Nanotherapeutic systems for delivering cancer vaccines: recent advances

Emerging Trends in Bilosomes as Therapeutic Drug Delivery Systems

In recent years, there has been a notable surge in the utilization of stabilized bile acid liposomes, chemical conjugates, complexes, mixed micelles, and other drug delivery systems derived from bile acids, often referred to as bilosomes. The molecular structure and interactions of these amphiphilic compounds provide a distinctive and captivating subject for investigation. The enhanced stability of new generation bilosomes inside the gastrointestinal system results in the prevention of drug degradation and an improvement in mucosal penetration. These characteristics render bilosomes to be a prospective nanocarrier for pharmaceutical administration, prompting researchers to investigate their potential in other domains. This review paper discusses bilosomes that have emerged as a viable modality in the realm of drug delivery and have significant promise for use across several domains. Moreover, this underscores the need for additional investigation and advancement in order to comprehensively comprehend the prospective uses of bilosomes and their effectiveness in the field of pharmaceutical administration. This review study explores the current scholarly attention on bilosomes as prospective carriers for drug delivery. Therapeutic areas where bilosomes have shown outstanding performance in terms of drug delivery are outlined in the graphical abstract.

Recent trends and advances in novel formulations as an armament in Bcl-2/Bax targeted breast cancer

Breast cancer (BC) remains a significant health burden worldwide, necessitating the development of innovative therapeutic strategies. The B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) family proteins, Bcl-2 and Bax, play a crucial role in regulating apoptosis and thus are promising targets for BC therapy. We focus on the recent advancements in novel formulations that specifically target Bcl-2/Bax pathway to combat BC. It provides an overview on biological functions of Bcl-2/Bax in apoptosis regulation, emphasizing their significance in pathogenesis and progression of the disease while covering the numerous therapeutic approaches aimed at modulating the Bcl-2/Bax pathway, including small-molecule inhibitors, peptides, gene-based therapies and other repurposed drugs harboured onto cutting-edge technologies and nanocarrier systems employed to enhance the targeted delivery of Bcl-2/Bax inhibitors tumor cells. These advanced formulations aim to improve therapeutic efficacy, minimize off-target effects, and overcome drug resistance, offering promising prospects in its treatment. In conclusion, it illuminates the diverse and evolving landscape of novel formulations as an essential armament in targeting these proteins while bridging and unravelling the obscurity of Bcl-2/Bax pathway-targeted drug delivery systems which are presently in their nascent stages of exploration for BC therapy which can benefit researchers, clinicians, and pharmaceutical scientists.

Current status of nano-vaccinology in veterinary medicine science

Vaccination programmes provide a safe, effective and cost-efficient strategy for maintaining population health. In veterinary medicine, vaccination not only reduces disease within animal populations but also serves to enhance public health by targeting zoonoses. Nevertheless, for many pathogens, an effective vaccine remains elusive. Recently, nanovaccines have proved to be successful for various infectious and non-infectious diseases of animals. These novel technologies, such as virus-like particles, self-assembling proteins, polymeric nanoparticles, liposomes and virosomes, offer great potential for solving many of the vaccine production challenges. Their benefits include low immunotoxicity, antigen stability, enhanced immunogenicity, flexibility sustained release and the ability to evoke both humoral and cellular immune responses. Nanovaccines are more efficient than traditional vaccines due to ease of control and plasticity in their physio-chemical properties. They use a highly targeted immunological approach which can provide strong and long-lasting immunity. This article reviews the currently available nanovaccine technology and considers its utility for both infectious diseases and non-infectious diseases such as auto-immunity and cancer. Future research opportunities and application challenges from bench to clinical usage are also discussed.

Multifunctional targetable liposomal drug delivery system in the management of leukemia: Potential, opportunities, and emerging strategies

The concern impeding the success of chemotherapy in leukemia treatment is descending efficacy of drugs because of multiple drug resistance (MDR). The previous failure of traditional treatment methods is primarily responsible for the present era of innovative agents to treat leukemia effectively. The treatment option is a chemotherapeutic agent in most available treatment strategies, which unfortunately leads to high unavoidable toxicities. As a result of the recent surge in marketed products, theranostic nanoparticles, i.e., multifunctional targetable liposomes (MFTL), have been approved for improved and more successful leukemia treatment that blends therapeutic and diagnostic characteristics. Since they broadly offer the required characteristics to get past the traditional/previous limitations, such as the absence of site-specific anti-cancer therapeutic delivery and ongoing real-time surveillance of the leukemia target sites while administering therapeutic activities. To prepare MFTL, suitable targeting ligands or tumor-specific antibodies are required to attach to the surface of the liposomes. This review exhaustively covered and summarized the liposomal-based formulation in leukemia treatment, emphasizing leukemia types; regulatory considerations, patents, and clinical portfolios to overcome clinical translation hurdles have all been explored.

Combining 3D Printing and Microfluidic Techniques: A Powerful Synergy for Nanomedicine

Nanomedicine has grown tremendously in recent years as a responsive strategy to find novel therapies for treating challenging pathological conditions. As a result, there is an urgent need to develop novel formulations capable of providing adequate therapeutic treatment while overcoming the limitations of traditional protocols. Lately, microfluidic technology (MF) and additive manufacturing (AM) have both acquired popularity, bringing numerous benefits to a wide range of life science applications. There have been numerous benefits and drawbacks of MF and AM as distinct techniques, with case studies showing how the careful optimization of operational parameters enables them to overcome existing limitations. Therefore, the focus of this review was to highlight the potential of the synergy between MF and AM, emphasizing the significant benefits that this collaboration could entail. The combination of the techniques ensures the full customization of MF-based systems while remaining cost-effective and less time-consuming compared to classical approaches. Furthermore, MF and AM enable highly sustainable procedures suitable for industrial scale-out, leading to one of the most promising innovations of the near future.

A state-of-the-art review on the recent advances of niosomes as a targeted drug delivery system

The buildup of nonionic surfactants in the aqueous environment produces niosomes. The usage of niosomes is becoming increasingly frequent due to their sustainability, low cost of components and assembly, large-scale manufacture, and, finally, easy maintenance of the niosomes to the other. Because of their nonionic characteristics, niosomes play a critical role in medication delivery systems. Controlled release and targeted distribution of niosomes to treat cancer, infectious illnesses, and other disorders are one of their most important properties. Niosomes can also be injected by ocular and transdermal routes, which are less common than oral and parenteral administration. Using niosomes to manufacture biotechnology goods and novel vaccines is one of the most exciting research fields today. The molecular structure of niosomes, the physicochemical characteristics of nonionic surfactants in their formulation, the influence of external stimuli on niosomes, the many methods of niosomes administration, and their diverse therapeutic qualities are all explored in this study.

Innovation in cancer therapeutics and regulatory perspectives

Cancer therapy has undergone a drastic revolution in the past few decades with the introduction of several novel therapies, like immunotherapy (active and passive), stem cell-based therapies, and nanocarrier-based therapies. These therapies have addressed the issues of conventional cancer therapy (chemotherapy or radiotherapy), like specificity and off-target effects. Further, the introduction of such treatments has improved survival and converted a terminal disease into a more manageable condition. However, many clinical, ethical, and regulatory issues are raised with such novel additions. Several effective therapies are under research but could not come to market or are delayed due to regulatory concerns for marketing approval. The scope of this review encompasses the examination of these regulatory issues and discuss their possible solutions. A practical and flexible regulatory approach, harmonized globally, could help the patients suffering from a terminal illness to lead a quality life.

Poly-L-Lysine-Lactobionic Acid-Capped Selenium Nanoparticles for Liver-Targeted Gene Delivery

Liver cancer is currently regarded as the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality globally and is the sixth most diagnosed malignancy. Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) have attracted favorable attention as nanocarriers for gene therapy, as they possess beneficial antioxidant and anticancer properties. This study aimed to design, functionalize and characterize SeNPs to efficiently bind, protect and deliver pCMV-Luc DNA to hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells. The SeNPs were synthesized by ascorbic acid reduction and functionalized with poly-L-lysine (PLL) to stabilize and confer positive charges to the nanoparticles. The SeNPs were further decorated with lactobionic acid (LA) to target the asialoglycoprotein receptors abundantly expressed on the surface of the hepatocytes. All SeNPs were spherical, in the nanoscale range (<130 nm) and were capable of successfully binding, compacting and protecting the pDNA against nuclease degradation. The functionalized SeNP nanocomplexes exhibited minimal cytotoxicity (<30%) with enhanced transfection efficiency in the cell lines tested. Furthermore, the targeted SeNP (LA-PLL-SeNP) nanocomplex showed significant (* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, **** p < 0.0001) transgene expression in the HepG2 cells compared to the receptor-negative embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells, confirming receptor-mediated endocytosis. Overall, these functionalized SeNPs exhibit favorable features of suitable gene nanocarriers for the treatment of liver cancer.

Cancer Vaccines: Promising Therapeutics or an Unattainable Dream

The advent of cancer immunotherapy has revolutionized the field of cancer treatment and offers cancer patients new hope. Although this therapy has proved highly successful for some patients, its efficacy is not all encompassing and several cancer types do not respond. Cancer vaccines offer an alternate approach to promote anti-tumor immunity that differ in their mode of action from antibody-based therapies. Cancer vaccines serve to balance the equilibrium of the crosstalk between the tumor cells and the host immune system. Recent advances in understanding the nature of tumor-mediated tolerogenicity and antigen presentation has aided in the identification of tumor antigens that have the potential to enhance anti-tumor immunity. Cancer vaccines can either be prophylactic (preventative) or therapeutic (curative). An exciting option for therapeutic vaccines is the emergence of personalized vaccines, which are tailor-made and specific for tumor type and individual patient. This review summarizes the current standing of the most promising vaccine strategies with respect to their development and clinical efficacy. We also discuss prospects for future development of stem cell-based prophylactic vaccines.

Magnetically driven treatments: optimizing performance by mitigation of eddy currents

Aim: In this work, we study the eddy current evolution naturally occurring in magnetically driven treatments, such as MRI and magnetic particle hyperthermia (MPH), and propose the mitigation of eddy currents by careful control of field parameters. Materials & methods: We start by simulation of typical MRI and MPH experimental setups to witness eddy currents and then we examine experimentally how field parameters (frequency, amplitude and pulse duration) mitigate eddy currents in a typical MPH treatment. Results and conclusion: By tuning the frequency, the amplitude and by applying pulsed field mode, we successfully attenuate undesirable heating, due to eddy currents' evolution, on surrounding healthy tissues without sparing beneficial effect within the malignant region, thus treatment remains reliable yet with milder side effects.

Cancer Nanopharmaceuticals: Physicochemical Characterization and In Vitro/In Vivo Applications

Physicochemical, pharmacokinetic, and biopharmaceutical characterization tools play a key role in the assessment of nanopharmaceuticals' potential imaging analysis and for site-specific delivery of anti-cancers to neoplastic cells/tissues. If diagnostic tools and therapeutic approaches are combined in one single nanoparticle, a new platform called nanotheragnostics is generated. Several analytical technologies allow us to characterize nanopharmaceuticals and nanoparticles and their properties so that they can be properly used in cancer therapy. This paper describes the role of multifunctional nanoparticles in cancer diagnosis and treatment, describing how nanotheragnostics can be useful in modern chemotherapy, and finally, the challenges associated with the commercialization of nanoparticles for cancer therapy.

Lipid/polymer-based nanocomplexes in nucleic acid delivery as cancer vaccines

Cancer vaccines consist of nucleic acid derivatives such as plasmid DNA, small interfering RNA and mRNA, and can be customized according to the patient's needs. Nanomedicines have proven to be exceptionally good as miniaturized drug carriers, and thus they offer great advantages for delivering cancer vaccines. This review provides an overview of the literature on cancer vaccines, from their inception to current developments in the field.

Therapeutic vaccines for aggressive B-cell lymphoma

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common aggressive B-cell lymphoma and highly heterogeneous disease. With the standard immunochemotherapy, anti-CD20 antibody rituximab (R-) plus CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) chemotherapy, 30-40% of DLBCLs are refractory to initial immunochemotherapy or experience relapse post-therapy with poor clinical outcomes despite salvage therapies. Mechanisms underlying chemoresistance and relapse are heterogeneous across DLBCL and within individual patients, representing hurdles for targeted therapies targeting a specific oncogenic signaling pathway. In recent years, paradigm-shifting immunotherapies have shown impressive efficacy in various cancer types regardless of underlying oncogenic mechanisms. Vaccines are being developed for DLBCL to build protective immunity against relapse after first complete remission and to promote antitumor immune responses synergizing with immune checkpoint inhibitors to treat refractory/relapsed patients. This article provides a brief review of current progress in vaccine development in DLBCL and discussion on immunologic mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effectiveness and resistance.