Targeting of EGFR, VEGFR2, and Akt by Engineered Dual Drug Encapsulated Mesoporous Silica-Gold Nanoclusters Sensitizes Tamoxifen-Resistant Breast Cancer

Oral nano-formulations for endocrine therapy of endometrioid adenocarcinomas

Endometrial cancer is one of the three major malignant tumors of the reproductive system that threaten women's lives and health. The incidence of this disease is on the rise globally. Most cases of endometrial cancer comprise endometrioid adenocarcinomas, whose treatment is challenged by factors such as their high recurrence rate and the need to preserve fertility among young patients. Thus, oral endocrine therapy has become the main treatment modality. The main drugs used in oral endocrine therapy are progestins, selective estrogen receptor antagonists, and aromatase inhibitors. However, their clinical use is hindered by their low solubility and low oral utilization. The rapid development of nanotechnology allows the combination of these drugs with oral nano-formulations to create a good carrier. Such nanocarriers, including nanospheres, nanocapsules, and micelles can protect the drug against clearance and increase the site specificity of drug delivery. This paper reviews the pathogenesis of endometrioid endometrial cancer (EEC) and oral nano-formulations for endocrine therapy.

Current advances in nanoformulations of therapeutic agents targeting tumor microenvironment to overcome drug resistance

The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a pivotal role in cancer development and progression. In this line, revealing the precise mechanisms of the TME and associated signaling pathways of tumor resistance could pave the road for cancer prevention and efficient treatment. The use of nanomedicine could be a step forward in overcoming the barriers in tumor-targeted therapy. Novel delivery systems benefit from enhanced permeability and retention effect, decreasing tumor resistance, reducing tumor hypoxia, and targeting tumor-associated factors, including immune cells, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts. Emerging evidence also indicates the engagement of multiple dysregulated mediators in the TME, such as matrix metalloproteinase, vascular endothelial growth factor, cytokines/chemokines, Wnt/β-catenin, Notch, Hedgehog, and related inflammatory and apoptotic pathways. Hence, investigating novel multitargeted agents using a novel delivery system could be a promising strategy for regulating TME and drug resistance. In recent years, small molecules from natural sources have shown favorable anticancer responses by targeting TME components. Nanoformulations of natural compounds are promising therapeutic agents in simultaneously targeting multiple dysregulated factors and mediators of TME, reducing tumor resistance mechanisms, overcoming interstitial fluid pressure and pericyte coverage, and involvement of basement membrane. The novel nanoformulations employ a vascular normalization strategy, stromal/matrix normalization, and stress alleviation mechanisms to exert higher efficacy and lower side effects. Accordingly, the nanoformulations of anticancer monoclonal antibodies and conventional chemotherapeutic agents also improved their efficacy and lessened the pharmacokinetic limitations. Additionally, the coadministration of nanoformulations of natural compounds along with conventional chemotherapeutic agents, monoclonal antibodies, and nanomedicine-based radiotherapy exhibits encouraging results. This critical review evaluates the current body of knowledge in targeting TME components by nanoformulation-based delivery systems of natural small molecules, monoclonal antibodies, conventional chemotherapeutic agents, and combination therapies in both preclinical and clinical settings. Current challenges, pitfalls, limitations, and future perspectives are also discussed.

The Potential Role of Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG) in Breast Cancer Treatment

Breast cancer is one of the most diagnosed cancers worldwide, with an incidence of 47.8%. Its treatment includes surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and antibodies giving a mortality of 13.6%. Breast tumor development is driven by a variety of signaling pathways with high heterogeneity of surface receptors, which makes treatment difficult. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is a natural polyphenol isolated as the main component in green tea; it has shown multiple beneficial effects in breast cancer, controlling proliferation, invasion, apoptosis, inflammation, and demethylation of DNA. These properties were proved in vitro and in vivo together with synergistic effects in combination with traditional chemotherapy, increasing the effectiveness of the treatment. This review focuses on the effects of EGCG on the functional capabilities acquired by breast tumor cells during its multistep development, the molecular and signal pathways involved, the synergistic effects in combination with current drugs, and how nanomaterials can improve its bioavailability on breast cancer treatment.

Molecular mechanisms underlying the epigallocatechin-3-gallate-mediated inhibition of oral squamous cell carcinogenesis

OBJECTIVES

To reveal the mechanisms underlying the epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG)-mediated inhibition of carcinogenesis and the related regulatory signaling pathways.

DESIGN

The effect of EGCG on the proliferation of OSCC cells was examined. SuperPred, ChEMBL, Swiss TargetPrediction, DisGeNET, GeneCards, and National Center for Biotechnology Information databases were used to predict the EGCG target genes and oral leukoplakia (OL)-related, oral submucosal fibrosis (OSF)-related, and OSCC-related genes. The binding of EGCG to the target proteins was simulated using AutoDock and PyMOL. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset was subjected to consensus clustering analysis to predict the downstream molecules associated with these targets, as well as their potential functions and pathways.

RESULTS

EGCG significantly inhibited OSCC cell proliferation (p < 0.001). By comparing EGCG target genes with genes linked to oral potentially malignant disorder (OPMD) and OSCC, a total of eleven potential EGCG target genes were identified. Furthermore, EGCG has the capacity to bind to eleven proteins. Based on consensus clustering and enrichment analysis, it is suggested that EGCG may hinder the progression of cancer by altering the cell cycle and invasive properties in precancerous lesions of the oral cavity. Some possible strategies for modifying the cell cycle and invasive properties may include EGCG-mediated suppression of specific genes and proteins, which are associated with cancer development.

CONCLUSIONS

This study investigated the molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways associated with the EGCG-induced suppression of OSCC. The identification of specific pharmacological targets of EGCG during carcinogenesis is crucial for the development of innovative combination therapies involving EGCG.

Meta analysis of bioactive compounds, miRNA, siRNA and cell death regulators as sensitizers to doxorubicin induced chemoresistance

Cancer has presented to be the most challenging disease, contributing to one in six mortalities worldwide. The current treatment regimen involves multiple rounds of chemotherapy administration, alone or in combination. The treatment has adverse effects including cardiomyopathy, hepatotoxicity, and nephrotoxicity. In addition, the development of resistance to chemo has been attributed to cancer relapse and low patient overall survivability. Multiple drug resistance development may be through numerous factors such as up-regulation of drug transporters, drug inactivation, alteration of drug targets and drug degradation. Doxorubicin is a widely used first line chemotherapeutic drug for a myriad of cancers. It has multiple intracellular targets, DNA intercalation, adduct formation, topoisomerase inhibition, iron chelation, reactive oxygen species generation and promotes immune mediated clearance of the tumor. Agents that can sensitize the resistant cancer cells to the chemotherapeutic drug are currently the focus to improve the clinical efficiency of cancer therapy. This review summarizes the recent 10-year research on the use of natural phytochemicals, inhibitors of apoptosis and autophagy, miRNAs, siRNAs and nanoformulations being investigated for doxorubicin chemosensitization.

Investigating the molecular mechanisms of Tamoxifen on the EMT pathway among patients with breast cancer

Tamoxifen is one of the most used drugs for breast cancer. This study aimed to investigate the effect of the Tamoxifen mechanism on the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) pathway among breast cancer patients due to its resistance to breast cancer cells. We selected the appropriate datasets from the GEO database using continuous and integrated bioinformatics analysis. We examined the signaling pathways, gene ontology, and protein association of genes after classifying the gene expression profile. Finally, we confirmed the candidate genes using the GEPIA database. Two groups were defined for gene expression profiles. The first group in which the expression profile of genes increased after Tamoxifen was evaluated using the expression profile of genes that decreased in the EMT pathway. The second group was the opposite of the first group. 253 genes in the first group and 302 genes in the second group were shared. The genes in the first group were involved in various pathways of cell death, focal adhesion, and cellular aging. The second group was more involved in different phases of the cell cycle. Finally, MYLK, SOCS3, and STAT5B proteins from the first group and BIRC5, PLK1, and RAPGAP1 proteins from the second group were selected as candidate proteins in connection with the effect of Tamoxifen on the EMT pathway. We evaluated Tamoxifen's effect on the EMT pathway more accurately. However, for a closer look at Tamoxifen, more studies need to be done on target genes and proteins to clarify their role.

Chemico-biological aspects of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) to improve its stability, bioavailability and membrane permeability: Current status and future prospects

Natural products have been a bedrock for drug discovery for decades. (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is one of the widely studied natural polyphenolic compounds derived from green tea. It is the key component believed to be responsible for the medicinal value of green tea. Significant studies implemented in in vitro, in cellulo, and in vivo models have suggested its anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, neuroprotective activities etc. Despite having such a wide array of therapeutic potential and promising results in preclinical studies, its applicability to humans has encountered with rather limited success largely due to the poor bioavailability, poor membrane permeability, rapid metabolic clearance and lack of stability of EGCG. Therefore, novel techniques are warranted to address those limitations so that EGCG or its modified analogs can be used in the clinical setup. This review comprehensively covers different strategies such as structural modifications, nano-carriers as efficient drug delivery systems, synergistic studies with other bioactivities to improve the chemico-biological aspects (e.g., stability, bioavailability, permeability, etc.) of EGCG for its enhanced pharmacokinetics and pharmacological properties, eventually enhancing its therapeutic potentials. We think this review article will serve as a strong platform with comprehensive literature on the development of novel techniques to improve the bioavailability of EGCG so that it can be translated to the clinical applications.

Gold Nanoclusters: Imaging, Therapy, and Theranostic Roles in Biomedical Applications

For the past two decades, atomic gold nanoclusters (AuNCs, ultrasmall clusters of several to 100 gold atoms, having a total diameter of <2 nm) have emerged as promising agents in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Owing to their small size, significant quantization occurs to their conduction band, which leads to emergent photonic properties and the disappearance of the plasmonic responses observed in larger gold nanoparticles. For example, AuNCs exhibit native luminescent properties, which have been well-explored in the literature. Using proteins, peptides, or other biomolecules as structural scaffolds or capping ligands, required for the stabilization of AuNCs, improves their biocompatibility, while retaining their distinct optical properties. This paved the way for the use of AuNCs in fluorescent bioimaging, which later developed into multimodal imaging combined with computer tomography and magnetic resonance imaging as examples. The development of AuNC-based systems for diagnostic applications in cancer treatment was then made possible by employing active or passive tumor targeting strategies. Finally, the potential therapeutic applications of AuNCs are extensive, having been used as light-activated and radiotherapy agents, as well as nanocarriers for chemotherapeutic drugs, which can be bound to the capping ligand or directly to the AuNCs via different mechanisms. In this review, we present an overview of the diverse biomedical applications of AuNCs in terms of cancer imaging, therapy, and combinations thereof, as well as highlighting some additional applications relevant to biomedical research.

Apple polyphenol phloretin complexed with ruthenium is capable of reprogramming the breast cancer microenvironment through modulation of PI3K/Akt/mTOR/VEGF pathways

Our recent investigation directed to synthesize a novel ruthenium-phloretin complex accompanied by the study of antioxidant in addition to DNA binding capabilities, to determine the chemotherapeutic activity against breast carcinoma in vitro and in vivo. Ruthenium-phloretin complex was synthesized and characterized by different spectroscopic methods. The complex was further investigated to determine its efficacy in both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 human carcinoma cell lines and finally in an in vivo model of mammary carcinogenesis induced by DMBA in rats. Our studies confirm that the chelation of the metal and ligand was materialize by the 3-OH and 9-OH functional groups of the ligand and the complex is found crystalline and was capable of intercalating with CT-DNA. The complex was capable of reducing cellular propagation and initiate apoptotic events in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast carcinoma cell lines. Ruthenium-phloretin complex could modulate p53 intervene apoptosis in the breast carcinoma, initiated by the trail of intrinsic apoptosis facilitated through Bcl2 and Bax and at the same time down regulating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway coupled with MMP9 regulated tumor invasive pathways. Ruthenium-phloretin chemotherapy could interrupt, revoke or suspend the succession of breast carcinoma by altering intrinsic apoptosis along with the anti-angiogenic pathway.

A Novel Ruthenium-Fluvastatin Complex Downregulates SNCG Expression to Modulate Breast Carcinoma Cell Proliferation and Apoptosis via Activating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR/VEGF/MMP9 Pathway

Breast cancer is the most common cause of malignancy and cancer-related morbidity and death worldwide that requests effective and safe chemotherapy. Evaluation of metallodrug-based anticancer agents and statins as chemotherapeutics with fewer side effects is a largely unexplored research field. Synthesis and characterization of the ruthenium-fluvastatin complex were achieved using multiple spectroscopic techniques and thus further examined to evaluate its chemotherapeutic prospects in both MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cancer lines and eventually in vivo models of DMBA-induced mammary carcinogenesis in rodents. Our studies indicate that the metal and ligand chelation was materialized by the ligand's functional groups of carbonyl (=O) oxygen and hydroxyl (-OH), and the complex has been observed to be crystalline and able to chelate with CT-DNA. The complex was able to reduce cell proliferation and activate apoptotic events in breast carcinoma cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231. In addition, the complex was able to modify p53 expressions to interfere with apoptosis in the carcinoma of the breast, stimulated by the intrinsic apoptotic path assisted by Bcl2 and Bax in vivo, yet at the same point, controlling the PI3K/Akt/mTOR/VEGF pathway, as obtained from western blotting, correlates with the MMP9-regulated tumor mechanisms. Our research reveals that ruthenium-fluvastatin chemotherapy may disrupt, rescind, or interrupt breast carcinoma progression by modifying intrinsic apoptosis as well as the antiangiogenic cascade, thereby taking the role of a potential candidate in cancer therapy for the immediate future.

Natural products based nanoformulations for cancer treatment: Current evolution in Indian research

The use of medicinal plants is as ancient as human civilization. The development of phytochemistry and pharmacology facilitates the identification of natural bioactive compounds and their mechanisms of action, including against cancer. The efficacy and the safety of a bioactive compound depend on its optimal delivery to the target site. Most natural bioactive compounds (phenols, flavonoids, tannins, etc.) are unable to reach their target sites due to their low water solubility, less cellular absorption, and high molecular weight, leading to their failure into clinical translation. Therefore, many scientific studies are going on to overcome the drawbacks of natural products for clinical applications. Several studies in India, as well as worldwide, have proposed the development of natural products-based nanoformulations to increase their efficacy and safety profile for cancer therapy by improving the delivery of natural bioactive compounds to their target site. Therefore, we are trying to discuss the development of natural products-based nanoformulations in India to improve the efficacy and safety of natural bioactive compounds against cancer.

Delivery of Natural Agents by Means of Mesoporous Silica Nanospheres as a Promising Anticancer Strategy

Natural prodrugs derived from different natural origins (e.g., medicinal plants, microbes, animals) have a long history in traditional medicine. They exhibit a broad range of pharmacological activities, including anticancer effects in vitro and in vivo. They have potential as safe, cost-effective treatments with few side effects, but are lacking in solubility, bioavailability, specific targeting and have short half-lives. These are barriers to clinical application. Nanomedicine has the potential to offer solutions to circumvent these limitations and allow the use of natural pro-drugs in cancer therapy. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) of various morphology have attracted considerable attention in the search for targeted drug delivery systems. MSNs are characterized by chemical stability, easy synthesis and functionalization, large surface area, tunable pore sizes and volumes, good biocompatibility, controlled drug release under different conditions, and high drug-loading capacity, enabling multifunctional purposes. In vivo pre-clinical evaluations, a significant majority of results indicate the safety profile of MSNs if they are synthesized in an optimized way. Here, we present an overview of synthesis methods, possible surface functionalization, cellular uptake, biodistribution, toxicity, loading strategies, delivery designs with controlled release, and cancer targeting and discuss the future of anticancer nanotechnology-based natural prodrug delivery systems.

New tricks of old drugs: Repurposing non-chemo drugs and dietary phytochemicals as adjuvants in anti-tumor therapies

Combination therapy has long been applied to enhance therapeutic effect and deal with the occurrence of multi-drug resistance in cancer treatment. However, the overlapping toxicity of multiple anticancer drugs to healthy tissues and increasing financial burden on patients emerged as major concerns. As promising alternatives to chemo agents, repurposed non-chemo drugs and dietary phytochemicals have been investigated as adjuvants to conventional anti-tumor therapeutics, offering a safe and economic strategy for combination therapy. In this review, we aim to highlight the advances in research about combination therapy using conventional therapeutics and repurposed drugs or phytochemicals for an enhanced anti-tumor efficacy, along with the mechanisms involved in the synergism. Beyond these, we outlined the potential challenges and solutions for clinical translation of the proposed combination therapy, providing a safe and affordable strategy to improve the reach of cancer therapy to low income regions with such new tricks of old drugs.

EGCG Mediated Targeting of Deregulated Signaling Pathways and Non-Coding RNAs in Different Cancers: Focus on JAK/STAT, Wnt/β-Catenin, TGF/SMAD, NOTCH, SHH/GLI, and TRAIL Mediated Signaling Pathways

Decades of research have enabled us to develop a better and sharper understanding of multifaceted nature of cancer. Next-generation sequencing technologies have leveraged our existing knowledge related to intra- and inter-tumor heterogeneity to the next level. Functional genomics have opened new horizons to explore deregulated signaling pathways in different cancers. Therapeutic targeting of deregulated oncogenic signaling cascades by products obtained from natural sources has shown promising results. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) has emerged as a distinguished chemopreventive product because of its ability to regulate a myriad of oncogenic signaling pathways. Based on its scientifically approved anticancer activity and encouraging results obtained from preclinical trials, it is also being tested in various phases of clinical trials. A series of clinical trials associated with green tea extracts and EGCG are providing clues about significant potential of EGCG to mechanistically modulate wide ranging signal transduction cascades. In this review, we comprehensively analyzed regulation of JAK/STAT, Wnt/β-catenin, TGF/SMAD, SHH/GLI, NOTCH pathways by EGCG. We also discussed most recent evidence related to the ability of EGCG to modulate non-coding RNAs in different cancers. Methylation of the genome is also a widely studied mechanism and EGCG has been shown to modulate DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) and protein enhancer of zeste-2 (EZH2) in multiple cancers. Moreover, the use of nanoformulations to increase the bioavailability and thus efficacy of EGCG will be also addressed. Better understanding of the pleiotropic abilities of EGCG to modulate intracellular pathways along with the development of effective EGCG delivery vehicles will be helpful in getting a step closer to individualized medicines.

Photo/electrocatalysis and photosensitization using metal nanoclusters for green energy and medical applications

Owing to the rapidly increasing demand for sustainable technologies in fields such as energy, environmental science, and medicine, nanomaterial-based photo/electrocatalysis has received increasing attention. Recently, synthetic innovations have allowed the fabrication of atomically precise metal nanoclusters (NCs). These NCs show potential for green energy and medical applications. The present article primarily focuses on evaluation of the recent developments in the photo/electrocatalytic and photosensitizing characteristics of metal and alloy NCs. The review comprises two sections: (i) photo/electrocatalysis for green energy and (ii) photosensitization for biomedical therapy applications. Finally, the challenges associated with the use of metal NCs are presented on the basis of current developments.

Tannic acid inhibits lipid metabolism and induce ROS in prostate cancer cells

Prostate cancer (PCa) cells exploit the aberrant lipid signaling and metabolism as their survival advantage. Also, intracellular storage lipids act as fuel for the PCa proliferation. However, few studies were available that addressed the topic of targeting lipid metabolism in PCa. Here, we assessed the tannic acid (TA) lipid-targeting ability and its capability to induce endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress by reactive oxygen species (ROS) in PCa cells. TA exhibited dual effects by inhibiting lipogenic signaling and suppression of lipid metabolic pathways. The expression of proteins responsible for lipogenesis was down regulated. The membrane permeability and functionality of PCa were severely affected and caused nuclear disorganization during drug exposure. Finally, these consolidated events shifted the cell's survival balance towards apoptosis. These results suggest that TA distinctly interferes with the lipid signaling and metabolism of PCa cells.

Cross-Linked Polyphenol-Based Drug Nano-Self-Assemblies Engineered to Blockade Prostate Cancer Senescence

Cellular senescence is one of the prevailing issues in cancer therapeutics that promotes cancer relapse, chemoresistance, and recurrence. Patients undergoing persistent chemotherapy often develop drug-induced senescence. Docetaxel, an FDA-approved treatment for prostate cancer, is known to induce cellular senescence which often limits the overall survival of patients. Strategic therapies that counter the cellular and drug-induced senescence are an unmet clinical need. Towards this an effort was made to develop a novel therapeutic strategy that targets and removes senescent cells from the tumors, we developed a nanoformulation of tannic acid-docetaxel self-assemblies (DSAs). The construction of DSAs was confirmed through particle size measurements, spectroscopy, thermal, and biocompatibility studies. This formulation exhibited enhanced in vitro therapeutic activity in various biological functional assays with respect to native docetaxel treatments. Microarray and immunoblot analysis results demonstrated that DSAs exposure selectively deregulated senescence associated TGFβR1/FOXO1/p21 signaling. Decrease in β-galactosidase staining further suggested reversion of drug-induced senescence after DSAs exposure. Additionally, DSAs induced profound cell death by activation of apoptotic signaling through bypassing senescence. Furthermore, in vivo and ex vivo imaging analysis demonstrated the tumor targeting behavior of DSAs in mice bearing PC-3 xenograft tumors. The antisenescence and anticancer activity of DSAs was further shown in vivo by inhibiting TGFβR1 proteins and regressing tumor growth through apoptotic induction in the PC-3 xenograft mouse model. Overall, DSAs exhibited such advanced features due to a natural compound in the formulation as a matrix/binder for docetaxel. Overall, DSAs showed superior tumor targeting and improved cellular internalization, promoting docetaxel efficacy. These findings may have great implications in prostate cancer therapy.

ANLN and KDR Are Jointly Prognostic of Breast Cancer Survival and Can Be Modulated for Triple Negative Breast Cancer Control

Purpose: Kinase insert domain receptor (KDR) is the primary vascular endothelial growth factor receptor mediating survival, growth, and migration of endothelial cells and is expressed also in various tumor cells through autocrine production. The PI3K/Pten pathway is one of the downstream signalings affected by KDR activation and most commonly altered in breast cancer. Here, we investigate whether KDR expression is associated with members in PI3K/Pten signaling on the prognosis of breast cancer patients.

Methods: PI3K/Pten pathway components were defined by mapping The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) protein data to the KEGG database complemented by literature searching, accounting for 36 proteins subject to the interaction analysis with KDR on breast cancer patient survival. The identified interaction gene pair was subjected to in vitro validation following functional analysis.

Results: Anillin (ANLN) was found to interact with KDR at translational and transcriptional levels using the public TCGA protein expression data and five gene expression datasets. Favorable prognosis corresponds to high protein but low gene expression of ANLN when KDR is highly expressed. Externally modulating cells toward low ANLN and high KDR gene expression was shown to transit triple negative cells toward a luminal-like state with increased level of ER and elevated sensitivity to Tamoxifen.

Conclusion: Our study proposes a two-gene panel prognostic of breast cancer survival and a novel therapeutic strategy for triple negative breast cancer control via transiting cancer cells towards a luminal-like state sensitive to established targeted therapy.

Phenazine-1-carboxamide functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles as antimicrobial coatings on silicone urethral catheters

Microbial infections due to biofilms on medical implants can be prevented by antimicrobial coatings on biomaterial surfaces. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNPs) were synthesized via base-catalyzed sol-gel process at room temperature, functionalized with phenazine-1-carboxamide (PCN) and characterized by UV-visible, FT-IR, DLS, XRD spectroscopic techniques, SEM, TEM, TGA and BET analysis. Native MSNPs, PCN and PCN-MSNPs were evaluated for anti-Candida minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC), Candida albicans (C. albicans) biofilms and C. albicans-Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) polymicrobial biofilm inhibition. PCN-MSNPs were four-fold effective (MIC 3.9 µg mL-1; 17.47 µM) and MFC (7.8 µg mL-1; 34.94 µM) as compared to pure PCN (MIC 15.6 µg mL-1; 69.88 µM) and MFC (31.2 µg mL-1; 139.76 µM). PCN-MSNPs inhibited in vitro C. albicans MTCC 227-S. aureus MTCC 96 biofilms at very low concentration (10 µg mL-1; 44.79 µM) as compared to pure PCN (40 µg mL-1; 179.18 µM). Mechanistic studies revealed that PCN induced intracellular ROS accumulation in C. albicans MTCC 227, S. aureus MTCC 96 and S. aureus MLS-16 MTCC 2940, reduction in total ergosterol content, membrane permeability, disruption of ionic homeostasis followed by Na+, K+ and Ca2+ leakage leading to cell death in C. albicans MTCC 227 as confirmed by confocal laser scanning micrographs. The silicone urethral catheters coated with PCN-MSNPs (500 µg mL-1; 2.23 mM) exhibited no formation of C. albicans MTCC 227 - S. aureus MTCC 96 and C. albicans MTCC 227 - S. aureus MLS -16 MTCC 2940 biofilms. This is the first report on PCN-MSNPs for use as antimicrobial coatings against microbial adhesion and biofilm formation on silicone urethral catheters.