Codelivery of DOX and siRNA by folate-biotin-quaternized starch nanoparticles for promoting synergistic suppression of human lung cancer cells

Optimizing anthocyanin Oral delivery: Effects of food biomacromolecule types on Nanocarrier performance for enhanced bioavailability

Wall material types influence the efficacy of nanocarriers in oral delivery systems. We utilized three food biomacromolecules (whey protein isolate, oxidized starch, lipids) to prepare three types of nanocarriers. Our aim was to investigate their performance in digestion, cellular absorption, mucus penetration, intestinal retention, and bioavailability of the encapsulated anthocyanins (Ant). The release rate of protein nanocarriers (Pro-NCs) was twice that of starch nanocarriers (Sta-NCs) and four times that of lipid nanocarriers (Lip-NCs) in simulated gastrointestinal fluid. Additionally, Pro-NCs demonstrated superior transmembrane transport capacity and over three times cellular internalization efficiency than Sta-NCs and Lip-NCs. Sta-NCs exhibited the highest mucus-penetrating capacity, while Pro-NCs displayed the strongest mucoadhesion, resulting in extended gastrointestinal retention time for Pro-NCs. Sta-NCs significantly enhanced the in vivo bioavailability of Ant, nearly twice that of free Ant. Our results demonstrate the critical role of wall material types in optimizing nanocarriers for the specific delivery of bioactive compounds.

Synergistic anticancer effects of SMYD2 inhibitor BAY-598 and doxorubicin in non-small cell lung cancer

Background

Non-small cell lung Cancer (NSCLC) persists as a lethal neoplastic manifestation, exhibiting a diminished 5-year survival rate, partially attributable to chemotherapeutic resistance. This investigative endeavor aimed to elucidate the synergistic antineoplastic effects and underlying mechanisms of the SMYD2 inhibitor BAY-598 and the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin (DOX) in NSCLC.

Methods

The human non-small cell lung cancer cell lines A549 and H460 were subjected to treatment regimens involving BAY-598 and/or DOX. Cellular viability, apoptotic events, invasive capacity, and migratory potential were evaluated through the implementation of CCK-8 assays, flow cytometric analyses, and Transwell assays, respectively. Protein expression levels were quantified via Western blot analyses. An in vivo xenograft murine model was established to assess therapeutic efficacy.

Results

BAY-598 and DOX synergistically suppressed the viability, invasiveness, and migratory capabilities of NSCLC cells. Co-treatment Promoting cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Additionally, Furthermore, co-administration significantly inhibited cell migration and invasion. Mechanistic studies revealed coordinately inhibited JAK-STAT signaling upon combination treatment. In vivo study further validated the synergistic antitumor efficacy of BAY-598 and DOX against NSCLC xenografts.

Conclusions

Our findings demonstrate that BAY-598 potentiates the anti-cancer effects of DOX in non-small cell lung cancer cells by modulating the JAK/STAT signaling pathway as a synergistic strategy. The combination holds promise as an emerging therapeutic strategy for NSCLC. Further optimization and validation are warranted to promote its translational potential.

The role of nanoparticles and nanomaterials in cancer diagnosis and treatment: a comprehensive review

Cancer's pathological processes are complex and present several challenges for current chemotherapy methods. These challenges include cytotoxicity, multidrug resistance, the proliferation of cancer stem cells, and a lack of specificity. To address these issues, researchers have turned to nanomaterials, which possess distinct optical, magnetic, and electrical properties due to their size range of 1-100 nm. Nanomaterials have been engineered to improve cancer treatment by mitigating cytotoxicity, enhancing specificity, increasing drug payload capacity, and improving drug bioavailability. Despite a growing corpus of research on this subject, there has been limited progress in permitting nanodrugs for medical use. The advent of nanotechnology, particularly advances in intelligent nanomaterials, has transformed the field of cancer diagnosis and therapy. Nanoparticles' large surface area allows them to successfully encapsulate a large number of molecules. Nanoparticles can be functionalized with various bio-based substrates like RNA, DNA, aptamers, and antibodies, enhancing their theranostic capabilities. Biologically derived nanomaterials offer economical, easily producible, and less toxic alternatives to conventionally manufactured ones. This review offers a comprehensive overview of cancer theranostics methodologies, focusing on intelligent nanomaterials such as metal, polymeric, and carbon-based nanoparticles. I have also critically discussed their benefits and challenges in cancer therapy and diagnostics. Utilizing intelligent nanomaterials holds promise for advancing cancer theranostics, and improving tumor detection and treatment. Further research should optimize nanocarriers for targeted drug delivery and explore enhanced permeability, cytotoxicity, and retention effects.

Cationic starch: A functionalized polysaccharide based polymer for advancement of drug delivery and health care system - A review

Research and development in health care industry is in persistence progression. To make it more patient-friendly or to get maximum benefits from it, special attention to different advanced drug delivery system (ADDS) is employed that delivers the drug at the target site and will be able to sustain/control release of drugs. ADDS should be non-toxic, biodegradable, biocompatible along with desirable showing physicochemical and functional properties. These drug delivery systems can be totally based on polymers, either with natural or synthetic polymers. The molecular weight of polymer can be tuned and different groups of polymers can be modified or substituted with other functional groups. Degree of substitution is also tailored. Cationic starch in recent years is exploited in drug delivery, tissue engineering and biomedicine. Due to their abundant availability, low cost, easy chemical modification, low toxicity, biodegradability and biocompatibility, extensive research is now being carried out. Our present discussion will shed light on the usage of cationic starch in health care system.

Nanoconstructs for theranostic application in cancer: Challenges and strategies to enhance the delivery

Nanoconstructs are made up of nanoparticles and ligands, which can deliver the loaded cargo at the desired site of action. Various nanoparticulate platforms have been utilized for the preparation of nanoconstructs, which may serve both diagnostic as well as therapeutic purposes. Nanoconstructs are mostly used to overcome the limitations of cancer therapies, such as toxicity, nonspecific distribution of the drug, and uncontrolled release rate. The strategies employed during the design of nanoconstructs help improve the efficiency and specificity of loaded theranostic agents and make them a successful approach for cancer therapy. Nanoconstructs are designed with a sole purpose of targeting the requisite site, overcoming the barriers which hinders its right placement for desired benefit. Therefore, instead of classifying modes for delivery of nanoconstructs as actively or passively targeted systems, they are suitably classified as autonomous and nonautonomous types. At large, nanoconstructs offer numerous benefits, however they suffer from multiple challenges, too. Hence, to overcome such challenges computational modelling methods and artificial intelligence/machine learning processes are being explored. The current review provides an overview on attributes and applications offered by nanoconstructs as theranostic agent in cancer.

Biodegradable Biopolymeric Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications-Challenges and Future Outlook

Biopolymers are polymers obtained from either renewable or non-renewable sources and are the most suitable candidate for tailor-made nanoparticles owing to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, low toxicity and immunogenicity. Biopolymeric nanoparticles (BPn) can be classified as natural (polysaccharide and protein based) and synthetic on the basis of their origin. They have been gaining wide interest in biomedical applications such as tissue engineering, drug delivery, imaging and cancer therapy. BPn can be synthesized by various fabrication strategies such as emulsification, ionic gelation, nanoprecipitation, electrospray drying and so on. The main aim of the review is to understand the use of nanoparticles obtained from biodegradable biopolymers for various biomedical applications. There are very few reviews highlighting biopolymeric nanoparticles employed for medical applications; this review is an attempt to explore the possibilities of using these materials for various biomedical applications. This review highlights protein based (albumin, gelatin, collagen, silk fibroin); polysaccharide based (chitosan, starch, alginate, dextran) and synthetic (Poly lactic acid, Poly vinyl alcohol, Poly caprolactone) BPn that has recently been used in many applications. The fabrication strategies of different BPn are also being highlighted. The future perspective and the challenges faced in employing biopolymeric nanoparticles are also reviewed.

Emerging nanotechnology-based therapeutics to combat multidrug-resistant cancer

Cancer often develops multidrug resistance (MDR) when cancer cells become resistant to numerous structurally and functionally different chemotherapeutic agents. MDR is considered one of the principal reasons for the failure of many forms of clinical chemotherapy. Several factors are involved in the development of MDR including increased expression of efflux transporters, the tumor microenvironment, changes in molecular targets and the activity of cancer stem cells. Recently, researchers have designed and developed a number of small molecule inhibitors and derivatives of natural compounds to overcome various mechanisms of clinical MDR. Unfortunately, most of the chemosensitizing approaches have failed in clinical trials due to non-specific interactions and adverse side effects at pharmacologically effective concentrations. Nanomedicine approaches provide an efficient drug delivery platform to overcome the limitations of conventional chemotherapy and improve therapeutic effectiveness. Multifunctional nanomaterials have been found to facilitate drug delivery by improving bioavailability and pharmacokinetics, enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs to overcome MDR. In this review article, we discuss the major factors contributing to MDR and the limitations of existing chemotherapy- and nanocarrier-based drug delivery systems to overcome clinical MDR mechanisms. We critically review recent nanotechnology-based approaches to combat tumor heterogeneity, drug efflux mechanisms, DNA repair and apoptotic machineries to overcome clinical MDR. Recent successful therapies of this nature include liposomal nanoformulations, cRGDY-PEG-Cy5.5-Carbon dots and Cds/ZnS core–shell quantum dots that have been employed for the effective treatment of various cancer sub-types including small cell lung, head and neck and breast cancers.

Anti-Inflammatory microRNAs for Treating Inflammatory Skin Diseases

Skin inflammation occurs due to immune dysregulation because of internal disorders, infections, and allergic reactions. The inflammation of the skin is a major sign of chronic autoimmune inflammatory diseases, such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis (AD), and lupus erythematosus. Although there are many therapies for treating these cutaneous inflammation diseases, their recurrence rates are high due to incomplete resolution. MicroRNA (miRNA) plays a critical role in skin inflammation by regulating the expression of protein-coding genes at the posttranscriptional level during pathogenesis and homeostasis maintenance. Some miRNAs possess anti-inflammatory features, which are beneficial for mitigating the inflammatory response. miRNAs that are reduced in inflammatory skin diseases can be supplied transiently using miRNA mimics and agomir. miRNA-based therapies that can target multiple genes in a given pathway are potential candidates for the treatment of skin inflammation. This review article offers an overview of the function of miRNA in skin inflammation regulation, with a focus on psoriasis, AD, and cutaneous wounds. Some bioactive molecules can target and modulate miRNAs to achieve the objective of inflammation suppression. This review also reports the anti-inflammatory efficacy of these molecules through modulating miRNA expression. The main limitations of miRNA-based therapies are rapid biodegradation and poor skin and cell penetration. Consideration was given to improving these drawbacks using the approaches of cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), nanocarriers, exosomes, and low-frequency ultrasound. A formulation design for successful miRNA delivery into skin and target cells is also described in this review. The possible use of miRNAs as biomarkers and therapeutic modalities could open a novel opportunity for the diagnosis and treatment of inflammation-associated skin diseases.

Progress in non-viral localized delivery of siRNA therapeutics for pulmonary diseases

Emerging therapies based on localized delivery of siRNA to lungs have opened up exciting possibilities for treatment of different lung diseases. Localized delivery of siRNA to lungs has shown to result in severalfold higher lung accumulation than systemic route, while minimizing non-specific distribution in other organs. However, to date, only 2 clinical trials have explored localized delivery of siRNA for pulmonary diseases. Here we systematically reviewed recent advances in the field of pulmonary delivery of siRNA using non-viral approaches. We firstly introduce the routes of local administration and analyze the anatomical and physiological barriers towards effective local delivery of siRNA in lungs. We then discuss current progress in pulmonary delivery of siRNA for respiratory tract infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, acute lung injury, and lung cancer, list outstanding questions, and highlight directions for future research. We expect this review to provide a comprehensive understanding of current advances in pulmonary delivery of siRNA.

Construction and Biological Evaluation of Multiple Modification Hollow Mesoporous Silicone Doxorubicin Nanodrug Delivery System

The combination of functionalized nanoparticles and chemotherapy drugs can effectively target tumor tissue, which can improve efficacy and reduce toxicity. In this article, pPeptide-PDA@HMONs-DOX nanoparticles (phosphopeptide-modified polydopamine encapsulates doxorubicin-loaded hollow mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles) were constructed that based on multiple modification hollow mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (HMONs). The pPeptide-PDA@HMONs-DOX nanoparticles retain the biological functions of phosphorylated peptide while exhibiting biological safety that are suitable for effective drug delivery and stimulus responsive release. The degradation behaviors showed that pPeptide-PDA@HMONs-DOX has dual-responsive to drug release characteristics of pH and glutathione (GSH). In addition, the prepared pPeptide-PDA@HMONs-DOX nanoparticles have good biological safety, and their anti-tumor efficacy was significantly better than doxorubicin (DOX). This provided new research ideas for the construction of targeted nanodrug delivery systems based on mesoporous silicon. Scheme 1 The preparation of pPeptide-PDA@HMONs-DOX and the process of drug release under multiple responses. (A) Schematic diagram of the synthesis process of pPeptide-PDA@HMONs-DOX. (B) The process in which nanoparticles enter the cell and decompose and release DOX in response to pH and GSH.

Targeted Codelivery of Prodigiosin and Simvastatin Using Smart BioMOF: Functionalization by Recombinant Anti-VEGFR1 scFv

Biological metal-organic frameworks (BioMOFs) are hybrid compounds in which metal nodes are linked to biocompatible organic ligands and have potential for medical application. Herein, we developed a novel BioMOF modified with an anti-VEGFR1 scFv antibody (D16F7 scFv). Our BioMOF is co-loaded with a combination of an anticancer compound and a lipid-lowering drug to simultaneously suppress the proliferation, growth rate and metastases of cancer cells in cell culture model system. In particular, Prodigiosin (PG) and Simvastatin (SIM) were co-loaded into the newly synthesized Ca-Gly BioMOF nanoparticles coated with maltose and functionalized with a recombinant maltose binding protein-scFv fragment of anti-VEGFR1 (Ca-Gly-Maltose-D16F7). The nanoformulation, termed PG + SIM-NP-D16F7, has been shown to have strong active targeting behavior towards VEGFR1-overexpresing cancer cells. Moreover, the co-delivery of PG and SIM not only effectively inhibits the proliferation of cancer cells, but also prevents their invasion and metastasis. The PG + SIM-NP-D16F7 nanocarrier exhibited stronger cytotoxic and anti-metastatic effects compared to mono-treatment of free drugs and drug-loaded nanoparticles. Smart co-delivery of PG and SIM on BioMOF nanoparticles had synergistic effects on growth inhibition and prevented cancer cell metastasis. The present nanoplatform can be introduced as a promising tool for chemotherapy compared with mono-treatment and/or non-targeted formulations.

Emerging Nano-Based Strategies Against Drug Resistance in Tumor Chemotherapy

Drug resistance is the most significant causes of cancer chemotherapy failure. Various mechanisms of drug resistance include tumor heterogeneity, tumor microenvironment, changes at cellular levels, genetic factors, and other mechanisms. In recent years, more attention has been paid to tumor resistance mechanisms and countermeasures. Nanomedicine is an emerging treatment platform, focusing on alternative drug delivery and improved therapeutic effectiveness while reducing side effects on normal tissues. Here, we reviewed the principal forms of drug resistance and the new possibilities that nanomaterials offer for overcoming these therapeutic barriers. Novel nanomaterials based on tumor types are an excellent modality to equalize drug resistance that enables gain more rational and flexible drug selectivity for individual patient treatment. With the emergence of advanced designs and alternative drug delivery strategies with different nanomaterials, overcome of multidrug resistance shows promising and opens new horizons for cancer therapy. This review discussed different mechanisms of drug resistance and recent advances in nanotechnology-based therapeutic strategies to improve the sensitivity and effectiveness of chemotherapeutic drugs, aiming to show the advantages of nanomaterials in overcoming of drug resistance for tumor chemotherapy, which could accelerate the development of personalized medicine.

Combined Photothermotherapy and Chemotherapy of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Guided by Multifunctional Nanomaterials Enhanced Photoacoustic Tomography

Background

Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck is the sixth most common cancer worldwide, with 40% occurring in the oral cavity. Although the level of early diagnosis and treatment of OSCC has improved significantly, the five-year survival rate of advanced patients remains unsatisfactory. However, the main challenges before us are how to get an early and accurate diagnosis and how to formulate effective treatment. Nanoparticle-based chemo-photothermal therapy has proven to be a promising non-invasive approach to treating oral squamous cell carcinoma treatment.

Methods

In this study, we tried to design and synthesize multifunctional hyaluronic acid (HA) modified gold nanorods/mesoporous silica-based nanoparticles loaded with doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) for photoacoustic imaging (PAI) guided cooperative chemo-photothermal therapy.

Results

The resultant nanocomposite shows favorable biocompatibility, relatively low cytotoxicity, ideal drug loading capability and strong PAI signals. In addition, they showed an excellent photothermal conversion efficiency of 49.02% for photothermal therapy (PTT). Moreover, in vivo and in vitro experiments have shown that synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy has better therapeutic effects than chemotherapy alone or PTT (P < 0.05). After being injected into the CAL-27 tumor-bearing mice, the DOX-AuNRs@mSiO₂-HA nanoparticles could accumulate rapidly at the tumor sites and achieve complete ablation of tumors when combined with near-infrared laser irradiation, without obvious side effects on normal tissues.

Conclusion

Our research provides a solid demonstration of the potential of DOX-AuNRs@mSiO₂-HA as a multifunctional platform in PAI-guided photothermal chemotherapy for oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Targeted Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) of Lung Cancer with Biotinylated Silicon (IV) Phthalocyanine

BACKGROUND

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-associated mortality in the world. Traditional cancer therapies prolong the life expectancy of patients but often suffer from adverse reactions. Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) has been recommended as a treatment option for lung cancer in several countries, due to its non-invasive procedures, high selectivity and weak side effects.

OBJECTIVE

We have designed and synthesized a biotin receptor-targeted silicon phthalocyanine (IV) (compound 1) which showed a good therapeutic effect on biotin receptor-positive tumors. Since the overexpression of Biotin Receptor (BR) is also present in human lung cancer cells (A549), we explored the therapeutic properties of compound 1 on A549 xenograft tumor models.

METHODS

The selectivity of compound 1 toward A549 cells was studied with a fluorescence microscope and IVIS Spectrum Imaging System. The cytotoxicity was measured using the MTT assay. In vivo anti-tumor activity was investigated on the nude mice bearing A549 xenografts.

RESULTS

In vitro assays proved that compound 1 could selectively accumulate in A549 cells via the BR-mediated internalization. In vivo imaging and distribution experiments showed that compound 1 could selectively accumulate in tumor tissues of tumor-bearing mice. After 16 days of the treatment, the volumes of tumor in the PDT group were obviously smaller than that in other groups.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrates that compound 1 is a promising photosensitizer and has broad application prospects in clinical PDT of lung cancers.

Nanoparticles: A New Approach to Upgrade Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

Traditional cancer therapeutics have been criticized due to various adverse effects and insufficient damage to targeted tumors. The breakthrough of nanoparticles provides a novel approach for upgrading traditional treatments and diagnosis. Actually, nanoparticles can not only solve the shortcomings of traditional cancer diagnosis and treatment, but also create brand-new perspectives and cutting-edge devices for tumor diagnosis and treatment. However, most of the research about nanoparticles stays in vivo and in vitro stage, and only few clinical researches about nanoparticles have been reported. In this review, we first summarize the current applications of nanoparticles in cancer diagnosis and treatment. After that, we propose the challenges that hinder the clinical applications of NPs and provide feasible solutions in combination with the updated literature in the last two years. At the end, we will provide our opinions on the future developments of NPs in tumor diagnosis and treatment.

Noncovalent Functionalized Graphene Nanocarriers from Graphite for Treating Thyroid Cancer Cells

Here, biocompatible graphene (G) nanocarriers decorated with iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) were prepared using 2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) and poly(ethylene glycol) monomethacrylate (PEGMA). For this, we report the use of graphite directly instead of graphene oxide or reduced graphene oxide. Graphene nanocarrier (in situ GIOPMPC) was prepared in one-pot by in situ copolymerization of MPC and PEGMA monomers in the presence of IONPs and G. GIOPMCP nanocarriers were prepared by sonication using PMPC-co-PEGMA copolymers in the presence of IONPs and G. The prepared graphene nanocarriers were thoroughly characterized by various techniques. The analyses confirmed the successful preparation of nanocarriers with even distributions of PMPC-co-PEGMA and IONPs on surface G. The IONPs were coordinated through the phosphate groups in PMPC. Excellent dispersibility of the graphene nanocarriers in water enabled drug delivery applications. The prepared nanocarriers did not show significant cytotoxicity to the thyroid cancer cells up to 8 mg/mL (IC₅₀: 38.26 mg/mL). Thyroid cancer cells were stably transduced with a bioluminescent reporter to monitor cell cytotoxicity. Doxorubicin (DOX) was loaded onto in situ GIOPMPC nanocarriers at two different concentrations and was successfully delivered to thyroid cancer cells, resulting in strong cytotoxicity. Moreover, signaling mechanistic analyses showed apoptosis activation, inhibition of anti-apoptosis and proliferation, and increased DNA damage in the thyroid cancer cells.

Onco-Receptors Targeting in Lung Cancer via Application of Surface-Modified and Hybrid Nanoparticles: A Cross-Disciplinary Review

Lung cancer is among the most prevalent and leading causes of death worldwide. The major reason for high mortality is the late diagnosis of the disease, and in most cases, lung cancer is diagnosed at fourth stage in which the cancer has metastasized to almost all vital organs. The other reason for higher mortality is the uptake of the chemotherapeutic agents by the healthy cells, which in turn increases the chances of cytotoxicity to the healthy body cells. The complex pathophysiology of lung cancer provides various pathways to target the cancerous cells. In this regard, upregulated onco-receptors on the cell surface of tumor including epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), integrins, transferrin receptor (TFR), folate receptor (FR), cluster of differentiation 44 (CD44) receptor, etc. could be exploited for the inhibition of pathways and tumor-specific drug targeting. Further, cancer borne immunological targets like T-lymphocytes, myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), and dendritic cells could serve as a target site to modulate tumor activity through targeting various surface-expressed receptors or interfering with immune cell-specific pathways. Hence, novel approaches are required for both the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancers. In this context, several researchers have employed various targeted delivery approaches to overcome the problems allied with the conventional diagnosis of and therapy methods used against lung cancer. Nanoparticles are cell nonspecific in biological systems, and may cause unwanted deleterious effects in the body. Therefore, nanodrug delivery systems (NDDSs) need further advancement to overcome the problem of toxicity in the treatment of lung cancer. Moreover, the route of nanomedicines’ delivery to lungs plays a vital role in localizing the drug concentration to target the lung cancer. Surface-modified nanoparticles and hybrid nanoparticles have a wide range of applications in the field of theranostics. This cross-disciplinary review summarizes the current knowledge of the pathways implicated in the different classes of lung cancer with an emphasis on the clinical implications of the increasing number of actionable molecular targets. Furthermore, it focuses specifically on the significance and emerging role of surface functionalized and hybrid nanomaterials as drug delivery systems through citing recent examples targeted at lung cancer treatment.

Single- versus Dual-Targeted Nanoparticles with Folic Acid and Biotin for Anticancer Drug Delivery

Cancer is one of the major causes of death worldwide and its treatment remains very challenging. The effectiveness of cancer therapy significantly depends upon tumour-specific delivery of the drug. Nanoparticle drug delivery systems have been developed to avoid the side effects of the conventional chemotherapy. However, according to the most recent recommendations, future nanomedicine should be focused mainly on active targeting of nanocarriers based on ligand-receptor recognition, which may show better efficacy than passive targeting in human cancer therapy. Nevertheless, the efficacy of single-ligand nanomedicines is still limited due to the complexity of the tumour microenvironment. Thus, the NPs are improved toward an additional functionality, e.g., pH-sensitivity (advanced single-targeted NPs). Moreover, dual-targeted nanoparticles which contain two different types of targeting agents on the same drug delivery system are developed. The advanced single-targeted NPs and dual-targeted nanocarriers present superior properties related to cell selectivity, cellular uptake and cytotoxicity toward cancer cells than conventional drug, non-targeted systems and single-targeted systems without additional functionality. Folic acid and biotin are used as targeting ligands for cancer chemotherapy, since they are available, inexpensive, nontoxic, nonimmunogenic and easy to modify. These ligands are used in both, single- and dual-targeted systems although the latter are still a novel approach. This review presents the recent achievements in the development of single- or dual-targeted nanoparticles for anticancer drug delivery.

Quantum dots as targeted doxorubicin drug delivery nanosystems in human lung cancer cells

Background

Lung cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers all over the world and is also one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality. The main treatment option for small cell lung cancer, conventional chemotherapy, is characterized by a lack of specificity, resulting in severe adverse effects. Therefore, this study aimed at developing a new targeted drug delivery (TDD) system based on Ag–In–Zn–S quantum dots (QDs). For this purpose, the QD nanocrystals were modified with 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA), L-cysteine, and lipoic acid decorated with folic acid (FA) and used as a novel TDD system for targeting doxorubicin (DOX) to folate receptors (FARs) on adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial cells (A549). NIH/3T3 cells were used as FAR-negative controls. Comprehensive physicochemical, cytotoxicity, and genotoxicity studies were performed to characterize the developed novel TDDs.

Results

Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and fluorescence quenching confirmed the successful attachment of FA to the QD nanocrystals and of DOX to the QD–FA nanocarriers. UV–Vis analysis helped in determining the amount of FA and DOX covalently anchored to the surface of the QD nanocrystals. Biological screening revealed that the QD–FA–DOX nanoconjugates had higher cytotoxicity in comparison to the other forms of synthesized QD samples, suggesting the cytotoxic effect of DOX liberated from the QD constructs. Contrary to the QD–MUA–FA–DOX nanoconjugates which occurred to be the most cytotoxic against A549 cells among others, no such effect was observed for NIH/3T3 cells, confirming FARs as molecular targets. In vitro scratch assay also revealed significant inhibition of A549 cell migration after treatment with QD–MUA–FA–DOX. The performed studies evidenced that at IC50 all the nanoconjugates induced significantly more DNA breaks than that observed in nontreated cells. Overall, the QD–MUA–FA–DOX nanoconjugates showed the greatest cytotoxicity and genotoxicity, while significantly inhibiting the migratory potential of A549 cells.

Conclusion

QD–MUA–FA–DOX nanoconjugates can thus be considered as a potential drug delivery system for the effective treatment of adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial cells.

Functionalized selenium nanoparticles for targeted siRNA delivery silence Derlin1 and promote antitumor efficacy against cervical cancer

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) exhibits great potential as a novel therapeutic option due to its highly sequence-specific ability to silence genes. However, efficient and safe delivery carriers are required for developing novel therapeutic paradigms. Thus, the successful development of efficient delivery platforms for siRNA is a crucial issue for the development of siRNA-based drugs in cancer treatments. In this study, biocompatible selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) were loaded with RGDfC peptide to fabricate tumor-targeting gene delivery vehicle RGDfC-SeNPs. Subsequently, RGDfC-SeNPs were loaded with Derlin1-siRNA to fabricate RGDfC-Se@siRNA, which are functionalized selenium nanoparticles. RGDfC-Se@siRNA showed greater uptake in HeLa cervical cancer cells in comparison with that in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), verifying the RGDfC-mediated specific uptake of RGDfC-Se@siRNA. RGDfC-Se@siRNA was capable of entering HeLa cells via clathrin-associated endocytosis, and showed faster siRNA release in a cancer cell microenvironment in comparison with a normal physiological environment. qPCR and western blotting assays both indicated that RGDfC-Se@siRNA exhibited an obvious gene silencing efficacy in HeLa cells. RGDfC-Se@siRNA suppressed the invasion, migration and the proliferation of HeLa cells, and triggered HeLa cell apoptosis. Moreover, RGDfC-Se@siRNA induced the disruption of mitochondrial membrane potentials. Meanwhile, RGDfC-Se@siRNA enhanced the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in HeLa cell, suggesting that mitochondrial dysfunction mediated by ROS might play a significant role in RGDfC-Se@siRNA-induced apoptosis. Interestingly, RGDfC-SeNPs@siRNA exhibited significant antitumor activity in a HeLa tumor-bearing mouse model. Additionally, RGDfC-SeNPs@siRNA is nontoxic to main organ of mouse. The above results indicate that RGDfC-Se@siRNA provides a promising potential for cervical cancer therapy.

Mesoporous Silica Hybridized With Gadolinium(III) Nanoplatform for Targeted Magnetic Imaging-Guided Photothermal Breast Cancer Therapy

Achieving drug target accumulation in antitumor tissue, simultaneous diagnostic imaging, and optimal release behavior with treatment needs a best chemotherapy procedure involving receptive switch of drug delivery. Constructed on mesoporous silica nanoparticles, which are crossed with multiscale charming nanoparticles for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-aided and alternate magnetic field (AMF) response chemotherapy for breast cancer, we report in this work the assembly of a new theranostics drug conveyance process. Hydrothermal processes (gadolinium(III) oxide nanoparticles [Gd-NPs]) and heat decomposition process (radical size uFe-NPs) were used to prepare superparamagnetic Gd-NPs with multiscale sizes. Gadolinium(III) oxide nanoparticles act as an AMF-responsive heat mediator, while ultra-Fe nanoparticles (uFe-NPs) act as an MRI T₂ contrast mediator. Nanoparticles of the mesoporous silica with radially oriented mesochannels were further grown in situ on the surfaces of the Gd-NPs, and the uFe-NPs anticancer drug doxorubicin can be easily incorporated in the mesochannels. To provide better targeting capabilities for the as-synthesized biotin-loaded nanohybrids, the particle surfaces are updated with biotin (Bt). This optimized drug conveyance method based on nanocomposites of SiO₂ demonstrated great efficiency of medication charging and receptive properties of AMF stimulus release. However, tests of MRI in vitro showed an outstanding contrast effect in MRI with a high stimulation quality (299 mM⁻¹ s⁻¹). In contrast, the study of in vitro cytotoxicity assessment revealed that an MRI-directed stimulus-mediated theranostics tool can be used as a drug conveyance device to efficiently treat breast cancer.

Enhancing the cytotoxic efficacy of combined effect of doxorubicin and Cyclosporin encapsulated photoluminescent graphene dotted mesoporous nanoparticles against lung cancer cell-specific drug targeting for the nursing care of cancer patients

In recent years, biological nanomedicine-based biomaterials have an extreme attention for biomedical uses, herein we examined a novel kind advance of photoluminescent Graphene quandum dots encapsulated mesoporous nanoparticles (GND@MSNs) encapsulated by well-known anticancer drugs Doxorubicin (DOX) and Cyclosporin (CsA) for lung carcinoma. Electron microscopic technique exhibit the nanostructure and spherical morphology of GND@MSNs+DOX+CsA with mean size ≈110 nm. Moreover, Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) exposed that blended GND@MSNs+DOX+CsA nanoparticles were highly stable with extremely negatively charged nanoparticles. Raman investigation was done on the all naturally dynamic nanoparticles containing shed graphene to survey the blend condition of the graphene inside the silica mesoporous nanoparticles. GND@MSNs+DOX+CsA provided an outstanding anti-cancer efficiency against the lung cancer cell lines (i.e., A549 and HEL-299). MTT assay monitored that GND@MSNs, GND@MSNs+DOX and GND@MSNs+DOX+CsA have a robust toxicity behaviour on the A549 and HEL-299 model lung cancer cell lines. Additionally, investigation of the cell death was found on AO-EB, Hoechst 33452 staining and flowcytometry techniques. Furthermore, the DNA damage were confirmed by cell cycle arrest and comet assay. Hence, we suggesting that these GND@MSNs+DOX+CsA could be applied as auspicious drug vesicles for novel lung cancer therapeutic potential and new openings to solve the complexity of lung cancer in the care of cancer patients.