The Utilization of Poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline)-b-Poly(ε-caprolactone) Ellipsoidal Particles for Intracellular BIKDDA Delivery to Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer, which is about 15-20% among male cancers worldwide. As most common strategies such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or surgery alone can be unsuccessful in the treatment of prostate cancer, this study aims to develop a new approach to deliver newly generated proapoptotic gene, BIKDDA, to androgen independent prostate cancer cells, 22RV1, using new generation nanocarriers called ellipsoids. As far as it is known, this is the first study that assesses the ability of proapoptotic gene BIKDDA to induce apoptosis in prostate cancer cell. BIKDDA encapsulating PEtOx-b-PCL-based ellipsoids are fabricated by solvent-switch method, and their morphology, size, and BIKDDA content are characterized. Gene delivery efficiency of BIKDDA loaded PEtOx-b-PCL ellipsoids is demonstrated by analysis of BIK mRNA expression with real-time PCR. The apoptotic effect of PEtOx-b-PCL ellipsoids loaded with BIKDDA (EPs-BIKDDA) on 22RV1 is shown by Annexin V staining. The obtained results demonstrate that the treatment of 22RV1 cells with EPs-BIKDDA can significantly increase BIK mRNA levels by 4.5-fold leading to cell death. This study not only represents BIKDDA as a potential therapeutic strategy in prostate cancer but also the capacity of ellipsoids as promising in vivo gene delivery vehicles.

Temperature Effect on the Nanostructure of SDS Micelles in Water

Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactants form micelles when dissolved in water. These are formed of a hydrocarbon core and hydrophilic ionic surface. The small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) technique was used with deuterated water (D2O) in order to characterize the micelle structure. Micelles were found to be slightly compressed (oblate ellipsoids) and their sizes shrink with increasing temperature. Fits of SANS data to the Mean Spherical Approximation (MSA) model yielded a calculated micelle volume fraction which was lower than the SDS surfactant (sample mixing) volume fraction; this suggests that part of the SDS molecules do not participate in micelle formation and remain homogeneously mixed in the solvent. A set of material balance equations allowed the estimation of the SDS fraction in the micelles. This fraction was found to be high (close to one) except for samples around 1 % SDS fraction. The micelle aggregation number was found to decrease with increasing temperature and/or decreasing SDS fraction.