Prospects of Cationic Carbosilane Dendronized Gold Nanoparticles as Non-viral Vectors for Delivery of Anticancer siRNAs siBCL-xL and siMCL-1

Advances in Dendritic Systems and Dendronized Nanoparticles: Paradigm Shifts in Cancer Targeted Therapy and Diagnostics

Cancer has emerged as a global health crisis, claiming millions of lives annually. Dendrimers and dendronized nanoparticles, a novel class of nanoscale molecules with highly branched three-dimensional macromolecular structures, have gained significant attention in cancer treatment and diagnosis due to their unique properties. These dendritic macromolecules offer a precisely controlled branching architecture, enabling functionalization with specific targeting molecules to enhance the selective delivery of therapeutic agents to tumor cells while minimizing systemic toxicity. Through surface modifications and the incorporation of various components, dendrimers demonstrate remarkable adaptability as nanocarriers for biomedical imaging and theranostic applications. Surface functionalization strategies, including PEGylation and ligand attachment (e.g., folic acid, RGD peptide, lactobionic acid), further enhance biocompatibility and facilitate targeted tumor cell imaging. Leveraging their improved biocompatibility and target specificity, dendritic nanosystems offer heightened sensitivity and precision in cancer diagnostics. Notably, the encapsulation of metal nanoparticles within dendrimers, such as gold nanoparticles, has shown promise in enhancing tumor imaging capabilities. Ongoing advancements in nanotechnology are poised to increase the sophistication and complexity of dendrimer-based systems, highlighting their potential as nanocarriers in drug delivery platforms, with a growing number of clinical trials on the horizon. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the potential and future prospects of dendrimers and dendrimer-based nanocarriers in targeted cancer therapy and diagnosis, exploring their ability to enhance biocompatibility, reduce toxicity, and improve therapeutic outcomes across various malignancies.

Functional gold nanoparticles for analysis and delivery of nucleic acids

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have become the rising stars in the field of nanotechnology and made a revolution in exploiting the profundity of genomics due to their distinguished properties such as stability, ease in preparation and conjugation, biocompatibility, and unique optical properties. These characteristics have greatly expanded their applications such as sensitive and selective quantitation of nucleic acids and as effective carriers for specifically delivering various important molecules/biomolecules to various targets, which are the cornerstone in treating genetic disorders. This review comprehensively discusses the most recent progress in utilization of AuNPs in quantitation and delivery of nucleic acids. The future prospects and challenges of various methods have also been illustrated. It is believed that researchers will continue to overcome the limitations in previous approaches and AuNPs will still play vital roles in the development of diagnosis and treatment of gene-related diseases.

Polyphenolic dendrimers as carriers of anticancer siRNA

Dendrimers have emerged as an important group of nanoparticles to transport drugs, DNA, or RNA into target cells in cancer and other diseases. Various functional modifications can be imposed on dendrimers to increase the efficacy and specificity in delivering their cargo to the target cells and decrease their toxicity. In the present work, we evaluated the potential of carbosilane polyphenolic dendrimers modified with caffeic acid (CA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) to deliver proapoptotic Mcl-1 and Bcl-2 siRNAs to A549 cancer cells. Dendrimers formed stable complexes with siRNAs as assessed by transmission electron microscopy and gel electrophoresis. Modification of dendrimers with PEG reduced the size and the zeta potential of dendrimer/siRNA complexes. The presence of PEG caused a red shift of the CD spectrum, and this effect was the more pronounced, the higher the dendrimer/siRNA ratio was. The nanocomplexes were internalized by A549. All studied dendrimer/siRNA formulations inhibited tumor cell migration and adhesion and caused an increase in the population of early apoptotic cells. Among four tested dendrimers, the polyphenolic compound containing two caffeic acid moieties complexed with siRNA demonstrated the lowest polydispersity index and showed an excellent transfection profile. In conclusion, this dendrimer are a promising candidate for the delivery of siRNA into cancer cells in further in vivo studies.

A comprehensive review of cancer therapies mediated by conjugated gold nanoparticles with nucleic acid

Nucleic acids provide a promising therapeutic platform by targeting various cell signaling pathways involved in cancer and genetic disorders. However, maintaining optimal stability during delivery limits their utility. Nucleic acid delivery vehicles are generally categorized into biological and synthetic carriers. Regardless of the efficiency of biological vectors, such as viral vectors, issues related to their immunogenicity and carcinogenesis are very important and vital for clinical applications. On the other hand, synthetic vectors such as lipids or polymers, have been widely used for nucleic acid delivery. Despite their transfection efficiency, low storage stability, targeting inefficiency, and tracking limitations are among the limitations of the clinical application of these vectors. In the past decades, gold nanoparticles with unique properties have been shown to be highly efficient mineral vectors for overcoming these obstacles. In this review, we focus on gold nanoparticle-nucleic acid combinations and highlight their use in the treatment of various types of cancers. Furthermore, by stating the biological applications of these structures, we will discuss their clinical applications.

The Spicy Science of Dendrimers in the Realm of Cancer Nanomedicine: A Report from the COST Action CA17140 Nano2Clinic

COST Action CA17140 Cancer Nanomedicine-from the bench to the bedside (Nano2Clinic,) is the first, pan-European interdisciplinary network of representatives from academic institutions and small and medium enterprises including clinical research organizations (CROs) devoted to the development of nanosystems carrying anticancer drugs from their initial design, preclinical testing of efficacy, pharmacokinetics and toxicity to the preparation of detailed protocols needed for the first phase of their clinical studies. By promoting scientific exchanges, technological implementation, and innovative solutions, the action aims at providing a timely instrument to rationalize and focus research efforts at the European level in dealing with the grand challenge of nanomedicine translation in cancer, one of the major and societal-burdening human pathologies. Within CA17140, dendrimers in all their forms (from covalent to self-assembling dendrons) play a vital role as powerful nanotheranostic agents in oncology; therefore, the purpose of this review work is to gather and summarize the major results in the field stemming from collaborative efforts in the framework of the European Nano2Clinic COST Action.

Biomaterial-based gene therapy

Gene therapy, a medical approach that involves the correction or replacement of defective and abnormal genes, plays an essential role in the treatment of complex and refractory diseases, such as hereditary diseases, cancer, and rheumatic immune diseases. Nucleic acids alone do not easily enter the target cells due to their easy degradation in vivo and the structure of the target cell membranes. The introduction of genes into biological cells is often dependent on gene delivery vectors, such as adenoviral vectors, which are commonly used in gene therapy. However, traditional viral vectors have strong immunogenicity while also presenting a potential infection risk. Recently, biomaterials have attracted attention for use as efficient gene delivery vehicles, because they can avoid the drawbacks associated with viral vectors. Biomaterials can improve the biological stability of nucleic acids and the efficiency of intracellular gene delivery. This review is focused on biomaterial-based delivery systems in gene therapy and disease treatment. Herein, we review the recent developments and modalities of gene therapy. Additionally, we discuss nucleic acid delivery strategies, with a focus on biomaterial-based gene delivery systems. Furthermore, the current applications of biomaterial-based gene therapy are summarized.

Carbosilane dendritic nanostructures, highly versatile platforms for pharmaceutical applications

Dendrimers are multifunctional molecules with well-defined size and structure due to the step-by-step synthetic procedures required in their preparation. Dendritic constructs based on carbosilane scaffolds present carbon-carbon and carbon-silicon bonds, which results in stable, lipophilic, inert, and flexible structures. These properties are highly appreciated in different areas, including the pharmaceutical field, as they can increase the interaction with cell membranes and improve the therapeutic action. This article summarizes the most recent advances in the pharmaceutical applications of carbosilane dendritic molecules, from therapeutics to diagnostics and prevention tools. Dendrimers decorated with cationic, anionic, or other moieties, including metallodendrimers; supramolecular assemblies; dendronized nanoparticles and surfaces; as well as dendritic networks like hydrogels are described. The collected examples confirm the potential of carbosilane dendrimers and dendritic materials as antiviral or antibacterial agents; in therapy against cancer, neurodegenerative disease, or oxidative stress; or many other biomedical applications. This article is categorized under: Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in Biology Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Infectious Disease Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Oncologic Disease.

Gold nanoparticle design for RNA compaction

RNA-based therapeutics hold a great promise in treating a variety of diseases. However, double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) are inherently unstable, highly charged, and stiff macromolecules that require a delivery vehicle. Cationic ligand functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are able to compact nucleic acids and assist in RNA delivery. Here, we use large-scale all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to show that correlations between ligand length, metal core size, and ligand excess free volume control the ability of nanoparticles to bend dsRNA far below its persistence length. The analysis of ammonium binding sites showed that longer ligands that bind deep within the major groove did not cause bending. By limiting ligand length and, thus, excess free volume, we have designed nanoparticles with controlled internal binding to RNA's major groove. NPs that are able to induce RNA bending cause a periodic variation in RNA's major groove width. Density functional theory studies on smaller models support large-scale simulations. Our results are expected to have significant implications in packaging of nucleic acids for their applications in nanotechnology and gene delivery.

Delivery process and effective design of vectors for cancer therapy

In recent years, the efficacy of nano-drugs has not been significantly better than that of the drugs themselves, mainly because nano-drugs enter the tumor vasculature, stay near the blood vessels, and cannot enter the tumor tissues or tumor cells to complete the drug delivery process. Although intratumor injection can significantly decrease this risk, the side effects are strong. The advent of drug delivery carrier materials offers an opportunity to avoid the side effects of systemic drug delivery and the damage caused by tumor resection, holding great promise for the future of cancer therapy. Here, we systematically review recent research advances in the classification of drug delivery carrier materials and the delivery process in drug delivery systems. This review is divided into several main sections, first, we summarize the classification of tumor drug carrier materials, including drug delivery vectors and gene delivery vectors, etc., which are introduced in detail, respectively. Then we describe the carrier materials to deliver the drug cascade and the transition pathways for drug delivery, including stabilization transitions, charge inversions, and size changes. Finally, we discuss the current design strategies and research progress of drug vectors and provide a summary and outlook. This review aims to summarize different drug delivery vehicles and delivery processes to provide ideas for effective cancer therapy.

Next-generation engineered nanogold for multimodal cancer therapy and imaging: a clinical perspectives

Cancer is one of the significant threats to human life. Although various latest technologies are currently available to treat cancer, it still accounts for millions of death each year worldwide. Thus, creating a need for more developed and novel technologies to combat this deadly condition. Nanoparticles-based cancer therapeutics have offered a promising approach to treat cancer effectively while minimizing adverse events. Among various nanoparticles, nanogold (AuNPs) are biocompatible and have proved their efficiency in treating cancer because they can reach tumors via enhanced permeability and retention effect. The size and shape of the AuNPs are responsible for their diverse therapeutic behavior. Thus, to modulate their therapeutic values, the AuNPs can be synthesized in various shapes, such as spheres, cages, flowers, shells, prisms, rods, clusters, etc. Also, attaching AuNPs with single or multiple targeting agents can facilitate the active targeting of AuNPs to the tumor tissue. The AuNPs have been much explored for photothermal therapy (PTT) to treat cancer. In addition to PTT, AuNPs-based nanoplatforms have been investigated for combinational multimodal therapies in the last few years, including photodynamic therapy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, etc., to ablate cancer cells. Thus, the present review focuses on the recent advancements in the functionalization of AuNPs-based nanoconstructs for cancer imaging and therapy using combinatorial multimodal approaches to treat various cancers.