Polymer-Drug Conjugates: Novel Carriers for Cancer Chemotherapy

Biotinylated Polymer-Ruthenium Conjugates: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies in a Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Model

The need for new therapeutic approaches for triple-negative breast cancer is a clinically relevant problem that needs to be solved. Using a multi-targeting approach to enhance cancer cell uptake, we synthesized a new family of ruthenium(II) organometallic complexes envisaging simultaneous active and passive targeting, using biotin and polylactide (PLA), respectively. All compounds with the general formula, [Ru(η5-CpR)(P)(2,2′-bipy-4,4′-PLA-biotin)][CF3SO3], where R is -H or -CH3 and P is P(C6H5)3, P(C6H4F)3 or P(C6H4OCH3)3, were tested against triple-negative breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231 showing IC50 values between 2.3–14.6 µM, much better than cisplatin, a classical chemotherapeutic drug, in the same experimental conditions. We selected compound 1 (where R is H and P is P(C6H5)3), for further studies as it was the one showing the best biological effect. In a competitive assay with biotin, we showed that cell uptake via SMVT receptors seems to be the main transport route into the cells for this compound, validating the strategy of including biotin in the design of the compound. The effects of the compound on the hallmarks of cancer show that the compound leads to apoptosis, interferes with proliferation by affecting the formation of cell colonies in a dose-dependent manner and disrupts the cell cytoskeleton. Preliminary in vivo assays in N: NIH(S)II-nu/nu mice show that the concentrations of compound 1 used in this experiment (maximum 4 mg/kg) are safe to use in vivo, although some signs of liver toxicity are already found. In addition, the new compound shows a tendency to control tumor growth, although not significantly. In sum, we showed that compound 1 shows promising anti-cancer effects, bringing a new avenue for triple-negative breast cancer therapy.

Photo- and Acid-Degradable Polyacylhydrazone-Doxorubicin Conjugates

Light-mediated polymer degradation has attracted considerable attention in various applications, including photo-patterning, tissue engineering and photo-triggered drug delivery. In this study, we report the synthesis and characterization of a new, linear, main-chain photo- and acid-degradable copolymer based on acylhydrazone linkages. The polymer was synthesized via a step-growth copolymerization of adipic acid dihydrazide with a bifunctional poly(ethylene glycol) bearing benzaldehyde end-groups, under mild acidic conditions, to afford a hydrophilic PEG-alt-adipic acid (PEG-alt-AA) alternating copolymer. The synthesized polymer was characterized by size exclusion chromatography, proton nuclear magnetic resonance and attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies. The main-chain photo- and acid-induced degradation of the copolymer in dimethylsulfoxide and water, respectively, was verified by UV-vis spectroscopy at light intensities as low as 0.1 mW cm⁻² at λ = 254 nm. Next, a model anticancer drug, doxorubicin (DOX), was chemically linked to the polymer chain end(s) via acylhydrazone bond(s), resulting in amphiphilic PEG-alt-adipic acid-DOX (PEG-alt-AA-DOX) polymer–drug conjugates. The conjugates were self-assembled in water to form spherical nanoparticles, as evidenced by scanning and transmission electron microscopies. The irradiation of the self-assembled PEG-alt-AA-DOX conjugates with UV light and the decrease of the solution pH resulted in the disruption of the assemblies due to the photolysis and acidolysis of the acylhydrazone bonds, and the release of the therapeutic cargo.

Recent advances in targeting malaria with nanotechnology-based drug carriers

Malaria, as one of the most common human infectious diseases, remains the greatest global health concern, since approximately 3.5 billion people around the world, especially those in subtropical areas, are at the risk of being infected by malaria. Due to the emergence and spread of drug resistance to the current antimalarials, malaria-related mortality and incidence rates have recently increased. To overcome the aforementioned obstacles, nano-vehicles based on biodegradable, natural, and non-toxic polymers have been developed. Accordingly, these systems are considered as a potential drug vehicle, which due to their unique properties such as the excellent safety profile, good biocompatibility, tunable structure, diversity, and the presence of functional groups within the polymer structure, could facilitate covalent attachment of targeting moieties and antimalarials to the polymeric nano-vehicles. In this review, we highlighted some recent developments of liposomes as unique nanoscale drug delivery vehicles and several polymeric nanovehicles, including hydrogels, dendrimers, self-assembled micelles, and polymer-drug conjugates for the effective delivery of antimalarials.

Critical quality attributes in the development of therapeutic nanomedicines toward clinical translation

Nanomedicine is a rapidly emerging field with several breakthroughs in the therapeutic drug delivery application. The unique properties of the nanoscale delivery systems offer huge advantages to their payload such as solubilization, increased bioavailability, and improved pharmacokinetics with an overall goal of enhanced therapeutic index. Nanomedicine has the potential for integrating and enabling new therapeutic modalities. Several nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems have been granted approval for clinical use based on their outstanding clinical outcomes. Nanomedicine faces several challenges that hinder the realization of its full potential. In this review, we discuss the critical formulation- and biological-related quality features that significantly influence the performance of nanoparticulate systems in vivo. We also discuss the quality-by-design approach in the pharmaceutical manufacturing and its implementation in the nanomedicine. A deep understanding of these nanomedicine quality checkpoints and a systematic design that takes them into consideration will hopefully expedite the clinical translation process. Graphical abstract.

Multi-Component Hydrogel Beads Incorporated with Reduced Graphene Oxide for pH-Responsive and Controlled Co-Delivery of Multiple Agents

The development of combination therapy has received great attention in recent years because of its potential to achieve higher therapeutic efficacy than that achieved by mono-drug therapy. Carriers for effective and stimuli-responsive co-delivery of multiple agents, however, are highly deficient at the moment. To address this need, this study reports the generation of multi-component hydrogel beads incorporated with reduced graphene oxide (rGO). The beads are prepared by incorporating doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded gelatine (GL) microbeads into hydrogel beads containing rGO and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). rGO-containing beads are shown to be more effective in inhibiting the growth of MCF-7 cells via the induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. In addition, the drug release sustainability of the beads is affected by the pH of the release medium, with the release rate increasing in neutral pH but decreasing in the acidic environment. Our beads warrant further development as carriers for pH-responsive and controlled co-delivery of multiple agents.

Doxorubicin delivery systems based on doped CaCO3 cores and polyanion drug conjugates

In order to prolong the release and reduce the toxicity of anticancer drug - doxorubicin (DOX), delivery systems (DS) using different polyanions have been developed. Structural (size, morphological stability) and functional (encapsulation efficiency, DOX release) characteristics of three types of DS are compared: CaCO₃ porous vaterites doped with polyanions by co-precipitation and coating techniques, and DOX-polyanion conjugates. Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), it was shown that the doping enhances the morphological stability of CaCO₃-based DS during the DOC loading. Doping of CaCO₃ cores by co-precipitation reduces its sizes (up to 1 µm) and DOX encapsulation efficiency. Polyanion-coated CaCO₃ cores and polyanion drug conjugates show about 98 w/w% DOX encapsulation. For the first time, it was shown that the release of DOX from developed DS into human blood plasma is more intense (from 1.3 to 3.0 times for different DS) than into model tumour environment.

Dual-acidity-labile polysaccharide-di-drugs conjugate for targeted cancer chemotherapy

Polymer-drug conjugates synthesized by binding therapeutic agents to functional polymers have long been a mainstay of prodrugs, while the slow drug release, insufficient efficacy of a single drug, and low selectivity hamper the clinical translation. By rational prodrug design, a targeted dual-acidity-labile polysaccharide-di-drugs conjugate was synthesized by one-pot simultaneous Schiff base and boronic esterification reactions between oxidized dextran (Dex-CHO) and cyclo-(Arg-Gly-Asp-D-Phe-Lys) (c(RGDfK)), doxorubicin (DOX), and bortezomib (BTZ). The polysaccharide-di-drugs conjugate (Dex-g-(DOX+BTZ)/cRGD) self-assembled into micelle with a diameter at around 80 nm and released the drugs simultaneously triggered by the acidic conditions. Dex-g-(DOX+BTZ)/cRGD specifically recognized and entered the cancer cells through the RGD-α_vβ₃ integrin interplay, selectively released DOX and BTZ in the acidic intracellular microenvironment, and efficiently inhibited the cell proliferation in vitro. More importantly, Dex-DOX/BTZ/cRGD showed higher intratumoral accumulation and better antitumor efficacy in vivo compared with free drugs and non-targeted control prodrug Dex-g-(DOX+BTZ). The findings indicated that this study provided a facile strategy to develop smart polymer-multi-drugs conjugates for targeted cancer chemotherapy.

Improvement of conventional anti-cancer drugs as new tools against multidrug resistant tumors

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is the dominant cause of the failure of cancer chemotherapy. The design of antitumor drugs that are able to evade MDR is rapidly evolving, showing that this area of biomedical research attracts great interest in the scientific community. The current review explores promising recent approaches that have been developed with the aim of circumventing or overcoming MDR. Encouraging results have been obtained in the investigation of the MDR-modulating properties of various classes of natural compounds and their analogues. Inhibition of P-gp or downregulation of its expression have proven to be the main mechanisms by which MDR can be surmounted. The use of hybrid molecules that are able to simultaneously interact with two or more cancer cell targets is currently being explored as a means to circumvent drug resistance. This strategy is based on the design of hybrid compounds that are obtained either by merging the structural features of separate drugs, or by conjugating two drugs or pharmacophores via cleavable/non-cleavable linkers. The approach is highly promising due to the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic advantages that can be achieved over the independent administration of the two individual components. However, it should be stressed that the task of obtaining successful multivalent drugs is a very challenging one. The conjugation of anticancer agents with nitric oxide (NO) donors has recently been developed, creating a particular class of hybrid that can combat tumor drug resistance. Appropriate NO donors have been shown to reverse drug resistance via nitration of ABC transporters and by interfering with a number of metabolic enzymes and signaling pathways. In fact, hybrid compounds that are produced by covalently attaching NO-donors and antitumor drugs have been shown to elicit a synergistic cytotoxic effect in a variety of drug resistant cancer cell lines. Another strategy to circumvent MDR is based on nanocarrier-mediated transport and the controlled release of chemotherapeutic drugs and P-gp inhibitors. Their pharmacokinetics are governed by the nanoparticle or polymer carrier and make use of the enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) effect, which can increase selective delivery to cancer cells. These systems are usually internalized by cancer cells via endocytosis and accumulate in endosomes and lysosomes, thus preventing rapid efflux. Other modalities to combat MDR are described in this review, including the pharmaco-modulation of acridine, which is a well-known scaffold in the development of bioactive compounds, the use of natural compounds as means to reverse MDR, and the conjugation of anticancer drugs with carriers that target specific tumor-cell components. Finally, the outstanding potential of in silico structure-based methods as a means to evaluate the ability of antitumor drugs to interact with drug transporters is also highlighted in this review. Structure-based design methods, which utilize 3D structural data of proteins and their complexes with ligands, are the most effective of the in silico methods available, as they provide a prediction regarding the interaction between transport proteins and their substrates and inhibitors. The recently resolved X-ray structure of human P-gp can help predict the interaction sites of designed compounds, providing insight into their binding mode and directing possible rational modifications to prevent them from becoming P-gp drug substrates. In summary, although major efforts were invested in the search for new tools to combat drug resistant tumors, they all require further implementation and methodological development. Further investigation and progress in the abovementioned strategies will provide significant advances in the rational combat against cancer MDR.

Antioxidants and Nanotechnology: Promises and Limits of Potentially Disruptive Approaches in the Treatment of Central Nervous System Diseases

Many central nervous system (CNS) diseases are still incurable and only symptomatic treatments are available. Oxidative stress is suggested to be a common hallmark, being able to cause and exacerbate the neuronal cell dysfunctions at the basis of these pathologies, such as mitochondrial impairments, accumulation of misfolded proteins, cell membrane damages, and apoptosis induction. Several antioxidant compounds are tested as potential countermeasures for CNS disorders, but their efficacy is often hindered by the loss of antioxidant properties due to enzymatic degradation, low bioavailability, poor water solubility, and insufficient blood-brain barrier crossing efficiency. To overcome the limitations of antioxidant molecules, exploitation of nanostructures, either for their delivery or with inherent antioxidant properties, is proposed. In this review, after a brief discussion concerning the role of the blood-brain barrier in the CNS and the involvement of oxidative stress in some neurodegenerative diseases, the most interesting research concerning the use of nano-antioxidants is introduced and discussed, focusing on the synthesis procedures, functionalization strategies, in vitro and in vivo tests, and on recent clinical trials.

Polymers and Polymer Nanocomposites for Cancer Therapy

Synthetic polymers, biopolymers, and their nanocomposites are being studied, and some of them are already used in different medical areas. Among the synthetic ones that can be mentioned are polyolefins, fluorinated polymers, polyesters, silicones, and others. Biopolymers such as polysaccharides (chitosan, hyaluronic acid, starch, cellulose, alginates) and proteins (silk, fibroin) have also become widely used and investigated for applications in medicine. Besides synthetic polymers and biopolymers, their nanocomposites, which are hybrids formed by a macromolecular matrix and a nanofiller (mineral or organic), have attracted great attention in the last decades in medicine and in other fields due to their outstanding properties. This review covers studies done recently using the polymers, biopolymers, nanocomposites, polymer micelles, nanomicelles, polymer hydrogels, nanogels, polymersomes, and liposomes used in medicine as drugs or drug carriers for cancer therapy and underlines their responses to internal and external stimuli able to make them more active and efficient. They are able to replace conventional cancer drug carriers, with better results.