G4-Hemin-loaded 2D nanosheets for combined and targeted chemo-photodynamic cancer therapy

Synergetic combination therapy is emerging as one of the most promising approaches for cancer treatment. Among the various therapeutic approaches, PDT has received particular attention due to its non-invasive nature. However, the therapeutic performance of PDT is severely affected by tumour hypoxia. Herein, we report a supramolecular strategy for the fabrication of a PDT-active 2D nanosheet loaded with a POD mimicking DNAzyme for the synergetic combination of PDT and CDT for targeted cancer therapy. Assembly of biotin-functionalized BODIPY (1) and cationic β-cyclodextrin (β-CD+) leads to the formation of a 1/β-CD+ nanosheet with positively charged β-CD+ on the surface of the sheet. The cationic face of the 1/β-CD+ sheet was then loaded with a POD-mimicking Hem-loaded G-quadruplex aptamer (Hem/DNA1) via electrostatic interactions (1/β-CD+/Hem/DNA1). Cellular internalization of the 1/β-CD+/Hem/DNA1 nanosheet occurs via a receptor-mediated endocytic pathway, which then undergoes lysosomal escape. Subsequently, Hem/DNA1 on the surface of 1/β-CD+/Hem/DNA1 reacts with endogenous H2O2via the Fenton pathway to produce ˙OH and O2. Moreover, under cellular conditions, Hem inside the 1/β-CD+/Hem/DNA1 nanosheet produces Fe2+, which then undergoes another Fenton reaction to produce ˙OH and O2. The Fe3+ generated after the Fenton reaction is then reduced in situ to Fe2+ by glutathione for the next Fenton cycle. At the same time, photoirradiation of the 1/β-CD+ nanosheet using a 635 nm laser produces 1O2via the PDT pathway by using endogenous O2. The most remarkable feature of the present nanoformulation is the cooperativity in its therapeutic action, wherein O2 produced during the CDT pathway was used by the 1/β-CD+ sheet for improving its PDT efficacy in the hypoxic tumor microenvironment. This work represents a unique combination of CDT and PDT for targeted cancer therapy, wherein the CDT action of the nanoagent enhances the PDT efficacy and we strongly believe that this approach would encourage researchers to design similar combination therapy for advancements in the treatment of cancer.

Membrane Fusion Liposomes Deliver Antifibrotic and Chemotherapeutic Drugs Sequentially to Enhance Tumor Treatment Efficacy by Reshaping Tumor Microenvironment

The intricate tumor microenvironment in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) hampers chemotherapy and immunotherapy efficacy due to dense extracellular matrix (ECM) by tumor-associated fibroblasts (TAFs). Nanoparticle-based therapies, especially "all-in-one" nanoparticles, have shown great potential in combined drug delivery strategies to reshape the tumor microenvironment and enhance therapeutic efficiency. However, these "all-in-one" nanoparticles suffer from limitations in targeting different target cells, uncontrollable dosing ratio, and disregarding the impact of delivery schedules. This study prepared cell membrane fusion liposomes (TAFsomes and CCMsomes) to load FDA-approved antifibrotic drug pirfenidone (PFD/TAFsomes) and antitumor drug doxorubicin (DOX/CCMsomes). These liposomes can specifically target TAFs cells and tumor cells, and combined administration can effectively inhibit TAFs activity, reshape the tumor microenvironment (TME), and significantly enhance the tumor chemotherapy efficacy. Combined drug delivery defeats "all-in-one" liposomes (DOX/PFD/Liposomes, DOX/PFD/TAFsomes, and DOX/PFD/CCMsomes) by flexibly adjusting the drug delivery ratio. Moreover, an asynchronous delivery strategy that optimizes the administration schedule not only further improves the therapeutic effect, but also amplifies the effectiveness of α-PD-L1 immunotherapy by modulating the tumor immune microenvironment. This delivery strategy provides a personalized treatment approach with clinical translation potential, providing new ideas for enhancing the therapeutic effect against solid tumors such as TNBC.

Synthesis of Silicon and Germanium Oxide Nanostructures via Photonic Curing; a Facile Approach to Scale Up Fabrication

Silicon and Germanium oxide (SiOx and GeOx) nanostructures are promising materials for energy storage applications due to their potentially high energy density, large lithiation capacity (~10X carbon), low toxicity, low cost, and high thermal stability. This work reports a unique approach to achieving controlled synthesis of SiOx and GeOx nanostructures via photonic curing. Unlike conventional methods like rapid thermal annealing, quenching during pulsed photonic curing occurs rapidly (sub-millisecond), allowing the trapping of metastable states to form unique phases and nanostructures. We explored the possible underlying mechanism of photonic curing by incorporating laws of photophysics, photochemistry, and simulated temperature profile of thin film. The results show that photonic curing of spray coated 0.1 M molarity Si and Ge Acetyl Acetate precursor solution, at total fluence 80 J cm-2 can yield GeOx and SiOx nanostructures. The as-synthesized nanostructures are ester functionalized due to photoinitiated chemical reactions in thin film during photonic curing. Results also showed that nanoparticle size changes from ~48 nm to ~11 nm if overall fluence is increased by increasing the number of pulses. These results are an important contribution towards large-scale synthesis of the Ge and Si oxide nanostructured materials which is necessary for next-generation energy storage devices.

Integrated network pharmacology and metabolomics reveal the action mechanisms of vincristine combined with celastrol against colon cancer

Colon cancer is associated with a high mortality rate. Vincristine (VCR) is a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug. Celastrol (CEL) is an effective component which exerts inhibitory effects on colon cancer. Combination treatment improves resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs and enhances their efficacy. Therefore, we aimed to explore the molecular mechanisms of VCR combined with CEL in colon cancer treatment. We verified the effects of VCR combined with CEL on the proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis of HCT-8 cells. Non-targeted metabolomic techniques were used to analyse the changes in cellular metabolites after administration. Finally, network pharmacology technology was used to screen the potential targets and pathways. VCR combined with CEL had synergistic inhibitory effects on HCT-8 colon cancer cells. Cell metabolomics identified 12 metabolites enriched in metabolic pathways, such as the phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis pathways. Network pharmacology revealed that MAPK1, AKT1, PIK3CB, EGFR, and VEGFA were the key targets. Western blotting revealed that VCR combined with CEL activated the P53 pathway by suppressing the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway activation and Bcl-2 expression, promoting the Bax expression. Therefore, VCR combined with CEL potentially treats colon cancer by increasing the apoptosis, improving energy metabolism, and inhibiting PI3K/AKT pathway in colon cancer cells.

Anticancer activity of zinc oxide nanoparticles on prostate and colon cancer cell line

Introduction

Considering the numerous drug resistance in cancer and the advancement of science in nanomedicines, it was decided to compare the effectiveness of zinc oxide nanoparticles in colon and prostate cell lines. Considering the importance of factors and Oxidative stress pathways in cancer prevention, the aim of the study is based on oxidative stress mechanisms.

Methodes

In order to evaluate the effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles on colon and prostate cell lines, oxidative stress factors ROS, MDA, and GSH and mitochondrial function were evaluated. The data was analyzed with Prism v8 software, and the significance level was considered to be P < 0.05.

Results

The results showed that nanoparticles induce ROS and reduce intracellular glutathione by destroying and disrupting mitochondrial function, and by increasing ROS production, damage to the lipid membrane and an increase in MDA were also evident. This effect was dose-dependent and the greatest at a concentration of 25 μg/mL. Also, ZnO nanoparticles performed better in the HT29 cell line than in the PC3 cell line.

Conclusion

This study showed that exposure of HT29 and PC3 cancer cells to zinc oxide nanoparticles at different concentrations inhibited growth by cytotoxic effects.

Injectable hydrogels embedded with chitosan nanoparticles coated with hyaluronic acid for sequential release of dual drugs

An effective treatment for some disease, such as the model disease acute retinal necrosis (ARN), requires a combination of different drugs which should be administered at a certain interval. The precise sequential and long-term drug release are the critical questions. In this work, the as-prepared chitosan nanoparticles (CS-NPs) coated with hyaluronic acid (HA) were embedded in the aldehyde β-cyclodextrin (ACD)/aminated hyaluronic acid (NHA) hydrogels to synthesize injectable hydrogels loaded with dual drugs named DEX-CS-NPs/GCV-Gel and HA-DEX-CS-NPs/GCV-Gel. In the first 24 h and 48 h, the releases of DEX from DEX-CS-NPs/GCV-Gel were 128.5 % and 82.8 % faster than those from HA-DEX-CS-NPs/GCV-Gel, respectively. There was no DEX released from HA-DEX-CS-NPs/GCV-Gel at the first 7 h, which has never been reported before, although some hydrogel systems loaded with different drugs release different drugs simultaneously at different rate which have been well studied. This is a good start of a precise sequence release. The composite hydrogels possessed appropriate rheology, gel time, degradation performance, and ideal cytocompatibility. The injectable hydrogel loaded with dual drugs presenting a precise sequential and long-term release has great potential in the treatment of diseases requiring combinations of drugs being released sequentially at different treating stages.

Nanomedicine strategies to counteract cancer stemness and chemoresistance

Cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) identified by self-renewal ability and tumor-initiating potential are responsible for tumor recurrence and metastasis in many cancers. Conventional chemotherapy fails to eradicate CSCs that hold a state of dormancy and possess multi-drug resistance. Spurred by the progress of nanotechnology for drug delivery and biomedical applications, nanomedicine has been increasingly developed to tackle stemness-associated chemotherapeutic resistance for cancer therapy. This review focuses on advances in nanomedicine-mediated therapeutic strategies to overcome chemoresistance by specifically targeting CSCs, the combination of chemotherapeutics with chemopotentiators, and programmable controlled drug release. Perspectives from materials and formulations at the nano-scales are specifically surveyed. Future opportunities and challenges are also discussed.

Chemo-Photothermal Combination Therapy of HER-2 Overexpressing Breast Cancer Cells with Dual-Ordered Mesoporous Carbon@Silica Nanocomposite

In cancer treatment, the complexity of tumors seriously affects the therapeutic potential of the treatment. Treatments with combination therapy result in more potent effects than monotherapy or their theoretical combination in cancer treatment. Photothermal therapy (PTT) includes applying phototherapeutic agents that cause local hyperthermia responsible for the thermal ablation of tumor cells after applying near-infrared light and is often applied with other combination therapies. In this study, the chemo-PTT potential of synthesized drug-loaded and targeted GEM/TRA-MC@Si nanocomposite on Her2 positive breast cancer cell line (SK-BR-3) and human triple-negative breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231) was investigated using NIR application as in vitro. First, the cell viability (IC₅₀) value of the GEM/TRA-MC@Si nanocomposite was determined as 25 µg/µL. Then, chemo-PTT was performed, and the viability of the cells was evaluated. In addition, the live/dead cell rate was established by staining with the Calcein-AM and EthD-1, and apoptosis tests were completed. When the surface temperature of Her2 positive SK-BR-3 cells exceeded 47 °C during PTT with an irradiation time of > 100 s, it caused cell death. In this study, it was demonstrated that in vitro PTT (1 W/cm², 180 s) was applied using GEM/TRA-MC@Si nanocomposite (25 µg/mL) on her2 + SK-BR-3 cell line, which contributed to the reduction of cell viability. In addition, this study demonstrates that chemo-PTT with targeted GEM/TRA-MC@Si nanocomposite induced SK-BR-3 cell viability and can initiate cell death through the apoptosis pathway under optimized irradiation conditions. Herewith chemo-PTT combination therapy of targeted GEM-TRA/MC@Si nanocomposite was found to be effective on SK-BR-3 cells as in vitro.

Reactive Molecular Dynamics Simulation of the Structural Damages of the B-DNA Induced by the Oxidation/Nitration of Guanine

Reactive molecular dynamics simulations (RMD) have been carried out to investigate structural alterations of the dodecamer double-strand B-DNA due to the oxidation/nitration modifications introduced to its guanine bases, including 8-oxoguanine, 8-nitroguanine, and 5-guanidino-4-nitroimidazole, considering two distribution patterns. These modifications may arise in the case of cancer treatment using oxidative/nitrosative reactive nitrogen species as anticancer agents. Results show that these mutations affect structural characteristics of the B-DNA dodecamer in the order 8-nitroguanine > 5-guanidino-4-nitroimidazole ≫ 8-oxoguanine. For instance, the base-pair per turn for these modified B-DNA are changed respectively to 9.79, 10.88 and 10.58 from 10.51 in the native defect-free B-DNA, which is compatible with the experimental value of 10.10. In addition, these mutations allow more water molecules to diffuse into the dodecamer structure and consequently increase the possibility of the penetration of reactive and nonreactive species toward constituting nucleic base-pairs. The largest variation of the B-DNA structure is observed for the mutated B-DNA with 8-nitroguanine modifications applied to its separated CG base-pairs along the dodecamer chain. The structural changes introduced by these nitro-/oxo-modified guanine bases can be considered as a critical step in the damage of the DNA structure and alterations of its function.

Drug Delivery Systems for Photodynamic Therapy: The Potentiality and Versatility of Electrospun Nanofibers

Recently, photodynamic therapy (PDT) has become a promising approach for the treatment of a broad range of diseases, including oncological and infectious diseases. This minimally invasive and localized therapy is based on the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) able to destroy cancer cells and inactivate pathogens by combining the use of photosensitizers (PSs), light and molecular oxygen. To overcome the drawbacks of drug systemic administration, drug delivery systems (DDS) can be used to carrier the PSs, allowing higher therapeutic efficacy and minimal toxicological effects. Polymeric nanofibers produced by electrospinning emerged as powerful platforms for drug delivery applications. Electrospun nanofibers exhibit outstanding characteristics, such as large surface area to volume ratio associated with high drug loading, high porosity, flexibility, ability to incorporate and release a wide variety of therapeutic agents, biocompatibility and biodegradability. Due to the versatility of this technique, fibers with different morphologies and functionalities, including drug release profile can be produced. The possibility of scalability makes electrospinning even more attractive for the development of DDS. This review aims to explore and show an up to date of the huge potential of electrospun nanofibers as DDS for different PDT applications and discuss the opportunities and challenges in this field. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Review of Recent Advances and Their Improvement in the Effectiveness of Hydrogel-Based Targeted Drug Delivery: A Hope for Treating Cancer

Using hydrogels for delivering cancer therapeutics is advantageous in pharmaceutical usage as they have an edge over traditional delivery, which is tainted due to the risk of toxicity that it imbues. Hydrogel usage leads to the development of a more controlled drug release system owing to its amenability for structural metamorphosis, its higher porosity to seat the drug molecules, and its ability to shield the drug from denaturation. The thing that makes its utility even more enhanced is that they make themselves more recognizable to the body tissues and hence can stay inside the body for a longer time, enhancing the efficiency of the delivery, which otherwise is negatively affected since the drug is identified by the human immunity as a foreign substance, and thus, an attack of the immunity begins on the drug injected. A variety of hydrogels such as thermosensitive, pH-sensitive, and magnetism-responsive hydrogels have been included and their potential usage in drug delivery has been discussed in this review that aims to present recent studies on hydrogels that respond to alterations under a variety of circumstances in "reducing" situations that mimic the microenvironment of cancerous cells.

Recent Progress on the Synergistic Antitumor Effect of a Borneol-Modified Nanocarrier Drug Delivery System

Borneol, a traditional Chinese medicine, can enhance therapeutic efficacy by guiding the active ingredients to the target site. Reportedly, borneol improves the penetration capacity of the nasal, cornea, transdermal, intestinal, and blood-brain barriers. Although nanotechnology dramatically changed the face of oncology by targeting tumor sites, the efficiency of nanoparticles delivered to tumor sites is very low, with only 0.7% of the total particles delivered. Thus, based on the penetration ability and the inhibition drug efflux of borneol, it was expected to increase the targeting and detention efficacy of drugs into tumor sites in nanocarriers with borneol modification. Borneol modified nanocarriers used to improve drug-targeting has become a research focus in recent years, but few studies in this area, especially in the antitumor application. Hence, this review summarizes the recent development of nanocarriers with borneol modification. We focus on the updated works of improving therapeutic efficacy, reducing toxicity, inhibiting tumor metastasis, reversing multidrug resistance, and enhancing brain targeting to expand their application and provide a reference for further exploration of targeting drug delivery systems for solid tumor treatment.

Transdermal Drug delivery: A step towards treatment of cancer

BACKGROUND

Transdermal drug delivery is an emerging and tempting system over oral and hypodermic drug delivery system. With the new developments in skin penetration techniques, anticancer drugs ranging from hydrophilic macromolecules to lipophilic drugs can be administered via transdermal route to treat cancer.

OBJECTIVE

In the present review, various approaches to enhance the transdermal delivery of drugs is discussed including the micro and nanotechnology based transdermal formulations like chemotherapy, gene therapy, immunotherapy, phototherapy, vaccines and medical devices. Limitations and advantages of various transdermal technologies is also elaborated.

METHOD

In this review, patent applications and recent literature of transdermal drug delivery systems employed to cure mainly cancer are covered.

RESULTS

Transdermal drug delivery systems have proved their potential to cure cancer. They increase the bioavailability of drug by site specific drug delivery and can reduce the side effects/toxicity associated with anticancer drugs.

CONCLUSION

The potential of transdermal drug delivery systems to carry the drug may unclutter novel ways for therapeutic intercessions in various tumors.

Biodegradable nanoparticulate co-delivery of flavonoid and doxorubicin: Mechanistic exploration and evaluation of anticancer effect in vitro and in vivo

The proposed study involves delivering drug/bioactive using a single nanoplatform based on poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) for better efficacy, synergistic effect, and reduced toxicity. PLGA was conjugated to doxorubicin (D1), and this conjugate was used for encapsulation of naringenin (D2) to develop naringenin loaded PLGA-doxorubicin nanoparticles (PDNG). The PDNG NPs were 165.4 ± 4.27 nm in size, having 0.112 ± 0.035 PDI, with -10.1 ± 2.74 zeta potential. The surface morphology was confirmed through transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The in vitro studies revealed that PDNG NPs exhibited selective anticancer potential in breast cancer cells, and induced apoptosis with S-phase inhibition via an increase in intrinsic reactive oxygen species (ROS) and altering the mitochondrial potential. The results also signified the efficient uptake of nanoparticles encapsulated drugs by cells besides elevating the caspase level suggesting programmed cell death induction upon treatment. In vivo studies results revealed better half-life (27.35 ± 1.58 and 11.98 ± 1.21 h for doxorubicin and naringenin) with higher plasma drug concentration. In vivo biodistribution study was also in accordance with the in vitro studies and in line with the in vivo pharmacokinetic. In vivo tumor regression assay portrayed that the formulation PDNG halts the tumor growth and lessen the tumor volume with the stable bodyweight of the mice. Conclusively, the dual delivery approach was beneficial and highly effective against tumor-induced mice.

A convergent synthetic platform for polymeric nanoparticle for the treatment of combination colorectal cancer therapy

In biomaterials and drug delivery, the development of polymeric therapies capable of the synchronized release of several therapeutic agents remains an important challenge. In this article, we describe the development of polymeric nanoparticles (PNPs) with precise molar ratios of Curcumin (CUR) and Methotrexate (MEX). The highly symmetric synthetic approach allows for the development of novel NPs-based combination therapeutic strategies for colorectal cancer. The fabricated CUR/MEX@PNPs were confirmed by transmission microscopy (TEM) and the size and polydispersity index were assessed through the dynamic light scattering (DLS). CUR and MEX were released slowly from the drug delivery without any burst impact. Furthermore, CUR/MEX@PNPs exhibited dose-responsive cytotoxic effects in CL40 and SW1417 cells, with a greater cell death ratio than that of free drugs. The drugs-loaded polymeric nanomaterials were more easily taken up by cancer cells in vitro, according to the cellular uptake analysis. The apoptotic features were confirmed by various fluorescence staining assay. The results of the fluorescent assay reveal that the nanomaterials remarkably induce apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells. Further, the apoptosis cell death mechanism was displayed that these nanomaterials significantly induce apoptosis in the targeted cancer cells. Overall, the current investigation confirmed that CUR/MEX@PNPs could be used to successfully combat colorectal cancers in the immediate future.HighlightsWe have developed the Curcumin (CUR) and Methotrexate (MEX) encapsulated polymeric nanoparticles (CUR/MEX@PNPs).CUR/MEX@PNPs confirmed by the various analytical methods.CUR/MEX@PNPs enhanced the in vitro proliferation against the colorectal cancer cells.Biochemical analysis results reveals that CUR/MEX@PNPs induce apoptosis.The apoptosis was confirmed by Annexin-V-FITC and PI for flow cytometry.

Fluorinated porphyrin-based theranostics for dual imaging and chemo-photodynamic therapy

Convenient strategies to transform regular liposomes or nano-micelles into multifunctional theranostics would be highly valuable in cancer therapy. Herein, we developed an amphiphilic fluorinated porphyrin dendrimer as a multifunctional "add-on" module which would self-assemble onto liposomal drug delivery systems and conveniently transform the liposomes into novel theranostics. Through cancer cells and murine xenograft tumor model assays, the theranostics showed valuable fluorescence/19F magnetic resonance dual modal imaging and highly efficient chemo-photodynamic therapy. The modular strategy facilitates the convenient and standardized preparation of multifunctional theranostics.

Radix Tetrastigma Inhibits the Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer via Bax/Bcl-2/Caspase-9/Caspase-3 Pathway

Lung cancer with high mortality is regarded as a challenging global problem with unsatisfied curative effects. Clinically, the chemotherapy drugs are often faced with side-effects and tumor resistance. Radix Tetrastigma (RT) is a traditional Chinese herb and now regarded as a kind of functional food. In this study, A549-bearing nude mice control was adopted to evaluate the anti-tumor capacity of RT. Results demonstrated that RT showed excellent anti-tumor ability with no side-effect on mice compared to chemotherapy drug (5-Fu).Further studies proved that RT down-regulated the proliferation-related proteins (PCNA, Ki67) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Additionally, RT up-regulated the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2, which caused the over-expression of Caspase-9, leading to the activation of downstream protein caspase-3, eventually resulting in apoptosis of A549 in solid tumor. These results together suggest that RT inhibits the non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) via Bax/Bcl2/Caspase-9/Caspase-3 pathway. Furthermore, the anti-A549 abilities of the main flavonoid components from RT were compared, and kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside would play a role in RT's outstanding anti-NSCLC ability.

Progress in Natural Compounds/siRNA Co-delivery Employing Nanovehicles for Cancer Therapy

Chemotherapy using natural compounds, such as resveratrol, curcumin, paclitaxel, docetaxel, etoposide, doxorubicin, and camptothecin, is of importance in cancer therapy because of the outstanding therapeutic activity and multitargeting capability of these compounds. However, poor solubility and bioavailability of natural compounds have limited their efficacy in cancer therapy. To circumvent this hurdle, nanocarriers have been designed to improve the antitumor activity of the aforementioned compounds. Nevertheless, cancer treatment is still a challenge, demanding novel strategies. It is well-known that a combination of natural products and gene therapy is advantageous over monotherapy. Delivery of multiple therapeutic agents/small interfering RNA (siRNA) as a potent gene-editing tool in cancer therapy can maximize the synergistic effects against tumor cells. In the present review, co-delivery of natural compounds/siRNA using nanovehicles are highlighted to provide a backdrop for future research.

Nanomedicine-based tumor photothermal therapy synergized immunotherapy

The emerging anti-tumor immunotherapy has made significant progress in clinical application. However, single immunotherapy is not effective for all anti-tumor treatments, owing to the low objective response rate and the risk of immune-related side effects. Meanwhile, photothermal therapy (PTT) has attracted significant attention because of its non-invasiveness, spatiotemporal controllability and small side effects. Combining PTT with immunotherapy overcomes the issue that single photothermal therapy cannot eradicate tumors with metastasis and recurrence. However, it improves the therapeutic effect of immunotherapy, as the photothermal therapy usually promotes release of tumor-related antigens, triggers immune response by the immunogenic cell death (ICD), thereby, endowing unique synergistic mechanisms for cancer therapy. This review summarizes recent research advances in utilizing nanomedicines for PTT in combination with immunotherapy to improve the outcome of cancer treatment. The strategies include immunogenic cell death, immune agonists and cancer vaccines, immune checkpoint blockades and tumor specific monoclonal antibodies, and small-molecule immune inhibitors. The combination of synergized PTT-immunotherapy with other therapeutic strategies is also discussed.

Single-Walled Carbon Nanohorns as Promising Nanotube-Derived Delivery Systems to Treat Cancer

Cancer has become one of the most prevalent diseases worldwide, with increasing incidence in recent years. Current pharmacological strategies are not tissue-specific therapies, which hampers their efficacy and results in toxicity in healthy organs. Carbon-based nanomaterials have emerged as promising nanoplatforms for the development of targeted delivery systems to treat diseased cells. Single-walled carbon nanohorns (SWCNH) are graphene-based horn-shaped nanostructure aggregates with a multitude of versatile features to be considered as suitable nanosystems for targeted drug delivery. They can be easily synthetized and functionalized to acquire the desired physicochemical characteristics, and no toxicological effects have been reported in vivo followed by their administration. This review focuses on the use of SWCNH as drug delivery systems for cancer therapy. Their main applications include their capacity to act as anticancer agents, their use as drug delivery systems for chemotherapeutics, photothermal and photodynamic therapy, gene therapy, and immunosensing. The structure, synthesis, and covalent and non-covalent functionalization of these nanoparticles is also discussed. Although SWCNH are in early preclinical research yet, these nanotube-derived nanostructures demonstrate an interesting versatility pointing them out as promising forthcoming drug delivery systems to target and treat cancer cells.

Advances in living cell-based anticancer therapeutics

This review summarizes recent advances in the applications of living cells as drug carriers or active drugs for anticancer drug delivery and cancer therapy.

Enhancing doxorubicin anticancer activity with a novel polymeric platform photoreleasing nitric oxide

Combination of Doxorubicin with light-regulated NO release achieved through formulation strategy of tailored polymeric conjugate nanoparticles may open new treatment modalities to improve cancer therapies.

H2O2-responsive nano-prodrug for podophyllotoxin delivery

The tumor microenvironment is different from that of normal tissue; therefore, the development of a prodrug that retains its efficacy in the tumor microenvironment can be useful in enhancing the anticancer properties of podophyllotoxin. An innovative podophyllotoxin prodrug (POD-PEG) was designed by linking podophyllotoxin to poly(ethylene glycol)(n) monomethacrylate with a H2O2-responsive oxalate ester bond. POD-PEG can self-assemble into stable nanoparticles (POD-PEG NPs). In vitro experiments demonstrated that the POD-PEG NPs can be activated by hydrogen peroxide resulting in podophyllotoxin release and are highly toxic against colon carcinoma CT26 cells. In vivo biodistribution studies demonstrate that PEGylated POD-PEG NPs are capable of prolonging blood circulation. Intravenous injection of POD-PEG NPs into CT26 tumor-bearing Balb/c mice resulted in a significantly enhanced therapeutic efficacy against tumors, with no significant systemic toxicity. Therefore, this H2O2-responsive prodrug delivery system exhibits good biosafety and provides a novel strategy for the development of drug delivery systems.

The Application of Nanotechnology in the Codelivery of Active Constituents of Plants and Chemotherapeutics for Overcoming Physiological Barriers during Antitumor Treatment

Antitumor therapy using a combination of drugs has shown increased clinical efficacy. Active constituents derived from plants can offer several advantages, such as high efficiacy, low toxicity, extensive effects, and multiple targets. At present, the combination of plants' active constituents and chemotherapeutic drugs has attracted increased attention. Nanodrug delivery systems (NDDSs) have been widely used in tumor-targeted therapy because of their efficacy of delivering antitumor drugs. The in vivo process of tumor-targeted NDDSs has several steps. They include blood circulation, tumor accumulation and penetration, target cell internalization and uptake, and drug release and drug response. In each step, NDDSs encounter multiple barriers that prevent their effective delivery to target sites. Studies have been performed to find alternative strategies to overcome these barriers. We reviewed the recent progress of codelivery of active constituents of plants and chemotherapeutics using NDDSs. Progress into transversing the physiological barriers for more effective in vivo antitumor delivery will be discussed in this review.

Two-dimensional nanomaterials: fascinating materials in biomedical field

Due to their high anisotropy and chemical functions, two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials have attracted increasing interest and attention from various scientific fields, including functional electronics, catalysis, supercapacitors, batteries and energy materials. In the biomedical field, 2D nanomaterials have made significant contributions to the field of nanomedicine, especially in drug/gene delivery systems, multimodal imaging, biosensing, antimicrobial agents and tissue engineering. 2D nanomaterials such as graphene/graphene oxide (GO)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO), silicate clays, layered double hydroxides (LDHs), transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), transition metal oxides (TMOs), black phosphorus (BP), graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄), hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), antimonene (AM), boron nanosheets (B NSs) and tin telluride nanosheets (SnTe NSs) possess excellent physical, chemical, optical and biological properties due to their uniform shapes, high surface-to-volume ratios and surface charge. In this review, we first introduce the properties, structures and synthetic strategies of different configurations of 2D nanomaterials. Recent advances and paradigms of 2D nanomaterials in a variety of biomedical applications, ranging from drug delivery, cancer treatment, bioimaging and tissue engineering to biosensing are discussed afterwards. In the final part, we foresee the development prospects and challenges of 2D nanomaterials after summarizing the research status of ultrathin 2D nanomaterials.

Sequentially Site-Specific Delivery of Apoptotic Protein and Tumor-Suppressor Gene for Combination Cancer Therapy

Nanocarrier-mediated codelivery of multiple anticancer drugs is a potential strategy for enhanced efficacy of combination cancer treatment by unifying differential pharmacokinetic properties and maintaining an optimal ratio of drug cargoes. However, a programmable codelivery system is highly desired to deliver different therapeutics to their specific sites of action to pursue maximized combinational effect. Herein a liposome-based nanoassembly (p53/C-rNC/L-FA) is developed for intracellular site-specific delivery of an apoptotic protein cytochrome c (CytoC) and a plasmid DNA encoding tumor-suppressing p53 protein (p53 DNA). p53/C-rNC/L-FA consists of an acid-activated fusogenic liposomal membrane shell modified with folic acid (L-FA) and a DNA/protein complex core assembled by the p53 DNA, protamine and CytoC-encapsulated redox-responsive nanocapsule (C-rNC). Intratumoral and intraendosomal acidities promote membrane fusion between liposome and biomembrane, resulting in release of the encapsulated p53/C-rNC complex into the cytoplasm. The cytoplasmic reduction causes degradation of C-rNC with release of CytoC that induces tumor cell apoptosis. The p53 DNA is transported into the nucleus by the aid of the cationic protamine and thus generates expression of the p53 protein that enhances apoptosis combined with CytoC. p53/C-rNC/L-FA is demonstrated to significantly induce tumor cell apoptosis and inhibit tumor growth in the orthotopic breast tumor mouse model.

Ratiometric delivery of doxorubicin and berberine by liposome enables superior therapeutic index than DoxilⓇ

Although the appearance of Doxil alleviated the cardiotoxicity of DOX, the progression-free survival of patients was not prolonged compared with traditional medication regimens, and side effects such as hand-foot syndrome has occurred. In order to solve this dilemma, we have designed a novel co-delivery strategy to construct a co-loaded liposome of berberine (BER) and doxorubicin (DOX), which was called LipoBeDo. The optimal synergistic ratio of the two drugs was screened by cell cytotoxicity experiments in vitro, and the optimal attenuation ratio was further determined by in vivo cardiac H&E staining pathological sections. The optimal combination treatment caused a robust increase in apoptotic cells of 4T1, as compared to drug alone treatment. The prepared co-loaded liposome, LipoBeDo, had high encapsulation efficiency and good stability. The nanoliposome carrier controlled the biological fate of the drugs and maintained a pre-defined optimal ratio in vivo. The LipoBeDo significantly inhibited tumor growth in 4T1 murine mammary carcinoma model compared with Doxil (P < 0.05), and completely overcame the myocardial rupture toxicity caused by Doxil in mice. Our co-loaded liposome delivery platform technology provided a new direction for the clinical treatment of triple-negative breast cancer and the safe application of DOX.

Reprogramming Tumor Immune Microenvironment (TIME) and Metabolism via Biomimetic Targeting Codelivery of Shikonin/JQ1

Remodeling tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) is an important strategy to lift the immunosuppression and achieve immune normalization. In this work, a mannosylated lactoferrin nanoparticulate system (Man-LF NPs) is developed for dual-targeting biomimetic codelivery of shikonin and JQ1 via the mannose receptor and LRP-1 that are overexpressed in both cancer cells and tumor-associated macrophages. The Man-LF NPs can serve as multitarget therapy for inducing immune cell death in the cancer cells, repressing glucose metabolism and repolarizing tumor-associated macrophages, and consequently, lead to remodeling the TIME (e.g., promotion of dendritic cell maturation and CD8⁺ T cell infiltration, as well as suppression of Treg). Moreover, JQ1 is a suppressor of PD-L1, and the Man-LF NPs can also work on PD-L1 checkpoint blockage. The results reveal the synergistic combination of shikonin and JQ1 and the treatment potency of the Man-LF NPs. Importantly, it is demonstrated that the interaction between the tumor metabolism and immunity plays an essential role in immunotherapy, and the developed drug combination and nanoformulation can target the multiple components in the complicated network of TIME, providing a potential therapeutic strategy.

Formation of dendrimer-guest complexes as a strategy to increase the solubility of a phenazine N, N'-dioxide derivative with antitumor activity

Poly(amidoamine) and Poly(propylenimine) dendrimers with different generations and peripheral groups were studied as solubility enhancers and nanocarriers for 7-bromo-2-hydroxy-phenazine N⁵,N¹⁰-dioxide. This compound possesses potential antitumoral and anti-trypanosomal activity, but its low solubility in physiological media precludes its possible application as therapeutic drug. The amino terminated dendrimers association with the active compounds as observed trough NMR studies showed that electrostatic interactions are essential in the solubilization enhancement process. The obtaining of a stable and no cytotoxic formulation makes the drug-carried association a suitable strategy for the generation of a drug delivery system for phenazine derivatives.

Polymeric Co-Delivery Systems in Cancer Treatment: An Overview on Component Drugs' Dosage Ratio Effect

Multiple factors are involved in the development of cancers and their effects on survival rate. Many are related to chemo-resistance of tumor cells. Thus, treatment with a single therapeutic agent is often inadequate for successful cancer therapy. Ideally, combination therapy inhibits tumor growth through multiple pathways by enhancing the performance of each individual therapy, often resulting in a synergistic effect. Polymeric nanoparticles prepared from block co-polymers have been a popular platform for co-delivery of combinations of drugs associated with the multiple functional compartments within such nanoparticles. Various polymeric nanoparticles have been applied to achieve enhanced therapeutic efficacy in cancer therapy. However, reported drug ratios used in such systems often vary widely. Thus, the same combination of drugs may result in very different therapeutic outcomes. In this review, we investigated polymeric co-delivery systems used in cancer treatment and the drug combinations used in these systems for synergistic anti-cancer effect. Development of polymeric co-delivery systems for a maximized therapeutic effect requires a deeper understanding of the optimal ratio among therapeutic agents and the natural heterogenicity of tumors.

Incorporation of a rhodamine B conjugated polymer for nanoparticle trafficking both in vitro and in vivo

A method to stably label and quantitatively detect self-assembled nanoparticles by the incorporation of rhodamine B-conjugated poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL–RhoB).

Paclitaxel-loaded pH responsive hydrogel based on self-assembled peptides for tumor targeting

Intratumoral delivery of chemotherapeutic agents may permit the localization of drugs in tumors, decrease nonspecific targeting and increase efficacy.

Hypoxia- and singlet oxygen-responsive chemo-photodynamic Micelles featured with glutathione depletion and aldehyde production

Triggered drug release from anti-tumor nanomedicine is an efficient approach to address the dilemma of systemic nanocarrier stability and on-demand drug liberation in tumor sites.

Cancer nanomedicine: focus on recent developments and self-assembled peptide nanocarriers

The applications of nanoparticulate drug delivery have received abundant interest in the field of cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Investigation of the antitumor activity and toxicity of long-circulating and fusogenic liposomes co-encapsulating paclitaxel and doxorubicin in a murine breast cancer animal model

To associate paclitaxel (PTX) with doxorubicin (DXR) is one of the main chemotherapy strategies for breast cancer (BC) management. Despite the high response rates for this combination, it presents a cardiotoxic synergism, attributed to pharmacokinetic interactions between PTX and both DXR and its metabolite, doxorubicinol. One of the main strategies to minimize the cardiotoxicity of the combination is to extend the interval of time between DXR and PTX administration. However, it has been previously suggested that their co-administration leads to better efficacy compared to their sequential administration. In the present study, we investigated different molar ratio combinations of PTX:DXR (10:1; 1:1, and 1:10) against the 4T1 murine breast cancer cell line and concluded that there is no benefit of enhancing PTX concentration above that of DXR on the combination. Therefore, we obtained a long-circulating and fusogenic liposomal formulation co-encapsulating PTX and DXR (LCFL-PTX/DXR) at a molar ratio of 1:10, respectively, which maintained the in vitro biological activity of the combination. This formulation was investigated for its antitumor activity and toxicity in Balb/c mice bearing 4T1 breast tumor, and compared to treatments with free PTX, free DXR, and the mixture of free PTX:DXR at 1:10 molar ratio. The higher tumor inhibition ratios were observed for the treatments with free and co-encapsulated PTX:DXR in liposomes (66.87 and 66.52%, respectively, P>0.05) as compared to the control. The great advantage of the treatment with LCFL-PTX/DXR was its improved cardiac toxicity profile. While degeneration was observed in the hearts of all animals treated with the free PTX:DXR combination, no signs of cardiac toxicity were observed for animals treated with the LCFL-PTX/DXR. Thus, LCFL-PTX/DXR enables the co-administration of PTX and DXR, and might be considered valuable for breast cancer management.

Biodegradable Nanoparticles Mediated Co-delivery of Erlotinib (ELTN) and Fedratinib (FDTN) Toward the Treatment of ELTN-Resistant Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) via Suppression of the JAK2/STAT3 Signaling Pathway

Background: Erlotinib (ELTN)-based targeted therapy as first-line treatment for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant lung cancers suffers from insufficient selectivity, side effects, and drug resistance, which poses critical challenges in the clinical setting. Acquired resistance of ELTN results in extremely poor prognoses of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, wherein activation of the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway has been proven to induce acquired ELTN resistance.

Methods: In this study, we developed a nanoparticle (NP) delivery system based on Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-poly(lactic acid) (PLA) for the co-delivery of ELTN and fedratinib (FDTN, a small-molecular, highly selective JAK2 inhibitor). Both ELTN and FDTN could be encapsulated into the PEG-PLA NPs via optimization of the encapsulation method. The effect of NPs on NSCLC cells was evaluated by MTT assay. Western blotting was performed to study the molecular mechanisms of NPs inhibiting the downstream pathways of EGFR in vitro. The histological analysis and protein expression in vivo were assessed by hematoxylin/eosin (H&E) staining and immunohistochemistry, respectively.

Results: The drug cargoes exhibited great stability, and could be released more efficiently in the acidic tumorous condition. Mechanistic study showed that FDTN notably down-regulated the expression levels of proteins in the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway, including p-EGFR, p-JAK2, p-STAT3 and Survivin, therefore reversing the ELTN resistance. As a result, synergistic anti-cancer effect was achieved by PEG-PLA NPs encapsulating both ELTN and FDTN in ELTN-resistant NSCLC tumors both in vitro and in vivo, and lower systemic side effect was noted for the co-delivery NPs compared to free drugs.

Conclusion: This study provides a promising approach to overcome the ELTN resistance in the treatment of NSCLC, and the use of FDA-approved materials with clinically applied/investigated chemical drugs may facilitate the translation of the current delivery system.

Photodynamic therapy-mediated remote control of chemotherapy toward synergistic anticancer treatment

Stimuli-responsive nanomedicine (NM) with an on-demand drug release property has demonstrated promising utility toward cancer therapy. However, sensitivity and cancer selectivity still remain critical challenges for intelligent NM, which will compromise its therapeutic efficacy and lead to undesired toxicity to normal tissues. Herein, we report a convenient and universal approach to spatiotemporally control the chemodrug release via the photodynamic therapy (PDT)-mediated alteration of the tumor microenvironment. An arylboronic ester (BE)-modified amphiphilic copolymer (mPEG-PBAM) was designed to form micelles and encapsulate doxorubicin (Dox) and hematoporphyrin (Hp). The Dox/Hp co-encapsulated micelles (PB-DH) were stable under normal physiological environment with a uniform size distribution (∼100 nm). In contrast, under tumor-specific light irradiation, extensive reactive oxygen species (ROS) will be generated from Hp in the tumor sites, thus quickly dissociating the micelles and selectively releasing the chemodrug Dox as a consequence of the ROS-mediated cleavage of the hydrophobic BE moieties on the polymers. As such, synergistic anti-cancer efficacy was achieved between the Dox-mediated chemotherapy and the Hp-mediated PDT. This study therefore provides a useful approach to realize the precise and selective control over chemodrug delivery, and it renders promising utilities for the programmable combination of PDT and chemotherapy.

Combined CDK4/6 and Pan-mTOR Inhibition Is Synergistic Against Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma

PURPOSE

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is an aggressive cancer type, lacking effective therapies and associated with a dismal prognosis. Palbociclib is a selective CDK4/6 inhibitor, which has been shown to suppress cell proliferation in many experimental cancer models. Recently, we demonstrated that pan-mTOR inhibitors, such as MLN0128, effectively induce apoptosis, although have limited efficacy in restraining proliferation of ICC cells. Here, we tested the hypothesis that palbociclib, due to its antproliferative properties in many cancer types, might synergize with MLN0128 to impair ICC growth.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Human ICC cell lines and the AKT/YapS127A ICC mouse model were used to test the therapeutic efficacy of palbociclib and MLN0128, either alone or in combination.

RESULTS

Administration of palbociclib suppressed in vitro ICC cell growth by inhibiting cell-cycle progression. Concomitant administration of palbociclib and MLN0128 led to a pronounced, synergistic growth constraint of ICC cell lines. Furthermore, while treatment with palbociclib or MLN0128 alone resulted in tumor growth reduction in AKT/YapS127A mice, a remarkable tumor regression was achieved when the two drugs were administered simultaneously. Mechanistically, palbociclib was found to potentiate MLN0128 mTOR inhibition activity, whereas MLN0128 prevented the upregulation of cyclin D1 induced by palbociclib treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study indicates the synergistic activity of palbociclib and MLN0128 in inhibiting ICC cell proliferation. Thus, combination of CDK4/6 and mTOR inhibitors might represent a novel, promising, and effective therapeutic approach against human ICC.See related commentary by Malumbres, p. 6.