Roadmap on nanomedicine

Rapid Internalization of Nanoparticles by Human Cells at the Single Particle Level

Nanoparticle uptake by cells has been studied for applications both in nanomedicine and in nanosafety. While the majority of studies have focused on the biological mechanisms underlying particle internalization, less attention has been given to questions of a more quantitative nature, such as how many nanoparticles enter cells and how rapidly they do so. To address this, we exposed human embryonic kidney cells to 40-200 nm carboxylated polystyrene nanoparticles and the particles were observed by live-cell confocal and super-resolution stimulated emission depletion fluorescence microscopy. How long a particle remained at the cell membrane after adsorbing onto it was monitored, distinguishing whether the particle ultimately desorbed again or was internalized by the cell. We found that the majority of particles desorb, but interestingly, most of the particles that are internalized do so within seconds, independently of particle size. As this is faster than typical endocytic mechanisms, we interpret this observation as the particles entering via an endocytic event that is already taking place (as opposed to directly triggering their own uptake) or possibly via an as yet uncharacterized endocytic route. Aside from the rapidly internalizing particles, a minority of particles remain at the membrane for tens of seconds to minutes before desorbing or being internalized. We also followed particles after cell internalization, observing particles that appeared to exit the cell, sometimes as rapidly as within tens of seconds. Overall, our results provide quantitative information about nanoparticle cell internalization times and early trafficking.

3D dynamic cultures of HGSOC organoids to model innovative and standard therapies

High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) needs new technologies for improving cancer diagnosis and therapy. It is a fatal disease with few options for the patients. In this context, dynamic culture systems coupling with patient-derived cancer 3D microstructures could offer a new opportunity for exploring novel therapeutic approaches. In this study, we optimized a passive microfluidic platform with 3D cancer organoids, which allows a standardized approach among different patients, a minimum requirement of samples, multiple interrogations of biological events, and a rapid response. The passive flow was optimized to improve the growth of cancer organoids, avoiding the disruption of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Under optimized conditions of the OrganoFlow (tilting angle of 15° and an interval of rocking every 8 min), the cancer organoids grow faster than when they are in static conditions and the number of dead cells is reduced over time. To calculate the IC ₅₀ values of standard chemotherapeutic drugs (carboplatin, paclitaxel, and doxorubicin) and targeted drugs (ATRA), different approaches were utilized. Resazurin staining, ATP-based assay, and DAPI/PI colocalization assays were compared, and the IC ₅₀ values were calculated. The results showed that in the passive flow, the IC ₅₀ values are lower than in static conditions. FITC-labeled paclitaxel shows a better penetration of ECM under passive flow than in static conditions, and cancer organoids start to die after 48 h instead of 96 h, respectively. Cancer organoids are the last frontiers for ex vivo testing of drugs that replicate the response of patients in the clinic. For this study, organoids derived from ascites or tissues of patients with Ovarian Cancer have been used. In conclusion, it was possible to develop a protocol for organoid cultures in a passive microfluidic platform with a higher growth rate, faster drug response, and better penetration of drugs into ECM, maintaining the samples' vitals and collecting the data on the same plate for up to 16 drugs.

From Synthetic Route of Silica Nanoparticles to Theranostic Applications

The advancements in nanotechnology have quickly developed a new subject with vast applications of nanostructured materials in medicine and pharmaceuticals. The enormous surface-to-volume ratio, ease of surface modification, outstanding biocompatibility, and, in the case of mesoporous nanoparticles, the tunable pore size make the silica nanoparticles (SNPs) a promising candidate for nano-based medical applications. The preparation of SNPs and their contemporary usage as drug carriers, contrast agents for imaging, carrier of photosensitizers (PS) in photodynamic, as well as photothermal treatments are intensely discussed in this review. Furthermore, the potential harmful responses of silica nanoparticles are reviewed using data obtained from in vitro and in vivo experiments conducted by several studies. Moreover, we showcase the engineering of SNPs for the theranostic applications that can address several intrinsic limitations of conventional therapeutics and diagnostics. In the end, a personal perspective was outlined to state SNPs’ current status and future directions, focusing on SNPs’ significant potentiality and opportunities.

Vaginal Nanoformulations for the Management of Preterm Birth

Preterm birth (PTB) is a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality in the world. In 2020, 1 in 10 infants were born prematurely in the United States. The World Health Organization estimates that a total of 15 million infants are born prematurely every year. Current therapeutic interventions for PTB have had limited replicable success. Recent advancements in the field of nanomedicine have made it possible to utilize the vaginal administration route to effectively and locally deliver drugs to the female reproductive tract. Additionally, studies using murine models have provided important insights about the cervix as a gatekeeper for pregnancy and parturition. With these recent developments, the field of reproductive biology is on the cusp of a paradigm shift in the context of treating PTB. The present review focuses on the complexities associated with treating the condition and novel therapeutics that have produced promising results in preclinical studies.

Nanomedicine approaches for treatment of hematologic and oncologic malignancies

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. Nowadays, the therapies are inadequate and spur demand for improved technologies. Rapid growth in nanotechnology and novel nanomedicine products represents an opportunity to achieve sophisticated targeting strategies and multi-functionality. Nanomedicine is increasingly used to develop new cancer diagnosis and treatment methods since this technology can modulate the biodistribution and the target site accumulation of chemotherapeutic drugs, thereby reducing their toxicity. Cancer nanotechnology and cancer immunotherapy are two parallel themes that have emerged over the last few decades while searching for a cure for cancer. Immunotherapy is revolutionizing cancer treatment, as it can achieve unprecedented responses in advanced-stage patients, including complete cures and long-term survival. A deeper understanding of the human immune system allows the establishment of combination regimens in which immunotherapy is combined with other treatment modalities (as in the case of the nanodrug Ferumoxytol). Furthermore, the combination of gene therapy approaches with nanotechnology that aims to silence or express cancer-relevant genes via one-time treatment is gradually progressing from bench to bedside. The most common example includes lipid-based nanoparticles that target VEGF-Α and KRAS pathways. This review focuses on nanoparticle-based platforms utilized in recent advances aiming to increase the efficacy of currently available cancer therapies. The insights provided and the evidence obtained in this paper indicate a bright future ahead for immuno-oncology applications of engineering nanomedicines.

Volumetric Scalability of Microfluidic and Semi-Batch Silk Nanoprecipitation Methods

Silk fibroin nanoprecipitation by organic desolvation in semi-batch and microfluidic formats provides promising bottom-up routes for manufacturing narrow polydispersity, spherical silk nanoparticles. The translation of silk nanoparticle production to pilot, clinical, and industrial scales can be aided through insight into the property drifts incited by nanoprecipitation scale-up and the identification of critical process parameters to maintain throughout scaling. Here, we report the reproducibility of silk nanoprecipitation on volumetric scale-up in low-shear, semi-batch systems and estimate the reproducibility of chip parallelization for volumetric scale-up in a high shear, staggered herringbone micromixer. We showed that silk precursor feeds processed in an unstirred semi-batch system (mixing time > 120 s) displayed significant changes in the nanoparticle physicochemical and crystalline properties following a 12-fold increase in volumetric scale between 1.8 and 21.9 mL while the physicochemical properties stayed constant following a further 6-fold increase in scale to 138 mL. The nanoparticle physicochemical properties showed greater reproducibility after a 6-fold volumetric scale-up when using lower mixing times of greater similarity (8.4 s and 29.4 s) with active stirring at 400 rpm, indicating that the bulk mixing time and average shear rate should be maintained during volumetric scale-up. Conversely, microfluidic manufacture showed high between-batch repeatability and between-chip reproducibility across four participants and microfluidic chips, thereby strengthening chip parallelization as a production strategy for silk nanoparticles at pilot, clinical, and industrial scales.

Lipid nanostructures for targeting brain cancer

Advancements in both material science and bionanotechnology are transforming the health care sector. To this end, nanoparticles are increasingly used to improve diagnosis, monitoring, and therapy. Huge research is being carried out to improve the design, efficiency, and performance of these nanoparticles. Nanoparticles are also considered as a major area of research and development to meet the essential requirements for use in nanomedicine where safety, compatibility, biodegradability, biodistribution, stability, and effectiveness are requirements towards the desired application. In this regard, lipids have been used in pharmaceuticals and medical formulations for a long time. The present work focuses on the use of lipid nanostructures to combat brain tumors. In addition, this review summarizes the literature pertaining to solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and nanostructured lipid carriers (LNC), methods of preparation and characterization, developments achieved to overcome blood brain barrier (BBB), and modifications used to increase their effectiveness.

Nanomedicines for brain diseases: where we are and where we are going

Graphical abstract [Formula: see text].

Iron Oxide-Based Magneto-Optical Nanocomposites for In Vivo Biomedical Applications

Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have played a pivotal role in the development of nanomedicine owing to their versatile functions at the nanoscale, which facilitates targeted delivery, high contrast imaging, and on-demand therapy. Some biomedical inadequacies of IONPs on their own, such as the poor resolution of IONP-based Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), can be overcome by co-incorporating optical probes onto them, which can be either molecule- or nanoparticulate-based. Optical probe incorporated IONPs, together with two prominent non-ionizing radiation sources (i.e., magnetic field and light), enable a myriad of biomedical applications from early detection to targeted treatment of various diseases. In this context, many research articles are in the public domain on magneto-optical nanoparticles; discussed in detail are fabrication strategies for their application in the biomedical field; however, lacking is a comprehensive review on real-life applications in vivo, their toxicity, and the prospect of bench-to-bedside clinical studies. Therefore, in this review, we focused on selecting such important nanocomposites where IONPs become the magnetic component, conjugated with various types of optical probes; we clearly classified them into class 1 to class 6 categories and present only in vivo studies. In addition, we briefly discuss the potential toxicity of such nanocomposites and their respective challenges for clinical translations.