Acoustic-responsive carbon dioxide-loaded liposomes for efficient drug release

Functionalized liposomes as a potential drug delivery systems for colon cancer treatment: A systematic review

Colon cancer is one of the lethal diseases in the world with approximately 700,000 fatalities annually. Nowadays, due to the side effects of existing methods in the treatment of colon cancer such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the use of targeted nanocarriers in cancer treatment has received wide attention, and among them, especially liposomes have been studied a lot. Based on this, anti-tumor drugs hidden in targeted active liposomes can selectively act on cancer cells. In this systematic review, the use of various ligands such as folic acid, transferrin, aptamer, hyaluronic acid and cRGD for active targeting of liposomes to achieve improved drug delivery to colon cancer cells has been reviewed. The original articles published in English in the databases of Science Direct, PubMed and Google scholar from 2012 to 2022 were reviewed. From the total of 26,256 published articles, 19 studies met the inclusion criteria. The results of in vitro and in vivo studies have revealed that targeted liposomes lead to increasing the efficacy of anti-cancer agents on colon cancer cells with reducing side effects compared to free drugs and non-targeted liposomes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first systematic review showing promising results for improvement treatment of colon cancer using targeted liposomes.

Unveiling microwave and Roasting-Steam heating mechanisms in regulating fat changes in pork using cell membrane simulation

Fat reduction due to heating or cooking is an important issue in a healthy diet. In the current study, pork subcutaneous back fat was treated via microwave heating (MH) within 10-90 s and roasting - steam heating (RSH) within 2-30 min and their dynamic changes of individual adipocytes were explored by using vesicles as a bio-membrane model. The result showed that MH and RSH significantly increased fat loss (P < 0.05), with the maximum losses being 74.1 % and 65.6 %, respectively. The mechanical strength of connective tissue decreased and then increased slightly. The microstructure demonstrated that MH and RSH treatments facilitated a large outflow of fat, showing that the particle size of the vesicle and individual adipocytes increased and then decreased. It is thus feasible to study the dynamic changes of individual adipocytes in regulating fat reduction using cell membrane simulation.

Nanoscale contrast agents: A promising tool for ultrasound imaging and therapy

Nanoscale contrast agents have emerged as a versatile platform in the field of biomedical research, offering great potential for ultrasound imaging and therapy. Various kinds of nanoscale contrast agents have been extensively investigated in preclinical experiments to satisfy diverse biomedical applications. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the structure and composition of various nanoscale contrast agents, as well as their preparation and functionalization, encompassing both chemosynthetic and biosynthetic strategies. Subsequently, we delve into recent advances in the utilization of nanoscale contrast agents in various biomedical applications, including ultrasound molecular imaging, ultrasound-mediated drug delivery, and cell acoustic manipulation. Finally, the challenges and prospects of nanoscale contrast agents are also discussed to promote the development of this innovative nanoplatform in the field of biomedicine.

Development of a concise and reliable method for quantifying the antibody loaded onto lipid nanoparticles modified with Herceptin

Antibodies are essential components of the immune system with a wide range of molecular targets. They have been recognized as modalities for treating several diseases and more than 130 approved antibody-based therapeutics are available for clinical use. However, limitations remain associated with its efficacy, tissue permeability, and safety, especially in cancer treatment. Nanoparticles, particularly those responsive to external stimuli, have shown promise in improving the efficacy of antibody-based therapeutics and tissue-selective delivery. In this study, we developed a reliable and accurate method for quantifying the amount of antibody loaded onto lipid nanoparticles modified with Herceptin® (Trastuzumab), an antibody-based therapeutic used to treat HER2-positive cancers, using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) followed by silver staining. This method proved to be a suitable alternative to commonly used protein quantification techniques, which are limited by lipid interference present in the samples. Furthermore, the amount of Herceptin modified on the liposomes, measured by this method, was confirmed by Herceptin's antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity activity. Our results demonstrate the potential of this method as a critical tool for developing tissue-selective antibody delivery systems, leading to improved efficacy and reduced side effects of antibody-based therapeutics.

Titanium Carbide MXene Quantum Dots-Modified Hydroxyapatite Hollow Microspheres as pH/Near-Infrared Dual-Response Drug Carriers

Titanium carbide MXene quantum dots (MQDs) possess intrinsic regulatory properties and selective toxicity to cancer cells. Here, MDQs were selected for the modification of hydroxyapatite (HA) microspheres, and MXene quantum dots-modified hydroxyapatite (MQDs-HA) hollow microspheres with controllable shapes and sizes were prepared as bone drug carriers. The results show that the prepared MQDs-HA hollow microspheres had a large BET surface area (231.2 m2/g), good fluorescence, and low toxicity. In addition, MQDs-HA showed a mild storage-release behavior and good responsiveness of pH and near-infrared (NIR). Thus, the MQDs-HA hollow microspheres have broad application prospects in the field of drug delivery and photothermal therapy.

Engineering hetero-structural iron nanozyme decorated liposome with a self-cascade catalysis performance

Metal-based enzyme mimics are considered as acceptable agents in fabricating heterogeneous biocomposites through valency integrations because of their biomedical or biological properties. As the basic substitute, it delights us to utilize Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) as metallic enzymes and overcome the limitation of peroxide-like enzymatic activity in physiological conditions. In this work, we present the fabrication of a soy phosphatidylcholine/Fe3O4@Ag/GOx (SFAG) biocomposite as a cascade enzyme, which exhibits a peroxidase-like property in kinetic processes, as shown from an analysis of the glucose detection processes. We also explored the mechanism of an ultrasound & microfluidic approach for the synthesis of SFAG. The resultant SFAG implies a characteristic absorption peak (652 nm), size (55 μm), and surface charge (-32.93 ± 2.58 mV). This is utilized to confirm the peroxidase-like activity by catalyzing 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of H2O2 under physiological conditions. But also, SFAG conveys a positive effect on the peroxidase-like activity at pH = 5.8, 7.4, and 8.0. The Michaelis-Menten parameters (Km) and the Vmax values of H2O2 are 1.914 mM and 1.429 × 10-7 M s-1, which further confirms the catalytic performances of the SFAG structure. The established platform was also used successfully for the determination of glucose in PBS and diluted synthetic blood with excellent sensitivity and stability. The relative selection and sensitivity show that the SFAG structure has a great possibility as a cascade metallic enzyme in chemokinetic works.