Surface modification strategies in translocating nano-vesicles across different barriers and the role of bio-vesicles in improving anticancer therapy

Nanovesicles and bio-vesicles (BVs) have emerged as promising tools to achieve targeted cancer therapy due to their ability to overcome many of the key challenges currently being faced with conventional chemotherapy. These challenges include the diverse and often complex pathophysiology involving the progression of cancer, as well as the various biological barriers that circumvent therapeutic molecules reaching their target site in optimum concentration. The scientific evidence suggests that surface-functionalized nanovesicles and BVs camouflaged nano-carriers (NCs) both can bypass the established biological barriers and facilitate fourth-generation targeting for the improved regimen of treatment. In this review, we intend to emphasize the role of surface-functionalized nanovesicles and BVs camouflaged NCs through various approaches that lead to an improved internalization to achieve improved and targeted oncotherapy. We have explored various strategies that have been employed to surface-functionalize and biologically modify these vesicles, including the use of biomolecule functionalized target ligands such as peptides, antibodies, and aptamers, as well as the targeting of specific receptors on cancer cells. Further, the utility of BVs, which are made from the membranes of cells such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), white blood cells (WBCs), red blood cells (RBCs), platelets (PLTs) as well as cancer cells also been investigated. Lastly, we have discussed the translational challenges and limitations that these NCs can encounter and still need to be overcome in order to fully realize the potential of nanovesicles and BVs for targeted cancer therapy. The fundamental challenges that currently prevent successful cancer therapy and the necessity of novel delivery systems are in the offing.

Fluorescence Lifetime Nanoscopy of Liposomal Irinotecan Onivyde: From Manufacturing to Intracellular Processing

Onivyde was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2015 for the treatment of solid tumors, including metastatic pancreatic cancer. It is designed to encapsulate irinotecan at high concentration, increase its blood-circulation lifetime, and deliver it to cells where it is enzymatically converted into SN-38, a metabolite with 100- to 1000-fold higher anticancer activity. Despite a rewarding clinical path, little is known about the physical state of encapsulated irinotecan within Onivyde and how this synthetic identity changes throughout the process from manufacturing to intracellular processing. Herein, we exploit irinotecan intrinsic fluorescence and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) to selectively probe the supramolecular organization of the drug. FLIM analysis on the manufacturer's formulation reveals the presence of two coexisting physical states within Onivyde liposomes: (i) gelated/precipitated irinotecan and (ii) liposome-membrane-associated irinotecan, the presence of which is not inferable from the manufacturer's indications. FLIM in combination with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and a membrane-impermeable dynamic quencher of irinotecan reveals rapid (within minutes) and complete chemical dissolution of the gelated/precipitated phase upon Onivyde dilution in standard cell-culturing medium with extensive leakage of the prodrug from liposomes. Indeed, confocal imaging and cell-proliferation assays show that encapsulated and nonencapsulated irinotecan formulations are similar in terms of cell-uptake mechanism and cell-division inhibition. Finally, 2-channel FLIM analysis discriminates the signature of irinotecan from that of its red-shifted SN-38 metabolite, demonstrating the appearance of the latter as a result of Onivyde intracellular processing. The findings presented in this study offer fresh insights into the synthetic identity of Onivyde and its transformation from production to in vitro administration. Moreover, these results serve as another validation of the effectiveness of FLIM analysis in elucidating the supramolecular organization of encapsulated fluorescent drugs. This research underscores the importance of leveraging advanced imaging techniques to deepen our understanding of drug formulations and optimize their performance in delivery applications.

How eluents define proteomic fingerprinting of protein corona on nanoparticles

Nanoparticles (NPs) have broad application prospects in the field of biomedicine due to their excellent physicochemical properties. When entering biological fluids, NPs inevitably encountered proteins and were subsequently surrounded by them, forming the termed protein corona (PC). As PC has been evidenced to have critical roles in deciding the biological fates of NPs, how to precisely characterize PC is vital to promote the clinical translation of nanomedicine by understanding and harnessing NPs' behaviors. During the centrifugation-based separation techniques for the PC preparation, direct elution has been most widely used to strip proteins from NPs due to its simpleness and robustness, but the roles of multifarious eluents have never been systematically declared. Herein, seven eluents composed of three denaturants, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), dithiothreitol (DTT), and urea (Urea), were applied to detach PC from gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and silica nanoparticles (SiNPs), and eluted proteins in PC have been carefully characterized by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and chromatography coupled tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Our results showed that SDS and DTT were the main contributors to the efficient desorption of PC on SiNPs and AuNPs, respectively. The molecular reactions between NPs and proteins were explored and verified by SDS-PAGE analysis of PC formed in the serums pretreated with protein denaturing or alkylating agents. The proteomic fingerprinting analysis indicated the difference of the eluted proteins brought by the seven eluents was the abundance rather than the species. The enrichment of some opsonins and dysopsonins in a special elution reminds us that the possibility of biased judgments on predicting NPs' biological behaviors under different elution conditions. The synergistic effects or antagonistic effects among denaturants for eluting PC were manifested in a nanoparticle-type dependent way by integrating the properties of the eluted proteins. Collectively, this study not only underlines the urgent need of choosing the appropriate eluents for identifying PC robustly and unbiasedly, but also provides an insight into the understanding of molecular interactions during PC formation.

The protein corona from nanomedicine to environmental science

The protein corona spontaneously develops and evolves on the surface of nanoscale materials when they are exposed to biological environments, altering their physiochemical properties and affecting their subsequent interactions with biosystems. In this Review, we provide an overview of the current state of protein corona research in nanomedicine. We next discuss remaining challenges in the research methodology and characterization of the protein corona that slow the development of nanoparticle therapeutics and diagnostics, and we address how artificial intelligence can advance protein corona research as a complement to experimental research efforts. We then review emerging opportunities provided by the protein corona to address major issues in healthcare and environmental sciences. This Review details how mechanistic insights into nanoparticle protein corona formation can broadly address unmet clinical and environmental needs, as well as enhance the safety and efficacy of nanobiotechnology products.

Application of Non-Viral Vectors in Drug Delivery and Gene Therapy

Vectors and carriers play an indispensable role in gene therapy and drug delivery. Non-viral vectors are widely developed and applied in clinical practice due to their low immunogenicity, good biocompatibility, easy synthesis and modification, and low cost of production. This review summarized a variety of non-viral vectors and carriers including polymers, liposomes, gold nanoparticles, mesoporous silica nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes from the aspects of physicochemical characteristics, synthesis methods, functional modifications, and research applications. Notably, non-viral vectors can enhance the absorption of cargos, prolong the circulation time, improve therapeutic effects, and provide targeted delivery. Additional studies focused on recent innovation of novel synthesis techniques for vector materials. We also elaborated on the problems and future research directions in the development of non-viral vectors, which provided a theoretical basis for their broad applications.

Focused role of nanoparticles against COVID-19: Diagnosis and treatment

The 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)) has witnessed a rapid and global proliferation since its early identification in patients with severe pneumonia in Wuhan, China. As of 27th May 2020, 2019-nCoV cases have risen to >5 million, with confirmed deaths of 350,000. However, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) diagnostic and treatment measures are yet to be fully unraveled, given the novelty of this particular coronavirus. Therefore, existing antiviral agents used for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) were repurposed for COVID-19, taking their biological features into consideration. This study provides a concise review of the current and emerging detection and supervision technologies for SARS-CoV-2, which is the viral etiology of COVID19, and their performance characteristics, with emphasis on the novel Nano-based diagnostic tests (protein corona sensor array and magnetic levitation) and treatment measures (treatment protocols based on nano-silver colloids) for COVID-19.

Emerging Biomolecular Testing to Assess the Risk of Mortality from COVID-19 Infection

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19) has produced an unprecedented global pandemic. Though the death rate from COVID-19 infection is ∼2%, many infected people recover at home. Among patients for whom COVID-19 is deadly are those with pre-existing comorbidities. Therefore, identification of populations at highest risk of COVID-19 mortality could significantly improve the capacity of healthcare providers to take early action and minimize the possibility of overwhelming care centers, which in turn would save many lives. Although several approaches have been used/developed (or are being developed/suggested) to diagnose COVID-19 infection, no approach is available/proposed for fast diagnosis of COVID-19 infections likely to be fatal. The central aim of this short perspective is to suggest a few possible nanobased technologies (i.e., protein corona sensor array and magnetic levitation) that could discriminate COVID-19-infected people while still in the early stages of infection who are at high risk of death. Such discrimination technologies would not only be useful in protecting health care centers from becoming overwhelmed but would also provide a powerful tool to better control possible future pandemics with a less social and economic burden.

Liposomes modified with bio-substances for cancer treatment

In recent years, liposomes have been used in the field of biomedicine and have achieved many significant results.