Study of glycol chitosan-carboxymethyl β-cyclodextrins as anticancer drugs carrier

Advances in Nano-Functional Materials in Targeted Thrombolytic Drug Delivery

Thrombotic disease has been listed as the third most fatal vascular disease in the world. After decades of development, clinical thrombolytic drugs still cannot avoid the occurrence of adverse reactions such as bleeding. A number of studies have shown that the application of various nano-functional materials in thrombus-targeted drug delivery, combined with external stimuli, such as magnetic, near-infrared light, ultrasound, etc., enrich the drugs in the thrombus site and use the properties of nano-functional materials for collaborative thrombolysis, which can effectively reduce adverse reactions such as bleeding and improve thrombolysis efficiency. In this paper, the research progress of organic nanomaterials, inorganic nanomaterials, and biomimetic nanomaterials for drug delivery is briefly reviewed.

Self-Assembly of Amphiphilic Compounds as a Versatile Tool for Construction of Nanoscale Drug Carriers

This review focuses on synthetic and natural amphiphilic systems prepared from straight-chain and macrocyclic compounds capable of self-assembly with the formation of nanoscale aggregates of different morphology and their application as drug carriers. Since numerous biological species (lipid membrane, bacterial cell wall, mucous membrane, corneal epithelium, biopolymers, e.g., proteins, nucleic acids) bear negatively charged fragments, much attention is paid to cationic carriers providing high affinity for encapsulated drugs to targeted cells. First part of the review is devoted to self-assembling and functional properties of surfactant systems, with special attention focusing on cationic amphiphiles, including those bearing natural or cleavable fragments. Further, lipid formulations, especially liposomes, are discussed in terms of their fabrication and application for intracellular drug delivery. This section highlights several features of these carriers, including noncovalent modification of lipid formulations by cationic surfactants, pH-responsive properties, endosomal escape, etc. Third part of the review deals with nanocarriers based on macrocyclic compounds, with such important characteristics as mucoadhesive properties emphasized. In this section, different combinations of cyclodextrin platform conjugated with polymers is considered as drug delivery systems with synergetic effect that improves solubility, targeting and biocompatibility of formulations.

Preparation and characterization of zein/carboxymethyl dextrin nanoparticles to encapsulate curcumin: Physicochemical stability, antioxidant activity and controlled release properties

In this work, zein/carboxymethyl dextrin nanoparticles were successfully fabricated at different zein to carboxymethyl dextrin (CMD) mass ratios. Zein/CMD nanoparticles with the negative charge and the smallest size (212 nm) were formed when the mass ratio of zein to CMD was 2:1, exhibiting improved encapsulation efficiency of curcumin (85.5%). Electrostatic interactions, hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions were main driven forces for nanoparticles formulation and curcumin encapsulation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy determined curcumin might be partially embedded in CMD during encapsulation. The spherical structures of zein/CMD nanoparticles and curcumin-loaded zein/CMD nanoparticles were observed by transmission electron microscopy. The photothermal stability and antioxidant activity of curcumin were significantly enhanced after be loaded in zein/CMD nanoparticles. Furthermore, encapsulation of curcumin in zein/CMD nanoparticles significantly delayed the release of curcumin in simulated gastrointestinal fluids. These results indicated that zein/CMD nanoparticles could be effective encapsulating materials for bioactive compounds in food industry.

Vinblastine-Loaded Nanoparticles with Enhanced Tumor-Targeting Efficiency and Decreasing Toxicity: Developed by One-Step Molecular Imprinting Process

Molecularly imprinted polymers have exhibited good performance as carriers on drug loading and sustained release. In this paper, vinblastine (VBL)-loaded polymeric nanoparticles (VBL-NPs) were prepared by a one-step molecular imprinting process, avoiding the waste and incomplete removal of the template, and evaluated as targeting carriers for VBL delivery after modification. Using acryloyl amino acid comonomers and disulfide cross-linkers, VBL-NPs were synthesized and then conjugated with poly(ethylene glycol)-folate. The dynamic size of the obtained VBL-NPs-PEG-FA was 258.3 nm (PDI = 0.250), and the encapsulation efficiency was 45.82 ± 1.45%. The nanoparticles of VBL-NPs-PEG-FA were able to completely release VBL during 48 h under a mimic tumor intracellular condition (pH 4.5, 10 mM glutathione (GSH)), displaying significant redox responsiveness, whereas the release rates were much slower in the mimic body liquid (pH 7.4, 2 μM GSH) and tumor extracellular environment (pH 6.5, 2 μM GSH). Furthermore, the carriers NPs-PEG-FA, prepared without VBL, showed satisfactory intrinsic hemocompatibility, cellular compatibility, and tumor-targeting properties: they could rapidly and efficiently accumulate to folate receptor positive Hela cells and then internalized via receptor-mediated endocytosis, and the retention in tumor tissues could last for over 48 h. Interestingly, VBL-NPs-PEG-FA could evidently increase the accumulation of VBL in tumor tissues while decreasing the distribution of VBL in organs, exert similar anticancer efficacy against Hela tumors in the xenograft model of nude mice to VBL injection, and significantly improve the abnormality of liver and spleen observed in VBL injection. VBL-NPs-PEG-FA has the potential to be the delivery carrier for VBL by enhancing the tumor-targeting efficacy of VBL and decreasing toxicity to normal tissues.

Analysis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry: An update for 2013-2014

This review is the eighth update of the original article published in 1999 on the application of Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI) mass spectrometry to the analysis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates and brings coverage of the literature to the end of 2014. Topics covered in the first part of the review include general aspects such as theory of the MALDI process, matrices, derivatization, MALDI imaging, fragmentation, and arrays. The second part of the review is devoted to applications to various structural types such as oligo- and poly- saccharides, glycoproteins, glycolipids, glycosides, and biopharmaceuticals. Much of this material is presented in tabular form. The third part of the review covers medical and industrial applications of the technique, studies of enzyme reactions, and applications to chemical synthesis. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Mass Spec Rev 37:353-491, 2018.

GO-COO-HP-β-CD nanosphere: a complex construction and its drug-loading properties

A novel nanosphere based on carboxylated GO (GO-COOH) and hydroxypropyl-beta-CD (HP-β-CD) was synthesized to construct a complex of GO-COO-HP-β-CD. The complex formation process was studied using spectral characterization and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive spectroscopy patterns show that HP-β-CD molecules either cover or intercalate into GO-COOH interlayers in the complex. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results indicate that GO-COOH and HP-β-CD are linked with covalent bonds formed via esterification. When employed as nanohybrid drug carriers for dexamethasone, the inclusion displays good dispersibility validated by dynamic light scattering (DLS). Cytotoxicity assays and hemolysis testing demonstrate that the nanospheres possess good biological compatibility. The loading capacity of dexamethasone is as high as 32.33%, with loading efficiency 64.66%.