Antibody-drug gold nanoantennas with Raman spectroscopic fingerprints for in vivo tumour theranostics

Conjugated Nanoparticles for Solid Tumor Theranostics: Unraveling the Interplay of Known and Unknown Factors

Cancer diagnoses have been increasing worldwide, and solid tumors are among the leading contributors to patient mortality, creating an enormous burden on the global healthcare system. Cancer is responsible for around 10.3 million deaths worldwide. Solid tumors are one of the most prevalent cancers observed in recent times. On the other hand, early diagnosis is a significant challenge that could save a person's life. Treatment with existing methods has pitfalls that limit the successful elimination of the disorder. Though nanoparticle-based imaging and therapeutics have shown a significant impact in healthcare, current methodologies for solid tumor treatment are insufficient. There are multiple complications associated with the diagnosis and management of solid tumors as well. Recently, surface-conjugated nanoparticles such as lipid nanoparticles, metallic nanoparticles, and quantum dots have shown positive results in solid tumor diagnostics and therapeutics in preclinical models. Other nanotheranostic material platforms such as plasmonic theranostics, magnetotheranostics, hybrid nanotheranostics, and graphene theranostics have also been explored. These nanoparticle theranostics ensure the appropriate targeting of tumors along with selective delivery of cargos (both imaging and therapeutic probes) without affecting the surrounding healthy tissues. Though they have multiple applications, nanoparticles still possess numerous limitations that need to be addressed in order to be fully utilized in the clinic. In this review, we outline the importance of materials and design strategies used to engineer nanoparticles in the treatment and diagnosis of solid tumors and how effectively each method overcomes the drawbacks of the current techniques. We also highlight the gaps in each material platform and how design considerations can address their limitations in future research directions.

Antibody-Loaded Nanoplatforms for Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment: An Update

At present, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second deadliest type of cancer, partly because a high percentage of cases are diagnosed at advanced stages when tumors have already metastasized. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop novel diagnostic systems that allow early detection as well as new therapeutic systems that are more specific than those currently available. In this context, nanotechnology plays a very important role in the development of targeted platforms. In recent decades, many types of nanomaterials with advantageous properties have been used for nano-oncology applications and have been loaded with different types of targeted agents, capable of recognizing tumor cells or biomarkers. Indeed, among the different types of targeted agents, the most widely used are monoclonal antibodies, as the administration of many of them is already approved by the main drug regulatory agencies for the treatment of several types of cancer, including CRC. In this way, this review comprehensively discusses the main drawbacks of the conventional screening technologies and treatment for CRC, and it presents recent advances in the application of antibody-loaded nanoplatforms for CRC detection, therapy or theranostics applications.

Role of Tunable Gold Nanostructures in Cancer Nanotheranostics: Implications on Synthesis, Toxicity, Clinical Applications and Their Associated Opportunities and Challenges

The existing diagnosis and treatment modalities have major limitations related to their precision and capability to understand several stages of disease development. A superior therapeutic system consists of a multifunctional approach in early diagnosis of the disease with a simultaneous progressive cure, using a precise medical approach towards complex treatment. These challenges can be addressed via nanotheranostics and explore suitable approaches to improve health care. Nanotechnology in combination with theranostics as an unconventional platform paved the way for developing novel strategies and modalities leading to diagnosis and therapy for complex disease conditions, ranging from acute to chronic levels. Among the metal nanoparticles, gold nanoparticles are being widely used for theranostics due to their inherent non-toxic nature and plasmonic properties. The unique optical and chemical properties of plasmonic metal nanoparticles along with theranostics have led to a promising era of plausible early detection of disease conditions, and they enable real-time monitoring with enhanced non-invasive or minimally invasive imaging of several ailments. This review aims to highlight the improvement and advancement brought to nanotheranostics by gold nanoparticles in the past decade. The clinical use of the metal nanoparticles in nanotheranostics is explained, along with the future perspectives on addressing the key applications related to diagnostics and therapeutics, respectively. The scope of gold nanoparticles and their realistic potential to design a sophisticated theranostic system is discussed in detail, along with their implications in clinical advancements which are the needs of the hour. The review concluded with the challenges, opportunities, and implications on translational potential of using gold nanoparticles in nanotheranostics.

Antifungal Effect of Nanoparticles against COVID-19 Linked Black Fungus: A Perspective on Biomedical Applications

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly transmissible and pathogenic coronavirus that has caused a 'coronavirus disease 2019' (COVID-19) pandemic in multiple waves, which threatens human health and public safety. During this pandemic, some patients with COVID-19 acquired secondary infections, such as mucormycosis, also known as black fungus disease. Mucormycosis is a serious, acute, and deadly fungal infection caused by Mucorales-related fungal species, and it spreads rapidly. Hence, prompt diagnosis and treatment are necessary to avoid high mortality and morbidity rates. Major risk factors for this disease include uncontrolled diabetes mellitus and immunosuppression that can also facilitate increases in mucormycosis infections. The extensive use of steroids to prevent the worsening of COVID-19 can lead to black fungus infection. Generally, antifungal agents dedicated to medical applications must be biocompatible, non-toxic, easily soluble, efficient, and hypoallergenic. They should also provide long-term protection against fungal growth. COVID-19-related black fungus infection causes a severe increase in fatalities. Therefore, there is a strong need for the development of novel and efficient antimicrobial agents. Recently, nanoparticle-containing products available in the market have been used as antimicrobial agents to prevent bacterial growth, but little is known about their efficacy with respect to preventing fungal growth, especially black fungus. The present review focuses on the effect of various types of metal nanoparticles, specifically those containing silver, zinc oxide, gold, copper, titanium, magnetic, iron, and carbon, on the growth of various types of fungi. We particularly focused on how these nanoparticles can impact the growth of black fungus. We also discussed black fungus co-infection in the context of the global COVID-19 outbreak, and management and guidelines to help control COVID-19-associated black fungus infection. Finally, this review aimed to elucidate the relationship between COVID-19 and mucormycosis.

Radiomics Analysis to Enhance Precise Identification of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutation Based on Positron Emission Tomography Images of Lung Cancer Patients

How to recognize precisely epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation in lung cancer patients owns great clinical requirement. In this study, 1575 radiomics features were extracted from PET images of 75 lung cancer patients based on contrast agents such as 18F-MPG and 18F-FDG. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for single factor analysis, the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (Lasso) Regression was used for feature screening, then the radiomics classification models were established by using support vector machines and ten-fold cross-validation, and were used to identify EGFR mutation in primary lung cancers and metastasis lung cancers, accuracy based on 18F-MPG PET images are respectively 90% for primary lung cancers, and 89.66% for metastasis lung cancers, accuracy based on 18F-FDG PET images are respectively 76% for primary lung cancers and 82.75% for metastasis lung cancers. The area under the curves (AUC) based on 18F-MPG PET images are respectively 0.94877 for primary lung cancers, and 0.91775 for metastasis lung cancers, AUC based on 18F-FDG PET images are respectively 0.87374 for primary lung cancers, and 0.82251 for metastasis lung cancers. In conclusion, both 18F-MPG PET images and 18F-FDG PET images combined with established classification models can identify EGFR mutation, but 18F-MPG PET images have more precisely than 18F-FDG PET images, own clinical translational prospects.

Current update on nanoplatforms as therapeutic and diagnostic tools: A review for the materials used as nanotheranostics and imaging modalities

In the last decade, the use of nanotheranostics as emerging diagnostic and therapeutic tools for various diseases, especially cancer, is held great attention. Up to date, several approaches have been employed in order to develop smart nanotheranostics, which combine bioactive targeting on specific tissues as well as diagnostic properties. The nanotheranostics can deliver therapeutic agents by concomitantly monitor the therapy response in real-time. Consequently, the possibility of over- or under-dosing is decreased. Various non-invasive imaging techniques have been used to quantitatively monitor the drug delivery processes. Radiolabeling of nanomaterials is widely used as powerful diagnostic approach on nuclear medicine imaging. In fact, various radiolabeled nanomaterials have been designed and developed for imaging tumors and other lesions due to their efficient characteristics. Inorganic nanoparticles as gold, silver, silica based nanomaterials or organic nanoparticles as polymers, carbon based nanomaterials, liposomes have been reported as multifunctional nanotheranostics. In this review, the imaging modalities according to their use in various diseases are summarized, providing special details for radiolabeling. In further, the most current nanotheranostics categorized via the used nanomaterials are also summed up. To conclude, this review can be beneficial for medical and pharmaceutical society as well as material scientists who work in the field of nanotheranostics since they can use this research as guide for producing newer and more efficient nanotheranostics.

Recent advances in nanoscale materials for antibody-based cancer theranostics

The quest for advanced management tools or options of various cancers has been on the rise to efficiently reduce their risks of mortality without the demerits of conventional treatments (e.g., undesirable side effects of the medications on non-target tissues, non-targeted distribution, slow clearance of the administered drugs, and the development of drug resistance over the duration of therapy). In this context, nanomaterials-antibody conjugates can offer numerous advantages in the development of cancer theranostics over conventional delivery systems (e.g., highly specific and enhanced biodistribution of the drug in targeted tissues, prolonged systemic circulation, low toxicity, and minimally invasive molecular imaging). This review comprehensively discusses and evaluates recent advances in the application of nanomaterial-antibody bioconjugates for cancer theranostics for the further advancement in the control of diverse cancerous diseases. Further, discussion is expanded to cover the various challenges and limitations associated with the design and development of nanomaterial-antibody conjugates applicable towards better management of cancer.

In situ exploring Chidamide, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, induces molecular changes of leukemic T-lymphocyte apoptosis using Raman spectroscopy

Though it has been demonstrated that Chidamide (CS055/HBI-8000), a novel benzamide class of histone deacetylase (HDAC) subtype-selectively inhibitor, reveals better anticancer effect in acute leukemia, but it remains unknown about the precise mechanism of Chidamide-induced acute leukemia cell apoptosis due to the lack of in situ molecular changes information. Based on Raman spectral analysis, we find that the action of Chidamide on Jurkat cell will lead to an addition of an acetyl group to a specific lysine residue at the end of histone amino acid, and greatly enhance the acetylation of histones H1, H2A, H2B, H3, and H4, and then destroy the electrostatic force between the alkaline terminal of the positive charged arginine side chain and the negative charged DNA of phosphate group, finally cause the depolymerization of DNA and histone octamer in chromatin nucleosome depolymerization and the relaxation of chromatin. Accordingly, the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the decreasing of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) are observed. For comparison, we also present the corresponding results of suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) and MS-275 inhibitors. The achieved results show that proliferation of Chidamide-treated Jurkat cells is low relative to MS-275 or SAHA, and the action of Chidamide or MS-275 on Jurkat cells lead to obvious increasing in histones H1, H2A, H2B, H3, and H4, whereas the action effect of SAHA is mainly observed in histones H1, H2A, H2B, H3 but weak in histone H4. Moreover, it is found that Chidamide-induced histone H3 acetylation in Jurkat cells is stronger than MS-275 and SAHA. Collectively, by Raman spectral analysis, we achieve the dynamic behavior of biochemical components, molecular conformation and morphological changes of HDAC inhibitors-treated Jurkat cells. Importantly, our research is the first to demonstrate that the action site of HDAC inhibitors on Jurkat cell is located in the DNA minor groove. Most importantly, the application of Raman spectrum in exploring in-situ molecular changes information, histone acetylation modification in epigenetics, drug action sites and cell cycle affected by HDAC inhibitors will supply new idea and reference for the design and modification of HDAC inhibitors.

Cetuximab-Coated Thermo-Sensitive Liposomes Loaded with Magnetic Nanoparticles and Doxorubicin for Targeted EGFR-Expressing Breast Cancer Combined Therapy

Background

One major limitation of cancer chemotherapy is a failure to specifically target a tumor, potentially leading to side effects such as systemic cytotoxicity. In this case, we have generated a cancer cell-targeting nanoparticle-liposome drug delivery system that can be activated by near-infrared laser light to enable local photo-thermal therapy and the release of chemotherapeutic agents, which could achieve combined therapeutic efficiency.

Methods

To exploit the magnetic potential of iron oxide, we prepared and characterized citric acid-coated iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (CMNPs) and encapsulated them into thermo-sensitive liposomes (TSLs). The chemotherapeutic drug, doxorubicin (DOX), was then loaded into the CMNP-TSLs, which were coated with an antibody against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), cetuximab (CET), to target EGFR-expressing breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo studies in mouse model.

Results

The resulting CET-DOX-CMNP–TSLs were stable with an average diameter of approximately 120 nm. First, the uptake of TSLs into breast cancer cells increased by the addition of the CET coating. Next, the viability of breast cancer cells treated with CET-CMNP-TSLs and CET-DOX-CMNP-TSLs was reduced by the addition of photo-thermal therapy using near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation. What is more, the viability of breast cancer cells treated with CMNP-TSLs plus NIR was reduced by the addition of DOX to the CMNP-TSLs. Finally, photo-thermal therapy studies on tumor-bearing mice subjected to NIR laser irradiation showed that treatment with CMNP-TSLs or CET-CMNP-TSLs led to an increase in tumor surface temperature to 44.7°C and 48.7°C, respectively, compared with saline-treated mice body temperature ie, 35.2°C. Further, the hemolysis study shows that these nanocarriers are safe for systemic delivery.

Conclusion

Our studies revealed that a combined therapy of photo-thermal therapy and targeted chemotherapy in thermo-sensitive nano-carriers represents a promising therapeutic strategy against breast cancer.

Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for Cancer Immunotherapy Applications: Opportunities, Challenges, and Current Progress in Nanomaterial Strategies

Cancer immunotherapy encompasses a variety of approaches which target or use a patient's immune system components to eliminate cancer. Notably, the current use of immune checkpoint inhibitors to target immune checkpoint receptors such as CTLA-4 or PD-1 has led to remarkable treatment responses in a variety of cancers. To predict cancer patients' immunotherapy responses effectively and efficiently, multiplexed immunoassays have been shown to be advantageous in sensing multiple immunomarkers of the tumor microenvironment simultaneously for patient stratification. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is well-regarded for its capabilities in multiplexed bioassays and has been increasingly demonstrated in cancer immunotherapy applications in recent years. This review focuses on SERS-active nanomaterials in the modern literature which have shown promise for enabling cancer patient-tailored immunotherapies, including multiplexed in vitro and in vivo immunomarker sensing and imaging, as well as immunotherapy drug screening and delivery.

Magnetic Nanoparticles as MRI Contrast Agents

Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have emerged as a promising alternative to conventional contrast agents (CAs) for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). They have been extensively investigated as CAs due to their high biocompatibility and excellent magnetic properties. Furthermore, the ease of functionalization of their surfaces with different types of ligands (antibodies, peptides, sugars, etc.) opens up the possibility of carrying out molecular MRI. Thus, IONPs functionalized with epithelial growth factor receptor antibodies, short peptides, like RGD, or aptamers, among others, have been proposed for the diagnosis of various types of cancer, including breast, stomach, colon, kidney, liver or brain cancer. In addition to cancer diagnosis, different types of IONPs have been developed for other applications, such as the detection of brain inflammation or the early diagnosis of thrombosis. This review addresses key aspects in the development of IONPs for MRI applications, namely, synthesis of the inorganic core, functionalization processes to make IONPs biocompatible and also to target them to specific tissues or cells, and finally in vivo studies in animal models, with special emphasis on tumor models.

Nanoantenna enhanced terahertz interaction of biomolecules

Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) is a non-invasive, non-contact and label-free technique for biological and chemical sensing as THz-spectra are less energetic and lie in the characteristic vibration frequency regime of proteins and DNA molecules. However, THz-TDS is less sensitive for the detection of micro-organisms of size equal to or less than λ/100 (where, λ is the wavelength of the incident THz wave), and molecules in extremely low concentration solutions (like, a few femtomolar). After successful high-throughput fabrication of nanostructures, nanoantennas were found to be indispensable in enhancing the sensitivity of conventional THz-TDS. These nanostructures lead to strong THz field enhancement when in resonance with the absorption spectrum of absorptive molecules, causing significant changes in the magnitude of the transmission spectrum, therefore, enhancing the sensitivity and allowing the detection of molecules and biomaterials in extremely low concentration solutions. Herein, we review the recent developments in ultra-sensitive and selective nanogap biosensors. We have also provided an in-depth review of various high-throughput nanofabrication techniques. We also discussed the physics behind the field enhancements in the sub-skin depth as well as sub-nanometer sized nanogaps. We introduce finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation tools to study THz biomolecular interactions. Finally, we provide a comprehensive account of nanoantenna enhanced sensing of viruses (like, H1N1) and biomolecules such as artificial sweeteners which are addictive and carcinogenic.

Dynamic Imaging of Transferrin Receptor Molecules on Single Live Cell with Bridge Gaps-Enhanced Raman Tags

A metal nanoparticles-based surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technique has been developed for biosensing and bioimaging due to its advantages in ultra-narrow line width for multiplexing, ultra-high sensitivity and excellent photostability. However, the "hotspots" effect between nanoparticles usually leads to unstable and nonuniform Raman enhancement, and this will greatly reduce the quality of SERS imaging. In this study, we employ the bridge gaps-enhanced Raman tags (BGERTs) to perform SERS imaging, in which BGERTs can not only reduce the influence of the "hotspots" effect between nanoparticles on Raman signal intensity but provide a great Raman enhancement when the Gold (Au) shell is thick enough. Based on BGERTs and its conjugation with the thiol-terminated polyethylene glycol (PEG) and transferrin, we construct a targeted Transferrin (TF)-PEG-BGERTs SERS nanoprobe and achieve the dynamic imaging of transferrin receptor (TfR) molecules on a single live cell, in which the role of transferrin-conjugated PEG-BGERT is for targeting TfR molecules located in cellular membrane surface. Importantly, this BGERTs-based SERS imaging could potentially provide a useful tool for studying the precise mechanism during the receptor-mediated nanoparticles endocytosis or cell proliferation, apoptosis, and other complicated molecular events.

Detection and quantification of folic acid in serum via a dual-emission fluorescence nanoprobe

Folic acid (FA) is an essential vitamin in humans, and thus, rapid, accurate, and sensitive methods for its quantification in different biological samples are needed. This work describes a novel, simple, and effective dual-emission fluorescence nanoprobe for FA detection and quantification. The probe was covalently linked to amino-modified orange quantum dots (QDs) and carboxyl-modified blue graphene quantum dots (GQDs). The resulting material exhibited two emission peaks at 401 and 605 nm upon excitation at 310 nm. The probe had good selectivity and sensitivity toward FA with an exceptionally low detection limit (LOD = 0.09 nM). This probe was effectively used to quantify FA in animal serum samples. The method has potential utility for FA analysis in different types of biological samples. Graphical abstract.

Electrically Conductive Materials: Opportunities and Challenges in Tissue Engineering

Tissue engineering endeavors to regenerate tissues and organs through appropriate cellular and molecular interactions at biological interfaces. To this aim, bio-mimicking scaffolds have been designed and practiced to regenerate and repair dysfunctional tissues by modifying cellular activity. Cellular activity and intracellular signaling are performances given to a tissue as a result of the function of elaborated electrically conductive materials. In some cases, conductive materials have exhibited antibacterial properties; moreover, such materials can be utilized for on-demand drug release. Various types of materials ranging from polymers to ceramics and metals have been utilized as parts of conductive tissue engineering scaffolds, having conductivity assortments from a range of semi-conductive to conductive. The cellular and molecular activity can also be affected by the microstructure; therefore, the fabrication methods should be evaluated along with an appropriate selection of conductive materials. This review aims to address the research progress toward the use of electrically conductive materials for the modulation of cellular response at the material-tissue interface for tissue engineering applications.

Gold nanoparticles with chitosan, N-acylated chitosan, and chitosan oligosaccharide as DNA carriers

Currently, gold nanoparticles have found applications in engineering and medical sciences, taking advantage from their properties and characteristics. Surface plasmon resonance, for instance, is one of the main features for optical applications and other physical properties, like high density, that represents the key for cellular uptake. Among other applications, in the medical field, some diseases may be treated by using gene therapy, including monogenetic or polygenetic disorders and infections. Gene adding, suppression, or substitution is one of the many options for genetic manipulation. This work explores an alternative non-viral method for gene transfer by using gold nanoparticles functionalized with organic polymers; two routes of synthesis were used: one of them with sodium borohydride as reducing agent and the other one with chitosan oligosaccharide as reducing and stabilizing agent. Gold nanoparticles conjugated with chitosan, acylated chitosan and chitosan oligosaccharide, were used to evaluate transfection efficiency of plasmid DNA into cell culture (HEK-293). Physical and chemical properties of gold nanocomposites were characterized by using UV-Vis Spectroscopy, ξ-potential, and transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, the interaction between gold nanoparticles and plasmid DNA was demonstrated by using agarose gel electrophoresis. Transfection tests were performed and evaluated by β-galactosidase activity and green fluorescence protein expression. The percentage of transfection obtained with chitosan, acylated chitosan, and chitosan oligosaccharide were of 27%, 33%, and 60% respectively.

Nanomaterial-based SERS sensing technology for biomedical application

Over the past few years, nanomaterial-based surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) detection has emerged as a new exciting field in which theoretical and experimental studies of the structure and function of nanomaterials have become a focus.

Resonance Rayleigh scattering assay for EGFR using antibody immobilized gold nanoparticles

A highly selectivity determination of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been described in the article. Antibody immobilized cysteamine (Cys) functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNP) were proposed as immunosensors, and resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS) was used for detection. First, Cys stabilized AuNPs (Cys-AuNP) were prepared by the reduction of chloroauric acid with sodium borohydride in the presence of Cys. Further, anti-EGFR antibody (Cetuximab, C225) was covalently linked to the Cys-AuNP by carbodiimide-mediated amidation protocol to yield the C225-AuNP immunoprobe. The prepared conjugations were characterized by ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Based on the specific binding of C225 to EGFR, an RRS method was established to determine the concentration of EGFR. Under the optimal conditions, the concentration of EGFR was related to the intensity of RRS in the range 30-130 ng ml^-1 with a low detection limit of 4.0 ng ml^-1 . Meanwhile, the proposed immunosensor exhibited excellent selectivity and anti-interference property. The method was applied to the determination of EGFR in human serum and cancer cell lysate samples with satisfactory results.

Recent advancements in biocompatible inorganic nanoparticles towards biomedical applications

Due to their intrinsic physical properties potentially useful for imaging and therapy as well as their highly engineerable surface, biocompatible inorganic nanoparticles offer novel platforms to develop advanced diagnostic and therapeutic agents for improved detection and more efficacious treatment of major diseases. The in vivo application of inorganic nanoparticles was demonstrated more than two decades ago, however it turns out to be very complicated as nanomaterials exhibit much more sophisticated pharmacokinetic properties than conventional drugs. In this review, we first discuss the in vivo behavior of inorganic nanoparticles after systematic administration, including the basic requirements for nanoparticles to be used in vivo, the impact of the particles' physicochemical properties on their pharmacokinetics, and the effects of the protein corona formed across the nano-bio interface. Next, we summarize the state-of-the-art of the preparation of biocompatible inorganic nanoparticles and bioconjugation strategies for obtaining target-specific nanoprobes. Then, the advancements in sensitive tumor imaging towards diagnosis and visualization of the abnormal signatures in the tumor microenvironment, together with recent studies on atherosclerosis imaging are highlighted. Finally, the future challenges and the potential for inorganic nanoparticles to be translated into clinical applications are discussed.

Boosting Antitumor Drug Efficacy with Chemically Engineered Multidomain Proteins

A facile chemical approach integrating supramolecular chemistry, site-selective protein chemistry, and molecular biology is described to engineer synthetic multidomain protein therapeutics that sensitize cancer cells selectively to significantly enhance antitumor efficacy of existing chemotherapeutics. The desired bioactive entities are assembled via supramolecular interactions at the nanoscale into structurally ordered multiprotein complexes comprising a) multiple copies of the chemically modified cyclic peptide hormone somatostatin for selective targeting and internalization into human A549 lung cancer cells expressing SST-2 receptors and b) a new cysteine mutant of the C3bot1 (C3) enzyme from Clostridium botulinum, a Rho protein inhibitor that affects and influences intracellular Rho-mediated processes like endothelial cell migration and blood vessel formation. The multidomain protein complex, SST3-Avi-C3, retargets C3 enzyme into non-small cell lung A549 cancer cells and exhibits exceptional tumor inhibition at a concentration ≈100-fold lower than the clinically approved antibody bevacizumab (Avastin) in vivo. Notably, SST3-Avi-C3 increases tumor sensitivity to a conventional chemotherapeutic (doxorubicin) in vivo. These findings show that the integrated approach holds vast promise to expand the current repertoire of multidomain protein complexes and can pave the way to important new developments in the area of targeted and combination cancer therapy.

Theranostics and contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging

BACKGROUND

Magnetic resonance imaging is one of the diagnostic tools that uses magnetic particles as contrast agents. It is noninvasive methodology which provides excellent spatial resolution. Although magnetic resonance imaging offers great temporal and spatial resolution and rapid in vivo images acquisition, it is less sensitive than other methodologies for small tissue lesions, molecular activity or cellular activities. Thus, there is a desire to develop contrast agents with higher efficiency. Contrast agents are known to shorten both T1 and T2. Gadolinium based contrast agents are examples of T1 agents and iron oxide contrast agents are examples of T2 agents. In order to develop high relaxivity agents, gadolinium or iron oxide-based contrast agents can be synthesized via conjugation with targeting ligands or functional moiety for specific interaction and achieve accumulation of contrast agents at disease sites.

MAIN BODY

This review discusses the principles of magnetic resonance imaging and recent efforts focused on specificity of contrast agents on specific organs such as liver, blood, lymph nodes, atherosclerotic plaque, and tumor. Furthermore, we will discuss the combination of theranostic such as contrast agent and drug, contrast agent and thermal therapy, contrast agent and photodynamic therapy, and neutron capture therapy, which can provide for cancer diagnosis and therapeutics.

CONCLUSION

These applications of magnetic resonance contrast agents demonstrate the usefulness of theranostic agents for diagnosis and treatment.

Nanotechnology: a promising method for oral cancer detection and diagnosis

Oral cancer is a common and aggressive cancer with high morbidity, mortality, and recurrence rate globally. Early detection is of utmost importance for cancer prevention and disease management. Currently, tissue biopsy remains the gold standard for oral cancer diagnosis, but it is invasive, which may cause patient discomfort. The application of traditional noninvasive methods-such as vital staining, exfoliative cytology, and molecular imaging-is limited by insufficient sensitivity and specificity. Thus, there is an urgent need for exploring noninvasive, highly sensitive, and specific diagnostic techniques. Nano detection systems are known as new emerging noninvasive strategies that bring the detection sensitivity of biomarkers to nano-scale. Moreover, compared to current imaging contrast agents, nanoparticles are more biocompatible, easier to synthesize, and able to target specific surface molecules. Nanoparticles generate localized surface plasmon resonances at near-infrared wavelengths, providing higher image contrast and resolution. Therefore, using nano-based techniques can help clinicians to detect and better monitor diseases during different phases of oral malignancy. Here, we review the progress of nanotechnology-based methods in oral cancer detection and diagnosis.

Nanomedicine for cancer diagnosis and therapy: advancement, success and structure-activity relationship

Multifunctional nanoparticles (NPs), composed of organic and inorganic materials, have been explored as promising drug-delivery vehicles for cancer diagnosis and therapy. The success of nanosystems has been attributed to its smaller size, biocompatibility, selective tumor accumulation and reduced toxicity. The relationship among numbers of molecules in payload, NP diameter and encapsulation efficacy have crucial role in clinical translation. Advancement of bioengineering, and systematic fine-tuning of functional components to NPs have diversified their optical and theranostic properties. In this review, we summarize wide varieties of NPs, such as ultrasmall polymer-lipid hybrid NPs, dendrimers, liposomes, quantum dots, carbon nanotubes, gold NPs and iron oxide NPs. We also discuss their tumor targetability, tissue penetration, pharmacokinetics, and therapeutic and diagnostic properties. [Formula: see text].

The effect of near-infrared fluorescence conjugation on the anti-cancer potential of cetuximab

This study investigated the anti-cancer potential of a near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) molecule conjugated with Cetuximab (Cetuximab-NIRF) in six-week-old female BALB/c athymic (nu+/nu+) nude mice. A431 cells were cultured and injected into the animals to induce solid tumors. Paclitaxel (30 mg/kg body weight (BW)), Cetuximab (1 mg/kg BW), and Cetuximab-NIRF (0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg BW) were intraperitoneally injected twice a week into the A431 cell xenografts of the nude mice. Changes in BW, tumor volume and weight, fat and lean mass, and diameter of the peri-tumoral blood vessel were determined after two weeks. Tumor volumes and weights were significantly decreased in the Cetuximab-NIRF (1 mg/kg BW) group compared with the control group (P<0.001). Lean mass and total body water content were also conspicuously reduced in the Cetuximab-NIRF (1 mg/kg BW) group compared with the vehicle control group. Peri-tumoral blood vessel diameters were very thin in the Cetuximab-NIRF groups compared with those of the paclitaxel group. These results indicate that the conjugation of Cetuximab with NIRF does not affect the anti-cancer potential of Cetuximab and NIRF can be used for molecular imaging in cancer treatments.

SERS Quantification and Characterization of Proteins and Other Biomolecules

Changes in protein expression levels and protein structure may indicate genomic mutations and may be related to some diseases. Therefore, the precise quantification and characterization of proteins can be used for disease diagnosis. Compared with several other alternative methods, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy is regarded as an excellent choice for the quantification and structural characterization of proteins. Herein, we review the main advance of using plasmonic nanostructures as SERS sensing platform for this purpose. Three design approaches, including direct SERS, indirect SERS, and SERS-encoded nanoparticles, are discussed in the direction of developing new precise approaches of quantification and characterization of proteins. While this Review is focused on proteins, in order to highlight concepts of SERS-based sensors also detection of other biomolecules will be discussed.

Nanostructured materials with plasmonic nanobiosensors for early cancer detection: A past and future prospect

Early cancer detection and treatment is an emerging and fascinating field of plasmonic nanobiosensor research. It paves to enrich a life without affecting living cells leading to a possible survival of the patient. This review describes a past and future prospect of an integrated research field on nanostructured metamaterials, microwave transmission, surface plasmonic resonance, nanoantennas, and their manifested versatile properties with nano-biosensors towards early cancer detection to preserve human health. Interestingly, (i) microwave transmission shows more advantages than other electromagnetic radiation in reacting with biological tissues, (ii) nanostructured metamaterial (Au) with special properties like size and shape can stimulate plasmonic effects, (iii) plasmonic based nanobiosensors are to explore the efficacy for early cancer tumour detection or single molecular detection and (iv) nanoantenna wireless communication by using microwave inverse scattering nanomesh (MISN) technique instead of conventional techniques can be adopted to characterize the microwave scattered signals from the biomarkers. It reveals that the nanostructured material with plasmonic nanobiosensor paves a fascinating platform towards early detection of cancer tumour and is anticipated to be exploited as a magnificent field in the future.

Protease-activated nanomaterials for targeted cancer theranostics

Cancer metastasis accompanies irreversible proteolysis. Malignant cells that abnormally express extracellular proteases usually lead to a poor outcome during cancer progression. The development of protease-activated drugs is an important goal. Moreover, the specific proteolytic mechanism can be used as a diagnostic strategy. Currently, nanotechnology for use in medication has been extensively developed to exploit the physical and chemical properties of nanoparticles. For example, to improve the efficacy of cancer therapy drugs, targeted delivery has been attempted by combining a targeting ligand with a nanoparticle. Multifunctional nanoparticles have been prepared for cancer therapy and diagnosis because of their advantages such as stable physical properties, drug carrying ability and potential specific targeting ability. In this review, we present reports on protease-activated nanoparticle design for cancer theranostics. We further describe recent protease-activated metalloprotease-based and cathepsin-based nanomaterials used in cancer nanotheranostics. Innovative protease-activated nanomaterials have significant potential for designing personalized treatment.

Emergence of Gold-Mesoporous Silica Hybrid Nanotheranostics: Dox-Encoded, Folate Targeted Chemotherapy with Modulation of SERS Fingerprinting for Apoptosis Toward Tumor Eradication

Strategically fabricated theranostic nanocarrier delivery system is an unmet need in personalized medicine. Herein, this study reports a versatile folate receptor (FR) targeted nanoenvelope delivery system (TNEDS) fabricated with gold core silica shell followed by chitosan-folic acid conjugate surface functionalization by for precise loading of doxorubicin (Dox), resembled as Au@SiO₂ -Dox-CS-FA. TNEDS possesses up to 90% Dox loading efficiency and internalized through endocytosis pathway leading to pH and redox-sensitive release kinetics. The superior FR-targeted cytotoxicity is evaluated by the nanocarrier in comparison with US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved liposomal Dox conjugate, Lipodox. Moreover, TNEDS exhibits theranostic features through caspase-mediated apoptosis and envisages high surface plasmon resonance enabling the nanoconstruct as a promising surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) nanotag. Minuscule changes in the biochemical components inside cells exerted by the TNEDS along with the Dox release are evaluated explicitly in a time-dependent fashion using bimodal SERS/fluorescence nanoprobe. Finally, TNEDS displays superior antitumor response in FR-positive ascites as well as solid tumor syngraft mouse models. Therefore, this futuristic TNEDS is expected to be a potential alternative as a clinically relevant theranostic nanomedicine to effectively combat neoplasia.

Exploration of Biogenic Nano-chemobiotics Fabricated by Silver Nanoparticle and Galactoxyloglucan with an Efficient Biodistribution in Solid Tumor Investigated by SERS Fingerprinting

An incredible exploration ensued of a dual modality nanocomposite wherein chemotherapy in fusion with antibacterial efficacy is obtained in a biogenic fabrication, which transformed as a novel nano-chemobiotics (NCB) prevailing fundamental molecular level investigation by surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) platform. The nanocomposite is a facile, robust, and ecofriendly constitution between silver nanoparticles (SNPs) and a naturally occurring galactoxyloglucan (PST001) denoted as SNP@PST, which displayed biocompatibility with an upgraded selective cytotoxicity toward cancer cells. The relatively nontoxic nature of the SNP@PST on normal cells and red blood cells was further proved by detailed toxicological profiling on BALB/c mice. As a unique outcome, we observed excellent antibacterial activity, which is complementary to the greater cytotoxicity by the NCB. In diagnostic aspect, SNP@PST was revealed to be a superior SERS substrate with multiscale Raman signal enhancement contributed by homogeneous hot-spot distribution. Finally, the inherent SERS feature enabled us to investigate the biodistribution of the NCB in tumor-challenged mice using Raman fingerprinting and mapping analysis. Hence, the unrevealed SNP@PST orchestrated with the surfactant-free green method resembled a potential theransonstic NCB construct with synergistic anticancer and antibacterial potential in a single platform.

Designing Hydrogels for On-Demand Therapy

Systemic administration of therapeutic agents has been the preferred approach to treat most pathological conditions, in particular for cancer therapy. This treatment modality is associated with side effects, off-target accumulation, toxicity, and rapid renal and hepatic clearance. Multiple efforts have focused on incorporating targeting moieties into systemic therapeutic vehicles to enhance retention and minimize clearance and side effects. However, only a small percentage of the nanoparticles administered systemically accumulate at the tumor site, leading to poor therapeutic efficacy. This has prompted researchers to call the status quo treatment regimen into question and to leverage new delivery materials and alternative administration routes to improve therapeutic outcomes. Recent approaches rely on the use of local delivery platforms that circumvent the hurdles of systemic delivery. Local administration allows delivery of higher "effective" doses while enhancing therapeutic molecules' stability, minimizing side effects, clearance, and accumulation in the liver and kidneys following systemic administration. Hydrogels have proven to be highly biocompatible materials that allow for versatile design to afford sensing and therapy at the same time. Hydrogels' chemical and physical versatility can be exploited to attain disease-triggered in situ assembly and hydrogel programmed degradation and consequent drug release, and hydrogels can also serve as a biocompatible depot for local delivery of stimuli-responsive therapeutic cargo. We will focus this Account on the hydrogel platform that we have developed in our lab, based on dendrimer amine and dextran aldehyde. This hydrogel is disease-responsive and capable of sensing the microenvironment and reacting in a graded manner to diverse pathologies to render different properties, including tissue adhesion, biocompatibility, hydrogel degradation, and embedded drug release profile. We also studied the degradation kinetics of our stimuli-responsive materials in vivo and analyzed the in vitro conditions under which in vitro-in vivo correlation is attained. Identifying key parameters in the in vivo microenvironment under healthy and disease conditions was key to attaining that correlation. The adhesive capacity of our dendrimer-dextran hydrogel makes it optimal for localized and sustained release of embedded drugs. We demonstrated that it affords the delivery of a range of therapeutics to combat cancer, including nucleic acids, small molecules, and antibody drugs. As a depot for local delivery, it allows a high dose of active biomolecules to be delivered directly at the tumor site. Immunotherapy, a recently blooming area in cancer therapy, may exploit stimuli-responsive hydrogels to impart systemic effects following localized therapy. Local delivery would enable release of the proper drug dose and improve drug bioavailability where needed at the same time creating memory and exerting the therapeutic effect systemically. This Account highlights our perspective on how local and systemic therapies provided by stimuli-responsive hydrogels should be used to impart more precise, long-lasting, and potent therapeutic outcomes.

Biomedical Applications of Multifunctional Gold-Based Nanocomposites

Active application of gold nanoparticles for various diagnostic and therapeutic purposes started in recent decades due to the emergence of new data on their unique optical and physicochemical properties. In addition to colloidal gold conjugates, growth in the number of publications devoted to the synthesis and application of multifunctional nanocomposites has occurred in recent years. This review considers the application in biomedicine of multifunctional nanoparticles that can be produced in three different ways. The first method involves design of composite nanostructures with various components intended for either diagnostic or therapeutic functions. The second approach uses new bioconjugation techniques that allow functionalization of gold nanoparticles with various molecules, thus combining diagnostic and therapeutic functions in one medical procedure. Finally, the third method for production of multifunctional nanoparticles combines the first two approaches, in which a composite nanoparticle is additionally functionalized by molecules having different properties.

Human CIK Cells Loaded with Au Nanorods as a Theranostic Platform for Targeted Photoacoustic Imaging and Enhanced Immunotherapy and Photothermal Therapy

How to realize targeted photoacoustic imaging, enhanced immunotherapy, and photothermal therapy of gastric cancer has become a great challenge. Herein, we reported for the first time that human cytokine-induced killer cells (CIK) loaded with gold nanorods were used for targeted photoacoustic imaging, enhanced immunotherapy, and photothermal therapy of gastric cancer. Silica-modified gold nanorods were prepared; then incubated with human cytokine-induced killer cells (CIK), resultant human CIK cells loaded with Au nanorods were evaluated for their cytotoxicity, targeted ability of gastric cancer in vitro and in vivo, immunotherapy, and photothermal therapy efficacy. In vitro cell experiment shows that human CIK cells labeled with gold nanorods actively target gastric cancer MGC803 cells, inhibit growth of MGC803 cells by inducing cell apoptosis, and kill MGC803 cells under low power density near-infrared (NIR) laser treatment (808-nm continuous wave laser, 1.5 W/cm(2), 3 min). In vivo experiment results showed that human CIK cells labeled with gold nanorods could target actively and image subcutaneous gastric cancer vessels via photoacoustic imaging at 4 h post-injection, could enhance immunotherapy efficacy by up-regulating cytokines such as IL-1, IL-12, IL-2, IL-4, IL-17, and IFN-γ, and kill gastric cancer tissues by photothermal therapy via direct injection into tumor site under near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation. High-performance human CIK cells labeled with Au nanorods are a good novel theranostic platform to exhibit great potential in applications such as tumor-targeted photoacoustic imaging, enhanced immunotherapy, and photothermal therapy in the near future.

Targeted nanoparticles for tumour radiotherapy enhancement-the long dawn of a golden era?

Despite considerable progress in (I) our understanding of the aetiopathology of head and neck cancer and (II) the precise delivery of radiotherapy, long-term survival rates for many patients with head and neck cancer remain disappointingly low. Over the past years, gold nanoparticles (NP) have emerged as promising radiation dose enhancers. In a recent study published in Nanoscale, Popovtzer et al. have used gold NP coated with an antibody against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in an attempt to enhance radiation-induced tumour cell killing in a head and neck cancer xenograft model. They report a significant impact of the combined treatment with radiation and gold NP on tumour growth and suggest an involvement of apoptosis, inhibition of angiogenesis and diminished tissue repair. In this perspective, we illustrate the underlying radiobiophysical concepts and discuss some of the challenges associated with this and related nanoparticle-radiotherapy studies from a physics, chemistry, biology and therapy angle. We conclude that strong interdisciplinary collaborations spanning all these areas are crucially important to proceed towards effective cancer treatment with gold NP "from bench to bedside".

Chiral Antioxidant-based Gold Nanoclusters Reprogram DNA Epigenetic Patterns

Epigenetic modifications sit 'on top of' the genome and influence DNA transcription, which can force a significant impact on cellular behavior and phenotype and, consequently human development and disease. Conventional methods for evaluating epigenetic modifications have inherent limitations and, hence, new methods based on nanoscale devices are needed. Here, we found that antioxidant (glutathione) chiral gold nanoclusters induce a decrease of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), which is an important epigenetic marker that associates with gene transcription regulation. This epigenetic change was triggered partially through ROS activation and oxidation generated by the treatment with glutathione chiral gold nanoclusters, which may inhibit the activity of TET proteins catalyzing the conversion of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to 5hmC. In addition, these chiral gold nanoclusters can downregulate TET1 and TET2 mRNA expression. Alteration of TET-5hmC signaling will then affect several downstream targets and be involved in many aspects of cell behavior. We demonstrate for the first time that antioxidant-based chiral gold nanomaterials have a direct effect on epigenetic process of TET-5hmC pathways and reveal critical DNA demethylation patterns.

Development of nanostars as a biocompatible tumor contrast agent: toward in vivo SERS imaging

The need for sensitive imaging techniques to detect tumor cells is an important issue in cancer diagnosis and therapy. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), realized by chemisorption of compounds suitable for Raman spectroscopy onto gold nanoparticles, is a new method for detecting a tumor. As a proof of concept, we studied the use of biocompatible gold nanostars as sensitive SERS contrast agents targeting an ovarian cancer cell line (SKOV3). Due to a high intracellular uptake of gold nanostars after 6 hours of exposure, they could be detected and located with SERS. Using these nanostars for passive targeting after systemic injection in a xenograft mouse model, a detectable signal was measured in the tumor and liver in vivo. These signals were confirmed by ex vivo SERS measurements and darkfield microscopy. In this study, we established SERS nanostars as a highly sensitive contrast agent for tumor detection, which opens the potential for their use as a theranostic agent against cancer.

Theranostic multimodular potential of zinc-doped ferrite-saturated metal-binding protein-loaded novel nanocapsules in cancers

The present study successfully developed orally deliverable multimodular zinc (Zn) iron oxide (Fe3O4)-saturated bovine lactoferrin (bLf)-loaded polymeric nanocapsules (NCs), and evaluated their theranostic potential (antitumor efficacy, magnetophotothermal efficacy and imaging capability) in an in vivo human xenograft CpG-island methylator phenotype (CIMP)-1(+)/CIMP2(-)/chromosome instability-positive colonic adenocarcinoma (Caco2) and claudin-low, triple-negative (ER(-)/PR(-)/HER2(-); MDA-MB-231) breast cancer model. Mice fed orally on the Zn-Fe-bLf NC diet showed downregulation in tumor volume and complete regression in tumor volume after 45 days of feeding. In human xenograft colon cancer, vehicle-control NC diet-group (n=5) mice showed a tumor volume of 52.28±11.55 mm(3), and Zn-Fe-bLf NC diet (n=5)-treated mice had a tumor-volume of 0.10±0.073 mm(3). In the human xenograft breast cancer model, Zn-Fe-bLf NC diet (n=5)-treated mice showed a tumor volume of 0.051±0.062 mm(3) within 40 days of feeding. Live mouse imaging conducted by near-infrared fluorescence imaging of Zn-Fe-bLf NCs showed tumor site-specific localization and regression of colon and breast tumor volume. Ex vivo fluorescence-imaging analysis of the vital organs of mice exhibited sparse localization patterns of Zn-Fe-bLf NCs and also confirmed tumor-specific selective localization patterns of Zn-Fe-bLf NCs. Dual imaging using magnetic resonance imaging and computerized tomography scans revealed an unprecedented theranostic ability of the Zn-Fe-bLf NCs. These observations warrant consideration of multimodular Zn-Fe-bLf NCs for real-time cancer imaging and simultaneous cancer-targeted therapy.

Ratiometric fluorescent paper sensor utilizing hybrid carbon dots-quantum dots for the visual determination of copper ions

A simple and effective ratiometric fluorescence nanosensor for the selective detection of Cu(2+) has been developed by covalently connecting the carboxyl-modified red fluorescent cadmium telluride (CdTe) quantum dots (QDs) to the amino-functionalized blue fluorescent carbon nanodots (CDs). The sensor exhibits the dual-emissions peaked at 437 and 654 nm, under a single excitation wavelength of 340 nm. The red fluorescence can be selectively quenched by Cu(2+), while the blue fluorescence is a internal reference, resulting in a distinguishable fluorescence color change from pink to blue under a UV lamp. The detection limit of this highly sensitive ratiometric probe is as low as 0.36 nM, which is lower than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defined limit (20 μM). Moreover, a paper-based sensor has been prepared by printing the hybrid carbon dots-quantum dots probe on a microporous membrane, which provides a convenient and simple approach for the visual detection of Cu(2+). Therefore, the as-synthesized probe shows great potential application for the determination of Cu(2+) in real samples.

Carbon dots as a trackable drug delivery carrier for localized cancer therapy in vivo

Green carbon dots with a carboxyl-rich surface were employed as a selective nanocarrier for fluorescent traceable and pH-sensitive Doxorubicin delivery in localized cancer treatment.

Covalent conjugation of cysteine-engineered scFv to PEGylated magnetic nanoprobes for immunotargeting of breast cancer cells

Orientation- and site-directed covalent conjugation of cysteine-engineered scFv to PEGylated SPIONs allows antigen recognition while preserving colloidal properties of nanoprobes.

Gold Nanotheranostics: Proof-of-Concept or Clinical Tool?

Nanoparticles have been making their way in biomedical applications and personalized medicine, allowing for the coupling of diagnostics and therapeutics into a single nanomaterial—nanotheranostics. Gold nanoparticles, in particular, have unique features that make them excellent nanomaterials for theranostics, enabling the integration of targeting, imaging and therapeutics in a single platform, with proven applicability in the management of heterogeneous diseases, such as cancer. In this review, we focus on gold nanoparticle-based theranostics at the lab bench, through pre-clinical and clinical stages. With few products facing clinical trials, much remains to be done to effectively assess the real benefits of nanotheranostics at the clinical level. Hence, we also discuss the efforts currently being made to translate nanotheranostics into the market, as well as their commercial impact.