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Morilla MJ, Ghosal K, Romero EL. Nanomedicines against Chagas disease: a critical review. BEILSTEIN JOURNAL OF NANOTECHNOLOGY 2024; 15:333-349. [PMID: 38590427 PMCID: PMC11000002 DOI: 10.3762/bjnano.15.30] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024]
Abstract
Chagas disease (CD) is the most important endemic parasitosis in South America and represents a great socioeconomic burden for the chronically ill and their families. The only currently available treatment against CD is based on the oral administration of benznidazole, an agent, developed in 1971, of controversial effectiveness on chronically ill patients and toxic to adults. So far, conventional pharmacological approaches have failed to offer more effective and less toxic alternatives to benznidazole. Nanomedicines reduce toxicity and increase the effectiveness of current oncological therapies. Could nanomedicines improve the treatment of the neglected CD? This question will be addressed in this review, first by critically discussing selected reports on the performance of benznidazole and other molecules formulated as nanomedicines in in vitro and in vivo CD models. Taking into consideration the developmental barriers for nanomedicines and the degree of current technical preclinical efforts, a prospect of developing nanomedicines against CD will be provided. Not surprisingly, we conclude that structurally simpler formulations with minimal production cost, such as oral nanocrystals and/or parenteral nano-immunostimulants, have the highest chances of making it to the market to treat CD. Nonetheless, substantive political and economic decisions, key to facing technological challenges, are still required regarding a realistic use of nanomedicines effective against CD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Jose Morilla
- Nanomedicine Research and Development Centre (NARD), Science and Technology Department, National University of Quilmes, Roque Sáenz Peña 352, Bernal, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Kajal Ghosal
- Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Jadavpur University, 188, Raja Subodh Chandra Mallick Rd., Jadavpur, Kolkata 700032, West Bengal, India
| | - Eder Lilia Romero
- Nanomedicine Research and Development Centre (NARD), Science and Technology Department, National University of Quilmes, Roque Sáenz Peña 352, Bernal, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Szebeni J. Evaluation of the Acute Anaphylactoid Reactogenicity of Nanoparticle-Containing Medicines and Vaccines Using the Porcine CARPA Model. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2789:229-243. [PMID: 38507008 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3786-9_23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
A small fraction, up to 10%, of people treated intravenously with state-of-the-art nanoparticulate drugs or diagnostic agents develop an acute infusion reaction which can be severe or even lethal. Activation of the complement (C) system can play a causal, or contributing role in these atypical, "pseudoallergic" reactions, hence their name, C activation-related pseudoallergy (CARPA). Intravenous (i.v.) administration of the human reaction-triggering (very small) dose of a test sample in pigs triggers a symptom tetrad (characteristic hemodynamic, hematological, skin, and laboratory changes) that correspond to the major human symptoms. Quantitating these changes provides a highly sensitive and reproducible method for assessing the risk of CARPA, enabling the implementation of appropriate preventive measures. Accordingly, the porcine CARPA model has been increasingly used for the safety evaluation of therapeutic and diagnostic nanomedicines and, recently, mRNA-lipid nanoparticle vaccines. This chapter provides details of the experimental procedure followed upon using the model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janos Szebeni
- Nanomedicine Research and Education Center, Department of Translational Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
- SeroScience LCC, Budapest, Hungary
- Translational Nanobioscience Research Center, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Korea
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Kon E, Ad-El N, Hazan-Halevy I, Stotsky-Oterin L, Peer D. Targeting cancer with mRNA-lipid nanoparticles: key considerations and future prospects. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 2023; 20:739-754. [PMID: 37587254 DOI: 10.1038/s41571-023-00811-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 41.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023]
Abstract
Harnessing mRNA-lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to treat patients with cancer has been an ongoing research area that started before these versatile nanoparticles were successfully used as COVID-19 vaccines. Currently, efforts are underway to harness this platform for oncology therapeutics, mainly focusing on cancer vaccines targeting multiple neoantigens or direct intratumoural injections of mRNA-LNPs encoding pro-inflammatory cytokines. In this Review, we describe the opportunities of using mRNA-LNPs in oncology applications and discuss the challenges for successfully translating the findings of preclinical studies of these nanoparticles into the clinic. We critically appraise the potential of various mRNA-LNP targeting and delivery strategies, considering physiological, technological and manufacturing challenges. We explore these approaches in the context of the potential clinical applications best suited to each approach and highlight the obstacles that currently need to be addressed to achieve these applications. Finally, we provide insights from preclinical and clinical studies that are leading to this powerful platform being considered the next frontier in oncology treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edo Kon
- Laboratory of Precision Nanomedicine, Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Cancer Biology Research Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Nitay Ad-El
- Laboratory of Precision Nanomedicine, Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Cancer Biology Research Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Inbal Hazan-Halevy
- Laboratory of Precision Nanomedicine, Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Cancer Biology Research Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Lior Stotsky-Oterin
- Laboratory of Precision Nanomedicine, Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Cancer Biology Research Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Dan Peer
- Laboratory of Precision Nanomedicine, Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
- Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
- Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
- Cancer Biology Research Center, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
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Mohanto N, Park YJ, Jee JP. Current perspectives of artificial oxygen carriers as red blood cell substitutes: a review of old to cutting-edge technologies using in vitro and in vivo assessments. JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL INVESTIGATION 2023; 53:153-190. [PMID: 35935469 PMCID: PMC9344254 DOI: 10.1007/s40005-022-00590-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 07/02/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Background Several circumstances such as accidents, surgery, traumatic hemorrhagic shock, and other causalities cause major blood loss. Allogenic blood transfusion can be resuscitative for such conditions; however, it has numerous ambivalent effects, including supply shortage, needs for more time, cost for blood grouping, the possibility of spreading an infection, and short shelf-life. Hypoxia or ischemia causes heart failure, neurological problems, and organ damage in many patients. To address this emergent medical need for resuscitation and to treat hypoxic conditions as well as to enhance oxygen transportation, researchers aspire to achieve a robust technology aimed to develop safe and feasible red blood cell substitutes for effective oxygen transport. Area covered This review article provides an overview of the formulation, storage, shelf-life, clinical application, side effects, and current perspectives of artificial oxygen carriers (AOCs) as red blood cell substitutes. Moreover, the pre-clinical (in vitro and in vivo) assessments for the evaluation of the efficacy and safety of oxygen transport through AOCs are key considerations in this study. With the most significant technologies, hemoglobin- and perfluorocarbon-based oxygen carriers as well as other modern technologies, such as synthetically produced porphyrin-based AOCs and oxygen-carrying micro/nanobubbles, have also been elucidated. Expert opinion Both hemoglobin- and perfluorocarbon-based oxygen carriers are significant, despite having the latter acting as safeguards; they are cost-effective, facile formulations which penetrate small blood vessels and remove arterial blockages due to their nano-size. They also show better biocompatibility and longer half-life circulation than other similar technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nijaya Mohanto
- College of Pharmacy, Chosun University, 309 Pilmun-daero, Dong-gu, Gwangju, 61452 Republic of Korea
| | - Young-Joon Park
- College of Pharmacy, Ajou University, Suwon, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea
| | - Jun-Pil Jee
- College of Pharmacy, Chosun University, 309 Pilmun-daero, Dong-gu, Gwangju, 61452 Republic of Korea
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Shi D, Beasock D, Fessler A, Szebeni J, Ljubimova JY, Afonin KA, Dobrovolskaia MA. To PEGylate or not to PEGylate: Immunological properties of nanomedicine's most popular component, polyethylene glycol and its alternatives. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2022; 180:114079. [PMID: 34902516 PMCID: PMC8899923 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2021.114079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 149] [Impact Index Per Article: 74.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Polyethylene glycol or PEG has a long history of use in medicine. Many conventional formulations utilize PEG as either an active ingredient or an excipient. PEG found its use in biotechnology therapeutics as a tool to slow down drug clearance and shield protein therapeutics from undesirable immunogenicity. Nanotechnology field applies PEG to create stealth drug carriers with prolonged circulation time and decreased recognition and clearance by the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS). Most nanomedicines approved for clinical use and experimental nanotherapeutics contain PEG. Among the most recent successful examples are two mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines that are delivered by PEGylated lipid nanoparticles. The breadth of PEG use in a wide variety of over the counter (OTC) medications as well as in drug products and vaccines stimulated research which uncovered that PEG is not as immunologically inert as it was initially expected. Herein, we review the current understanding of PEG's immunological properties and discuss them in the context of synthesis, biodistribution, safety, efficacy, and characterization of PEGylated nanomedicines. We also review the current knowledge about immunological compatibility of other polymers that are being actively investigated as PEG alternatives.
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Key Words
- Poly(ethylene)glycol, PEG, immunogenicity, immunology, nanomedicine, toxicity, anti-PEG antibodies, hypersensitivity, synthesis, drug delivery, biotherapeutics
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Affiliation(s)
- Da Shi
- Nanotechnology Characterization Lab, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research Sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Damian Beasock
- University of North Carolina Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA
| | - Adam Fessler
- University of North Carolina Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA
| | - Janos Szebeni
- Nanomedicine Research and Education Center, Institute of Translational Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary; SeroScience LCC, Budapest, Hungary; Department of Nanobiotechnology and Regenerative Medicine, Faculty of Health, Miskolc University, Miskolc, Hungary
| | | | | | - Marina A Dobrovolskaia
- Nanotechnology Characterization Lab, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research Sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD, USA.
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