What is the Reason That the Pharmacological Future of Chemotherapeutics in the Treatment of Lung Cancer Could Be Most Closely Related to Nanostructures? Platinum Drugs in Therapy of Non-Small and Small Cell Lung Cancer and Their Unexpected, Possible Interactions. The Review

Over the course of several decades, anticancer treatment with chemotherapy drugs for lung cancer has not changed significantly. Unfortunately, this treatment prolongs the patient's life only by a few months, causing many side effects in the human body. It has also been proven that drugs such as Cisplatin, Carboplatin, Oxaliplatin and others can react with other substances containing an aromatic ring in which the nitrogen atom has a free electron group in its structure. Thus, such structures may have a competitive effect on the nucleobases of DNA. Therefore, scientists are looking not only for new drugs, but also for new alternative ways of delivering the drug to the cancer site. Nanotechnology seems to be a great hope in this matter. Creating a new nanomedicine would reduce the dose of the drug to an absolute minimum, and thus limit the toxic effect of the drug; it would allow for the exclusion of interactions with competitive compounds with a structure similar to nucleobases; it would also permit using the so-called targeted treatment and bypassing healthy cells; it would allow for the introduction of other treatment options, such as radiotherapy directly to the cancer site; and it would provide diagnostic possibilities. This article is a review that aims to systematize the knowledge regarding the anticancer treatment of lung cancer, but not only. It shows the clear possibility of interactions of chemotherapeutics with compounds competitive to the nitrogenous bases of DNA. It also shows the possibilities of using nanostructures as potential Platinum drug carriers, and proves that nanomedicine can easily become a new medicinal product in personalized medicine.

Polyacrylic Acid Nanoplatforms: Antimicrobial, Tissue Engineering, and Cancer Theranostic Applications

Polyacrylic acid (PAA) is a non-toxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable polymer that gained lots of interest in recent years. PAA nano-derivatives can be obtained by chemical modification of carboxyl groups with superior chemical properties in comparison to unmodified PAA. For example, nano-particles produced from PAA derivatives can be used to deliver drugs due to their stability and biocompatibility. PAA and its nanoconjugates could also be regarded as stimuli-responsive platforms that make them ideal for drug delivery and antimicrobial applications. These properties make PAA a good candidate for conventional and novel drug carrier systems. Here, we started with synthesis approaches, structure characteristics, and other architectures of PAA nanoplatforms. Then, different conjugations of PAA/nanostructures and their potential in various fields of nanomedicine such as antimicrobial, anticancer, imaging, biosensor, and tissue engineering were discussed. Finally, biocompatibility and challenges of PAA nanoplatforms were highlighted. This review will provide fundamental knowledge and current information connected to the PAA nanoplatforms and their applications in biological fields for a broad audience of researchers, engineers, and newcomers. In this light, PAA nanoplatforms could have great potential for the research and development of new nano vaccines and nano drugs in the future.

The Fate of Nanoparticles In Vivo and the Strategy of Designing Stealth Nanoparticle for Drug Delivery

Nano-drug delivery systems (Nano-DDS) offer powerful advantages in drug delivery and targeted therapy for diseases. Compared to the traditional drug formulations, Nano-DDS can increase solubility, biocompatibility, and reduce off-targeted side effects of free drugs. However, they still have some disadvantages that pose a limitation in reaching their full potential in clinical use. Protein adsorption in blood, activation of the complement system, and subsequent sequestration by the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS) consequently result in nanoparticles (NPs) to be rapidly cleared from circulation. Therefore, NPs have low drug delivery efficiency. So, it is important to develop stealth NPs for reducing bio-nano interaction. In this review, we first conclude the interaction between NPs and biological environments, such as blood proteins and MPS, and factors influencing each other. Next, we will summarize the new strategies to reduce NPs protein adsorption and uptake by the MPS based on current knowledge of the bio-nano interaction. Further directions will also be highlighted for the development of biomimetic stealth nano-delivery systems by combining targeted strategies for a better therapeutic effect.

Entropy-Driven Quick Loading of Functional Proteins in Nanohydrogels for Highly Efficient Tumor Targeting Therapy

With the gradual deep understanding of the tumorigenesis and development process, nanodrug are thought to have great prospects for individualized treatment of tumors. To deliver adequate concentration of active ingredients to targeted tissues, proteins are usually used as carriers to avoid clearance by the immune system. Herein, a new strategy is developed for preparation of the protein-functionalized targeting nanodrugs; different kinds of proteins (albumin, horseradish, transferrin, and ricin) can be quickly loaded in polyacrylic acid nanohydrogels (PAA-NGs) without discrimination within 1 min under the strong driving force of entropy; and the loading efficiency can reach 99% with about 50% loading content. Meanwhile, the activity of the released protein can be well retained. After oriented binding of the targeting agent on the surface of the nanocarriers by a unique and facile technique, the protein-loaded nanodrug exhibits excellent tumor cell uptake and targeting effect. The excellent targeting ability from the oriented binding is further proved by comparing with the non-oriented targeting system. With quick loading of the anti-tumor protein of ricin and oriented binding of transferrin protein (Tf), the targeting nanodrug (PAA-BB@Ricin/Tf) shows a remarkable anti-tumor effect. This study proves a new universal delivery and targeting strategy for improving the nanodelivery system, which has great potentials for clinical application.

Therapeutic nanostructures and nanotoxicity

Nanotechnology, with its continuous advancement, leads to the development of nanoscale-level therapeutics to mitigate many complex diseases. This results in the emergence of numerous novel nanomaterials and its composite products into the market such as liposome, polymeric nanoparticles, dendrimers, and nanostructured lipid carrier. However, their application is always determined by a high benefit to risk ratio. Very few research have been done on the toxicity assessment of nanoparticles in the biological system; therefore, the limited knowledge regarding the toxicity profile of nanotherapeutics is available leading to the ignorance of its side effects. Nanoparticles can distribute in the whole body through translocating in the bloodstream by crossing membrane barriers efficiently and shows effect in organs and tissues at cellular and molecular levels. The interaction of nanoparticle with cell may consequences into nanotoxicity. The narrow size distribution, large surface area to mass ratio and surface properties of nanoparticle are significantly associated with nanotoxicity. Nanoparticles can enter into the tissue and cell by invading the membranes and cause cellular injury as well as toxicity. Therefore, the exploration of mechanisms of nanotoxicity has prime importance now a day. The toxicity assessment should be an integral part of the development of nanotherapeutics using various toxicity evaluation models. This review has focused on the exploration of different nanostructures for therapeutic delivery system along with its physicochemical characteristics responsible for adverse effects on human biology, various toxicity evaluation models, and environmental and regulatory hurdles.

Systemic Nanoparticle-Mediated Delivery of Pantetheinase Vanin-1 Regulates Lipolysis and Adiposity in Abdominal White Adipose Tissue

Lipolysis in white adipose tissue (WAT) occurs in response to nutritional signals and helps to regulate lipid turnover/adiposity in animals. However, the causal relationships and the mechanisms controlling WAT morphology are not clear. In this report, Vanin-1, a pantetheinase, is shown to be a novel determinant for lipolysis and adiposity. The expression of Vanin-1 in the abdominal WAT is positively correlated with lipolysis both in mice and in humans. Mice with global Vanin-1 deficiency exhibit adipocyte hypertrophy and impaired lipolysis. Use of a nanosystem comprising P3-peptide, chitosan oligosaccharide lactate, and polyethylene glycol that controls Vanin-1 expression in the abdominal WAT shows that WAT-specific Vanin-1 knockdown blocks fasting-induced lipolysis and prevents WAT loss. However, WAT-specific Vanin-1 mRNA restoration rescues impaired lipolysis and improves glucose/insulin intolerance in diabetic db/db mice. Mechanistically, Vanin-1 induces PPARγ activity and subsequently facilitates its activation on the proximal promoters of lipolytic genes. Thus, an essential role of Vanin-1 in the regulation of lipolysis and adiposity is revealed, and a functional RNA delivering strategy for specific intervention of Vanin-1 expression in WAT is shown. These findings provide a promising approach to treat metabolic diseases caused by dysregulation of Vanin-1 and lipolysis.

Calcitriol-Loaded Dual-pH-Sensitive Micelle Counteracts Pro-Metastasis Effect of Paclitaxel in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Therapy

The therapy of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) relies on chemotherapy basing on cytotoxic agents, including paclitaxel (PTX). Unfortunately, PTX will facilitate the invasion of cancer cells and the formation of metastases. To counteract pro-metastasis of PTX in TNBC therapy, in this work, calcitriol (CTL) is delivered along with PTX by a dual-pH-sensitive micelle. The PTX/CTL-co-loaded dual-pH-sensitive micelle (PCDM) can switch its surface charge from negative to positive at the tumor tissue and release PTX and CTL inside the lysosomes because of the structure change of the polymers composing PCDM under the acidic condition. This property makes PCDM able to escape from mononuclear-phagocyte system clearance and easy to enter tumor cells. PCDM efficiently suppresses the 4T1 primary tumor growth in mice and inhibits lung metastasis, due to downregulation of matrix metalloproteinase-9 and BCL-2 levels, upregulation of E-cadherin level, and counteracting the PTX-induced elevation of C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) and Ly6C⁺ monocytes levels by CTL. PCDM shows good biocompatibility without promoting the serum calcium level. Therefore, the combination of PTX and CTL based on this pH-sensitive micelle is promising for the TNBC treatment.