Anti-melanotransferrin and apolipoprotein E on doxorubicin-loaded cationic solid lipid nanoparticles for pharmacotherapy of glioblastoma multiforme

A comprehensive review on lipid nanocarrier systems for cancer treatment: fabrication, future prospects and clinical trials

Over the last few decades, cancer has been considered a clinical challenge, being among the leading causes of mortality all over the world. Although many treatment approaches have been developed for cancer, chemotherapy is still the most utilized in the clinical setting. However, the available chemotherapeutics-based treatments have several caveats including their lack of specificity, adverse effects as well as cancer relapse and metastasis which mainly explains the low survival rate of patients. Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have been utilized as promising nanocarrier systems for chemotherapeutics to overcome the challenges of the currently applied therapeutic strategies for cancer treatment. Loading chemotherapeutic agent(s) into LNPs improves drug delivery at different aspects including specific targeting of tumours, and enhancing the bioavailability of drugs at the tumour site through selective release of their payload, thus reducing their undesired side effects on healthy cells. This review article delineates an overview of the clinical challenges in many cancer treatments as well as depicts the role of LNPs in achieving optimal therapeutic outcomes. Moreover, the review contains a comprehensive description of the many LNPs categories used as nanocarriers in cancer treatment to date, as well as the potential of LNPs for future applications in other areas of medicine and research.

Solid lipid nanoparticles for hydrophilic drugs

Hydrophilic drugs are proficient therapeutic agents however, delivery of these drugs is a difficult task. Hence, developing an efficient drug delivery system may require a multipronged approach. Colloidal drug delivery systems such as emulsions, liposomes, nanoemulsions, polymeric nanoparticles, and niosomes are known to enhance drug entrapment, bioavailability, and to improve the pharmacokinetic profiles of hydrophilic drugs. However, issues such as drug leakage and burst release are frequently reported with such systems. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) were developed as an alternative to the traditional colloidal drug carriers to overcome these issues. Although SLNs have been widely studied as carriers for hydrophobic drugs, delivery of hydrophilic molecules remains a challenge. Hence, the current review focuses on different approaches that have been used for the delivery of hydrophilic drugs using SLNs. It not only discusses various modifications in the traditional methods for the synthesis but also emphasizes modifications of the hydrophilic drugs itself that can help in their efficient entrapment into SLNs drug carriers.

Targeted delivery of etoposide, carmustine and doxorubicin to human glioblastoma cells using methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)‑poly(ε‑caprolactone) nanoparticles conjugated with wheat germ agglutinin and folic acid

Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) and folic acid (FA)-grafted methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (MPEG)‑poly(ε‑caprolactone) (PCL) nanoparticles (WFNPs) were applied to transport anticancer drugs across the blood-brain barrier and treat glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). PCL was copolymerized with MPEG, and MPEG-PCL NPs were stabilized with pluronic F127 using a microemulsion-solvent evaporation technique and crosslinked with WGA and FA. The targeting ability of WFNPs loaded with etoposide (ETO), carmustine (BCNU) and doxorubicin (DOX) was investigated via the binding affinity of drug-loaded NP formulations to N‑acetylglucosamine expressed in human brain microvascular endothelial cells and to folate receptor in malignant U87MG cells. We found that a shorter PCL chain in drug-loaded MPEG-PCL NPs yielded a smaller average size of the particles. An increase in PCL chain length (stronger hydrophobicity) enhanced drug entrapment efficiencies in MPEG-PCL NPs, and reduced drug-releasing rates from NP formulations. In addition, anti-proliferative activity against U87MG cells for the 3 drugs followed the order of WFNPs > FA-grafted NPs > WGA-grafted NPs > MPEG-PCL NPs. Immunofluorescence staining revealed that the ligands of drug-loaded WFNPs connected to N‑acetylglucosamine and folate receptor with the help of surface WGA and FA. WFNPs carrying ETO, BCNU and DOX acted as dual-targeting nanocarriers, and their use can be a promising approach to inhibiting GBM growth in the brain.

Rosmarinic acid- and curcumin-loaded polyacrylamide-cardiolipin-poly(lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles with conjugated 83-14 monoclonal antibody to protect β-amyloid-insulted neurons

Polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) combined with lipids can have profound effects on treatment efficacy in patients with neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). We developed polyacrylamide (PAAM)-cardiolipin (CL)-poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) NPs grafted with surface 83-14 monoclonal antibody (MAb) to carry rosmarinic acid (RA) and curcumin (CUR). This drug delivery system was used to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and enhance the viability of SK-N-MC cells insulted with β-amyloid (Aβ) deposits. Experimental evidence revealed that an increase in the concentration of 83-14 MAb enhanced the permeability coefficient of RA and CUR using the nanocarriers. The levels of phosphorylated p38 and phosphorylated tau protein at serine 202 in degenerated SK-N-MC cells were in the order: Aβ > (Aβ + RA-CUR) > (Aβ + 83-14 MAb-RA-CUR-PAAM-PLGA NPs) > (Aβ + 83-14 MAb-RA-CUR-PAAM-CL-PLGA NPs) ≈ control. The viability of SK-N-MC cells reduced with time and CL in 83-14 MAb-RA-CUR-PAAM-CL-PLGA NPs advantaged Aβ-targeted delivery of RA-CUR. These results evidenced that the current 83-14 MAb-RA-CUR-PAAM-CL-PLGA NPs can be a promising pharmacotherapy to permeate the BBB and reduce the fibrillar Aβ-induced neurotoxicity.