Enhanced antitumor activity of surface-modified iron oxide nanoparticles and an α-tocopherol derivative in a rat model of mammary gland carcinosarcoma

A Comprehensive Review on Current Treatments and Challenges Involved in the Treatment of Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the second most common gynaecological malignancy. It typically affects females over the age of 50, and since 75% of cases are only discovered at stage III or IV, this is a sign of a poor diagnosis. Despite intraperitoneal chemotherapy's chemosensitivity, most patients relapse and face death. Early detection is difficult, but treatment is also difficult due to the route of administration, resistance to therapy with recurrence, and the need for precise cancer targeting to minimize cytotoxicity and adverse effects. On the other hand, undergoing debulking surgery becomes challenging, and therapy with many chemotherapeutic medications has manifested resistance, a condition known as multidrug resistance (MDR). Although there are other therapeutic options for ovarian cancer, this article solely focuses on co-delivery techniques, which work via diverse pathways to overcome cancer cell resistance. Different pathways contribute to MDR development in ovarian cancer; however, usually, pump and non-pump mechanisms are involved. Striking cancerous cells from several angles is important to defeat MDR. Nanocarriers are known to bypass the drug efflux pump found on cellular membranes to hit the pump mechanism. Nanocarriers aid in the treatment of ovarian cancer by enhancing the delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs to the tumour sites through passive or active targeting, thereby reducing unfavorable side effects on the healthy tissues. Additionally, the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) mechanism boosts the bioavailability of the tumour site. To address the shortcomings of conventional delivery, the current review attempts to explain the current conventional treatment with special reference to passively and actively targeted drug delivery systems (DDSs) towards specific receptors developed to treat ovarian cancer. In conclusion, tailored nanocarriers would optimize medication delivery into the intracellular compartment before optimizing intra-tumour distribution. Other novel treatment possibilities for ovarian cancer include tumour vaccines, gene therapy, targeting epigenetic alteration, and biologically targeted compounds. These characteristics might enhance the therapeutic efficacy.

Theranostic applications of stimulus-responsive systems based on Fe2O3

According to the interaction of nanoparticles with biological systems, enthusiasm for nanotechnology in biomedical applications has been developed in the past decades. Fe2O3 nanoparticles, as the most stable iron oxide, have special merits that make them useful widely for detecting diseases, therapy, drug delivery, and monitoring the therapeutic process. This review presents the fabrication methods of Fe2O3-based materials and their photocatalytic and magnetic properties. Then, we highlight the application of Fe2O3-based nanoparticles in diagnosis and imaging, different therapy methods, and finally, stimulus-responsive systems, such as pH-responsive, magnetic-responsive, redox-responsive, and enzyme-responsive, with an emphasis on cancer treatment. In addition, the potential of Fe2O3 to combine diagnosis and therapy within a single particle called theranostic agent will be discussed.

Vitamin E Derivative with Modified Side Chain Induced Apoptosis by Modulating the Cellular Lipids and Membrane Dynamics in MCF7 Cells

The vitamin E derivative with side chain modification (TC6OAc) has been shown to possess anticancer activity in our earlier in vivo studies. It was hypothesized that, as Vitamin E (VE) and VE derivative are fat soluble lipophilic molecules, they exert their function by modulating the lipid metabolism and related pathways. This study aimed to evaluate the cellular impact of this VE derivative (2,5,7,8-Tetramethyl-2-(4'-Methyl-3'-Pentenyl)-6-Acetoxy Chromane-TC6OH), using α-tocopherol as a reference compound throughout the experiments. Their effects on the cellular metabolism, the biophysical properties of cellular lipids and the functional characteristics of cells were monitored in human estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer cells. It has been documented that TC6OH treatment induces tumor cell apoptosis by dissipating the mitochondrial membrane potential, modulating the lipid, transportation and degradation as well as downregulating certain anti-apoptotic and growth factor related proteins. Due to resistance of ER positive cells to the established therapies, the findings of this study are of translational value.

Nanotechnology in ovarian cancer: Diagnosis and treatment

To overcome the drawbacks of conventional delivery, this review spotlights a number of nanoscale drug delivery systems, including nanoparticles, liposomes, nano micelles, branched dendrimers, nanocapsules, and nanostructured lipid formulations for the targeted therapy of ovarian cancer. These nanoformulations offer numerous advantages to promote therapeutic drug delivery such as nontoxicity, biocompatibility, good biodegradability, increased therapeutic impact than free drugs, and non-inflammatory effects. Importantly, the development of specific ligands functionalized nanoformulations enable preferential targeting of ovarian tumors and eventually amplify the therapeutic potential compared to nonfunctionalized counterparts. Ovarian cancer is typically identified by biomarker assessment such as CA125, HE4, Mucin 1, and prostatic. There is, nevertheless, a tremendous demand for less costly, faster, and compact medical tools, both for timely detection and ovarian cancer control. This paper explored multiple types of tumor marker-based on nanomaterial biosensors. Initially, we mention different forms of ovarian cancer biomarkers involving CA125, human epididymis protein 4 (HE4), mucin 1 (MUC1), and prostate. It is accompanied by a brief description of new nanotechnology methods for diagnosis. Nanobiosensors for evaluating ovarian cancer biomarkers can be categorized based on electrochemical, optical, paper-based, giant magnetoresistive, and lab-on-a-chip devices.

Utilizing Iron for Targeted Lipid Peroxidation as Anticancer Option of Integrative Biomedicine: A Short Review of Nanosystems Containing Iron

Traditional concepts of life sciences consider oxidative stress as a fundamental process of aging and various diseases including cancer, whereas traditional medicine recommends dietary intake of iron to support physiological functions of the organism. However, due to its strong pro-oxidative capacity, if not controlled well, iron can trigger harmful oxidative stress manifested eventually by toxic chain reactions of lipid peroxidation. Such effects of iron are considered to be major disadvantages of uncontrolled iron usage, although ferroptosis seems to be an important defense mechanism attenuating cancer development. Therefore, a variety of iron-containing nanoparticles were developed for experimental radio-, chemo-, and photodynamic as well as magnetic dynamic nanosystems that alter redox homeostasis in cancer cells. Moreover, studies carried over recent decades have revealed that even the end products of lipid peroxidation, represented by 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), could have desirable effects even acting as kinds of selective anticancer substances produced by non-malignant cells for defense again invading cancer. Therefore, advanced nanotechnologies should be developed for using iron to trigger targeted lipid peroxidation as an anticancer option of integrative biomedicine.

Applications of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in drug and therapeutic delivery, and biotechnological advancements

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) have unique properties with regard to biological and medical applications. SPIONs have been used in clinical settings although their safety of use remains unclear due to the great differences in their structure and in intra- and inter-patient absorption and response. This review addresses potential applications of SPIONs in vitro (formulations), ex vivo (in biological cells and tissues) and in vivo (preclinical animal models), as well as potential biomedical applications in the context of drug targeting, disease treatment and therapeutic efficacy, and safety studies.