In-silico study of drug delivery to atherosclerosis in the human carotid artery using metal-organic frameworks based on adhesion of nanocarriers

This study investigates nanocarriers (NCs) for drug delivery targeting carotid artery atherosclerosis. This targeted drug delivery mechanism is based on ligand-receptor bindings facilitated by coating NCs with P-selectin aptamers, which exhibit high affinities for P-selectin plaque receptors. Recognizing the significant advantages of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), such as their high drug-loading percentages, we chose them as nanocarriers for this research. Our evaluation considers critical factors: NC surface density (the number of attached nanocarriers per unit of plaque area), toxicity (percentage of NCs missing the target), and efficient drug transfer to plaque tissue. Employing molecular dynamics (MD) for drug loading calculations via van der Waals interactions and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for toxicity, surface density, and drug transfer assessments, we achieve a comprehensive analysis. A cardiac cycle-based metric guides optimal MOF release conditions, establishing an ideal dosage of 600 NCs per cycle. MOF-801 exhibits outstanding drug delivery performance, particularly in plaque targeting. While a magnetic field enhances NC adhesion, its impact on drug transfer is limited, emphasizing the need for further optimization in magnetic targeting for NC-based therapies. This study provides crucial insights into NC drug delivery performance in carotid artery atherosclerosis, advancing the field of targeted drug delivery for atherosclerosis treatment.

Rational Design of Copper(II)-Uracil Nanoprocessed Coordination Polymers to Improve Their Cytotoxic Activity in Biological Media

This work is focused on the rational structural design of two isostructural Cu(II) nano-coordination polymers (NCPs) with uracil-1-acetic acid (UAcOH) (CP1n) and 5-fluorouracil-1-acetic acid (CP2n). Suitable single crystals for X-ray diffraction studies of CP1 and CP2 were prepared under hydrothermal conditions, enabling their structural determination as 1D-CP ladder-like polymeric structures. The control of the synthetic parameters allows their processability into water colloids based on nanoplates (CP1n and CP2n). These NCPs are stable in water at physiological pHs for long periods. However, interestingly, CP1n is chemically altered in culture media. These transformations provoke the partial release of its building blocks and the formation of new species, such as [Cu(UAcO)₂(H₂O)₄]·2H₂O (Cu(II)-complex), and species corresponding to the partial reduction of the Cu(II) centers. The cytotoxic studies of CP1n versus human pancreatic adenocarcinoma and human uveal melanoma cells show that CP1n produces a decrease in the cell viability, while their UAcOH and Cu(II)-complex are not cytotoxic under similar conditions. The copper reduction species detected in the hydrolysis of CP1n are closely related to the formation of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) detected in the cytotoxic studies. These results prompted us to prepare CP2n that was designed to improve the cytotoxicity by the substitution of UAcO by 5-FUAcO, taking into account the anticancer activity of the 5-fluorouracil moiety. The new CP2n has a similar behavior to CP1n both in water and in biological media. However, its subtle structural differences are vital in improving its cytotoxic activity. Indeed, the release during the hydrolysis of species containing the 5-fluorouracil moiety provokes a remarkable increase in cellular toxicity and a significant increase in ROS species formation.

Carboxymethyl cellulose/tetracycline@UiO-66 nanocomposite hydrogel films as a potential antibacterial wound dressing

Designing an antibacterial agent with a suitable water vapor permeability, good mechanical properties, and controlled antibiotic release is a promising method for stopping bacterial infection in wound tissue. In this respect, this work aims to prepare novel flexible polymeric hydrogel films via integrating UiO-66 into the polymeric carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) hydrogel for improving the mechanical and antibiotic release performances. First, we performed a green hydrothermal synthetic method to synthesis UiO-66 and followed by encapsulating Tetracycline (TC) through immersion in its aqueous solution. Also, the casting technique was utilized to integrate different concentrations of the TC-encapsulated UiO-66 (TC@UiO-66, 5% to 15%) in the polymeric CMC matrix (CMC/TC@UiO-66) cross-linked by citric acid and plasticized by glycerol. The release performance showed a low initial burst release with a controlled release over 72 h in the artificial sweat and simulated wound exudate (PBS, pH 7.4) media. The in vitro cytotoxicity and antibacterial activity results revealed a good cytocompatibility toward Human skin fibroblast (HFF-1) cells and a significant activity against both E. coli and S. aureus with 1.3 and 1.7 cm inhibition zone, respectively. The obtained results recommend CMC/TC@UiO-66 films as a potential antibacterial wound dressing.

Solvothermal Preparation of a Lanthanide Metal-Organic Framework for Highly Sensitive Discrimination of Nitrofurantoin and l-Tyrosine

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been rapidly developed for their broad applications in many different chemistry and materials fields. In this work, a multi-dentate building block 5-(4-(tetrazol-5-yl)phenyl)-isophthalic acid (H₃L) containing tetrazole and carbolxylate moieties was employed for the synthesis of a two-dimensional (2D) lanthanide MOF [La(HL)(DMF)₂(NO₃)] (DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide) (1) under solvothermal condition. The fluorescent sensing application of 1 was investigated. 1 exhibits high sensitivity recognition for antibiotic nitrofurantoin (K_sv: 3.0 × 10³ M⁻¹ and detection limit: 17.0 μM) and amino acid l-tyrosine (K_sv: 1.4 × 10⁴ M⁻¹ and detection limit: 3.6 μM). This work provides a feasible detection platform of 2D MOFs for highly sensitive discrimination of antibiotics and amino acids.

Breast Cancer Targeting of a Drug Delivery System through Postsynthetic Modification of Curcumin@N3-bio-MOF-100 via Click Chemistry

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) offer many opportunities for applications across biology and medicine. Their wide range of chemical composition makes toxicologically acceptable formulation possible, and their high level of functionality enables possible applications as delivery systems for therapeutics agents. Surface modifications have been used in drug delivery systems to minimize their interaction with the bulk, improving their specificity as targeted carriers. Herein, we discuss a strategy to achieve a tumor-targeting drug-loaded MOF using "click" chemistry to anchor functional folic acid (FA) molecules on the surface of N₃-bio-MOF-100. Using curcumin (CCM) as an anticancer drug, we observed drug loading encapsulation efficiencies (DLEs) of 24.02 and 25.64% after soaking N₃-bio-MOF-100 in CCM solutions for 1 day and 3 days, respectively. The success of postsynthetic modification of FA was confirmed by ¹H NMR spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The stimuli-responsive drug release studies demonstrated an increase of CCM released under acidic microenvironments. Moreover, the cell viability assay was performed on the 4T1 (breast cancer) cell line in the presence of CCM@N₃-bio-MOF-100 and CCM@N₃-bio-MOF-100/FA carriers to confirm its biological compatibility. In addition, a cellular uptake study was conducted to evaluate the targeting of tumor cells.

Delivery of oxaliplatin to colorectal cancer cells by folate-targeted UiO-66-NH2

Oxaliplatin is being used in different malignancies and several side effects are reported for patients taking Oxaliplatin, including peripheral neuropathy, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, mouth sores, low blood counts, fatigue, loss of appetite, etc. Here we have developed a targeted anticancer drug delivery system based on folate-conjugated amine-functionalized UiO-66 for the delivery of oxaliplatin (OX). UiO-66-NH₂ (U) and UiO-66-NH₂-FA(FU) were pre-functionalized by the incorporation of folic acid (FA) into the structure via coordination of the carboxylate group of FA. The FTIR spectra of drug-loaded U and FU showed the presence of new carboxylic and aliphatic groups of OX and FA. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) patterns were matched accordingly with the reference pattern and FESEM results showed semi-spherical particles (115-128 nm). The evaluated amounts of OX in U and FU were calculated 304.5 and 293 mg/g_, respectively. The initial burst release of OX was 15.7% per hour for U(OX) and 10.8% per hour for FU(OX). The final release plateau gives 62.9% and 52.3% for U(OX) and FU(OX). To evaluate the application of the prepared delivery platform, they were tested on colorectal cancer cells (CT-26) via MTT assay, cell migration assay, and spheroid model. IC₅₀ values obtained from MTT assay were 21.38, 95.50, and 18.20 μg/mL for OX, U(OX), and FU(OX), respectively. After three days of treatment, the CT26 spheroids at two doses of 500 and 50 μg/mL of U(OX) and FU(OX) showed volume reduction. Moreover, the oxidative behavior of the prepared systems within the cell was assessed by total thiol, malondialdehyde, and superoxide dismutase activity. The results showed that FU(OX) had higher efficacy in preventing the growth of CT-26 spheroid, and was more effective than oxaliplation in cell migration inhibition, and induced higher oxidative stress and apoptosis.

Recent advances in metallopolymer-based drug delivery systems

Metallopolymers (MPs) or metal-containing polymers have shown great potential as new drug delivery systems (DDSs) due to their unique properties, including universal architectures, composition, properties and surface chemistry. Over the past few decades, the exponential growth of many new classes of MPs that deal with these issues has been demonstrated. This review presents and assesses the recent advances and challenges associated with using MPs as DDSs. Among the most widely used MPs for these purposes, metal complexes based on synthetic and natural polymers, coordination polymers, metal-organic frameworks, and metallodendrimers are distinguished. Particular attention is paid to the stimulus- and multistimuli-responsive metallopolymer-based DDSs. Of considerable interest is the use of MPs for combination therapy and multimodal systems. Finally, the problems and future prospects of using metallopolymer-based DDSs are outlined. The bibliography includes articles published over the past five years.