Anti-cancer efficacy of biotinylated chitosan nanoparticles in liver cancer

Nomogram based on CMTM6 expression and clinical characteristics to predict postoperative overall survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of CMTM6 in HCC tissues and its prognostic value, and to try to develop a nomogram prognostic model based on CMTM6.

METHODS

In this retrospective study, immunohistochemical (IHC) staining was performed in 178 patients who underwent radical hepatectomy in the same surgical team. R software was used to construct the nomogram model. The Bootstrap sampling method was used for internal validation.

RESULTS

CMTM6 is significantly expressed in HCC tissues and is closely associated with decreased overall survival (OS). PVTT (HR = 6.2, 95% CI: 3.06 12.6, P<0.001), CMTM6 (HR=2.30, 95% CI: 1.27 4.0, P=0.006) and MVI (HR=10.8, 95% CI: 4.19-27.6, P<0.001) were independent predictors of OS. The nomogram combined with CMTM6, PVTT and MVI was more predictive than the traditional TNM scoring system, and the prediction effects of 1-year and 3-year OS were accurate.

CONCLUSIONS

The prognosis of a patient may be predicted using high levels of CMTM6 expression in HCC tissues, and the nomogram model including CMTM6 expression has the best predictive ability.

Poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) Surface-Anchored Biotin-Loaded Irinotecan Nanoparticles for Active Targeting of Colon Cancer

A poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) copolymer was synthesized using the ring-opening polymerization of d,l-lactide and glycolide monomers in the presence of zinc proline complex in bulk through the green route and was well characterized using attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared, 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance, gel permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight, etc. Furthermore, PLGA-conjugated biotin (PLGA-B) was synthesized using the synthesized PLGA and was employed to fabricate nanoparticles for irinotecan (Ir) delivery. These nanoparticles (PLGA-NP-Ir and PLGA-B-NP-Ir) were tested for physicochemical and biological characteristics. PLGA-B-NP-Ir exhibited a stronger cellular uptake and anticancer activity as compared to PLGA-NP-Ir in CT-26 cancer cells (log p < 0.05). The accumulation and retention of fluorescence-labeled nanoparticles were observed to be better in CT-26-inoculated solid tumors in Balb/c mice. The PLGA-B-NP-Ir-treated group inhibited tumor growth significantly more (log p < 0.001) than the untreated control, PLGA-NP-Ir, and Ir-treated groups. Furthermore, no body weight loss, hematological, and blood biochemical tests demonstrated the nanocarriers' nontoxic nature. This work presents the use of safe PLGA and the demonstration of a proof-of-concept of biotin surface attached PLGA nanoparticle-mediated active targeted Ir administration to combat colon cancer. To treat colon cancer, PLGA-B-NP-Ir performed better due to specific active tumor targeting and greater cellular uptake due to biotin.

Research Progress of Chitosan-based Multifunctional Nanoparticles in Cancer Targeted Therapy

Conventional tumor therapeutic modalities, such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery, involve low tumor inhibition efficiency, non-targeted drug delivery, and side effects. The development of novel and practical nano-drug delivery systems (DDSs) for targeted tumor therapy has become particularly important. Among various bioactive nanoparticles, chitosan is considered a suitable candidate for drug delivery due to its nontoxicity, good biocompatibility, and biodegradability. The amino and hydroxyl groups of chitosan endow it with the diverse function of chemical modification, thereby improving its physical and biological properties to meet the requirements of advanced biomedical applications. Therefore, it is necessary to review the property and applications of chitosan- based materials in biomedicine. In this review, the characteristics of chitosan related to its applications are first introduced, and then the preparation and modification of chitosan-based nanoparticles, including the function tailoring of chitosan-modified nanoparticles, are demonstrated and discussed. Finally, the opportunities and challenges of chitosan- based nanomaterials in this emerging field are proposed from the perspective of the rational and systematic design for the biomedicine field.

Functionalized chitosan for cancer nano drug delivery

Chitosan is a biotechnological derivative of chitin receiving a widespread pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. It can be used to encapsulate and deliver cancer therapeutics with inherent pH-dependent solubility to confer drug targeting at tumour microenvironment and anti-cancer activity synergizing cancer cytotoxic drug actions. To further reduce the off-target and by-stander adverse effects of drugs, a high targeted drug delivery efficiency at the lowest possible drug doses is clinically required. The chitosan has been functionalized with covalent conjugates or complexes and processed into nanoparticles to encapsulate and control drug release, to avoid premature drug clearance, to deliver drugs passively and actively to cancer site at tissue, cell or subcellular levels, and to promote cancer cell uptake of nanoparticles through membrane permeabilization at higher specificity and scale. Nanomedicine developed using functionalized chitosan translates to significant preclinical improvements. Future challenges related to nanotoxicity, manufacturability, selection precision of conjugates and complexes as a function of cancer omics and their biological responses from administration site to cancer target need critical assessments.

Non-Viral Carriers for Nucleic Acids Delivery: Fundamentals and Current Applications

Over the past decades, non-viral DNA and RNA delivery systems have been intensively studied as an alternative to viral vectors. Despite the most significant advantage over viruses, such as the lack of immunogenicity and cytotoxicity, the widespread use of non-viral carriers in clinical practice is still limited due to the insufficient efficacy associated with the difficulties of overcoming extracellular and intracellular barriers. Overcoming barriers by non-viral carriers is facilitated by their chemical structure, surface charge, as well as developed modifications. Currently, there are many different forms of non-viral carriers for various applications. This review aimed to summarize recent developments based on the essential requirements for non-viral carriers for gene therapy.

Design and synthesis of multi-targeted nanoparticles for gene delivery to breast cancer tissues

Biocompatibility of nanoparticles is the most essential factor in their use in clinical applications. In this study, hyperbranched spermine (HS), hyperbranched spermine-polyethylene glycol-folic acid (HSPF), and hyperbranched spermine-polyethylene glycol-glucose (HSPG) were synthesized for DNA protection and gene delivery to breast cancer cells. The synthesis of HSPG and HSPF was confirmed using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (H-NMR), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) spectroscopy. The HS/DNA, HSPF/DNA, HSPG/DNA, and hyperbranched spermine-polyethylene glycol-folic acid/glucose/DNA (HSPFG/DNA) nanoparticles were prepared by combining different concentrations of HS, HSPF, and HSPG with the same amount of DNA. The ability of HS, HSPF, and HSPG to interact with DNA and protect it against plasm digestion was evaluated using agarose gel. Moreover, in vivo and in vitro biocompatibility of HSPF/DNA, HSPG/DNA, and HSPFG/DNA was investigated using MTT assay and calculating weight change and survival ratio of BALB/c mice, respectively. The results of agarose gel electrophoresis showed that HS, HSPF, and HSPG have the high ability to neutralize the negative charge of DNA and protect it against plasma degradation. The results of in vivo cytotoxicity assay revealed that the HSPF/DNA, HSPG/DNA, and HSPFG/DNA nanoparticles have good biocompatibility on female BALB/c mice. In vitro and in vivo transfection assays revealed that functionalization of the surface of HS using polyethylene glycol-folic acid (HSPF) and polyethylene glycol-glucose (HSPG) significantly increases gene delivery efficiency in vitro and in vivo. These results also showed that gene transfer using both HSPF and HSPG copolymers increases gene transfer efficiency compared to when only one of them is used. The HSPFG/DNA nanoparticles have a high potential for use in therapeutic applications because of their excellent biocompatibility and high gene transfer efficiency to breast cancer tissue.

Inhibitory of active dual cancer targeting 5-Fluorouracil nanoparticles on liver cancer in vitro and in vivo

The chitosan (CS) material as the skeleton nano-drug delivery system has the advantages of sustained release, biodegradability, and modifiability, and has broad application prospects. In the previous experiments, biotin (Bio) was grafted onto CS to synthesize biotin-modified chitosan (Bio-CS), and it was confirmed that it has liver cancer targeting properties. Single-targeted nanomaterials are susceptible to pathological and physiological factors, resulting in a state of ineffective binding between ligands and receptors, so there is still room for improvement in the targeting of liver cancer. Based on the high expression of folate (FA) receptors on the surface of liver cancers, FA was grafted onto Bio-CS by chemical synthesis to optimize the synthesis of folic acid-modified biotinylated chitosan (FA-CS-Bio), verified by infrared spectroscopy and hydrogen^-1 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The release of FA-CS-Bio/fluorouracil (5-FU) had three obvious stages: fast release stage, steady release stage, and slow release stage, with an obvious sustained release effect. Compared with Bio-CS, FA-CS-Bio could promote the inhibition of the proliferation and migration of liver cancer by 5-FU, and the concentration of 5-FU in hepatoma cells was significantly increased dose-dependently. Laser confocal experiments confirmed that FA-CS-Bio caused a significant increase in the fluorescence intensity in liver cancer cells. In terms of animal experiments, FA-CS-Bio increased the concentration of 5-FU in liver cancer tissue by 1.6 times on the basis of Bio-CS and the number of monophotons in liver cancer tissue by in vivo dynamic imaging experiments was significantly stronger than that of Bio-CS, indicating that the targeting ability of FA-CS-Bio was further improved. Compared with Bio-CS, FA-CS-Bio can significantly prolong the survival time of 5-FU in the orthotopic liver cancer transplantation model in mice, and has a relieving effect on liver function damage and bone marrow suppression caused by 5-FU. In conclusion, FA-CS-Bio nanomaterials have been optimized for synthesis. In vivo and in vitro experiments confirmed that FA-CS-Bio can significantly improve the targeting of liver cancer compared with Bio-CS. FA-CS-Bio/5-FU nanoparticles can improve the targeted inhibition of the proliferation and migration of liver cancer cells, prolong the survival period of tumor-bearing mice, and alleviate the toxic and side effects.

Advances towards Cell‐Specific Gene Transfection: A Small‐Molecule Approach Allows Order‐of‐Magnitude Selectivity

A transfection vector that can home in on tumors is reported. Whereas previous vectors that allow moderately cell selective gene transfection used larger systems, this small‐molecule approach paved the way for precise structure‐activity relationship optimization. For this, biotin, which mediates cell selectivity, was combined with the potent DNA‐binding motif tetralysine‐guanidinocarbonypyrrol via a hydrophilic linker, thus enabling SAR‐based optimization. The new vector mediated biotin receptor (BR)‐selective transfection of cell lines with different BR expression levels. Computer‐based analyses of microscopy images revealed a preference of one order of magnitude for the BR‐positive cell lines over the BR‐negative controls.

Targeting co-delivery of doxorubicin and gefitinib by biotinylated Au NCs for overcoming multidrug resistance in imaging-guided anticancer therapy

Drug resistance and potential cardiotoxicity severely limit the DOX-mediated chemotherapy in clinical. Multi-drug combination is conducive to the realization of multi-modal synergy at the molecular level, which is crucial in drug dose optimization and improvement of therapeutic effect. In this work, fluorescent biotinylated Au Nanoclusters as an active targeting carrier was developed to realize real-time biological imaging and dual-drug delivery simultaneously. DNA toxin doxorubicin (DOX) and tyrosinase inhibitor gefitinib (GEF) were selected as dual-drug models for the treatment of human non-small cell lung cancer. The in vitro and in vivo results showed that dual-drug combination suppressed cancer cell growth more efficiently than any single formula at the same concentrations. GEF can block signaling in target cancer cells with mutated and overactive EGFR, thereby inhibiting tumor growth and metastasis and promoting tumor cell apoptosis. Combined with DOX chemotherapy, it will effectively overcome the problem of DOX resistance. In addition, the dual-drug delivery system produced excellent synergistic therapeutic effects without extra adverse toxicities. It provides a reference for the design and clinical application of the dual-drug delivery system.

Efficient Delivery of Curcumin by Alginate Oligosaccharide Coated Aminated Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles and In Vitro Anticancer Activity against Colon Cancer Cells

We designed and synthesized aminated mesoporous silica (MSN-NH2), and functionally grafted alginate oligosaccharides (AOS) on its surface to get MSN-NH2-AOS nanoparticles as a delivery vehicle for the fat-soluble model drug curcumin (Cur). Dynamic light scattering, thermogravimetric analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to characterize the structure and performance of MSN-NH2-AOS. The nano-MSN-NH2-AOS preparation process was optimized, and the drug loading and encapsulation efficiencies of nano-MSN-NH2-AOS were investigated. The encapsulation efficiency of the MSN-NH2-Cur-AOS nanoparticles was up to 91.24 ± 1.23%. The pH-sensitive AOS coating made the total release rate of Cur only 28.9 ± 1.6% under neutral conditions and 67.5 ± 1% under acidic conditions. According to the results of in vitro anti-tumor studies conducted by MTT and cellular uptake assays, the MSN-NH2-Cur-AOS nanoparticles were more easily absorbed by colon cancer cells than free Cur, achieving a high tumor cell targeting efficiency. Moreover, when the concentration of Cur reached 50 μg/mL, MSN-NH2-Cur-AOS nanoparticles showed strong cytotoxicity against tumor cells, indicating that MSN-NH2-AOS might be a promising tool as a novel fat-soluble anticancer drug carrier.

Nanomedicine in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A New Frontier in Targeted Cancer Treatment

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related death and is associated with a dismal median survival of 2-9 months. The fundamental limitations and ineffectiveness of current HCC treatments have led to the development of a vast range of nanotechnologies with the goal of improving the safety and efficacy of treatment for HCC. Although remarkable success has been achieved in nanomedicine research, there are unique considerations such as molecular heterogeneity and concomitant liver dysfunction that complicate the translation of nanotheranostics in HCC. This review highlights the progress, challenges, and targeting opportunities in HCC nanomedicine based on the growing literature in recent years.

A Poly-Chitosan and Cis-Platinum Conjugated Composite Nanoparticle System for Liver Cancer Therapy

The aim of this study was to test an effective nano-pole capsule loaded cis-platinum (CP) transplantation device for liver cancer (LC) therapy. A novel nano-pole capsule was designed as a new vector for storing CP. HepG2 cells and a B6/J mouse model were used to test the efficiency of polyethyleneimine-cis-platinum (PEI-CP) and poly-chitosan-cis-platinum (PC-CP). Infiltration efficiency and transplantation efficiency tests were performed to study the performance of the delivery system, and fibroblast reactions and macrophage numbers were observed, to test for immune rejection and foreign body reactions. The apoptosis rate and tumor diameter of hepatocellular carcinoma cells were used to evaluate the effect of the tumor therapy. We also studied the functional mechanism of different CP delivery systems. The infiltration and transplantation efficiencies of PC-CP were higher than that of PEI-CP; Less foreign body reaction appeared in PC system, with less fibroblast reaction and lower macrophage reaction. The clinical efficacy of PC-CP in terms of tumor apoptosis and diameter reduction was superior to that of PEI-CP. We demonstrated that PC-CP had a more significant alteration effect on mTOR, P-Ak, LC3 and P53. The PC system can better deliver and release drugs than PEI-CP, and may be a better choice for LC therapy in the future.

The use of nanotechnology to combat liver cancer: Progress and perspectives

Liver cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide and is also one of the most difficult cancers to treat, resulting in almost one million deaths per year, and the danger of this cancer is compounded when the tumor is nonresectable. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer and has the third highest mortality rate worldwide. Considering the morbid statistics surrounding this cancer it is a popular research topic to target for better therapy practices. This review summarizes the role of nanotechnology in these endeavors. Nanoparticles (NPs) are a very broad class of material and many different kinds have been used to potentially combat liver cancer. Gold, silver, platinum, metal oxide, calcium, and selenium NPs as well as less common materials are all inorganic NPs that have been used as a therapeutic, carrier, or imaging agent in drug delivery systems (DDS) and these efforts are described. Carbon-based NPs, including polymeric, polysaccharide, and lipid NPs as well as carbon dots, have also been widely studied for this purpose and the role they play in DDS for the treatment of liver cancer is illustrated in this review. The multifunctional nature of many NPs described herein, allows these systems to display high anticancer activity in vitro and in vivo and highlights the advantage of and need for combinatorial therapy in treating this difficult cancer. These works are summarized, and future directions are presented for this promising field.

Liver Cancer: New Insights into Surgical and Nonsurgical Treatments

Introduction:

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer that has increased in recent years worldwide. Primary liver cancer or HCC is considered the 5th and 7th most common cancer among men and women, respectively. It is also the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Unfortunately, HCC is frequently diagnosed at an advanced stage when the majority of the patients do not have access to remedial therapies. Furthermore, current systemic chemotherapy shows low efficacy and minimum survival benefits. Liver cancer therapy is a multidisciplinary, multiple-choice treatment based on the complex interaction of the tumour stage, the degree of liver disease, and the patient's general state of health.

Methods:

In this paper, we reviewed new insights into nonsurgical and surgical treatment of liver cancer in five English databases, including Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Google Scholar up to December 2019.

Results:

The results demonstrated, in addition to current therapies such as chemotherapy and surgical resection, new approaches, including immunotherapy, viral therapy, gene therapy, new ablation therapies, and adjuvant therapy, are widely used for the treatment of HCC. In recent years, biomaterials such as nanoparticles, liposomes, microspheres, and nanofibers are also regarded as reliable and innovative patents for the treatment and study of liver cancers.

Conclusion:

Multidisciplinary and multi-choice treatments and therapies are available for this liver cancer, while there are differences in liver cancer management recommendations among specialties and geographic areas. Current results have shown that treatment strategies have been combined with the advancement of novel treatment modalities. In addition, the use of new approaches with greater efficacy, such as combination therapy, biomaterials, ablation therapy, etc. can be considered the preferred treatment for patients.

Biotinylated chitosan macromolecule based nanosystems: A review from chemical design to biological targets

World Health Organization estimates that 30-50% of cancers are preventable by healthy lifestyle choices, early detection and adequate therapy. When the conventional therapeutic strategies are still regulated by the lack of selectivity, multidrug resistance and severe toxic side effects, nanotechnology grants a new frontier for cancer management since it targets cancer cells and spares healthy tissues. This review highlights recent studies using biotin molecule combined with functional nanomaterials used in biomedical applications, with a particular attention on biotinylated chitosan-based nanosystems. Succinctly, this review focuses on five areas of recent advances in biotin engineering: (a) biotin features, (b) biotinylation approaches, (c) biotin functionalized chitosan based nanosystems for drug and gene delivery functions, (d) diagnostic and theranostic perspectives, and (e) author's inputs to the biotin-chitosan based tumour-targeting drug delivery structures. Precisely engineered biotinylated-chitosan macromolecules shaped into nanosystems are anticipated to emerge as next-generation platforms for treatment and molecular imaging modalities applications.

Immunomodulatory potential of chitosan-based materials for cancer therapy: a systematic review of in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies

Chitosan (Ch) has recently been used in different studies as a vaccine adjuvant with an ability to modulate the tumor microenvironment (TME). This systematic review aims to elucidate the added value of using Ch-based therapies for immunotherapeutic strategies in cancer treatment, through the exploration of different Ch-based formulations, their capacity to modulate immune cells in vitro and in vivo, and their translational potential for clinical settings. A systematic review was conducted on PubMed, following both inclusion and exclusion steps. Original articles which focused on the immunomodulatory role of Ch-based formulations in the TME were included, as well as its usage as a delivery vehicle for other immunomodulatory molecules. This review illustrates the added value of Ch-based systems to reshape the TME, through the modulation of immune cells using different Ch formulations, namely solutions, films, gels, microneedles and nanoparticles. Generally, Ch-based formulations increase the recruitment and proliferation of cells associated with pro-inflammatory abilities and decrease cells which exert anti-inflammatory activities. These effects correlated with a decreased tumor weight, reduced metastases, reversion of the immunosuppressive TME and increased survival in vivo. Overall, Ch-based formulations present the potential for immunotherapy in cancer. Nevertheless, clinical translation remains challenging, since the majority of the studies use Ch in formulations with other components, implicating that some of the observed effects could result from the combination of the individual effects. More studies on the use of different Ch-based formulations, complementary to standardization and disclosure of the Ch properties used are required to improve the immunomodulatory effects of Ch-based formulations in cancer.

The Evaluation of Drug Delivery Nanocarrier Development and Pharmacological Briefing for Metabolic-Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD): An Update

Current research indicates that the next silent epidemic will be linked to chronic liver diseases, specifically non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which was renamed as metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) in 2020. Globally, MAFLD mortality is on the rise. The etiology of MAFLD is multifactorial and still incompletely understood, but includes the accumulation of intrahepatic lipids, alterations in energy metabolism, insulin resistance, and inflammatory processes. The available MAFLD treatment, therefore, relies on improving the patient's lifestyle and multidisciplinary pharmacotherapeutic options, whereas the option of surgery is useless without managing the comorbidities of the MAFLD. Nanotechnology is an emerging approach addressing MAFLD, where nanoformulations are suggested to improve the safety and physicochemical properties of conventional drugs/herbal medicines, physical, chemical, and physiological stability, and liver-targeting properties. A wide variety of liver nanosystems were constructed and delivered to the liver, only those that addressed the MAFLD were discussed in this review in terms of the nanocarrier classes, particle size, shape, zeta potential and offered dissolution rate(s), the suitable preparation method(s), excipients (with synergistic effects), and the suitable drug/compound for loading. The advantages and challenges of each nanocarrier and the focus on potential promising perspectives in the production of MAFLD nanomedicine were also highlighted.

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.

The potential role of chitosan-based nanoparticles as drug delivery systems in pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most lethal cancers and 12th most common cancer in the world. Due to the inaccessible anatomical position of the pancreas and asymptomatic early stages of this disease, PC has a high mortality rate. Therefore, providing reliable diagnostic and therapeutic tools are the keys to increase the PC survival rate. Nanotechnology is an inchoate field of science that previously scientists' tendency to enhance the efficacy of current preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic methods has oriented them to build a bridge between this science and medicine. In the case of PC, nanotechnology suggests using drug delivery devices for a more effective and targeted therapy. Chitosan is a natural polymer that recently has attracted a lot of attention for being renewable, nontoxic, and bioabsorbable. In this article, we tend to look for the answer to this question: has nanotechnology been successful in using chitosan-based nanoformulations as carriers for preventing more individuals from suffering or at least increasing the 5-year survival of the PC patients?

Chitosan Nanoparticles for Therapy and Theranostics of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) and Liver-Targeting

Chitosan nanoparticles are well-known delivery systems widely used as polymeric carriers in the field of nanomedicine. Chitosan is a carbohydrate of natural origin: it is a biodegradable, biocompatible, mucoadhesive, polycationic polymer and it is endowed with penetration enhancer properties. Furthermore, it can be easily derivatized. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents a remarkable health problem because current therapies, that include surgery, liver transplantation, trans-arterial embolization, chemoembolization and chemotherapy, present significant limitations due to the high risk of recurrence, to a lack of drug selectivity and to other serious side effects. Therefore, there is the need for new therapeutic strategies and for improving the liver-targeting to HCC. Nanomedicine consists in the use of nanoscale carriers as delivery systems to target and deliver drugs and/or diagnostic agents to specific organs or tissues. Chitosan and its derivatives can be successfully used in the preparation of nanoparticles that, for their peculiar surface-properties, can specifically interact with liver tumor, by passive and active targeting. This review concerns the use of chitosan nanoparticles for the therapy and theranostics of HCC and liver-targeting.

Actively Targeted and Redox Responsive Delivery of Anticancer Drug by Chitosan Nanoparticles

The clinical efficacy of methotrexate (MTX) is limited by its poor water solubility, its low bioavailability, and the development of resistance in cancer cells. Herein, we developed novel folate redox-responsive chitosan (FTC) nanoparticles for intracellular MTX delivery. l-Cysteine and folic acid molecules were selected to be covalently linked to chitosan in order to confer it redox responsiveness and active targeting of folate receptors (FRs). NPs based on these novel polymers could possess tumor specificity and a controlled drug release due to the overexpression of FRs and high concentration of reductive agents in the microenvironment of cancer cells. Nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared using an ionotropic gelation technique and characterized in terms of size, morphology, and loading capacity. In vitro drug release profiles exhibited a glutathione (GSH) dependence. In the normal physiological environment, NPs maintained good stability, whereas, in a reducing environment similar to tumor cells, the encapsulated MTX was promptly released. The anticancer activity of MTX-loaded FTC-NPs was also studied by incubating HeLa cells with formulations for various time and concentration intervals. A significant reduction in viability was observed in a dose- and time-dependent manner. In particular, FTC-NPs showed a better inhibition effect on HeLa cancer cell proliferation compared to non-target chitosan-based NPs used as control. The selective cellular uptake of FTC-NPs via FRs was evaluated and confirmed by fluorescence microscopy. Overall, the designed NPs provide an attractive strategy and potential platform for efficient intracellular anticancer drug delivery.

Liver Cancer: Current and Future Trends Using Biomaterials

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common type of cancer diagnosed and the second leading cause of death worldwide. Despite advancement in current treatments for HCC, the prognosis for this cancer is still unfavorable. This comprehensive review article focuses on all the current technology that applies biomaterials to treat and study liver cancer, thus showing the versatility of biomaterials to be used as smart tools in this complex pathologic scenario. Specifically, after introducing the liver anatomy and pathology by focusing on the available treatments for HCC, this review summarizes the current biomaterial-based approaches for systemic delivery and implantable tools for locally administrating bioactive factors and provides a comprehensive discussion of the specific therapies and targeting agents to efficiently deliver those factors. This review also highlights the novel application of biomaterials to study HCC, which includes hydrogels and scaffolds to tissue engineer 3D in vitro models representative of the tumor environment. Such models will serve to better understand the tumor biology and investigate new therapies for HCC. Special focus is given to innovative approaches, e.g., combined delivery therapies, and to alternative approaches-e.g., cell capture-as promising future trends in the application of biomaterials to treat HCC.

Influence of amide versus ester linkages on the anticancer properties of the new flavone-biotin conjugates

Novel biotinylated C-6 substituted flavones were synthesised by a one-step method that connects biotin to 6-hydroxyflavone and 6-aminoflavone by esterification and amidation of hydroxyl and amino groups, respectively. The obtained compounds, 6-O-biotinylflavone and 6-biotinylamidoflavone, are the bifunctional molecules composed of a flavone moiety as a fluorescent reporter and biotin as a cancer-targeting unit. Antiproliferative activity was evaluated using SRB assays in MCF-7, MCF-10A, HepG2, MDA-MB-231, 4T1, and Balb/3T3 cell lines. In vitro evaluation revealed that compounds with biotin moiety displayed better cell selectivity between the cancer and normal cells than the parental substrates. These results indicate that anticancer effect is not related to the position of biotin moiety, but it is related to the presence of ester or amide bond. 6-O-Biotinylflavone was more active than 6-hydroxyflavone against human breast (MDA-MB-231) and liver (HepG2) cancer cells with IC50 (concentration of tested agent that inhibits proliferation of the cell population by 50%) values equal to 78.5 ± 18.8 μM and 133.2 ± 14.2 μM, respectively. Non biotinylated 6-aminoflavone was more active than 6-biotinylamidoflavone against all tested cell lines, with IC50 values between 34.3 ± 9.1 μM (4T1) and 173.86 ± 24.3 μM (MCF-7).

Anti-Oxidant Activity and Dust-Proof Effect of Chitosan with Different Molecular Weights

High molecular weight chitosan (HMWC) was degraded to prepare chitosan with different molecular weight based on the fenton reaction, which can produce aggressive OH-radicals produced from hydrogen peroxide in the presence of catalytic metal ions. The relative molecular weight, anti-oxidant activity, and fine dust removal effect of chitosan hydrolysates were elucidated to define their molecular weight and their potent biological activity. Our results demonstrate that chitosan hydrolysates derived from the hydrolysis of HMWC may possess significant free-radical scavenging activity as good anti-oxidants against the radical scavenging activity of DPPH and ABTS, respectively. Furthermore, chitosan hydrolysates can effectively eliminate fine dust, which may contain some particulate matter (PM) and unknown species of microorganisms from the air, suggesting that our data provide important information for producing air filters, dust-proof masks and skin cleaner for the purpose of human healthcare and well-being.

Preparation and Characterization of PLA-PEG-PLA/PEI/DNA Nanoparticles for Improvement of Transfection Efficiency and Controlled Release of DNA in Gene Delivery Systems

Tri-block poly (lactide) poly(ethylene glycol) poly(lactide) (PLA-PEG-PLA) copolymers are among the most attractive nano-carriers for gene delivery into mammalian cells, due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability properties. However, the low efficiency of the gene delivery by these copolymers is an obstacle to gene therapy. Here, we have investigated nanoparticles formulated using the polyethylenimine (PEI) associated with PLA-PEG-PLA copolymer for efficient DNA encapsulation and delivery. PLA-PEG-PLA/DNA and PLA-PEG-PLA/PEI/DNA nanoparticles with different concentrations of PEI were prepared by the double emulsion-solvent evaporation technique. PLA-PEG-PLA/PEI/DNA were characterized for particle size, zeta potential, morphology, biocompatibility, DNA protection, DNA release, and their ability for gene delivery into MCF-7 cells. We found that enhancing the mass ratio of PEI: (PLA-PEG-PLA) (w/w%) in the PLA-PEG-PLA/PEI/DNA nanoparticles results in an increase in particles size, zeta potential, encapsulation efficiency, and DNA release. The electrophoretic analysis confirmed that the PLA-PEG-PLA and PLA-PEG-PLA/PEI could protect DNA from ultrasound damage and nuclease degradation. MTT assay showed that the PLA-PEG-PLA/PEI/DNA had low cytotoxicity than PEI complexes. The potential of PLA-PEG-PLA/PEI/DNA nanoparticles with different concentrations of PEI as a non-viral gene delivery vector for transferring pEGFP-N1 to MCF-7 cells was examined by fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry. The flow cytometry analysis revealed that by increasing the mass ratio of PEI: (PLA-PEG-PLA) (w/w%) in PLA-PEG-PLA/PEI/DNA nanoparticles, the efficiency of the gene delivery into MCF-7 cells was improved. The results also demonstrated that PLA-PEG-PLA/PEI/DNA nanoparticles in the serum medium improved the efficiency of gene delivery more than two-fold, compared to PEI/DNA complex.

Competitive Biological Activities of Chitosan and Its Derivatives: Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, Anticancer, and Anti-Inflammatory Activities

Chitosan is obtained from alkaline deacetylation of chitin, and acetamide groups are transformed into primary amino groups during the deacetylation. The diverse biological activities of chitosan and its derivatives are extensively studied that allows to widening the application fields in various sectors especially in biomedical science. The biological properties of chitosan are strongly depending on the solubility in water and other solvents. Deacetylation degree (DDA) and molecular weight (MW) are the most decisive parameters on the bioactivities since the primary amino groups are the key functional groups of chitosan where permits to interact with other molecules. Higher DDA and lower MW of chitosan and chitosan derivatives demonstrated higher antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer capacities. Therefore, the chitosan oligosaccharides (COS) with a low polymerization degree are receiving a great attention in medical and pharmaceutical applications as they have higher water solubility and lower viscosity than chitosan. In this review articles, the antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory activities of chitosan and its derivatives are highlighted. The influences of physicochemical parameters of chitosan like DDA and MW on bioactivities are also described.