Biocompatibility and Efficacy of Oligomaltose-Grafted Poly(ethylene imine)s (OM-PEIs) for in Vivo Gene Delivery

Toxicological investigations of "naked" and polymer-entrapped AOT-based gold nanotriangles

Negatively charged ultrathin gold nanotriangles (AuNTs) were synthesized in a vesicular dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate (AOT)/phospholipid-based template phase. These "naked" AuNTs with localized surface plasmon resonances in the NIR region at about 1300 nm and special photothermal properties are of particular interest for imaging and hyperthermia of cancerous tissues. For these kinds of applications the toxicity and the cellular uptake of the AuNTs is of outstanding importance. Therefore, this study focuses on the toxicity of "naked" AOT-stabilized AuNTs compared to polymer-coated AuNTs. Polymeric coating consisted of non-modified hyperbranched poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI), maltose-modified poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI-Mal) and heparin. The toxicological experiments were carried out with two different cell lines (embryonic kidney carcinoma cell line HEK293T and NK-cell leukemia cell line YTS). This study revealed that the heparin-coating of AuNTs improved biocompatibility by a factor of 50 when compared to naked AuNTs. Of note, the highest nontoxic concentration of the AuNTs coated with PEI and PEI-Mal is drastically decreased. Overall, this is mainly triggered by the different surface charges of polymeric coatings. Therefore, AuNTs coated with heparin were selected to carry out uptake studies. Their promising high biocompatibility and cellular uptake may open future studies in the field of biomedical applications.

A Poly(Propyleneimine) Dendrimer-Based Polyplex-System for Single-Chain Antibody-Mediated Targeted Delivery and Cellular Uptake of SiRNA

Therapeutics based on small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) offer a great potential to treat so far incurable diseases or metastatic cancer. However, the broad application of siRNAs using various nonviral carrier systems is hampered by unspecific toxic side effects, poor pharmacokinetics due to unwanted delivery of siRNA-loaded nanoparticles into nontarget organs, or rapid renal excretion. In order to overcome these obstacles, several targeting strategies using chemically linked antibodies and ligands have emerged. This study reports a new modular polyplex carrier system for targeted delivery of siRNA, which is based on transfection-disabled maltose-modified poly(propyleneimine)-dendrimers (mal-PPI) bioconjugated to single chain fragment variables (scFvs). To achieve targeted delivery into tumor cells expressing the epidermal growth factor receptor variant III (EGFRvIII), monobiotinylated anti-EGFRvIII scFv fused to a Propionibacterium shermanii transcarboxylase-derived biotinylation acceptor (P-BAP) is bioconjugated to mal-PPI through a novel coupling strategy solely based on biotin-neutravidin bridging. In contrast to polyplexes containing an unspecific control scFv-P-BAP, the generated EGFRvIII-specific polyplexes are able to exclusively deliver siRNA to tumor cells and tumors by receptor-mediated endocytosis. These results suggest that receptor-mediated uptake of otherwise noninternalized mal-PPI-based polyplexes is a promising avenue to improve siRNA therapy of cancer, and introduce a novel strategy for modular bioconjugation of protein ligands to nanoparticles.

Nanoparticles for radiooncology: Mission, vision, challenges

Cancer is one of the leading non-communicable diseases with highest mortality rates worldwide. About half of all cancer patients receive radiation treatment in the course of their disease. However, treatment outcome and curative potential of radiotherapy is often impeded by genetically and/or environmentally driven mechanisms of tumor radioresistance and normal tissue radiotoxicity. While nanomedicine-based tools for imaging, dosimetry and treatment are potential keys to the improvement of therapeutic efficacy and reducing side effects, radiotherapy is an established technique to eradicate the tumor cells. In order to progress the introduction of nanoparticles in radiooncology, due to the highly interdisciplinary nature, expertise in chemistry, radiobiology and translational research is needed. In this report recent insights and promising policies to design nanotechnology-based therapeutics for tumor radiosensitization will be discussed. An attempt is made to cover the entire field from preclinical development to clinical studies. Hence, this report illustrates (1) the radio- and tumor-biological rationales for combining nanostructures with radiotherapy, (2) tumor-site targeting strategies and mechanisms of cellular uptake, (3) biological response hypotheses for new nanomaterials of interest, and (4) challenges to translate the research findings into clinical trials.

Tumor tissue slice cultures as a platform for analyzing tissue-penetration and biological activities of nanoparticles

The success of therapeutic nanoparticles depends, among others, on their ability to penetrate a tissue for actually reaching the target cells, and their efficient cellular uptake in the context of intact tissue and stroma. Various nanoparticle modifications have been implemented for altering physicochemical and biological properties. Their analysis, however, so far mainly relies on cell culture experiments which only poorly reflect the in vivo situation, or is based on in vivo experiments that are often complicated by whole-body pharmacokinetics and are rather tedious especially when analyzing larger nanoparticle sets. For the more precise analysis of nanoparticle properties at their desired site of action, efficient ex vivo systems closely mimicking in vivo tissue properties are needed. In this paper, we describe the setup of organotypic tumor tissue slice cultures for the analysis of tissue-penetrating properties and biological activities of nanoparticles. As a model system, we employ 350μm thick slice cultures from different tumor xenograft tissues, and analyze modified or non-modified polyethylenimine (PEI) complexes as well as their lipopolyplex derivatives for siRNA delivery. The described conditions for tissue slice preparation and culture ensure excellent tissue preservation for at least 14days, thus allowing for prolonged experimentation and analysis. When using fluorescently labeled siRNA for complex visualization, fluorescence microscopy of cryo-sectioned tissue slices reveals different degrees of nanoparticle tissue penetration, dependent on their surface charge. More importantly, the determination of siRNA-mediated knockdown efficacies of an endogenous target gene, the oncogenic survival factor Survivin, reveals the possibility to accurately assess biological nanoparticle activities in situ, i.e. in living cells in their original environment. Taken together, we establish tumor (xenograft) tissue slices for the accurate and facile ex vivo assessment of important biological nanoparticle properties. Beyond the quantitative analysis of nanoparticle tissue-penetration, the excellent tissue preservation and cell viability also allows for the evaluation of biological activities.

Coil-like Enzymatic Biohybrid Structures Fabricated by Rational Design: Controlling Size and Enzyme Activity over Sequential Nanoparticle Bioconjugation and Filtration Steps

Well-defined enzymatic biohybrid structures (BHS) composed of avidin, biotinylated poly(propyleneimine) glycodendrimers, and biotinylated horseradish peroxidase were fabricated by a sequential polyassociation reaction to adopt directed enzyme prodrug therapy to protein-glycopolymer BHS for potential biomedical applications. To tailor and gain fundamental insight into pivotal properties such as size and molar mass of these BHS, the dependence on the fabrication sequence was probed and thoroughly investigated by several complementary methods (e.g., UV/vis, DLS, cryoTEM, AF4-LS). Subsequent purification by hollow fiber filtration allowed us to obtain highly pure and well-defined BHS. Overall, by rational design and control of preparation parameters, e.g., fabrication sequence, ligand-receptor stoichiometry, and degree of biotinylation, well-defined BHS with stable and even strongly enhanced enzymatic activities can be achieved. Open coil-like structures of BHS with few branches are available by the sequential bioconjugation approach between synthetic and biological macromolecules possessing similar size dimensions.

Facile carbohydrate-mimetic modifications of poly(ethylene imine) carriers for gene delivery applications

PEI was chemically-modified with carbohydrates and carbohydrate-mimetics to improve biocompatibility.

Change in size, morphology and stability of DNA polyplexes with hyperbranched poly(ethyleneimines) containing bulky maltose units

Polyplexes between Salmon DNA and non-modified hyperbranched poly(ethyleneimines) of varying molar mass, i.e., PEI(5 k) with 5000 g/mol and PEI(25 k) with 25,000 g/mol, and modified PEI(5 k) with maltose units (PEI-Mal) were investigated in dependence on the molar N/P ratio by using dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential measurements, micro differential scanning calorimetry (μ-DSC), scanning-transmission electron microscopy (STEM), and cryo-scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM). A reloading of the polyplexes can be observed by adding the unmodified PEI samples of different molar mass. In excess of PEI a morphological transition from core-shell particles (at N/P 8) to loosely packed onion-like polyplexes (at N/P 40) is observed. The shift of the DSC melting peak from 88 °C to 76 °C indicates a destabilization of the DNA double helix due to the complexation with the unmodified PEI. Experiments with the maltose-modified PEI show a reloading already at a lower N/P ratio. Due to the presence of the sugar units in the periphery of the polycation electrostatic interactions between DNA become weaker, but cooperative H-bonding forces are reinforced. The resulting less-toxic, more compact polyplexes in excess of the PEI-Mal with two melting points and well distributed DNA segments are of special interest for extended gene delivery experiments.

Effects of dendritic core-shell glycoarchitectures on primary mesenchymal stem cells and osteoblasts obtained from different human donors

The biological impact of novel nano-scaled drug delivery vehicles in highly topical therapies of bone diseases have to be investigated in vitro before starting in vivo trials. Highly desired features for these materials are a good cellular uptake, large transport capacity for drugs and a good bio-compatibility. Essentially the latter has to be addressed as first point on the agenda. We present a study on the biological interaction of maltose-modified poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI-Mal) on primary human mesenchymal stem cell, harvested from reaming debris (rdMSC) and osteoblasts obtained from four different male donors. PEI-Mal-nanoparticles with two different molecular weights of the PEI core (5000 g/mol for PEI-5k-Mal-B and 25,000 g/mol for PEI-25k-Mal-B) have been administered to both cell lines. As well dose as incubation-time dependent effects and interactions have been researched for concentrations between 1 μg/ml to 1 mg/ml and periods of 24 h up to 28 days. Studies conducted by different methods of microscopy as light microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, transmission-electron-microscopy and quantitative assays (LDH and DC-protein) indicate as well a good cellular uptake of the nanoparticles as a particle- and concentration-dependent impact on the cellular macro- and micro-structure of the rdMSC samples. In all experiments PEI-5k-Mal-B exhibits a superior biocompatibility compared to PEI-25k-Mal-B. At higher concentrations PEI-25k-Mal-B is toxic and induces a directly observable mitochondrial damage. The alkaline phosphatase assay (ALP), has been conducted to check on the possible influence of nanoparticles on the differentiation capabilities of rdMSC to osteoblasts. In addition the production of mineralized matrix has been shown by von-Kossa stained samples. No influence of the nanoparticles on the ALP per cell has been detected. Additionally, for all experiments, results are strongly influenced by a large donor-to-donor variability of the four different rdMSC samples. To summarize, while featuring a good cellular uptake, PEI-5k-Mal-B induces only minimal adverse effects and features clearly superior biocompatibility compared to the larger PEI-25k-Mal-B.

Characterization of oligosaccharide-functionalized hyperbranched poly(ethylene imine) and their complexes with retinol in aqueous solution

Structure, internal density distribution, and size of hyperbranched poly(ethylene imine) (PEI) functionalized with various amounts of maltose (PEI-Mal) in phosphate buffer were studied by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The value of pH was varied in the range from 3 to 9. Virtually no effect of pH on the nanostructure was found in this interval. The SAXS results revealed a broad segmental radial density distribution, i.e. a "fluffy" globular structure rather than a distinct core-shell structure with a high-density compact core and a low-density corona. This suggests that the maltose units are rather evenly distributed both in the interior and on the surface of the species with a PEI-core of molar mass of 25,000g/mol. The DLS measurements showed that the overall size of the PEI-Mal derivatives increased as the number of maltose units in the PEI-Mal structures rises. The interaction of the hydrophobic model drug retinol with PEI or PEI-Mal derivatives was also investigated. The UV-visible spectroscopy results disclosed that the solubility of retinol in the phosphate buffer is very poor and it takes a very long time to solubilize retinol. Moreover, retinol induces aggregation of dendritic glycopolymers where the growth of aggregates occurs continuously over several days and then remains virtually constant.

Dendritic Glycopolymer as Drug Delivery System for Proteasome Inhibitor Bortezomib in a Calcium Phosphate Bone Cement: First Steps Toward a Local Therapy of Osteolytic Bone Lesions

Establishment of drug delivery system (DDS) in bone substitute materials for local treatment of bone defects still requires ambitious solutions for a retarded drug release. We present two novel DDS, a weakly cationic dendritic glycopolymer and a cationic polyelectrolyte complex, composed of dendritic glycopolymer and cellulose sulfate, for the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib. Both DDS are able to induce short-term retarded release of bortezomib from calcium phosphate bone cement in comparison to a burst-release of the drug from bone cement alone. Different release parameters have been evaluated to get a first insight into the release mechanism from bone cements. In addition, biocompatibility of the calcium phosphate cement, modified with the new DDS was investigated using human mesenchymal stromal cells.

Dendritic glycopolymers based on dendritic polyamine scaffolds: view on their synthetic approaches, characteristics and potential for biomedical applications

The potential of dendritic glycopolymers based on dendritic polyamine scaffolds for biomedical applications is presented and compared with that of the structurally related anti-adhesive dendritic glycoconjugates.