CRPC Membrane-Camouflaged, Biomimetic Nanosystem for Overcoming Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer by Cellular Vehicle-Aided Tumor Targeting

Recent advances in biomimetic cell membrane-camouflaged nanoparticles for cancer therapy

The emerging strategy of biomimetic nanoparticles (NPs) via cellular membrane camouflage holds great promise in cancer therapy. This scholarly review explores the utilization of cellular membranes derived from diverse cellular entities; blood cells, immune cells, cancer cells, stem cells, and bacterial cells as examples of NP coatings. The camouflaging strategy endows NPs with nuanced tumor-targeting abilities such as self-recognition, homotypic targeting, and long-lasting circulation, thus also improving tumor therapy efficacy overall. The comprehensive examination encompasses a variety of cell membrane camouflaged NPs (CMCNPs), elucidating their underlying targeted therapy mechanisms and delineating diverse strategies for anti-cancer applications. Furthermore, the review systematically presents the synthesis of source materials and methodologies employed in order to construct and characterize these CMCNPs, with a specific emphasis on their use in cancer treatment.

Bio-inspired drug delivery systems: A new attempt from bioinspiration to biomedical applications

Natural organisms have evolved sophisticated and multiscale hierarchical structures over time to enable survival. Currently, bionic design is revolutionizing drug delivery systems (DDS), drawing inspiration from the structure and properties of natural organisms that offer new possibilities to overcome the challenges of traditional drug delivery systems. Bionic drug delivery has contributed to a significant improvement in therapeutic outcomes, providing personalized regimens for patients with various diseases and enhancing both their quality of life and drug efficacy. Therefore, it is important to summarize the progress made so far and to discuss the challenges and opportunities for future development. Herein, we review the recent advances in bio-inspired materials, bio-inspired drug vehicles, and drug-loading platforms of biomimetic structures and properties, emphasizing the importance of adapting the structure and function of organisms to meet the needs of drug delivery systems. Finally, we highlight the delivery strategies of bionics in DDS to provide new perspectives and insights into the research and exploration of bionics in DDS. Hopefully, this review will provide future insights into utilizing biologically active vehicles, bio-structures, and bio-functions, leading to better clinical outcomes.

Morphologically transformable peptide nanocarriers coloaded with doxorubicin and curcumin inhibit the growth and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma

In tumor treatment, the highly disordered vascular system and lack of accumulation of chemotherapeutic drugs in tumors severely limit the therapeutic role of nanocarriers. Smaller drug-containing nanoparticles (NPs) can better penetrate the tumor but are easily removed, which severely limits the tumor-killing properties of the drug. The chemotherapeutic medication doxorubicin (DOX) is highly toxic to the heart, but this toxicity can be effectively mitigated and the combined anticancer effect can be enhanced by clinically incorporating curcumin (CUR) as part of the dual therapy. We designed a small-molecule peptide, Pep1, containing a targeting peptide (CREKA) and a pH-responsive moiety. These NPs can target the blood vessels in tumor microthrombi and undergo a morphological shift in the tumor microenvironment. This process enhances the penetration and accumulation of drugs, ultimately improving the effectiveness of cancer treatment. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that this morphological transformation allowed rapid and effective drug release into tumors, the effective inhibition of tumor angiogenesis, and the promotion of tumor cell apoptosis, thus effectively killing tumor cells. Our findings provide a novel and simple approach to nhibit the growth and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Cancer Cell Membrane-Based Materials for Biomedical Applications

The nanodelivery system provides a novel direction for disease diagnosis and treatment; however, its delivery effectiveness is restricted by the short biological half-life and inadequate tumor targeting. The immune evasion properties and homologous targeting capabilities of natural cell membranes, particularly those of cancer cell membranes (CCM), have gained significant interest. The integration of CCM and nanoparticles has resulted in the emergence of CCM-based nanoplatforms (CCM-NPs), which have gained significant attention due to their unique properties. CCM-NPs not only prolong the blood circulation time of core nanoparticles, but also direct them for homologous tumor targeting. Herein, the history and development of CCM-NPs as well as how these platforms have been used for biomedical applications are discussed. The application of CCM-NPs for cancer therapy will be described in detail. Translational efforts are currently under way and further research to address key areas of need will ultimately be required to facilitate the successful clinical adoption of CCM-NPs.

Recent Advances in Cell Membrane Coated-Nanoparticles as Drug Delivery Systems for Tackling Urological Diseases

Recent studies have revealed the functional roles of cell membrane coated-nanoparticles (CMNPs) in tackling urological diseases, including cancers, inflammation, and acute kidney injury. Cells are a fundamental part of pathology to regulate nearly all urological diseases, and, therefore, naturally derived cell membranes inherit the functional role to enhance the biopharmaceutical performance of their encapsulated nanoparticles on drug delivery. In this review, methods for CMNP synthesis and surface engineering are summarized. The application of different types of CMNPs for tackling urological diseases is updated, including cancer cell membrane, stem cell membrane, immune cell membrane, erythrocytes cell membranes, and extracellular vesicles, and their potential for clinical use is discussed.

Understanding and targeting resistance mechanisms in cancer

Resistance to cancer therapies has been a commonly observed phenomenon in clinical practice, which is one of the major causes of treatment failure and poor patient survival. The reduced responsiveness of cancer cells is a multifaceted phenomenon that can arise from genetic, epigenetic, and microenvironmental factors. Various mechanisms have been discovered and extensively studied, including drug inactivation, reduced intracellular drug accumulation by reduced uptake or increased efflux, drug target alteration, activation of compensatory pathways for cell survival, regulation of DNA repair and cell death, tumor plasticity, and the regulation from tumor microenvironments (TMEs). To overcome cancer resistance, a variety of strategies have been proposed, which are designed to enhance the effectiveness of cancer treatment or reduce drug resistance. These include identifying biomarkers that can predict drug response and resistance, identifying new targets, developing new targeted drugs, combination therapies targeting multiple signaling pathways, and modulating the TME. The present article focuses on the different mechanisms of drug resistance in cancer and the corresponding tackling approaches with recent updates. Perspectives on polytherapy targeting multiple resistance mechanisms, novel nanoparticle delivery systems, and advanced drug design tools for overcoming resistance are also reviewed.

Recent progress in cancer cell membrane-based nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Immune clearance and insufficient targeting have limited the efficacy of existing therapeutic strategies for cancer. Toxic side effects and individual differences in response to treatment have further limited the benefits of clinical treatment for patients. Biomimetic cancer cell membrane-based nanotechnology has provided a new approach for biomedicine to overcome these obstacles. Biomimetic nanoparticles exhibit various effects (e.g., homotypic targeting, prolonging drug circulation, regulating the immune system, and penetrating biological barriers) after encapsulation by cancer cell membranes. The sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic methods will also be improved by utilizing the properties of cancer cell membranes. In this review, different properties and functions of cancer cell membranes are presented. Utilizing these advantages, nanoparticles can exhibit unique therapeutic capabilities in various types of diseases, such as solid tumors, hematological malignancies, immune system diseases, and cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, cancer cell membrane-encapsulated nanoparticles show improved effectiveness and efficiency in combination with current diagnostic and therapeutic methods, which will contribute to the development of individualized treatments. This strategy has promising clinical translation prospects, and the associated challenges are discussed.

Nanoparticles and Nanomaterials-Based Recent Approaches in Upgraded Targeting and Management of Cancer: A Review

Along with the extensive improvement in tumor biology research and different therapeutic developments, cancer remains a dominant and deadly disease. Tumor heterogeneity, systemic toxicities, and drug resistance are major hurdles in cancer therapy. Chemotherapy, radiotherapy, phototherapy, and surgical therapy are some prominent areas of cancer treatment. During chemotherapy for cancer, chemotherapeutic agents are distributed all over the body and also damage normal cells. With advancements in nanotechnology, nanoparticles utilized in all major areas of cancer therapy offer the probability to advance drug solubility, and stability, extend drug half-lives in plasma, reduce off-target effects, and quintessence drugs at a target site. The present review compiles the use of different types of nanoparticles in frequently and recently applied therapeutics of cancer therapy. A recent area of cancer treatment includes cancer stem cell therapy, DNA/RNA-based immunomodulation therapy, alteration of the microenvironment, and cell membrane-mediated biomimetic approach. Biocompatibility and bioaccumulation of nanoparticles is the major impediment in nano-based therapy. More research is required to develop the next generation of nanotherapeutics with the incorporation of new molecular entities, such as kinase inhibitors, siRNA, mRNA, and gene editing. We assume that nanotherapeutics will dramatically improve patient survival, move the model of cancer treatment, and develop certainty in the foreseeable future.

Effects of Methoxyfenozide-Loaded Fluorescent Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles on Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) Mortality and Detoxification Enzyme Levels Activities

The diamond back moth, Plutella xylostella, causes severe damage at all crop stages, beside its rising resistance to all insecticides. The objective of this study was to look for a new control strategy such as application of insecticide-loaded carbon dot-embedded fluorescent mesoporous silica nanoparticles (FL-SiO₂ NPs). Two different-sized methoxyfenozide-loaded nanoparticles (Me@FL-SiO₂ NPs-70 nm, Me@FL-SiO₂ NPs-150 nm) were prepared, with loading content 15% and 16%. Methoxyfenozide was released constantly from Me@FL-SiO₂ NPs only at specific optimum pH 7.5. The release of methoxyfenozide from Me@FL-SiO₂ NPs was not observed other than this optimum pH, and therefore, we checked and controlled a single release condition to look out for the different particle sizes of insecticide-loaded NPs. This pH-responsive release pattern can find potential application in sustainable plant protection. Moreover, the lethal concentration of the LC₅₀ value was 24 mg/L for methoxyfenozide (TC), 14 mg/L for Me@FL-SiO₂ NPs-70 nm, and 15 mg/L for Me@FL-SiO₂ NPs-150 nm after 72 h exposure, respectively. After calculating the LC₅₀, the results predicted that Me@FL-SiO₂ NPs-70 nm and Me@FL-SiO₂ NPs-150 nm exhibited better insecticidal activity against P. xylostella than methoxyfenozide under the same concentrations of active ingredient applied. Moreover, the activities of detoxification enzymes of P. xylostella were suppressed by treatment with insecticide-loaded NPs, which showed that NPs could also be involved in reduction of enzymes. Furthermore, the entering of FL-SiO₂ NPs into the midgut of P. xylostella was confirmed by confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM). For comparison, P. xylostella under treatment with water as control was also observed under CLSM. The control exhibited no fluorescent signal, while the larvae treated with FL-SiO₂ NPs showed strong fluorescence under a laser excitation wavelength of 448 nm. The reduced enzyme activities as well as higher cuticular penetration in insects indicate that the nano-based delivery system of insecticide could be potentially applied in insecticide resistance management.