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Desiderio L, Gjerde NS, Tasca E, Galantini L, Llarena I, Di Gianvincenzo P, Thongsom S, Moya SE, Giustini M. Determination of the optimal pH for doxorubicin encapsulation in polymeric micelles. J Colloid Interface Sci 2024; 664:972-979. [PMID: 38508032 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.03.101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Revised: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
HYPOTHESIS The anticancer drug doxorubicin hydrochloride (DX) shows a high solubility in aqueous media thanks to the positive charge in the ammonium group. This feature, however, affects the drug encapsulation in the hydrophobic domains of polymeric micelles (PMs) used for the targeted delivery of the drug. At basic pH, DX deprotonates but also acquires a negative charge in the phenolic groups of the anthracycline structure. Both the efficiency and the rate of encapsulation will be increased by choosing an appropriate pH such that the drug molecule is in neutral form. EXPERIMENTS An optimal pH for the encapsulation of the DX in PMs based on commercial poloxamers and on the diblock copolymer methoxy-poly(ethylene glycol)17-b-poly(ε-caprolactone)9 was determined by fluorescence spectroscopy, following the time evolution of both the intensity ratio of the first and the second emission bands of DX and its fluorescence lifetime, both sensitive to the environment polarity. Intracellular delivery of PMs encapsulated drug was followed by Confocal Scanning Laser Microscopy (CSLM). Cell viability was assessed with the sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. FINDINGS By adjusting pH to 8.1 a high yield of incorporation of DX in the PMs was achieved coupled to an appreciable increase (one order of magnitude) in the drug encapsulation rate. In-vitro tests in selected cancer cell lines showed the slow release of the drug and a delay in the cytotoxic response in comparison to free DX as detected by CSLM and SRB assay. The proposed methodology paves the way for a greener, faster and more efficient encapsulation of DX in PMs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucrezia Desiderio
- Chemistry Department, University of Rome "La Sapienza", P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | | | - Elisamaria Tasca
- Chemistry Department, University of Rome "La Sapienza", P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Luciano Galantini
- Chemistry Department, University of Rome "La Sapienza", P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Irantzu Llarena
- CIC biomaGUNE, Paseo Miramon 182, 20011 San Sebastián, Spain
| | | | - Sunisa Thongsom
- CIC biomaGUNE, Paseo Miramon 182, 20011 San Sebastián, Spain
| | - Sergio E Moya
- CIC biomaGUNE, Paseo Miramon 182, 20011 San Sebastián, Spain.
| | - Mauro Giustini
- Chemistry Department, University of Rome "La Sapienza", P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; CSGI c/o Chemistry Department, University of Bari, Via Orabona 4, 70126 Bari, Italy.
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Dockery LT, Daniel MC. Targeted Doxorubicin-Loaded Dendronized Gold Nanoparticles. Pharmaceutics 2023; 15:2103. [PMID: 37631317 PMCID: PMC10459818 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15082103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2023] [Revised: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Dendronized nanoparticles, also called nanoparticle-cored dendrimers, combine the advantages of nanoparticles and dendrimers. These very stable and polyvalent nanoparticles can be used for diverse applications. One such application is drug delivery, because the dendrons can enhance the density of the payload. In this report, we describe the design of multifunctional gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) coated with poly(propylene imine) (PPI) dendrons that contain both prostate cancer active targeting and chemotherapeutic drugs. The PPI dendron is a good candidate for the design of drug delivery vehicles because of its ability to induce a proton sponge effect that will enhance lysosomal escape and intracellular therapeutic delivery. The chemotherapeutic drug used is doxorubicin (DOX), and it was linked to the dendron through a hydrazone acid-sensitive bond. Subsequent acidification of the AuNP system to a pH of 4-5 resulted in the release of 140 DOX drugs per nanoparticles. In addition, the PPI dendron was conjugated via "click" chemistry to an EphA2-targeting antibody fragment that has been shown to target prostate cancer cells. In vitro cell viability assays revealed an IC50 of 0.9 nM for the targeted DOX-bearing AuNPs after 48 h incubation with PC3 cells. These results are very promising upon optimization of the system.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marie-Christine Daniel
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), Baltimore, MD 21250, USA;
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Quantum control of optoelectronic and thermodynamic properties of dopamine molecule in external electric field : A DFT and TD-DFT study. COMPUT THEOR CHEM 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.comptc.2023.114051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
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A Simplified Treatment for Efficiently Modeling the Spectral Signal of Vibronic Transitions: Application to Aqueous Indole. MOLECULES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 27:molecules27238135. [PMID: 36500228 PMCID: PMC9739849 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27238135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
In this paper, we introduce specific approximations to simplify the vibronic treatment in modeling absorption and emission spectra, allowing us to include a huge number of vibronic transitions in the calculations. Implementation of such a simplified vibronic treatment within our general approach for modelling vibronic spectra, based on molecular dynamics simulations and the perturbed matrix method, provided a quantitative reproduction of the absorption and emission spectra of aqueous indole with higher accuracy than the one obtained when using the existing vibronic treatment. Such results, showing the reliability of the approximations employed, indicate that the proposed method can be a very efficient and accurate tool for computational spectroscopy.
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Theoretical Evaluation of Sulfur-Based Reactions as a Model for Biological Antioxidant Defense. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232314515. [PMID: 36498842 PMCID: PMC9741100 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232314515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Sulfur-containing amino acids, Methionine (Met) and Cysteine (Cys), are very susceptible to Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). Therefore, sulfur-based reactions regulate many biological processes, playing a key role in maintaining cellular redox homeostasis and modulating intracellular signaling cascades. In oxidative conditions, Met acts as a ROS scavenger, through Met sulfoxide formation, while thiol/disulfide interchange reactions take place between Cys residues as a response to many environmental stimuli. In this work, we apply a QM/MM theoretical-computational approach, which combines quantum-mechanical calculations with classical molecular dynamics simulations to estimate the free energy profile for the above-mentioned reactions in solution. The results obtained, in good agreement with experimental data, show the validity of our approach in modeling sulfur-based reactions, enabling us to study these mechanisms in more complex biological systems.
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Chen C, Nardi AN, Amadei A, D’Abramo M. PyMM: An Open-Source Python Program for QM/MM Simulations Based on the Perturbed Matrix Method. J Chem Theory Comput 2022; 19:33-41. [PMID: 36378163 PMCID: PMC9835827 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.2c00767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Quantum mechanical/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) methods are important tools in molecular modeling as they are able to couple an extended phase space sampling with an accurate description of the electronic properties of the system. Here, we describe a Python software package, called PyMM, which has been developed to apply a QM/MM approach, the perturbed matrix method, in a simple and efficient way. PyMM requires a classical atomic trajectory of the whole system and a set of unperturbed electronic properties of the ground and electronic excited states. The software output includes a set of the most common perturbed properties, such as the electronic excitation energies and the transitions dipole moments, as well as the eigenvectors describing the perturbed electronic states, which can be then used to estimate whatever electronic property. The software is composed of a simple and complete command-line interface, a set of internal input validation, and three main analyses focusing on (i) the perturbed eigenvector behavior, (ii) the calculation of the electronic absorption spectrum, and (iii) the estimation of the free energy differences along a reaction coordinate.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Andrea Amadei
- Department
of Technological and Chemical Sciences, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome00133, Italy
| | - Marco D’Abramo
- Department
of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome00185, Italy,
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D’Annibale V, Fracassi D, Marracino P, D’Inzeo G, D’Abramo M. Effects of Environmental and Electric Perturbations on the pKa of Thioredoxin Cysteine 35: A Computational Study. MOLECULES (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 27:molecules27196454. [PMID: 36234991 PMCID: PMC9570579 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27196454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Revised: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Here we present a theoretical-computational study dealing with the evaluation of the pKa of the Cysteine residues in Thioredoxin (TRX) and in its complex with the Thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP). The free energy differences between the anionic and neutral form of the Cysteine 32 and 35 have been evaluated by means of the Perturbed Matrix Method with classical perturbations due to both the environment and an exogenous electric field as provided by Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. The evaluation of the free energies allowed us to show that the effect of the perturbing terms is to lower the pKa of Cysteine 32 and Cysteine 35 with respect to the free amino-acid. On the other hand, in the complex TRX-TXNIP, our data show an enhanced stabilization of the neutral reduced form of Cys 35. These results suggest that external electric stimuli higher than 0.02 V/nm can modulate the Cysteine pKa, which can be connected to the tight regulation of the TRX acting as an antioxidant agent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valeria D’Annibale
- Department of Chemistry, La Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
- Department of Basic and Applied Sciences for Engineering, La Sapienza University of Rome, Via Antonio Scarpa 14, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Donatella Fracassi
- Department of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications, La Sapienza University of Rome, Via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome, Italy
| | - Paolo Marracino
- Rise Technology S.r.l., Lungomare Paolo Toscanelli, 00121 Rome, Italy
- Correspondence: (P.M.); (M.D.)
| | - Guglielmo D’Inzeo
- Department of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications, La Sapienza University of Rome, Via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome, Italy
| | - Marco D’Abramo
- Department of Chemistry, La Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
- Correspondence: (P.M.); (M.D.)
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Gjerde NS, Nardi AN, Chen CG, Di Gianvincenzo P, D’Abramo M, Scipioni A, Galantini L, Moya SE, Giustini M. Complexation and organization of doxorubicin on polystyrene sulfonate chains: impacts on doxorubicin dimerization and quenching. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:25990-25998. [DOI: 10.1039/d2cp02714c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The doxorubicin hydrochloride (DX) interaction with polystyrene sulfonate leads to fluorescence quenching due to dimer formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Solfrid Gjerde
- Chemistry Department, “La Sapienza” University of Rome, P. le A. Moro 5, Roma, 00185, Italy
| | | | - Cheng Giuseppe Chen
- Chemistry Department, “La Sapienza” University of Rome, P. le A. Moro 5, Roma, 00185, Italy
| | - Paolo Di Gianvincenzo
- Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials (CIC biomaGUNE), Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Paseo Miramon 182 C, 20014 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
| | - Marco D’Abramo
- Chemistry Department, “La Sapienza” University of Rome, P. le A. Moro 5, Roma, 00185, Italy
| | - Anita Scipioni
- Chemistry Department, “La Sapienza” University of Rome, P. le A. Moro 5, Roma, 00185, Italy
| | - Luciano Galantini
- Chemistry Department, “La Sapienza” University of Rome, P. le A. Moro 5, Roma, 00185, Italy
| | - Sergio E. Moya
- Chemistry Department, “La Sapienza” University of Rome, P. le A. Moro 5, Roma, 00185, Italy
- Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials (CIC biomaGUNE), Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Paseo Miramon 182 C, 20014 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
| | - Mauro Giustini
- Chemistry Department, “La Sapienza” University of Rome, P. le A. Moro 5, Roma, 00185, Italy
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