Targeted siRNA delivery by anti-HER2 antibody-modified nanoparticles of mPEG-chitosan diblock copolymer

Chitosan nanoparticle applications in dentistry: a sustainable biopolymer

The epoch of Nano-biomaterials and their application in the field of medicine and dentistry has been long-lived. The application of nanotechnology is extensively used in diagnosis and treatment aspects of oral diseases. The nanomaterials and its structures are being widely involved in the production of medicines and drugs used for the treatment of oral diseases like periodontitis, oral carcinoma, etc. and helps in maintaining the longevity of oral health. Chitosan is a naturally occurring biopolymer derived from chitin which is seen commonly in arthropods. Chitosan nanoparticles are the latest in the trend of nanoparticles used in dentistry and are becoming the most wanted biopolymer for use toward therapeutic interventions. Literature search has also shown that chitosan nanoparticles have anti-tumor effects. This review highlights the various aspects of chitosan nanoparticles and their implications in dentistry.

A review of chitosan in gene therapy: Developments and challenges

Gene therapy, as a revolutionary treatment, has been gaining more and more attention. The key to gene therapy is the selection of suitable vectors for protection of exogenous nucleic acid molecules and enabling their specific release in target cells. While viral vectors have been widely used in researches, non-viral vectors are receiving more attention due to its advantages. Chitosan (CS) has been widely used as non-viral organic gene carrier because of its good biocompatibility and its ability to load large amounts of nucleic acids. This paper summarizes and evaluates the potential of chitosan and its derivatives as gene delivery vector materials, along with factors influencing transfection efficiency, performance evaluation, ways to optimize infectious efficiency, and the current main research development directions. Additionally, it provides an outlook on its future prospects.

Recent Advances of Chitosan Formulations in Biomedical Applications

Chitosan, a naturally abundant cationic polymer, is chemically composed of cellulose-based biopolymers derived by deacetylating chitin. It offers several attractive characteristics such as renewability, hydrophilicity, biodegradability, biocompatibility, non-toxicity, and a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity towards gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria as well as fungi, etc., because of which it is receiving immense attention as a biopolymer for a plethora of applications including drug delivery, protective coating materials, food packaging films, wastewater treatment, and so on. Additionally, its structure carries reactive functional groups that enable several reactions and electrochemical interactions at the biomolecular level and improves the chitosan’s physicochemical properties and functionality. This review article highlights the extensive research about the properties, extraction techniques, and recent developments of chitosan-based composites for drug, gene, protein, and vaccine delivery applications. Its versatile applications in tissue engineering and wound healing are also discussed. Finally, the challenges and future perspectives for chitosan in biomedical applications are elucidated.

Targeted doxorubicin delivery and release within breast cancer environment using PEGylated chitosan nanoparticles labeled with monoclonal antibodies

Breast cancer has been one of the top chronic and life-threatening diseases worldwide. Nano-drug therapeutic systems have proved their efficacy as a selective treatment compared to the traditional ones that are associated with serious adverse effects. Here, biodegradable chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) were synthesized to provide selective and sustained release of doxorubicin (DOX) within the breast tumor microenvironment. CSNPs surface was modified using Polyethylene glycol (PEG) to enhance their blood circulation timing. To provide high drug selectivity, CSNPs functionalized with two different types of breast cancer-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAb); anti-human mammaglobin (Anti-hMAM) and anti-human epidermal growth factor (Anti-HER2). Anti-hMAM PEGylated DOX loaded CSNPs and Anti-HER2 PEGylated DOX loaded CSNPs nano-formulations were the most cytotoxic against MCF-7 cancer cells than L-929 normal cells compared to free DOX. Finally, we believe that dose-dependent system toxicity of freely ingested DOX can be managed with such targeted nano-formulated drug delivery platforms.

Biologicals to direct nanotherapeutics towards HER2-positive breast cancers

HER2-positive breast cancer, an aggressive cancer, is treated with combinations of conventional anticancer drugs viz., cytotoxic drugs, nibs, and mAbs. Major limitations associated with this therapy are patient non-compliance due to the adverse drug reactions and rapid development of resistance by the HER2-positive malignant cells. While the former is addressed by the nano-formulations of the anticancer-drugs to some extent, the latter is still at large. This is because the nanocarriers of the anticancer drugs, by and large, lack the target specificity and selectivity. Thus, nowadays, to overcome these problems, various safe and efficacious biological agents are being used to direct the nanotherapeutics towards the HER2-positive breast cancers. The present review describes the potentials of such biological agents.

Targeted Delivery of siRNA Therapeutics to Malignant Tumors

Over the past 20 years, a diverse group of ligands targeting surface biomarkers or receptors has been identified with several investigated to target siRNA to tumors. Many approaches to developing tumor-homing peptides, RNA and DNA aptamers, and single-chain variable fragment antibodies by using phage display, in vitro evolution, and recombinant antibody methods could not have been imagined by researchers in the 1980s. Despite these many scientific advances, there is no reason to expect that the ligand field will not continue to evolve. From development of ligands based on novel or existing biomarkers to linking ligands to drugs and gene and antisense delivery systems, several fields have coalesced to facilitate ligand-directed siRNA therapeutics. In this review, we discuss the major categories of ligand-targeted siRNA therapeutics for tumors, as well as the different strategies to identify new ligands.

Chitosan Biomaterials for Current and Potential Dental Applications

Chitosan (CHS) is a very versatile natural biomaterial that has been explored for a range of bio-dental applications. CHS has numerous favourable properties such as biocompatibility, hydrophilicity, biodegradability, and a broad antibacterial spectrum (covering gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria as well as fungi). In addition, the molecular structure boasts reactive functional groups that provide numerous reaction sites and opportunities for forging electrochemical relationships at the cellular and molecular levels. The unique properties of CHS have attracted materials scientists around the globe to explore it for bio-dental applications. This review aims to highlight and discuss the hype around the development of novel chitosan biomaterials. Utilizing chitosan as a critical additive for the modification and improvement of existing dental materials has also been discussed.

Targeted nanodiamonds as phenotype-specific photoacoustic contrast agents for breast cancer

The aim is to develop irradiated nanodiamonds (INDs) as a molecularly targeted contrast agent for high-resolution and phenotype-specific detection of breast cancer with photoacoustic (PA) imaging. The surface of acid treated radiation-damaged nanodiamonds was grafted with PEG to improve its stability and circulation time in blood, followed by conjugation to an anti-HER2 peptide with a final nanoparticle size of approximately 92 nm. Immunocompetent mice bearing orthotopic HER2-positive or negative tumors were administered INDs and PA imaged using an 820-nm near-infrared laser. PA images demonstrated that INDs accumulate in tumors and completely delineated the entire tumor within 10 h. HER2 targeting significantly enhanced imaging of HER2-positive tumors. Pathological examination demonstrated INDs are nontoxic. PA technology is adaptable to low-cost bedside medicine, and with new contrast agents described herein, PA can achieve high-resolution (sub-mm) and phenotype-specific monitoring of cancer growth.

Evaluation of dendrimer type bio-reducible polymer as a siRNA delivery carrier for cancer therapy

Small interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA), 20-25 base pairs in length, can interfere with the expression of specific genes. Recently, many groups reported the therapeutic intervention of siRNA in various cancer cells. In this study, dendrimer type bio-reducible polymer (PAM-ABP) which was synthesized using arginine grafted bio-reducible poly(cystaminebisacrylamide-diaminohexane) (ABP) and polyamidoamine (PAMAM) was used to deliver anti-VEGF siRNA into cancer cell lines including human hepatocarcinoma (Huh-7), human lung adenocarcinoma (A549), and human fibrosarcoma (HT1080) cells and access their potential as a siRNA delivery carrier for cancer therapy. PAM-ABP and siRNA formed polyplexes with average diameter of 116 nm and charge of around +24.6 mV. The siRNA in the PAM-ABP/siRNA polyplex was released by 5mM DTT and heparin. VEGF gene silencing efficiency of PAM-ABP/siRNA polyplexes was shown to be more effective than PEI/siRNA polyplexes in three cell lines with the following order HT1080>A549>Huh-7.

Thermo-sensitive nanoparticles for triggered release of siRNA

Efficient delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) is crucially required for cancer gene therapy. Herein, a thermo-sensitive copolymer with a simple structure, poly (ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate-b-poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (mPEG-b-PNIPAM) was developed. A novel kind of thermo-sensitive nanoparticles (DENPs) was constructed for the cold-shock triggered release of siRNA by double emulsion-solvent evaporation method using mPEG-b-PNIPAM and a cationic lipid, 3β [N-(N', N'-dimethylaminoethane)-carbamoyl] cholesterol [DC-Chol]. DENPs were observed by transmission electron microscopy and dynamical light scattering before and after 'cold shock' treatment. The encapsulation efficiency (EE) of siRNA in DENPs, which was measured by fluorescence spectrophotometer was 96.8% while it was significantly reduced to be 23.2% when DC-Chol was absent. DENPs/siRNA NPs exhibited a thermo-sensitive siRNA release character that the cumulatively released amount of siRNA from cold shock was approximately 2.2 folds higher after 7 days. In vitro luciferase silencing experiments indicated that DENPs showed potent gene silencing efficacy in HeLa-Luc cells (HeLa cells steadily expressed luciferase), which was further enhanced by a cold shock. Furthermore, MTT assay showed that cell viability with DENPs/siRNA up to 200 nM remained above 80%. We also observed that most of siRNA was accumulated in kidney mediated by DENPs instead of liver and spleen in vivo experiments. Thus, DENPs as a cold shock responsive quick release model for siRNA or hydrophilic macromolecules delivery provide a new way to nanocarrier design and clinic therapy.

Tumor-targeting multifunctional nanoparticles for siRNA delivery: recent advances in cancer therapy

RNA interference (RNAi) is a naturally occurring regulatory process that controls posttranscriptional gene expression. Small interfering RNA (siRNA), a common form of RNAi-based therapeutics, offers new opportunities for cancer therapy via silencing specific genes, which are associated to cancer progress. However, clinical applications of RNAi-based therapy are still limited due to the easy degradation of siRNA during body circulation and the difficulty in the delivery of siRNA to desired tissues and cells. Thus, there have been many efforts to develop efficient siRNA delivery systems, which protect siRNA from serum nucleases and deliver siRNA to the intracellular region of target cells. Here, the recent advances in siRNA nanocarriers, which possess tumor-targeting ability are reviewed; various nanoparticle systems and their antitumor effects are summarized. The development of multifunctional nanocarriers for theranostics or combinatorial therapy is also discussed.