Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD), onto the glucose oxidase (GOX) and catalase (CAT) surfaces. The cascade reaction within the rGCP nanogel could efficiently consume intracellular glucose catalyzed by GOX. Concurrently, CAT safely decomposed the produced H₂O₂ with systemic toxicity to promote oxygen generation and achieved low toxicity starvation therapy. The produced oxygen subsequently facilitated the glucose oxidation reaction and significantly enhanced the generation of cytotoxic singlet oxygen (¹O₂) in the presence of 660 nm light irradiation. Combining starvation therapy and PDT, the designed enzyme nanogel system presented an amplified synergic cancer therapy effect. This approach potentially paved a new way to fabricate a combinatorial therapy approach by employing cascaded catalytic nanomedicines with good tumor selectivity and efficient anti-cancer effect. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: The performance of starvation and photodynamic therapy (PDT) is usually suppressed by intrinsic tumorous hypoxia. Herein, an oxygen self-supplied and tumor tissue-targeted enzyme nanogel was created by copolymerization of two monomers, porphyrin and cancer cell-targeted Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD), onto the surface of glucose oxidase (GOX) and catalase (CAT), which synergistically enhanced starvation therapy and PDT. Moreover, the enzyme nanogels possessed high stability and could be synthesized straightforwardly. This anti-cancer system provides an approach for constructing a combinatorial therapy approach by employing cascaded catalytic nanomedicine with good tumor selectivity and therapeutic efficacy.

Self-Assembled Nanoparticles for Tumor-Triggered Targeting Dual-Mode NIRF/MR Imaging and Photodynamic Therapy Applications

In this study, the self-assembling strategy was used to synthesize a therapeutic and diagnostic nanosystem for tumor-triggered targeting dual-mode near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF)/magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and photodynamic therapy applications. This theranostic nanosystem was synthesized based on the self-assembling of the short peptide (PLGVRGRGDC) and the gadolinium chelator (diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid) functionalized amphiphilic DSPE-PEG₂₀₀₀, followed by loading with the insoluble photosensitizer therapeutic agent chlorin e6 (Ce6). The formed theranostic nanosystem can accumulate in the matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) rich tumor sites guided by the enhanced permeability and retention effect and MMP2-substrate peptide (PLGVR) targeting. After PLGVR was hydrolyzed in the tumor microenvironment by MMP2, the nanosystem was actively taken up by tumor cells via Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptide-mediated internalization. With the coexistence of gadolinium and Ce6, the formed nanosystem can be used for both NIRF/MR dual-mode imaging and photodynamic therapy. These tumor-triggered targeting self-assembled nanoparticles with low cytotoxicity and high endocytosis efficiency can efficiently induce A549 cancer cell apoptosis under laser irradiation. Meanwhile, they possessed enhanced tumor-targeted NIRF/MR imaging ability and efficiently inhibited tumor growth with minimal side effects in mice bearing A549 lung cancer. Therefore, these self-assembled theranostic nanoparticles may have great potential for cancer clinical diagnosis and therapy.

IR780 loaded gelatin-PEG coated gold core silica shell nanorods for cancer-targeted photothermal/photodynamic therapy

Gold core silica shell (AuMSS) nanorods present excellent physicochemical properties that allow their application as photothermal and drug delivery agents. Herein, AuMSS nanorods were dual-functionalized with Polyethylene glycol methyl ether (PEG-CH₃ ) and Gelatin (GEL) to enhance both the colloidal stability and uptake by HeLa cancer cells. Additionally, the AuMSS nanorods were combined for the first time with IR780 (a heptamethine cyanine molecule) and its photothermal and photodynamic capacities were determined. The obtained results reveal that the encapsulation of IR780 (65 µg per AuMSS mg) increases the photothermal conversion efficiency of AuMSS nanorods by 10%, and this enhanced heat generation was maintained even after three irradiation cycles with a NIR (808 nm) laser. Moreover, the IR780-loaded AuMSS/T-PEG-CH₃ /T-GEL presented ≈2-times higher uptake in HeLa cells, when compared to the non-coated counterparts, and successfully mediated the light-triggered generation of reactive oxygen species. Overall, the combination of photodynamic and photothermal therapy mediated by IR780-loaded AuMSS/T-PEG-CH₃ /T-GEL nanorods effectively promoted the ablation of HeLa cancer cells.

Current trends in smart mesoporous silica-based nanovehicles for photoactivated cancer therapy

Photoactivated therapeutic strategies (photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy), due to the adjusted therapeutic area, time and light dosage, have prevailed for the fight against tumors. Currently, the monotherapy with limited treatment effect and undesired side effects is gradually replaced by multimodal and multifunctional nanosystems. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) with unique physicochemical advantages, such as huge specific surface area, controllable pore size and morphology, functionalized modification, satisfying biocompatibility and biodegradability, are considered as promising candidates for multimodal photoactivated cancer therapy. Excitingly, the innovative nanoplatforms based on the mesoporous silica nanoparticles provide more and more effective treatment strategies and display excellent antitumor potential. Given the rapid development of antitumor strategies based on MSNs, this review summarizes the current progress in MSNs-based photoactivated cancer therapy, mainly consists of (1) photothermal therapy-related theranostics; (2) photodynamic therapy-related theranostics; (3) multimodal synergistic therapy, such as chemo-photothermal-photodynamic therapy, phototherapy-immunotherapy and phototherapy-radio therapy. Based on the limited penetration of irradiation light in photoactivated therapy, the challenges faced by deep-seated tumor therapy are fully discussed, and future clinical translation of MSNs-based photoactivated cancer therapy are highlighted.

Dendrimer-decorated nanogels: Efficient nanocarriers for biodistribution in vivo and chemotherapy of ovarian carcinoma

Nanomedicine has revolutionized disease theranostics by the accurate diagnosis and efficient therapy. Here, the PAMAM dendrimer decorated PVCL-GMA nanogels (NGs) were developed for favorable biodistribution in vivo and enhanced antitumor efficacy of ovarian carcinoma. By an ingenious design, the NGs with a unique structure that GMA-rich domains were localized on the surface were synthesized via precipitation polymerization. After G2 dendrimer decoration, the overall charge is changed from neutral to positive, and the NGs-G2 display the whole charge nature of positively charged corona and neutral core. Importantly, the unique architecture and charge conversion of NGs-G2 have a profound impact on the biodistribution and drug delivery in vivo. As a consequence of this alteration, the NGs-G2 as nanocarriers emerge the highly sought biodistribution of reduced liver accumulation, enhanced tumor uptake, and promoted drug release, resulting in the significantly augmented antitumor efficacy with low side effects. Remarkably, this finding is contrary to some reported work that the nanocarriers with positive charge have preferential liver uptake. Moreover, the NGs-G2 also displayed thermal/pH dual-responsive behaviors, excellent biocompatibility, improved cellular uptake, and stimuli-responsive drug release. Encouragingly, this work demonstrates a novel insight into the strategy for optimizing design, improving biodistribution and enhancing theranostic efficacy of nanocarriers.

Safe and efficient 2D molybdenum disulfide platform for cooperative imaging-guided photothermal-selective chemotherapy: A preclinical study

•

Safe and efficient platform of TOS married MoS₂ is synthesized by judicious designed for multimode theranostics of ovarian carcinoma.

•

A photothermal conversion efficiency of 65.3% of the platform is higher than that of other materials reported elsewhere.

•

Highly efficient photothermal ablation under safe irradiation and significantly improved selective chemotherapy for tumor.

•

Synergistic therapy, suppressed recurrence, and negligible side effects enable the prominent survival rate of 100% over 91 days for the tumor-bearing mice.

•

A promising candidate for precise nanomedicines in clinical translation.

Introduction

The striking imbalance between the ever-increasing amount of nanomedicines and low clinical translation of products has become the focus of intense debate. For clinical translation, the critical issue is to select the appropriate agents and combination regimen for targeted diseases, not to prepare increasingly complex nanoplatforms.

Objectives

A safe and efficient platform, α-tocopheryl succinate (α-TOS) married 2D molybdenum disulfide, was devised by a facile method and applied for cooperative imaging-guided photothermal-selective chemotherapy of ovarian carcinoma.

Methods

A novel platform of PEGylated α-TOS and folic acid (FA) conjugated 2D MoS₂ nanoflakes was fabricated  for the cooperative multimode computed tomography (CT)/photoacoustic (PA)/thermal imaging-guided photothermal-selective chemotherapy of ovarian carcinoma.

Results

The photothermal efficiency (65.3%) of the platform under safe near-infrared irradiation is much higher than that of other photothermal materials reported elsewhere. Moreover, the covalently linked α-TOS renders platform with selective chemotherapy for cancer cells. Remarkably, with these excellent properties, the platform can be used to completely eliminate the solid tumor by safe photothermal therapy, and then kill the residual cancer cells by selective chemotherapy to prevent tumor recurrence. More significantly, barely side effects occur in the whole treatment process. The excellent efficacy and safety benefits in vivo lead to the prominent survival rate of 100% over 91 days.

Conclusion

The safe and efficient platform might be a candidate of clinical nanomedicines for multimode theranostics. This study demonstrates an innovative thought in precise nanomedicine regarding the design of next generation of cancer theranostic protocol for potential clinical practice.

A Dual-Responsive Platform Based on Antifouling Dendrimer-CuS Nanohybrids for Enhanced Tumor Delivery and Combination Therapy

Design of stimuli-responsive nanomedicine with enhanced tumor delivery for combination therapy still remains a great challenge. Here, a unique design of an antifouling-dendrimer-based nanoplatform with dual pH- and redox-responsiveness is reported to meet this challenge. First, generation 5 (G5) poly(amidoamine) dendrimers are modified with targeting ligand cyclic arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) peptide through a polyethylene glycol (PEG) spacer and zwitterion of thiolated N,N-dimethyl-cysteamine-carboxybetaine (CBT) via pH-responsive benzoicimine bond to form G5.NH₂ PEGRGDCBT conjugates. Then, doxorubicin (DOX) is linked to the functional G5 dendrimers through a redox-responsive disulfide bond, followed by entrapment of CuS nanoparticles within the dendrimers. The created functional dendrimer-CuS nanohybrids with a CuS core size of 3.6 nm display a good antifouling property and excellent photothermal conversion property in the second near-infrared window. In addition, the neutral surface charge of the nanohybrids is able to be switched to be positive in the tumor region with slightly acidic microenvironment due to the break of benzoicimine bond to promote their intracellular uptake, while the redox-sensitive disulfide bond affords the fast release of the conjugated DOX within tumor cells to exert its therapeutic effect. Taken together with the CuS cores, the created dendrimer-CuS nanohybrids enable enhanced combination chemotherapy and photothermal therapy of tumors.

Multistage Extraction of Star Anise and Black Pepper Derivatives for Antibacterial, Antioxidant, and Anticancer Activity

Recently, natural resources have attracted considerable interest for their applications in food security and human health problems. Traditional natural spices, such as star anise and black pepper, played important roles in the pharmaceutical and food industries due to their strong pharmacological activity, antioxidant potential and rare complications. In order to achieve biomasses from the natural product with multiple bioactivities, we developed the multistage extraction method to extract and separate various bioactive compounds from these natural plants. Our work demonstrated that various bioactive-rich extractives were achieved using steam distilled- or oxidative-extraction methods with high extraction yields and purity. Furthermore, the extractives in each step can be used not only as bioactive compounds, but also as a resource to further prepare different derivatives during the next extractive step, providing biomass-saving to a great extent. The extractives obtained with high yields and purities (>82%) were identified by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, FTIR, UV-vis, fluorescence spectroscopy, and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Moreover, these biomasses display potent antibacterial activities against some types of microorganisms such as S.aureus, S.pyogenes, E.coli, and S.typhi with a lowest MIC of 400 μg/ml for the development of antibacterial agents, significant antioxidant activity as the natural antioxidant for enhancing food shelf-life, and excellent anticancer activity that induces significant cancer cell apoptosis. This work showed the different multistage extracts from natural products, which enable them to be applied in the fields of the pharmaceutical industry and the food industry.

Tumor necrosis factor-α small interfering RNA alveolar epithelial cell-targeting nanoparticles reduce lung injury in C57BL/6J mice with sepsis

Background

The role of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α small interfering (si)RNA alveolar epithelial cell (AEC)-targeting nanoparticles in lung injury is unclear.

Methods

Sixty C57BL/6J mice with sepsis were divided into normal, control, sham, 25 mg/kg, 50 mg/kg, and 100 mg/kg siRNA AEC-targeting nanoparticles groups (n = 10 per group). The wet:dry lung weight ratio, and hematoxylin and eosin staining, western blotting, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for inflammatory factors were conducted to compare differences among groups.

Results

The wet:dry ratio was significantly lower in control and sham groups than other groups. TNF-α siRNA AEC-targeting nanoparticles significantly reduced the number of eosinophils, with significantly lower numbers in the 50 mg/kg group than in 25 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg groups. The nanoparticles also significantly reduced the expression of TNF-α, B-cell lymphoma-2, caspase 3, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6, with TNF-α expression being significantly lower in the 50 mg/kg group than in 25 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg groups.

Conclusion

TNF-α siRNA AEC-targeting nanoparticles appear to be effective at improving lung injury-related sepsis, and 50 mg/kg may be a preferred dose option for administration.

Efficient co-delivery of microRNA 21 inhibitor and doxorubicin to cancer cells using core-shell tecto dendrimers formed via supramolecular host-guest assembly

Development of versatile and powerful nanoplatforms for efficient therapeutic delivery represents a major topic for current nanomedicine. Herein, we present the development of core-shell tecto dendrimers (CSTDs) for co-delivery of a therapeutic gene and drug for enhanced anticancer therapy applications. In this work, CSTDs were first prepared via supramolecular recognition of β-cyclodextrin (CD)-decorated generation 5 (G5) poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers as cores and adamantane (Ad)-functionalized G3 PAMAM dendrimers as shell components. The formed CSTDs with each G5 dendrimer surrounded with 4.2 G3 dendrimers were evaluated as a gene vector for delivery of plasmid DNA encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein as well as microRNA 21 inhibitor (miR 21i). We show that under an appropriate N/P ratio, the CSTDs enable effective transfection of both genetic materials to cancer cells. In particular, the transfection of miR 21i led to the inhibition of cancer cell migration, decreased miR 21 gene expression, and the effective regulation of the target genes and proteins (e.g., PTEN, PDCD4, p53, and Caspase-3). Furthermore, we revealed that the CSTDs were able to co-deliver miR 21i and an anticancer drug doxorubicin, leading to enhanced therapeutic efficacy to cancer cells in vitro. Our findings imply that the developed CSTDs could be adopted as a versatile platform for effective co-delivery of different therapeutic components for enhanced anticancer therapy applications.

Enhancing hemocompatibility and the performance of Au@silica nanoparticles by coating with cRGD functionalized zein

Poor safety and effectiveness is an outstanding challenge in the preparation of drug delivery systems (DDS) for cancer treatment. The pursuit of the high curative effect will inevitably increase the risk of adverse side effects. Herein, a bio-safe DDS was constructed by combining the advantages of functional zein and Au doped mesoporous silica nanoparticles (Au@SiO₂) to achieve chemo-photothermal therapy. The cRGD functionalized zein (cRGD-Zein) was coated on the surface of Au@SiO₂ which effectively avoided premature leakage of paclitaxel and realized sustained drug release. Meanwhile, the high hemolysis rate (107%) of Au@SiO₂ had been significantly reduced to 4%. The anti-hemolysis mechanism of functionalized zein was explored to give a deeper understanding of the interaction between nanoparticles and RBCs. The results showed that the functional zein would change the protein conformation during the interaction with Au@SiO₂ to protect the RBCs from the damage of Au@SiO₂. And the release rate of hemoglobin was limited by the size of RBCs membrane cracks with approximately 40 nm in width and 470 nm in length. The cell cytotoxicity and uptake assays showed that the prepared DDS exhibited low tumour cell viability (35%) and enhanced uptake performance (99.3%). This work suggested that the prepared nanoparticles could serve as a promising carrier to achieve safe and efficacious tumour therapy.

Intelligent nanogels with self-adaptive responsiveness for improved tumor drug delivery and augmented chemotherapy

For cancer nanomedicine, the main goal is to deliver therapeutic agents effectively to solid tumors. Here, we report the unique design of self-adaptive ultrafast charge-reversible chitosan-polypyrrole nanogels (CH-PPy NGs) for enhanced tumor delivery and augmented chemotherapy. CH was first grafted with PPy to form CH-PPy polymers that were used to form CH-PPy NGs through glutaraldehyde cross-linking via a miniemulsion method. The CH-PPy NGs could be finely treated with an alkaline solution to generate ultrafast charge-reversible CH-PPy-OH-4 NGs (R-NGs) with a negative charge at a physiological pH and a positive charge at a slightly acidic pH. The R-NGs display good cytocompatibility, excellent protein resistance, and high doxorubicin (DOX) loading efficiency. Encouragingly, the prepared R-NGs/DOX have prolonged blood circulation time, enhanced tumor accumulation, penetration and tumor cell uptake due to their self-adaptive charge switching to be positively charged, and responsive drug delivery for augmented chemotherapy of ovarian carcinoma in vivo. Notably, the tumor accumulation of R-NGs/DOX (around 4.7%) is much higher than the average tumor accumulation of other nanocarriers (less than 1%) reported elsewhere. The developed self-adaptive PPy-grafted CH NGs represent one of the advanced designs of nanomedicine that could be used for augmented antitumor therapy with low side effects.

Near-Infrared Light-Triggered Thermosensitive Liposomes Modified with Membrane Peptides for the Local Chemo/Photothermal Therapy of Melanoma

Purpose

A near-infrared (NIR)-triggered trans-activating transcriptional activator (TAT)-based targeted drug delivery system for the combined chemo/photothermal therapy of melanoma, namely, TAT-TSL-TMZ (temozolomide)/IR820, was developed for the first time.

Methods

TAT-TSL-TMZ/IR820 liposomes were synthesized via thin-film dispersion and sonication. IR820 and TMZ were encased in the inner layer and lipid bilayer of the liposomes, respectively.

Results

Dynamic light scattering results showed that the liposomes had an average hydrodynamic size of 166.9 nm and a zeta potential of -2.55 mV. The encapsulation rates of TMZ and IR820 were 35.4% and 28.6%, respectively. The heating curve obtained under near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation showed that TAT-TSL-TMZ/IR820 liposomes had good photothermal conversion efficiency. The in vitro drug release curve revealed that NIR laser irradiation could accelerate drug release from TAT-TSL-TMZ/IR820 liposomes. The results of inverted fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry proved that the uptake of TAT-TSL-TMZ/IR820 liposomes by human melanoma cells (MV3 cells) was concentration-dependent and that the liposomes modified with membrane peptides were more likely to be ingested by cells than unmodified liposomes. Confocal laser scanning microscopy indicated that TAT-TSL-TMZ/IR820 liposomes entered MV3 cells via endocytosis and was stored in lysosomes. In addition, TAT-TSL-TMZ/IR820 liposomes exposed to NIR laser showed 89.73% reduction in cell viability.

Conclusion

This study investigated the photothermal conversion, cell uptake, colocation and chemo/photothermal effect of TAT-TSL-TMZ/IR820 liposomes.

Biomedical applications of the peptide decorated gold nanoparticles

Currently, peptide-nanoparticle (NP) conjugates have been demonstrated to be efficient and powerful tools for the treatment and the diagnosis of various diseases as well as in the bioimaging application. Several bioconjugation strategies have been adopted to formulate the peptide-NP conjugates. In this review, we discuss the exciting applications of peptide-gold (Au) NP conjugates in the area of drug delivery, targeting, cancer therapy, brain diseases, vaccines, immune modulation, biosensor, colorimetric detection of heavy metals, and bio-labeling in vitro and in vivo models. Within this framework, various approaches such as radiotherapy, photothermal therapy, photodynamic therapy and chemo-photothermal therapy have been demonstrated for the treatment of several diseases. Moreover, we highlight how the morphology, size, density of peptide and the protein corona influence the biological activity, biodistribution and biological fate of peptide-AuNP conjugates. In the end, we discuss the future outlook and the challenges being faced in the clinical translation of the peptide-AuNP conjugates. Overall, this review emphasizes that the peptide-AuNP conjugates might be used as potential theranostic agents for the treatment of life-threatening diseases in an economical fashion in the future.

Polydopamine-carbon dots functionalized hollow carbon nanoplatform for fluorescence-imaging and photothermal-enhanced thermochemotherapy

The low power photothermal therapy can reduce the tissue damage caused by laser irradiation, thus the near-infrared (NIR) absorbing vehicles with high photothermal conversion efficiency are demanded in the low power treatment. Herein, the NIR-absorbing agent polydopamine (PDA) and carbon dots (CDs) were gated on the openings of hollow mesoporous carbon (HMC) to construct a photothermal enhanced multi-functional system (HMC-SS-PDA@CDs). Interestingly, the fluorescence emission wavelength of HMC-SS-PDA@CDs was red-shifted by FRET effect between PDA and CDs, which solved the dilemma of fluorescence quenching of carbon-based materials and was more conducive to cell imaging. The modification of PDA@CDs not only acts as the gatekeepers to realize multi-responsive release of pH, GSH and NIR, but also endows the HMC vehicle with excellent photothermal generation capacity, the possibility for bio-imaging as well as the enhanced stability. Naturally, both the cytological level and the multicellular tumor sphere level demonstrate that the delivery system has good low-power synergistic therapeutic with combination index (CI) of 0.348 and imaging effects. Meanwhile, the combined treatment group showed the highest tumor inhibition rate of 92.6% at 0.75 W/cm². Therefore, DOX/HMC-SS-PDA@CDs nano-platform had broad application prospects in low power therapy and convenient imaging of carbon-based materials.

Dual-Degradable Biohybrid Microgels by Direct Cross-Linking of Chitosan and Dextran Using Azide-Alkyne Cycloaddition

In this work, biocompatible and degradable biohybrid microgels based on chitosan and dextran were synthesized for drug delivery applications. Two kinds of bio-based building blocks, alkyne-modified chitosan and azide-modified dextran, were used to fabricate microgels via single-step cross-linking in water-in-oil emulsions. The cross-linking was initiated in the presence of copper(II) without the use of any extra cross-linkers. A series of pH-responsive and degradable microgels were successfully synthesized by varying the degree of cross-links. The microgels were characterized using ¹H NMR and FTIR spectroscopy which proved the successful cross-linking of alkyne-modified chitosan and azide-modified dextran by copper(II)-mediated click reaction. The obtained microgels exhibit polyampholyte character and can carry positive or negative charges in aqueous solutions at different pH values. Biodegradability of microgels was shown at pH 9 or in the presence of Dextranase due to the hydrolysis of carbonate esters in the microgels or 1,6-α-glucosidic linkages in dextran structure, respectively. Furthermore, the microgels could encapsulate vancomycin hydrochloride (VM), an antibiotic, with a high loading of approximately 93.67% via electrostatic interactions. The payload could be released in the presence of Dextranase or under an alkaline environment, making the microgels potential candidates for drug delivery, such as colon-specific drug release.

Tailored core‒shell dual metal-organic frameworks as a versatile nanomotor for effective synergistic antitumor therapy

Malignant tumor has become an urgent threat to global public healthcare. Because of the heterogeneity of tumor, single therapy presents great limitations while synergistic therapy is arousing much attention, which shows desperate need of intelligent carrier for co-delivery. A core‒shell dual metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) system was delicately designed in this study, which not only possessed the unique properties of both materials, but also provided two individual specific functional zones for co-drug delivery. Photosensitizer indocyanine green (ICG) and chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin (DOX) were stepwisely encapsulated into the nanopores of MIL-88 core and ZIF-8 shell to construct a synergistic photothermal/photodynamic/chemotherapy nanoplatform. Except for efficient drug delivery, the MIL-88 could be functioned as a nanomotor to convert the excessive hydrogen peroxide at tumor microenvironment into adequate oxygen for photodynamic therapy. The DOX release from MIL-88-ICG@ZIF-8-DOX nanoparticles was triggered at tumor acidic microenvironment and further accelerated by near-infrared (NIR) light irradiation. The in vivo antitumor study showed superior synergistic antitumor effect by concentrating the nanoparticles into dissolving microneedles as compared to intravenous and intratumoral injection of nanoparticles, with a significantly higher inhibition rate. It is anticipated that the multi-model synergistic system based on dual-MOFs was promising for further biomedical application.

Functional LAPONITE Nanodisks Enable Targeted Anticancer Chemotherapy in Vivo

Development of nanoplatforms for targeted anticancer drug delivery for effective tumor therapy still remains challenging in the development of nanomedicine. Here, we present a facile method to formulate a LAPONITE (LAP) nanodisk-based nanosystem for anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) delivery to folic acid (FA) receptor-overexpressing tumors. In the current work, aminated LAP nanodisks were first prepared through silanization, then functionalized with polyethylene glycol-linked FA (PEG-FA) via 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) chemistry, and finally employed to physically encapsulate DOX. The formed functional LAP nanodisks (for short, LM-PEG-FA) possess a high DOX loading efficiency (88.6 ± 1.2%) and present a pH-dependent release feature with a quicker DOX release under acidic pH conditions (pH 5.0) than under physiological pH conditions (pH 7.4). In vitro flow cytometry, confocal microscopic observation, and cell viability assay show that the LM-PEG-FA/DOX complexes can be specifically taken up by FAR-overexpressing human ovarian cancer cells (SK-OV-3 cells) and present a specific cancer cell therapeutic effect. Further tumor treatment results reveal that the LM-PEG-FA/DOX complexes can exert a specific therapeutic efficacy to a xenografted SK-OV-3 tumor model in vivo when compared with nontargeted LM-mPEG/DOX complexes. Therefore, the developed LM-PEG-FA nanodisks could be employed as a potential platform for targeted cancer chemotherapy.

Structural and chemical evolution of Au-silica core-shell nanoparticles during 20 keV helium ion irradiation: a comparison between experiment and simulation

Au-silica core–shell nanoparticles have been irradiated with 20 keV He⁺ ions up to a maximum fluence of 4.7 × 10¹⁷ ions/cm². The nanoscale structural and crystallographic evolution induced by He⁺ ion irradiation was followed at various stages using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). During irradiation satellite Au clusters are formed around the main Au core, which remained crystalline even after the maximum He⁺ ion fluence. The spherical silica shell deformed into a hemisphere due to He⁺ ion irradiation. Three dimensional Monte-Carlo simulations, based on the binary collision approximation, have been performed on stacked infinite layers and an individual particle. The stacked layers results show that the He⁺ beam interacts with most of the nanoparticle and Au migrates in the direction of beam incidence agreeing with experimental findings. The individual particle results match the experiment in terms of the volume which is sputtered away however additional mechanisms, not included in the simulations, are present in the experiment during the satellite formation and silica shell deformation. These results show the ability for 20 keV He⁺ ions to be used for the modification of nanostructures. Furthermore, these results contribute to a quantitative understanding of the dynamic evolution of materials observed using microscopy techniques based on He⁺ ions.

Multimodal Decorations of Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Improved Cancer Therapy

The presence of leaky vasculature and the lack of lymphatic drainage of small structures by the solid tumors formulate nanoparticles as promising delivery vehicles in cancer therapy. In particular, among various nanoparticles, the mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) exhibit numerous outstanding features, including mechanical thermal and chemical stability, huge surface area and ordered porous interior to store different anti-cancer therapeutics with high loading capacity and tunable release mechanisms. Furthermore, one can easily decorate the surface of MSN by attaching ligands for active targeting specifically to the cancer region exploiting overexpressed receptors. The controlled release of drugs to the disease site without any leakage to healthy tissues can be achieved by employing environment responsive gatekeepers for the end-capping of MSN. To achieve precise cancer chemotherapy, the most desired delivery system should possess high loading efficiency, site-specificity and capacity of controlled release. In this review we will focus on multimodal decorations of MSN, which is the most demanding ongoing approach related to MSN application in cancer therapy. Herein, we will report about the recently tried efforts for multimodal modifications of MSN, exploiting both the active targeting and stimuli responsive behavior simultaneously, along with individual targeted delivery and stimuli responsive cancer therapy using MSN.

One-step facile synthesis of Au@copper–tannic acid coordination core–shell nanostructures as photothermally-enhanced ROS generators for synergistic tumour therapy

Au@TACu core–shell nanostructures with good biocompatibility and GSH-depleting capability showed enhanced photothermal performance and ROS generation for synergistic tumour therapy.

Core-shell tecto dendrimers formed via host-guest supramolecular assembly as pH-responsive intelligent carriers for enhanced anticancer drug delivery

The design of pH-sensitive supramolecular drug delivery systems for efficient antineoplastic drug delivery remains a huge challenge. Herein, we describe the development of pH-responsive core-shell tecto dendrimers (CSTDs) formed using benzimidazole (BM)-modified generation 3 (G3) poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers (G3.NHAc-BM) as a shell and β-cyclodextrin (CD)-modified G5 PAMAM dendrimers (G5.NHAc-CD) as a core. By virtue of the host-guest recognition and pH-responsiveness of BM/β-CD assembly, the pH-sensitive supramolecular CSTDs of G5.NHAc-CD/BM-G3.NHAc were formed and adopted to encapsulate the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) via hydrophobic interactions for pH-responsive drug delivery applications. The synthesis of dendrimer derivatives and the loading of the DOX were well characterized via different methods. We show that the encapsulated DOX can be released in a sustained manner with a rapid release speed under a slightly acidic pH condition (pH < 6), which is similar to acidic tumor microenvironment. The enhanced intracellular release of DOX and improved anticancer activity of the drug-loaded pH-responsive CSTDs were demonstrated and compared with the control CSTDs formed without pH-responsiveness through flow cytometry and viability assays of cancer cells. Furthermore, the pH-sensitive CSTDs also showed efficient drug penetration and growth inhibition of three-dimensional tumor spheroids owing to the faster DOX release in an acidic pH environment. The pH-sensitive G5.NHAc-CD/BM-G3.NHAc CSTDs may be employed as a valuable intelligent delivery system for various anticancer drugs.

Synthesis, Formulation, and Characterization of Doxorubicin-Loaded Laponite/Oligomeric Hyaluronic Acid-Aminophenylboronic Acid Nanohybrids and Cytological Evaluation against MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells

As a synthetic clay material, laponite RDS (LR) was investigated as an effective drug carrier as a result of the special nanodisk structure together with the negative-charged surface to achieve enhanced cellular uptake and targeted delivery. In this research work, the synthesized oligomeric hyaluronic acid-aminophenylboronic acid (oHA-APBA) was entangled onto LR nanodisks to fabricate a valid targeted platform for breast cancer therapy. Briefly, through the formation of amide bonds, 3-APBA was connected to the chain of oHA with a substituted ratio of 4.0 ± 0.2% to synthesize oHA-APBA copolymer. Thereafter, doxorubicin (DOX) was inserted into the interlayer space of LR by the way of the ion exchange process, followed by an assembly with oHA-APBA as a targeted protection layer. The satisfactory drug encapsulation efficiency (> 80%) and narrow size distribution were achieved. The in vitro drug release study demonstrated the release of DOX from DOX@LR/oHA-APBA was sustained and acid dependent. In addition, after fitting the drug cumulative release of DOX@LR/oHA-APBA under different pH conditions with several kinetic models, it was identified that drug release from DOX@LR/oHA-APBA nanohybrids at pH 5.0 was mainly dependent on both diffusion and ion exchange effects. However, under the condition of pH 7.4, the drug was most efficiently released by diffusion effect. Importantly, DOX@LR/oHA-APBA showed remarkable cellular uptake and intracellular drug distribution in MCF-7 cells, which were consistent with inhibitory ability against MCF-7 cells. Hence, the high DOX loading capacity and enhanced cellular tracking can enlighten LR/oHA-APBA as an effective drug delivery carrier for breast cancer therapy.

A chitosan-based cascade-responsive drug delivery system for triple-negative breast cancer therapy

BACKGROUND

It is extremely difficult to develop targeted treatments for triple-negative breast (TNB) cancer, because these cells do not express any of the key biomarkers usually exploited for this goal.

RESULTS

In this work, we develop a solution in the form of a cascade responsive nanoplatform based on thermo-sensitive poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (PNVCL)-chitosan (CS) nanoparticles (NPs). These are further modified with the cell penetrating peptide (CPP) and loaded with the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin (DOX). The base copolymer was optimized to undergo a phase change at the elevated temperatures of the tumor microenvironment. The acid-responsive properties of CS provide a second trigger for drug release, and the inclusion of CPP should ensure the formulations accumulate in cancerous tissue. The resultant CPP-CS-co-PNVCL NPs could self-assemble in aqueous media into spherical NPs of size < 200 nm and with low polydispersity. They are able to accommodate a high DOX loading (14.8% w/w). The NPs are found to be selectively taken up by cancerous cells both in vitro and in vivo, and result in less off-target cytotoxicity than treatment with DOX alone. In vivo experiments employing a TNB xenograft mouse model demonstrated a significant reduction in tumor volume and prolonging of life span, with no obvious systemic toxicity.

CONCLUSIONS

The system developed in this work has the potential to provide new therapies for hard-to-treat cancers.

Targeting integrins for cancer management using nanotherapeutic approaches: Recent advances and challenges

Integrins are the main cell surface receptors and execute multifaceted functions such as the bidirectional transmission of signals (i.e., inside-out and outside-in) and provide communication between cells and their microenvironments. Integrins are the key regulators of critical biological functions and contribute significantly to the promotion of cancer at almost every stage of disease progression from initial tumor formation to metastasis. Integrin expressions are frequently altered in different cancers, and consequently, several therapeutic strategies targeting integrins have been developed. Furthermore, nanotechnology-based approaches have been devised to overcome the intrinsic limitations of conventional therapies for cancer management, and have been shown to more precise, safer, and highly effective therapeutic tools. Although nanotechnology-based approaches have achieved substantial success for the management of cancer, certain obstacles remain such as inadequate knowledge of nano-bio interactions and the challenges associated with the three stages of clinical trials. This review highlights the different roles of integrins and of integrin-dependent signaling in various cancers and describes the applications of nanotherapeutics targeting integrins. In addition, we discuss RGD-based approaches and challenges posed to cancer management.

Facile formulation of near-infrared light-triggered hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles based on mitochondria targeting for on-demand chemo/photothermal/photodynamic therapy

The incorporation of chemo/photothermal/photodynamic therapy in subcellular organelles such as mitochondria has attracted extensive attention recently. Here, we designed mitochondria-targeted hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles (THMSNs) loaded biocompatible phase-change material L-menthol (LM) via a facile method. Meanwhile, antitumor drug doxorubicin (DOX) and near-infrared (NIR) dye indocyanine green (ICG) approved by FDA were simultaneously encapsulated into THMSNs, denoted as THMSNs@LMDI, which showed NIR radiation triggered capacity for cancer treatment. With the mitochondria-targeted ability of triphenylphosphine, the resulting THMSNs@LMDI showed evidently improved cellular internalization and specific accumulation in mitochondria. Under NIR irradiation, the versatile ICG would be bound to simultaneously produce photodynamic and photothermal therapy. Meanwhile, in view of the solid-liquid phase transition feature of gatekeeper LM, THMSNs@LMDI provided a platform for NIR-mediated temperature-responsive DOX release. As a matter of course, these smart subcellular organelle-THMSNs could serve as an effective drug delivery platform for site-specific on-demand chemo/photothermal/photodynamic therapy of cancer.

Recent advancements in mesoporous silica nanoparticles towards therapeutic applications for cancer

Recently, drug delivery systems based on nanotechnology have received great attention in cancer therapeutics and diagnostics since they can not only improve the treatment efficacy but also reduce the side effects. Among them, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) with large surface area, high pore volume, tunable pore size, abundant surface chemistry, and acceptable biocompatibility exhibit unique advantages and are considered as promising candidates for cancer diagnosis and therapy. In this review, we update the recent progress on MSN-based systems for cancer treatment purposes. We also discuss the drug loading mechanism of MSNs, stimuli-responsive drug release, and surface modification strategies for improving biocompatibility, and targeting functionalities. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: The development of MSN-based delivery systems that can be used in both diagnosis and treatment of cancer has attracted tremendous interest in the past decade. MSN-based delivery systems can improve therapeutic efficacy and reduce cytotoxicity to normal tissue. To further improve the in vivo properties of MSNs and potential translation to the clinics, it is critical to design MSNs with appropriate surface engineering and desirable cancer targeting. This review is intended to provide the readers a comprehensive background of the vast literature till date on silica-based drug delivery systems, and to inspire further innovations in silica nanomedicine in the future.