In vitro study of the anticancer activity of various doxorubicin-containing dispersions

Anti-cancer activity of zinc-tetraphenylporphyrin photosensitizer/dextran-graft-polyacrylamide copolymer/Au(Ag) nanoparticle nanohybrids

A comparative study of in vitro anti-cancer photodynamic activities of three-component zinc-tetraphenylporphyrin photosensitizer/dextran-graft-polyacrylamide copolymer/Au(Ag) nanoparticle (ZnTPP/D-g-PAA/Au(Ag)NP) nanohybrids on LNCaP prostate cancer cells was carried out under 420 nm light irradiation with low power. A significant cytotoxic effect was revealed for both ZnTPP/D-g-PAA/AgNP and ZnTPP/D-g-PAA/AuNP nanohybrids, where ZnTPP/D-g-PAA/AgNP nanohybrids exhibited considerably higher anticancer activity (82%) compared to ZnTPP/D-g-PAA/AuNP nanohybrids (45%). The higher activity of silver-containing nanohybrids is rationalized based on two factors. The first factor is the resonance of 420 nm light with a absorption Soret peak of the ZnTPP photosensitizer and a localized surface plasmon mode in Ag nanoparticles. Correspondingly, the plasmon enhancement of reactive oxygen species photogeneration by ZnTPP molecules was considerably higher for the nanohybrid containing silver compared to the one containing gold. The second factor is the higher cytotoxicity of Ag nanoparticles compared to Au ones. The study results prove the high potential of D-g-PAA/Ag(Au)NP nanohybrids combined with 420 nm light irradiation with low power in the photodynamic treatment of prostate cancer.

Laser ablation of asphalt and coal in different solvents an In Vitro study

Pulsed laser ablation in liquids (PLAL) is considered as green, cost effective, and facile method to produce nanocolloids which exhibit anticancer effect. When comparing breast cancer with other types of cancers, breast cancer is considered as the second cause of death in women. The objective of this article is to test the cytotoxicity of carbon-based materials prepared by PLAL on both the normal (REF) cell line and the human breast cancer (MCF7) cell line. In this study, PLAL is used to prepare nanocolloids of asphalt and coal in different solvents (ethanol, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), phosphate buffer saline (PBS), and distilled water (DW)). A fiber laser of wavelength of 1.06 μm and an average power of 10 watts was used to prepare different nanocolloids in different solvents from asphalt and coal. The cytotoxic effect of the prepared materials was tested against breast cancer MCF7 cell line in vitro. The asphalt in both ethanol and DMSO was found to have a significant cytotoxic effect and the growth inhibition (GI) was found to be 62.1% and 50.5% at concentrations of 620 and 80 ppm respectively, unlike the coal in DMSO which showed G.I. of 59.5%. Both the prepared materials in the mentioned solvents showed low cytotoxicity against the normal cell line (REF). We can conclude that the organic materials prepared in organic solvents using the PLAL had shown a low cytotoxicity against the (REF) cell line while they exhibited a significant cytotoxic effect against the MCF7 cell line. Further studies are recommended to test these prepared materials in vivo.

Cytotoxicity of Hybrid Noble Metal-Polymer Composites

The aim of the present research was to assess the cytotoxicity of gold and silver nanoparticles synthesized into dextran-graft-polyacrylamide (D-PAA) polymer nanocarrier, which were used as a basis for further preparation of multicomponent nanocomposites revealed high efficacy for antitumor therapy. The evaluation of the influence of Me-polymer systems on the viability and metabolic activity of fibroblasts and eryptosis elucidating the mechanisms of the proeryptotic effects has been done in the current research. The nanocomposites investigated in this study did not reduce the survival of fibroblasts even at the highest used concentration. Our findings suggest that hybrid Ag/D-PAA composite activated eryptosis via ROS- and Ca2+-mediated pathways at the low concentration, in contrast to other studied materials. Thus, the cytotoxicity of Ag/D-PAA composite against erythrocytes was more pronounced compared with D-PAA and hybrid Au/polymer composite. Eryptosis is a more sensitive tool for assessing the biocompatibility of nanomaterials compared with fibroblast viability assays.

Cu (II)-porphyrin metal-organic framework/graphene oxide: synthesis, characterization, and application as a pH-responsive drug carrier for breast cancer treatment

A new multifunctional graphene oxide/Cu (II)-porphyrin MOF nanocomposite (CuG) comprised of Cu-TCPP MOF supported on graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets, has been fabricated by a solvothermal method at low temperature and one-pot process. Cu-TCPP MOF with universal advantages, such as high porosity, nontoxicity, large surface area, and safe biodegradation, combined with GO allows the achievement of an efficient doxorubicin loading (45.7%) and smart pH-responsive release for chemotherapy. More significantly, more than 97% of DOX was released by CuG at pH 5 which was more than that at pH 7.4 (~ 33.5%), while Cu-TCPP MOF displayed DOX release of 68.5% and 49% at pH 5 and 7.4, respectively, illustrating the effect of GO on the smart MOF construction for controllable releasing behavior in vitro. The results of in vitro anticancer experiments demonstrate that the developed nanocarrier exhibited slight or no cytotoxicity on normal cells, while the drug-loaded nanocarrier increased significant cancer cell-killing ability with higher therapeutic efficacy than free DOX, indicating the sustained release behavior of the CuG nanocarrier without any "burst effect". Moreover, the in vivo experiments demonstrated that the CuG-DOX exhibited significantly higher anticancer efficiency compared with free DOX. High anti-cancer therapeutic efficacy of this nanoscale carrier as an efficient pH sensitive agent, has the potential to enter further biomedical investigations. A new smart multifunctional graphene oxide-Cu (II)-porphyrin MOF nanocomposite (CuG) formed of Cu-TCPP MOF and graphene oxide (GO) has successfully fabricated and demonstrated an efficient pH-responsive drug release behavior in cancer therapy without using any targeting ligand.

A New Water-Soluble Thermosensitive Star-Like Copolymer as a Promising Carrier of the Chemotherapeutic Drug Doxorubicin

A new water-soluble thermosensitive star-like copolymer, dextran-graft-poly-N-iso-propilacrylamide (D-g-PNIPAM), was created and characterized by various techniques (size-exclusion chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and dynamic light scattering (DLS) spectroscopy). The viability of cancer cell lines (human transformed cervix epithelial cells, HeLa) as a model for cancer cells was studied using MTT and Live/Dead assays after incubation with a D-g-PNIPAM copolymer as a carrier for the drug doxorubicin (Dox) as well as a D-g-PNIPAM + Dox mixture as a function of the concentration. FTIR spectroscopy clearly indicated the complex formation of Dox with the D-g-PNIPAM copolymer. The size distribution of particles in Hank’s solution was determined by the DLS technique at different temperatures. The in vitro uptake of the studied D-g-PNIPAM + Dox nanoparticles into cancer cells was demonstrated by confocal laser scanning microscopy. It was found that D-g-PNIPAM + Dox nanoparticles in contrast to Dox alone showed higher toxicity toward cancer cells. All of the aforementioned facts indicate a possibility of further preclinical studies of the water-soluble D-g-PNIPAM particles’ behavior in animal tumor models in vivo as promising carriers of anticancer agents.

Lignin, lipid, protein, hyaluronic acid, starch, cellulose, gum, pectin, alginate and chitosan-based nanomaterials for cancer nanotherapy: Challenges and opportunities

Although nanotechnology-driven drug delivery systems are relatively new, they are rapidly evolving since the nanomaterials are deployed as effective means of diagnosis and delivery of assorted therapeutic agents to targeted intracellular sites in a controlled release manner. Nanomedicine and nanoparticulate drug delivery systems are rapidly developing as they play crucial roles in the development of therapeutic strategies for various types of cancer and malignancy. Nevertheless, high costs, associated toxicity and production of complexities are some of the critical barriers for their applications. Green nanomedicines have continually been improved as one of the viable approaches towards tumor drug delivery, thus making a notable impact on which considerably affect cancer treatment. In this regard, the utilization of natural and renewable feedstocks as a starting point for the fabrication of nanosystems can considerably contribute to the development of green nanomedicines. Nanostructures and biopolymers derived from natural and biorenewable resources such as proteins, lipids, lignin, hyaluronic acid, starch, cellulose, gum, pectin, alginate, and chitosan play vital roles in the development of cancer nanotherapy, imaging and management. This review uncovers recent investigations on diverse nanoarchitectures fabricated from natural and renewable feedstocks for the controlled/sustained and targeted drug/gene delivery systems against cancers including an outlook on some of the scientific challenges and opportunities in this field. Various important natural biopolymers and nanomaterials for cancer nanotherapy are covered and the scientific challenges and opportunities in this field are reviewed.

Temperature Driven Transformation in Dextran-Graft-PNIPAM/Embedded Silver Nanoparticle Hybrid System

During the last decade, stimuli-responsible polymers based on poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) having conformational transition in the range of physiological temperature have been discussed as novel drug delivery nanosystems. A star-like copolymer with a dextran core and grafted poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) arms (D-g-PNIPAM) was synthesized, characterized, and used as a matrix for silver sol preparation. The comparative study of the behavior of individual D-g-PNIPAM and the nanohybrid system D-g-PNIPAM/silver nanoparticles has been done in the temperature range near the lower critical solution temperature (LCST). The methods of Dynamic Light Scattering, small angle X-ray scattering, and UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy have been used. The existence of single nanoparticles and aggregated nanoparticles located in a limited polymer macromolecular volume was established. The increase of the temperature leads to slight aggregation of the silver nanoparticles at the LCST transition. Single nanoparticles do not aggregate with the temperature increase. The thermally induced collapse of end-grafted poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) chains above the LCST do not affect significantly the size characteristics of silver nanoparticles incorporated into the polymer matrix.