PEG–poly(amino acid)s-encapsulated tanshinone IIA as potential therapeutics for the treatment of hepatoma

Tanshinone IIA Loaded Inhaled Polymer Nanoparticles Alleviate Established Pulmonary Fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fatal respiratory disease characterized by chronic, progressive scarring of the lung parenchyma, leading to an irreversible decline in lung function. Apart from supportive care, there is currently no specific treatment available to reverse the disease. Based on the fact that tanshinone IIA (TAN) had an effect on protecting against TGF-β1-induced fibrosis through the inhibition of Smad and non-Smad signal pathways to avoid myofibroblasts activation, this study reported the development of the inhalable tanshinone IIA-loaded chitosan-oligosaccharides-coated poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (CPN@TAN) for enhancing the pulmonary delivery of tanshinone IIA to treat pulmonary fibrosis. The CPN@TAN with a size of 206.5 nm exhibited excellent in vitro aerosol delivery characteristics, featuring a mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) of 3.967 ± 0.025 μm and a fine particle fraction (FPF) of 70.516 ± 0.929%. Moreover, the nanoparticles showed good stability during atomization and enhanced the mucosal penetration capabilities. The results of confocal spectroscopy confirmed the potential of the nanoparticles as carriers that facilitated the uptake of drugs by NIH3T3, A549, and MH-S cells. Additionally, the nanoparticles demonstrated good in vitro biocompatibility. In a mouse model of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis, noninvasive inhalation of aerosol CPN@TAN greatly suppressed collagen formation and facilitated re-epithelialization of the destroyed alveolar epithelium without causing systemic toxicity compared with intravenous administration. Consequently, our noninvasive inhalation drug delivery technology based on polymers may represent a promising paradigm and open the door to overcoming the difficulties associated with managing pulmonary fibrosis.

PEG-poly(amino acid)s/EpCAM aptamer multifunctional nanoparticles arrest the growth and metastasis of colorectal cancer

Tanshinone II-A (TSIIA) is a derivative of a phenanthrene-quinone extracted from a TCM herb, Salvia miltiorrhiza, and has been widely adopted in the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). It is known that TSIIA can lead to the apoptosis and differentiation of certain cell lines and it suppresses the proliferation and metastasis of tumors. However, its poor water solubility and low bioavailability when taken orally have prevented this drug being utilized effectively in the body. A nanoparticle (NP) drug carrier system is a technology that can effectively improve drug utilization and targeting ability. In this study, a new NP drug carrier system is reported: EpCAM targeting TSIIA-encapsulated poly(amino acid)s NPs (EpCAM-TSIIA-NPs). The results show that this new targeted NP drug carrier system has higher cytotoxicity, better water solubility and better targeting ability, and can effectively suppress the proliferation and metastasis of tumors. In addition, the invasion and metastasis mechanism of colorectal cancer (CRC) under β-catenin nuclear meditation suppressed by EpCAM-TSIIA-NPs is also discussed. It is found that the immune-targeted type EpCAM-TSIIA-NPs could effectively enhance the expression of APC and axin when compared to normal NPs. It could improve the stability of β-catenin destruction complex and suppress the occurrence and progression of tumors by stopping the nuclear activities of β-catenin.

Galactose-Modified PH-Sensitive Niosomes for Controlled Release and Hepatocellular Carcinoma Target Delivery of Tanshinone IIA

Increasing the drug tumor-specific accumulation and controlling their release is considered one of the most effective ways to increase the efficacy of drugs. Here, we developed a vesicle system that can target hepatoma and release drugs rapidly within tumor cells. This non-ionic surfactant vesicle is biodegradable. Galactosylated stearate has been used to glycosylate the vesicles to achieve liver targeting; replacement of a portion (Chol:CHEMS = 1:1) of cholesterol by cholesteryl hemisuccinate (CHEMS) allows for a rapid release of drugs in an acidic environment. In vitro release experiments confirmed that galactose-modified pH-sensitive niosomes loaded with tanshinone IIA had excellent drug release performance in acid medium. In vitro experiments using ovarian cancer cells (A2780), colon cancer cells (HCT8), and hepatoma cell (Huh7, HepG2) confirmed that the preparation had specific targeting ability to hepatoma cells compared with free drugs, and this ability was dependent on the galactose content. Furthermore, the preparation also had a more substantial inhibitory effect on tumor cells, and subsequent apoptosis assays and cell cycle analyses further confirmed its enhanced anti-tumor effect. Results of pharmacokinetic experiments confirmed that the vesicle system could significantly extend the blood circulation time of tanshinone IIA, and the larger area under the curve indicated that the preparation had a better drug effect. Thus, the results of biodistribution experiments confirmed the in vivo liver targeting ability of this preparation. Niosomes designed in this manner are expected to be a safe and effective drug delivery system for liver cancer therapy.

Meticulous Doxorubicin Release from pH-Responsive Nanoparticles Entrapped within an Injectable Thermoresponsive Depot

The dual stimuli-controlled release of doxorubicin from gel-embedded nanoparticles is reported. Non-cytotoxic polymer nanoparticles are formed from poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(benzyl glutamate) that, uniquely, contain a central ester link. This connection renders the nanoparticles pH-responsive, enabling extensive doxorubicin release in acidic solutions (pH 6.5), but not in solutions of physiological pH (pH 7.4). Doxorubicin-loaded nanoparticles were found to be stable for at least 31 days and lethal against the three breast cancer cell lines tested. Furthermore, doxorubicin-loaded nanoparticles could be incorporated within a thermoresponsive poly(2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate) gel depot, which forms immediately upon injection of poly(2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate) in dimethyl sulfoxide solution into aqueous solution. The combination of the poly(2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate) gel and poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(benzyl glutamate) nanoparticles yields an injectable doxorubicin delivery system that facilities near-complete drug release when maintained at elevated temperatures (37 °C) in acidic solution (pH 6.5). In contrast, negligible payload release occurs when the material is stored at room temperature in non-acidic solution (pH 7.4). The system has great potential as a vehicle for the prolonged, site-specific release of chemotherapeutics.

Development of EGFR-targeted evodiamine nanoparticles for the treatment of colorectal cancer

Invasion and metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC) are leading causes of death of CRC patients. Previous findings demonstrate that evodiamine (Evo), an indolequinone alkaloid, is effective in combating CRC; however, its poor aqueous solubility and low oral bioavailability limit its application in the prevention of invasion and metastasis of CRC. It is known that selectively targeting cancer-specific receptors highly expressed on the surface of cancer cells by nanocarriers loaded with cytotoxic drugs is a viable strategy in nanobiotechnology to enhance cancer cell killing and minimize side effects. In this study, we report the development of a new class of nanotherapeutics: EGFR-targeting Evo-encapsulated poly(amino acid) nanoparticles (GE11-Evo-NPs). These nanoparticles exhibited good aqueous solubility, slow release, and active targeting capability. Their inhibitory effect on human colon cancer cells and therapeutic efficacy against invasion and metastasis of CRC in nude mice were systematically investigated. Mechanisms of the GE11-Evo-NPs against EGFR mediated invasion and metastasis of CRC were also explored. Compared with free Evo, the GE11-Evo-NPs showed significantly increased cytotoxicity to colon cancer cells and potently inhibited CRC LoVo cell adhesion, invasion, and migration. The expression of EGFR, VEGF, and MMP proteins was dramatically down-regulated, which may partially account for their inhibition of invasion and metastasis of CRC. Moreover, in vivo studies show that the GE11-Evo-NPs exhibited much greater potency than other control groups in inhibiting CRC invasion and metastasis, tumor volume, and growth in nude mice, leading to a significantly prolonged tumor-bearing survival duration (P < 0.01).

PEG-amino acid-przewaquinone a conjugations: Synthesis, physicochemical properties and protective effect in a rat model of brain ischemia-reperfusion

A total of 21 PEG-przewaquinone A conjugations with high drug loading ability, good water solubility and in vivo slow-release quality were obtained by conjugating przewaquinone A with PEG through amino acids and tripeptides spacers respectively. Notably, compound 3a can obviously reduce the brain ischemia-reperfusion damage dose-dependently in a rat model, which indicated the efficacy of our PEG prodrug strategy.

Gentamicin-loaded ceramic-biopolymer dual layer coatings on the Ti with improved bioactive and corrosion resistance properties for orthopedic applications

In orthopedic surgery, osteomyelitis (bone infection) is one of the most serious complications in the last few decades and the resident drug delivery is the key strategy to overcome this issue. Combination of bioactive materials with antibiotics is broadly developed for the handling of osteomyelitis which plays a dual role as bone cell growth and as local drug delivery systems for antibiotic delivery. TiO₂-SiO₂ mixtures were fabricated on Ti alloy by anodization method. Chitosan-Lysine (CS-LY) biopolymers were coated on composites by electrodeposition method and followed by gentamicin sulfate (GS) which was loaded as a model drug. The layers were characterized by AT-FTIR, XRD, FE-SEM and EDX methods. The mechanical, anticorrosion, antimicrobial effects and biocompatibility of the glazes were considered. In addition, drug loading, continued and prolonged liberation behaviors of GS from the fabricated coating were studied. The apatite development ability and cell viability are outstanding for CS-LY-3 coated composites. In vitro cell experimentations indicate that osteoblasts show good adhesion and high growth rates for CS-LY-3 coated TiO₂-SiO₂ composite substrate. In conclusion, the surface modification of TiO₂-SiO₂/CS-LY-3 coated Ti alloy could be used as a carrier for GS, not only to eradicate the osteomyelitis caused by Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, but also to repair the bone defect initiated by the infection owing to the tunable nanocomposite degradation.