Functionalization of nanotextured substrates for enhanced identification of metastatic breast cancer cells

Recent advances in cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) for breast cancer therapy

The serious problems of conventional breast cancer therapy strategies such as drug resistance, severe side effects, and lack of selectivity prompted the development of various cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) devices. Due to its advanced technology, CAP can produce a unique environment rich in reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), photons, charged ions, and an electric field, making it a promising revolutionary platform for cancer therapy. Despite substantial technological successes, CAP-based therapeutic systems are encounter with distinct limitations, including low control of the generated RONS, poor knowledge about its anticancer mechanisms, and challenges concerning designing, manufacturing, clinical translation, and commercialization, which must be resolved. The latest developments in CAP-based therapeutic systems for breast cancer treatment are discussed in this review. More significantly, the integration of CAP-based medicine approaches with other breast cancer therapies, including chemo- and nanotherapy is thoroughly addressed.

Oligonucleotide aptamers against tyrosine kinase receptors: Prospect for anticancer applications

Transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) play crucial roles in cancer cell proliferation, survival, migration and differentiation. Area of intense research is searching for effective anticancer therapies targeting these receptors and, to date, several monoclonal antibodies and small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors have entered the clinic. However, some of these drugs show limited efficacy and give rise to acquired resistance. Emerging highly selective compounds for anticancer therapy are oligonucleotide aptamers that interact with their targets by recognizing a specific three-dimensional structure. Because of their nucleic acid nature, the rational design of advanced strategies to manipulate aptamers for both diagnostic and therapeutic applications is greatly simplified over antibodies. In this manuscript, we will provide a comprehensive overview of oligonucleotide aptamers as next generation strategies to efficiently target RTKs in human cancers.

Current Advances in Aptamers for Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy

Nucleic acid aptamers are single-stranded oligonucleotides that interact with target molecules with high affinity and specificity in unique three-dimensional structures. Aptamers are generally isolated by a simple selection process called systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) and then can be chemically synthesized and modified. Because of their high affinity and specificity, aptamers are promising agents for biomarker discovery, as well as cancer diagnosis and therapy. In this review, we present recent progress and challenges in aptamer and SELEX technology and highlight some representative applications of aptamers in cancer therapy.