A β-Cyclodextrin-Based Nanoparticle with Very High Transfection Efficiency Unveils siRNA-Activated TLR3 Responses in Human Prostate Cancer Cells

Specific small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) for targeting the metastasis, immune responses, and drug resistance of colorectal cancer cells (CRC)

Colorectal cancer (CRC) involves various genetic alterations, with liver metastasis posing a significant clinical challenge. Furthermore, CRC cells mostly show an increase in resistance to traditional treatments like chemotherapy. It is essential to investigate more advanced and effective therapies to prevent medication resistance and metastases and extend patient life. As a result, it is anticipated that small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) would be exceptional instruments that can control gene expression by RNA interference (RNAi). In eukaryotes, RNAi is a biological mechanism that destroys specific messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules, thereby inhibiting gene expression. In the management of CRC, this method of treatment represents a potential therapeutic agent. However, it is important to acknowledge that siRNA therapies have significant issues, such as low serum stability and nonspecific absorption into biological systems. Delivery mechanisms are thus being created to address these issues. In the current work, we address the potential benefits of siRNA therapy and outline the difficulties in treating CRCby focusing on the primary signaling pathways linked to metastasis as well as genes implicated in the multi-drug resistance (MDR) process.

The Many Faces of Cyclodextrins within Self-Assembling Polymer Nanovehicles: From Inclusion Complexes to Valuable Structural and Functional Elements

Most chemotherapeutic agents are poorly soluble in water, have low selectivity, and cannot reach the tumor in the desired therapeutic concentration. On the other hand, sensitive hydrophilic therapeutics like nucleic acids and proteins suffer from poor bioavailability and cell internalization. To solve this problem, new types of controlled release systems based on nano-sized self-assemblies of cyclodextrins able to control the speed, timing, and location of therapeutic release are being developed. Cyclodextrins are macrocyclic oligosaccharides characterized by a high synthetic plasticity and potential for derivatization. Introduction of new hydrophobic and/or hydrophilic domains and/or formation of nano-assemblies with therapeutic load extends the use of CDs beyond the tried-and-tested CD-drug host-guest inclusion complexes. The recent advances in nano drug delivery have indicated the benefits of the hybrid amphiphilic CD nanosystems over individual CD and polymer components. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the most recent advances in the design of CDs self-assemblies and their use for delivery of a wide range of therapeutic molecules. It aims to offer a valuable insight into the many roles of CDs within this class of drug nanocarriers as well as current challenges and future perspectives.

In Vivo Applications of Dendrimers: A Step toward the Future of Nanoparticle-Mediated Therapeutics

Over the last few years, the development of nanotechnology has allowed for the synthesis of many different nanostructures with controlled sizes, shapes, and chemical properties, with dendrimers being the best-characterized of them. In this review, we present a succinct view of the structure and the synthetic procedures used for dendrimer synthesis, as well as the cellular uptake mechanisms used by these nanoparticles to gain access to the cell. In addition, the manuscript reviews the reported in vivo applications of dendrimers as drug carriers for drugs used in the treatment of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, infections, and ocular diseases. The dendrimer-based formulations that have reached different phases of clinical trials, including safety and pharmacokinetic studies, or as delivery agents for therapeutic compounds are also presented. The continuous development of nanotechnology which makes it possible to produce increasingly sophisticated and complex dendrimers indicates that this fascinating family of nanoparticles has a wide potential in the pharmaceutical industry, especially for applications in drug delivery systems, and that the number of dendrimer-based compounds entering clinical trials will markedly increase during the coming years.

Small interfering RNA (siRNA)-based therapeutic applications against viruses: principles, potential, and challenges

RNA has emerged as a revolutionary and important tool in the battle against emerging infectious diseases, with roles extending beyond its applications in vaccines, in which it is used in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since their development in the 1990s, RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics have demonstrated potential in reducing the expression of disease-associated genes. Nucleic acid-based therapeutics, including RNAi therapies, that degrade viral genomes and rapidly adapt to viral mutations, have emerged as alternative treatments. RNAi is a robust technique frequently employed to selectively suppress gene expression in a sequence-specific manner. The swift adaptability of nucleic acid-based therapeutics such as RNAi therapies endows them with a significant advantage over other antiviral medications. For example, small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are produced on the basis of sequence complementarity to target and degrade viral RNA, a novel approach to combat viral infections. The precision of siRNAs in targeting and degrading viral RNA has led to the development of siRNA-based treatments for diverse diseases. However, despite the promising therapeutic benefits of siRNAs, several problems, including impaired long-term protein expression, siRNA instability, off-target effects, immunological responses, and drug resistance, have been considerable obstacles to the use of siRNA-based antiviral therapies. This review provides an encompassing summary of the siRNA-based therapeutic approaches against viruses while also addressing the obstacles that need to be overcome for their effective application. Furthermore, we present potential solutions to mitigate major challenges.

Bioresponsive and multifunctional cyclodextrin-based non-viral nanocomplexes in cancer therapy: Building foundations for gene and drug delivery, immunotherapy and bioimaging

The interest towards application of nanomaterials in field of cancer therapy is that the drawbacks of conventional therapies including chemoresistance, radio-resistance and lack of specific targeting of tumor cells can be solved by nanotechnology. Cyclodextrins (CDs) are amphiphilic cyclic oligosaccharides that can be present in three forms of α-, β- and γ-CDs, and they can be synthesized from natural sources. The application of CDs in cancer shows an increasing trend due to benefits of these nanocomplexes in improving solubility and bioavailability of current bioactives and therapeutics for cancer. CDs are widely utilized in delivery of drugs and genes in cancer therapy, and by targeted delivery of these therapeutics into target site, they improve anti-proliferative and anti-cancer potential. The blood circulation time and tumor site accumulation of therapeutics can be improved using CD-based nanostructures. More importantly, the stimuli-responsive types of CDs including pH-, redox- and light-sensitive types can accelerate release of bioactive compound at tumor site. Interestingly, the CDs are able to mediate photothermal and photodynamic impact in impairing tumorigenesis in cancer, enhancing cell death and improving response to chemotherapy. In improving the targeting ability of CDs, their surface functionalization with ligands has been conducted. Moreover, CDs can be modified with green products such as chitosan and fucoidan, and they can be embedded in green-based nanostructures to suppress tumorigenesis. The internalization of CDs into tumor cells can occur through endocytosis and this can be clethrin-, caveolae- or receptor-mediated endocytosis. Furthermore, CDs are promising candidates in bioimaging, cancer cell and organelle imaging as well as isolating tumor cells. The main benefits of using CDs in cancer therapy including sustained and low release of drugs and genes, targeted delivery, bioresponsive release of cargo, ease of surface functionalization and complexation with other nanostructures. The application of CDs in overcoming drug resistance requires more investigation.