Intraperitoneal delivery of platinum with in-situ crosslinkable hyaluronic acid gel for local therapy of ovarian cancer

Evaluation of Different Commercial Sealing Hemostatic Patches for Their Selection as Reservoirs for Localized Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy

Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) is typically treated by cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and subsequent chemotherapy. Sealing hemostatic patches (HP) are often used during these surgeries to prevent complications such as uncontrolled bleeding. These HP are made of biomaterials like oxidized cellulose or collagen with a binding agent, and beyond their usual function, they could also be used as drug delivery systems (DDS) for localized intraperitoneal chemotherapy in the tissue attached. Our first aim was to characterize and compare three different commercial HP (TachoSil®, Hemopatch®, and VerisetTM). Hemopatch® emerged as the most suitable candidate due to its combination of properties, including slow degradation, high hydrophilicity, excellent biological fluid absorption capacity, and moderate adhesive capacity alongside hemostasis. Utilizing Hemopatch® as a scaffold, we developed a new device incorporating a hyaluronic acid hydrogel loaded with cisplatin or olaparib. This approach facilitated sustained drug release for over 6 days, maintaining the anticancer efficacy of these agents on OVCAR-3 cells. In conclusion, integrating a DDS into HP shows potential for precisely delivering chemotherapeutic agents to any residual microscopic disease in PC following CRS.

Programmable DNA Hydrogels with Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles and Cisplatin for Diagnosis and Treatment of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

This study explores the potential of DNA hydrogels as a novel approach for diagnosing and treating Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC). In the experiment, DNA hydrogels are synthesized and loaded with Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and Cisplatin. In vitro experiments evaluated drug delivery efficacy and the effect on cancer cell viability. In vivo, studies used mice models to assess the therapeutic potential and antimicrobial activity of the DNA hydrogels. Results demonstrate that DNA hydrogels significantly improve the delivery of Cisplatin to cancer cells, potentially allowing for lower drug doses and reduced side effects. The combination of Cisplatin and ZnO NPs show the most potent antibacterial effect against bacterial strains associated with OSCC. Analysis indicates that ZnO NPs within the hydrogels improve the efficacy of contrast agents, facilitating earlier and more accurate tumor diagnosis. The findings highlight that DNA hydrogels loaded with therapeutic agents can enhance drug delivery and reduce side effects, while ZnO NPs improve tumor diagnosis. DNA hydrogels may represent a promising patient-centric approach for more effective OSCC treatment.

Potential of natural polysaccharide for ovarian cancer therapy

Ovarian cancer, characterized by high lethality, presents a significant clinical challenge. The standard first-line treatment is surgery and chemotherapy; however, postoperative chemotherapy is often ineffective and associated with severe side effects and the development of drug resistance. Consequently, there is an urgent need for innovative drug delivery strategies to enhance therapeutic efficacy. Natural polysaccharide polymers with high bioactivity have been extensively investigated for use alone or as adjuvants to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and also for the preparation of efficient delivery systems for ovarian cancer therapy. This paper aims to review recent advances in the application of natural polysaccharides, including hyaluronic acid, chitosan, alginate, and cellulose, in the therapy of ovarian cancer. This paper primarily discusses the anti-tumor properties inherent to these natural polysaccharide polymers and offers a summary of their role in delivery systems used in ovarian cancer therapy.

Peritoneal chemotherapy delivery systems for ovarian cancer treatment: systematic review of animal models

Introduction

Intraperitoneal chemotherapy for ovarian cancer treatment has controversial benefits as most methodologies are associated with significant morbidity. We carried out a systematic review to compare tumor response, measured by tumor weight and volume, between intraperitoneal chemotherapy delivered via drug delivery systems (DDSs) and free intraperitoneal chemotherapy in animal models of ovarian cancer. The secondary aim was to assess the toxicity of DDS-delivered chemotherapy, based on changes in animal body weight.

Methods

Based on PRISMA and SYRCLE guidelines, we identified 38 studies for review, of which 20, were used in the meta-analysis. We evaluated outcome, through tumor volume and tumor weight and, toxicity, through animal weight. Analysis was based on drugs employed and treatment duration.

Results

Most studies were performed on mice. Ovarian cancer cell lines most commonly used to induce xenografts were SKOV3 (19 studies) and A2780 (6 studies). Intraperitoneal device, also known as drug delivery systems (DDS), consisted in nanoparticles, hydrogels, lipid polymer and others. The most commonly used drugs were paclitaxel and cisplatin. Most studies used as the control treatment the same chemotherapy applied free intraperitoneally and tumor response/animal weight were evaluated weekly. There was a small benefit in overall tumor reduction in animals treated with intraperitoneal chemotherapy applied through the slow release device compared with animals treated with intraperitoneal free chemotherapy, as evaluated through tumor weight - results in standardized mean difference. (-1.06; 95% CI: -1.34, -0.78) and tumor volume (-3.72; 95% CI: -4.47, -2.97), a benefit that was seen in most weekly evaluations and for most chemotherapy drugs, such as carboplatin (tumor weight: -5.60; 95% CI: -7.83, -3.37), paclitaxel (tumor weight: -1.18; 95% CI: -1.52, -0.83), and cisplatin (tumor volume: -2.85; 95% CI: -3.66, -2.04) carboplatin (tumor volume: -12.71; 95% CI: -17.35, -8.07); cisplatin (tumor volume: -7.76; 95% CI: -9.88, -5.65); paclitaxel (tumor volume: -2.85; 95% CI: -3.66, -2.04). Regarding animal weight, there was no weight reduction in animals treated with intraperitoneal chemotherapy applied through the slow-release device compared with animals treated with intraperitoneal free chemotherapy. However, significant heterogeneity was observed in some comparisons.

Conclusion

slow-release devices are overall safe and effective in animal models of ovarian cancer. It was not possible to evaluate which one is the most promising device to treat ovarian cancer, because many different types were used to apply chemotherapy intraperitoneally.

Systematic Review Registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42021224573.

Intraperitoneal drug delivery systems for peritoneal carcinomatosis: Bridging the gap between research and clinical implementation

Several abdominal-located cancers develop metastasis within the peritoneum, what is called peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC), constituting a clinical challenge in their therapeutical management, often leading to poor prognoses. Current multidisciplinary strategies, including cytoreductive surgery (CRS), hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC), and pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC), demonstrate efficacy but have limitations. In response, alternative strategies are explored in the drug delivery field for intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Controlled drug delivery offers a promising avenue, maintaining localized drug concentrations for optimal PC management. Drug delivery systems (DDS), including hydrogels, implants, nanoparticles, and hybrid systems, show potential for sustained and region-specific drug release. The present review aims to offer an overview of the advances and current designs of DDS for PC chemotherapy administration, focusing on their composition, main characteristics, and principal experimental outcomes, highlighting the importance of biomaterial rationale design and in vitro/vivo models for their testing. Moreover, since clinical data for human subjects are scarce, we offer a critical discussion of the gap between bench and bedside in DDS translation, emphasizing the need for further research.

Enzyme-Empowered "Two Birds with One Stone" Strategy for Amplifying Tumor Apoptosis and Metabolic Clearance

Nanomedicine has reshaped the landscape of cancer treatment. However, its efficacy is still hampered by innate tumor defense systems that rely on adenosine triphosphate (ATP) for fuel, including damage repair, apoptosis resistance, and immune evasion. Inspired by the naturally enzymatic reaction of glucose oxidase (GOx) with glucose, here a novel "two birds with one stone" technique for amplifying enzyme-mediated tumor apoptosis and enzyme-promoted metabolic clearance is proposed and achieved using GOx-functionalized rhenium nanoclusters-doped polypyrrole (Re@ReP-G). Re@ReP-G reduces ATP production while increasing H2O2 concentrations in the tumor microenvironment through GOx-induced enzymatic oxidation, which in turn results in the downregulation of defense (HSP70 and HSP90) and anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 proteins, the upregulation of pro-apoptotic Bax, and the release of cytochrome c. These processes are further facilitated by laser-induced hyperthermia effect, ultimately leading to severe tumor apoptosis. As an enzymatic byproduct, H2O2 catalyzes the conversion of rhenium nanoclusters in Re@ReP-G nanostructures into rhenate from the outside in, which accelerates their metabolic clearance in vivo. This Re@ReP-G-based "two birds with one stone" therapeutic strategy provides an effective tool for amplifying tumor apoptosis and safe metabolic mechanisms.

Biomedical applications of electrospun polycaprolactone-based carbohydrate polymers: A review

Carbohydrate used in biomedical applications is influenced by numerous factors. One of the most appealing characteristic of carbohydrates is their ability to reproduce from natural resources which makes them ecologically friendly. Due to their abundance, biocompatibility, and no contamination by residual initiators, the desire for polysaccharides in medical uses is growing. Research on fiber-based materials, with a variety of medical applications including bio-functional scaffolds, continues to yield novel and intriguing findings. Almost all biopolymers of diverse structural compositions are electrospun to fulfill biomedical usage criteria, and the electrospinning technique is widely employed in biomedical technologies for both in-vivo and in-vitro therapies. Due to its biocompatibility and biodegradability, polycaprolactone (PCL) is employed in medical applications like tissue engineering and drug delivery. Although PCL nanofibers have established effects in vitro, more research is needed before their potential therapeutic application in the clinic. Here we tried to focus mainly on the carbohydrate incorporated PCL-based nanofibers production techniques, structures, morphology, and physicochemical properties along with their usage in biomedicine.

Polysaccharide‑platinum complexes for cancer theranostics

Platinum anticancer drugs have been explored and developed in recent years to reduce systematic toxicities and resist drug resistance. Polysaccharides derived from nature have abundant structures as well as pharmacological activities. The review provides insights on the design, synthesis, characterization and associating therapeutic application of platinum complexes with polysaccharides that are classified by electronic charge. The complexes give birth to multifunctional properties with enhanced drug accumulation, improved tumor selectivity and achieved synergistic antitumor effect in cancer therapy. Several techniques developing polysaccharides-based carriers newly are also discussed. Moreover, the lasted immunoregulatory activities of innate immune reactions triggered by polysaccharides are summarized. Finally, we discuss the current shortcomings and outline potential strategies for improving platinum-based personalized cancer treatment. Using platinum-polysaccharides complexes for improving the immunotherapy efficiency represents a promising framework in future.

Nanoplatforms: The future of oral cancer treatment

Background and Aims

Cytotoxicity is a key disadvantage of using chemotherapeutic drugs to treat cancer. This can be overcome by encapsulating chemotherapeutic drugs in suitable carriers for targeted delivery, allowing them to be released only at the cancerous sites. Herein, we aim to review the recent scientific developments in the utilization of nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems for treating oral malignancies that can lead to further improvements in clinical practice.

Methods

A comprehensive literature search was conducted on PubMed, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, and other notable databases to identify recent peer-reviewed clinical trials, reviews, and research articles related to nanoplatforms and their applications in oral cancer treatment.

Results

Nanoplatforms offer a revolutionary strategy to overcome the challenges associated with conventional oral cancer treatments, such as poor drug solubility, non-specific targeting, and systemic toxicity. These nanoscale drug delivery systems encompass various formulations, including liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, dendrimers, and hydrogels, which facilitate controlled release and targeted delivery of therapeutic agents to oral cancer sites. By exploiting the enhanced permeability and retention effect, Nanoplatforms accumulate preferentially in the tumor microenvironment, increasing drug concentration and minimizing damage to healthy tissues. Additionally, nanoplatforms can be engineered to carry multiple drugs or a combination of drugs and diagnostic agents, enabling personalized and precise treatment approaches.

Conclusion

The utilization of nanoplatforms in oral cancer treatment holds significant promise in revolutionizing therapeutic strategies. Despite the promising results in preclinical studies, further research is required to evaluate the safety, efficacy, and long-term effects of nanoformulations in clinical settings. If successfully translated into clinical practice, nanoplatform-based therapies have the potential to improve patient outcomes, reduce side effects, and pave the way for more personalized and effective oral cancer treatments.

Recent developments in natural biopolymer based drug delivery systems

Targeted delivery of drug molecules to diseased sites is a great challenge in pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences. Fabrication of drug delivery systems (DDS) to target and/or diagnose sick cells is an effective means to achieve good therapeutic results along with a minimal toxicological impact on healthy cells. Biopolymers are becoming an important class of materials owing to their biodegradability, good compatibility, non-toxicity, non-immunogenicity, and long blood circulation time and high drug loading ratio for both macros as well as micro-sized drug molecules. This review summarizes the recent trends in biopolymer-based DDS, forecasting their broad future clinical applications. Cellulose chitosan, starch, silk fibroins, collagen, albumin, gelatin, alginate, agar, proteins and peptides have shown potential applications in DDS. A range of synthetic techniques have been reported to design the DDS and are discussed in the current study which is being successfully employed in ocular, dental, transdermal and intranasal delivery systems. Different formulations of DDS are also overviewed in this review article along with synthesis techniques employed for designing the DDS. The possibility of these biopolymer applications points to a new route for creating unique DDS with enhanced therapeutic qualities for scaling up creative formulations up to the clinical level.

Nanoarchitecture-Integrated Hydrogel Systems toward Therapeutic Applications

Hydrogels, as one of the most feasible soft biomaterials, have gained considerable attention in therapeutic applications by virtue of their tunable properties including superior patient compliance, good biocompatibility and biodegradation, and high cargo-loading efficiency. However, hydrogel application is still limited by some challenges like inefficient encapsulation, easy leakage of loaded cargoes, and the lack of controllability. Recently, nanoarchitecture-integrated hydrogel systems were found to be therapeutics with optimized properties, extending their bioapplication. In this review, we briefly presented the category of hydrogels according to their synthetic materials and further discussed the advantages in bioapplication. Additionally, various applications of nanoarchitecture hybrid hydrogels in biomedical engineering are systematically summarized, including cancer therapy, wound healing, cardiac repair, bone regeneration, diabetes therapy, and obesity therapy. Last, the current challenges, limitations, and future perspectives in the future development of nanoarchitecture-integrated flexible hydrogels are addressed.

Delivery of quercetin for breast cancer and targeting potentiation via hyaluronic nano micelle

Quercetin (QT) is a very effective anticancer drug in combating breast cancer. However, it has several disadvantages such as poor water solubility, low bioavailability and low targeting, which seriously restrict its clinical application. In this work, amphiphilic hyaluronic acid polymers (dHAD) were synthesized by grafting dodecylamine to hyaluronic acid (HA). The dHAD self-assembles with QT to form drug-carrying micelles (dHAD-QT). The dHAD-QT micelles possessed excellent drug-loading capacities (75.9 %) for QT and showed significantly improved CD44 targeting compared with unmodified HA. dHAD-QT micelles exhibited high cytotoxicity and apoptosis-inducing abilities, which were ascribed to the pH-sensitive dHAD-QT micelles accomplishing rapid drug release of QT under low pH condition. Importantly, in vivo experiments showed that dHAD-QT effectively inhibited tumor growth in tumor-bearing mice, with a tumor inhibition rate of 91.8 %. Furthermore, dHAD-QT prolonged the survival time of tumor-bearing mice and reduced the toxicity of the drug to normal tissues. These findings indicate that the designed dHAD-QT micelles have promising potential as efficient nano-drugs for breast cancer treatment.

Facile Synthesis and X-ray Attenuation Properties of Ultrasmall Platinum Nanoparticles Grafted with Three Types of Hydrophilic Polymers

Ultrasmall platinum nanoparticles (Pt-NPs) grafted with three types of hydrophilic and biocompatible polymers, i.e., poly(acrylic acid), poly(acrylic acid-co-maleic acid), and poly(methyl vinyl ether-alt-maleic acid) were synthesized using a one-pot polyol method. Their physicochemical and X-ray attenuation properties were characterized. All polymer-coated Pt-NPs had an average particle diameter (davg) of 2.0 nm. Polymers grafted onto Pt-NP surfaces exhibited excellent colloidal stability (i.e., no precipitation after synthesis for >1.5 years) and low cellular toxicity. The X-ray attenuation power of the polymer-coated Pt-NPs in aqueous media was stronger than that of the commercial iodine contrast agent Ultravist at the same atomic concentration and considerably stronger at the same number density, confirming their potential as computed tomography contrast agents.

Advances in Single-component inorganic nanostructures for photoacoustic imaging guided photothermal therapy

Phototheranostic based on photothermal therapy (PTT) and photoacoustic imaging (PAI), as one of avant-garde medical techniques, have sparked growing attention because it allows noninvasive, deeply penetrative, and highly selective and effective therapy. Among a variety of phototheranostic nanoagents, single-component inorganic nanostructures are found to be novel and attractive PAI and PTT combined nanotheranostic agents and received tremendous attention, which not only exhibit structural controllability, high tunability in physiochemical properties, size-dependent optical properties, high reproducibility, simple composition, easy functionalization, and simple synthesis process, but also can be endowed with multiple therapeutic and imaging functions, realizing the superior therapy result along with bringing less foreign materials into body, reducing systemic side effects and improving the bioavailability. In this review, according to their synthetic components, conventional single-component inorganic nanostructures are divided into metallic nanostructures, metal dichalcogenides, metal oxides, carbon based nanostructures, upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs), metal organic frameworks (MOFs), MXenes, graphdiyne and other nanostructures. On the basis of this category, their detailed applications in PAI guide PTT of tumor treatment are systematically reviewed, including synthesis strategies, corresponding performances, and cancer diagnosis and therapeutic efficacy. Before these, the factors to influence on photothermal effect and the principle of in vivo PAI are briefly presented. Finally, we also comprehensively and thoroughly discussed the limitation, potential barriers, future perspectives for research and clinical translation of this single-component inorganic nanoagent in biomedical therapeutics.

Flexible polymeric patch based nanotherapeutics against non-cancer therapy

Flexible polymeric patches find widespread applications in biomedicine because of their biological and tunable features including excellent patient compliance, superior biocompatibility and biodegradation, as well as high loading capability and permeability of drug. Such polymeric patches are classified into microneedles (MNs), hydrogel, microcapsule, microsphere and fiber depending on the formed morphology. The combination of nanomaterials with polymeric patches allows for improved advantages of increased curative efficacy and lowered systemic toxicity, promoting on-demand and regulated drug administration, thus providing the great potential to their clinic translation. In this review, the category of flexible polymeric patches that are utilized to integrate with nanomaterials is briefly presented and their advantages in bioapplications are further discussed. The applications of nanomaterials embedded polymeric patches in non-cancerous diseases were also systematically reviewed, including diabetes therapy, wound healing, dermatological disease therapy, bone regeneration, cardiac repair, hair repair, obesity therapy and some immune disease therapy. Alternatively, the limitations, latest challenges and future perspectives of such biomedical therapeutic devices are addressed.

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The most explored polymeric patches, such as microneedle, hydrogel, microsphere, microcapsule, and fiber are summarized.

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Polymeric patches integrated with a diversity of nanomaterials are systematically overviewed in non-cancer therapy.

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The future prospective for the development of polymeric patch based nanotherapeutics is discussed.

Polysaccharide-Based Theranostic Systems for Combined Imaging and Cancer Therapy: Recent Advances and Challenges

Designing novel systems for efficient cancer treatment and improving the quality of life for patients is a prime requirement in the healthcare sector. In this regard, theranostics have recently emerged as a unique platform, which combines the benefits of both diagnosis and therapeutics delivery. Theranostics have the desired contrast agent and the drugs combined in a single carrier, thus providing the opportunity for real-time imaging to monitor the therapy results. This helps in reducing the hazards related to treatment overdose or underdose and gives the possibility of personalized therapy. Polysaccharides, as natural biomolecules, have been widely explored to develop theranostics, as they act as a matrix for simultaneously loading both contrast agents and drugs for their utility in drug delivery and imaging. Additionally, their remarkable physicochemical attributes (biodegradability, satisfactory safety profile, abundance, and diversity in functionality and charge) can be tuned via postmodification, which offers numerous possibilities to develop theranostics with desired characteristics. Hence, we provide an overview of recent advances in polysaccharide matrix-based theranostics for drug delivery combined with magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, positron emission tomography, single photon emission computed tomography, and ultrasound imaging. Herein, we also summarize the toxicity assessment of polysaccharides, associated contrast agents, and nanotoxicity along with the challenges and future research directions.

Hydrogels for localized chemotherapy of liver cancer: a possible strategy for improved and safe liver cancer treatment

The systemic drug has historically been preferred for the treatment of the majority of pathological conditions, particularly liver cancer. Indeed, this mode of treatment is associated with adverse reactions, toxicity, off-target accumulation, and rapid hepatic and renal clearance. Numerous efforts have been made to design systemic therapeutic carriers to improve retention while decreasing side effects and clearance. Following systemic medication, local administration of therapeutic agents allows for higher 'effective' doses with fewer side effects, kidney accumulation, and clearance. Hydrogels are highly biocompatible and can be used for both imaging and therapy. Hydrogel-based drug delivery approach has fewer side effects than traditional chemotherapy and can deliver drugs to tumors for a longer time. The chemical and physical flexibility of hydrogels can be used to achieve disease-induced in situ accumulation as well as subsequent drug release and hydrogel-programmed degradation. Moreover, they can act as a biocompatible depot for localized chemotherapy when stimuli-responsive carriers are administrated. Herein, we summarize the design strategies of various hydrogels used for localized chemotherapy of liver cancer and their delivery routes, as well as recent research on smart hydrogels.

In situ gelatinase-responsive and thermosensitive nanocomplex for local therapy of gastric cancer with peritoneal metastasis

Intraperitoneal chemotherapy (IPC) has been considered as an effective therapy for advanced gastric cancer (GC) especially those with peritoneal metastasis, while limited effectiveness, complications caused by chemotherapeutics and repeated infusion procedures restrict the application of IPC. In this study, to enhance the efficacy and safety of IPC, we intended to establish a biocompatible and biodegradable nanocomplex composed of intelligent gelatinase-responsive nanoparticles (NPs) and thermosensitive gel, which were prepared from different compositions of poly (ethyleneglycol)–poly (3-caprolactone) (PEG–PCL). Cancer stem cells (CSCs) inhibitor Salinomycin (SAL) and non-CSC inhibitor Docetaxel (DOC) were co-loaded in the NPs and delivered by liquid PEG-PCL-PEG gel (PECE) at room temperature, which was able to target tumor and formed a gel in situ at body temperature. Compared with free SAL-DOC solution administered at the same dose, PECE NP group inhibited intraperitoneal disseminated gastric cancer growth more remarkably, some of which even achieved complete response (CR) and continued for more than 2 weeks. Cytometric analysis of cellular suspension from abdominal tumor tissues showed that the proportion of CSCs (CD44+CD133+) and the expression of PD-L1 on the tumor cells in the PECE NP group were the lowest. In the allograft mouse models of GC, PECE NP significantly improved the infiltration of M1 macrophages into the tumor bed in vivo. This design may provide biodegradable smart drug-delivery system for potential application in IPC.

Exploring High Pressure Nebulization of Pluronic F127 Hydrogels for Intraperitoneal Drug Delivery

Peritoneal metastasis is an advanced cancer type which can be treated with pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC). Here, chemotherapeutics are nebulized under high pressure in the intraperitoneal (IP) cavity to obtain a better biodistribution and tumor penetration. To prevent the fast leakage of chemotherapeutics from the IP cavity, however, nebulization of controlled release formulations is of interest. In this study, the potential of the thermosensitive hydrogel Pluronic F127 to be applied by high pressure nebulization is evaluated. Therefore, aerosol formation is experimentally examined by laser diffraction and theoretically simulated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling. Furthermore, Pluronic F127 hydrogels are subjected to rheological characterization after which the release of fluorescent model nanoparticles from the hydrogels is determined. A delicate equilibrium is observed between controlled release properties and suitability for aerosolization, where denser hydrogels (20% and 25% w/v Pluronic F127) are able to sustain nanoparticle release up to 30 hours, but cannot effectively be nebulized and vice versa. This is demonstrated by a growing aerosol droplet size and exponentially decreasing aerosol cone angle when Pluronic F127 concentration and viscosity increase. Novel nozzle designs or alternative controlled release formulations could move intraperitoneal drug delivery by high pressure nebulization forward.

A ruthenium nanoframe/enzyme composite system as a self-activating cascade agent for the treatment of bacterial infections

The cascade catalytic strategy could effectively enhance the antibacterial activity by regulating the production of hydroxyl radicals (˙OH) in the sites of bacterial infection. In this work, a ruthenium metal nanoframe (Ru NF) was successfully synthesized via the palladium template method. The cascade catalysis in the bacterial infection microenvironment was achieved by physically adsorbed natural glucose oxidase (GOx), and hyaluronic acid (HA) was coated on the outer layer of the system for locating the infection sites accurately. Eventually, a composite nano-catalyst (HA-Ru NFs/GOx) based on the ruthenium nanoframe was constructed, which exhibited excellent cascade catalytic activity and good biocompatibility. The prepared HA-Ru NFs/GOx enhances the antibacterial activity and inhibits bacterial regeneration through the outbreak of reactive oxygen species (ROS) caused by self-activating cascade reactions. In addition, in vivo experiments indicate that HA-Ru NFs/GOx could efficiently cause bacterial death and significantly promote wound healing/skin regeneration. Accordingly, ruthenium metal framework nanozymes could be used as an effective cascade catalytic platform to inhibit bacterial regeneration and promote wound healing, and have great potential as new antibacterial agents against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Characterization of a hyaluronic acid and folic acid-based hydrogel for cisplatin delivery: Antineoplastic effect in human ovarian cancer cells in vitro

We successfully prepared and characterized a hyaluronic acid- and folic acid-based hydrogel for the delivery of cisplatin (GEL-CIS) with the aim to induce specific and efficient incorporation of CIS into ovarian cancer (OC) cells, improve its antineoplastic effect and avoid CIS-resistance. The slow and controlled release of the drug from the polymeric network and its swelling degree at physiologic pH suggested its suitability for CIS delivery in OC. We compared here the effects of pure CIS to that of GEL-CIS on human OC cell lines, either wild type or CIS-resistant, in basal conditions and in the presence of macrophage-derived conditioned medium, mimicking the action of tumor-associated macrophages in vivo. GEL-CIS inhibited OC cell growth and migration more efficiently than pure CIS and modulated the expression of proteins involved in the Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition, a process playing a key role in OC metastatic spread and resistance to CIS.

Synergistic enhancement of immunological responses triggered by hyperthermia sensitive Pt NPs via NIR laser to inhibit cancer relapse and metastasis

The combination of tumor ablation and immunotherapy is a promising strategy against tumor relapse and metastasis. Photothermal therapy (PTT) triggers the release of tumor-specific antigens and damage associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) in-situ. However, the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment restrains the activity of the effector immune cells. Therefore, systematic immunomodulation is critical to stimulate the tumor microenvironment and augment the anti-tumor therapeutic effect. To this end, polyethylene glycol (PEG)-stabilized platinum (Pt) nanoparticles (Pt NPs) conjugated with a PD-L1 inhibitor (BMS-1) through a thermo-sensitive linkage were constructed. Upon near-infrared (NIR) exposure, BMS-1 was released and maleimide (Mal) was exposed on the surface of Pt NPs, which captured the antigens released from the ablated tumor cells, resulting in the enhanced antigen internalization and presentation. In addition, the Pt NPs acted as immune adjuvants by stimulating dendritic cells (DCs) maturation. Furthermore, BMS-1 relieved T cell exhaustion and induced the infiltration of effector T cells into the tumor tissues. Thus, Pt NPs can ablate tumors through PTT, and augment the anti-tumor immune response through enhanced antigen presentation and T cells infiltration, thereby preventing tumor relapse and metastasis.

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Pt NPs ablated tumor cells through PTT and served as immune adjuvants.

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Released BMS-1 and deprotected maleimide by thermo-sensitive Diels-Alder reaction.

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Pt NPs captured the antigens with exposed maleimide and stimulated dendritic cells maturation.

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Controlled release of BMS-1 in response to PTT relieved T cell exhaustion.

Fabrication and in vitro evaluation of 3D composite scaffold based on collagen/hyaluronic acid sponge and electrospun polycaprolactone nanofibers for peripheral nerve regeneration

Replacement of peripheral nerve autografts with tissue engineered nerve grafts will potentially resolve the lack of nerve tissue especially in patients with severe concomitant soft tissue injuries. This study attempted to fabricate a tissue engineered nerve graft composed of electrospun PCL conduit filled with collagen-hyaluronic acid (COL-HA) sponge with different COL-HA weight ratios including 100:0, 98:2, 95:5 and 90:10. The effect of HA addition on the sponge porosity, mechanical properties, water absorption and degradation rate was assessed. A good cohesion between the electrospun PCL nanofibers and COL-HA sponges were seen in all sponges with different HA contents. Mechanical properties of PCL nanofibrous layer were similar to the rat sciatic nerve; the ultimate tensile strength was 2.23 ± 0.35 MPa at the elongation of 35%. Additionally, Schwann cell proliferation and morphology on three dimensional (3D) composite scaffold were evaluated by using MTT and SEM assays, respectively. Rising the HA content resulted in higher water absorption as well as greater pore size and porosity, while a decrease in Schwann cell proliferation compared to pure collagen sponge, although reduction in cell proliferation was not statistically significant. The lower Schwann cell proliferation on the COL-HA was attributed to the greater degradation rate and pore size of the COL-HA sponges. Also, dorsal root ganglion assay showed that the engineered 3D construct significantly increases axon growth. Taken together, these results suggest that the fabricated 3D composite scaffold provide a permissive environment for Schwann cells proliferation and maturation and can encourage axon growth.

Research progress in the application of in situ hydrogel system in tumor treatment

The in situ hydrogel drug delivery system is a hot research topic in recent years. Combining both properties of hydrogel and solution, in situ hydrogels can provide many advantages for drug delivery application, including easy application, high local drug concentration, prolonged drug retention time, reduced drug dose in vivo, good biocompatibility and improved patient compliance, thus has potential in tumor treatment. In this paper, the related literature reports in recent years were reviewed to summarize and discuss the research progress and development prospects in the application of in situ hydrogels in tumor treatment.

Synergy between Intraperitoneal Aerosolization (PIPAC) and Cancer Nanomedicine: Cisplatin-Loaded Polyarginine-Hyaluronic Acid Nanocarriers Efficiently Eradicate Peritoneal Metastasis of Advanced Human Ovarian Cancer

Intra-abdominal dissemination of peritoneal nodules, a condition known as peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC), is typically diagnosed in ovarian cancer patients at the advanced stages. The current treatment of PC consists of perioperative systemic chemotherapy and cytoreductive surgery, followed by intra-abdominal flushing with solutions of chemotherapeutics such as cisplatin and oxaliplatin. In this study, we developed cisplatin-loaded polyarginine-hyaluronic acid nanoscale particles (Cis-pARG-HA NPs) with high colloidal stability, marked drug loading efficiency, unimpaired biological activity, and tumor-targeting ability. Injected Cis-pARG-HA NPs showed enhanced antitumor activity in a rat model of PC, compared to injection of the free cisplatin drug. The activity of Cis-pARG-HA NPs could even be further improved when administered by an intra-abdominal aerosol therapy, referred to as pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC). PIPAC is hypothesized to ensure a more homogeneous drug distribution together with a deeper drug penetration into peritoneal tumor nodules within the abdominal cavity. Using fluorescent pARG-HA NPs, this enhanced nanoparticle deposit on tumors could indeed be observed in regions opposite the aerosolization nozzle. Therefore, this study demonstrates that nanoparticles carrying chemotherapeutics can be synergistically combined with the PIPAC technique for IP therapy of disseminated advanced ovarian tumors, while this synergistic effect was not observed for the administration of free cisplatin.

Hyaluronic Acid-Based Theranostic Nanomedicines for Targeted Cancer Therapy

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a natural mucopolysaccharide and has many useful advantages, including biocompatibility, non-immunogenicity, chemical versatility, non-toxicity, biodegradability, and high hydrophilicity. Numerous tumor cells overexpress several receptors that have a high binding affinity for HA, while these receptors are poorly expressed in normal body cells. HA-based drug delivery carriers can offer improved solubility and stability of anticancer drugs in biological environments and allow for the targeting of cancer treatments. Based on these benefits, HA has been widely investigated as a promising material for developing the advanced clinical cancer therapies in various formulations, including nanoparticles, micelles, liposomes, and hydrogels, combined with other materials. We describe various approaches and findings showing the feasibility of improvement in theragnosis probes through the application of HA.

Hydrogel-Based Controlled Drug Delivery for Cancer Treatment: A Review

As an emerging drug carrier, hydrogels have been widely used for tumor drug delivery. A hydrogel drug carrier can cause less severe side effects than systemic chemotherapy and can achieve sustained delivery of a drug at tumor sites. In addition, hydrogels have excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability and lower toxicity than nanoparticle carriers. Smart hydrogels can respond to stimuli in the environment (e.g., heat, pH, light, and ultrasound), enabling in situ gelation and controlled drug release, which greatly enhance the convenience and efficiency of drug delivery. Here, we summarize the different sizes of hydrogels used for cancer treatment and their related delivery routes, discuss the design strategies for stimuli-responsive hydrogels, and review the research concerning smart hydrogels reported in the past few years.

Heterotargeted Nanococktail with Traceless Linkers for Eradicating Cancer

Clinical application of drug cocktails for cancer therapy is limited by their severe systemic toxicity. To solve a catch-22 dilemma between safety and efficacy for drug cocktails, a hetero-targeted nano-cocktail (PPPDMA) with traceless linkers has been developed. In the PPPDMA nanogel, a hetero-targeting strategy is employed to improve its tumor selective targeting efficacy by overcoming the cancer cell mono-ligand density limitation. Benefit from its glutathione and reactive oxygen species responsiveness, the loaded paclitaxel and doxorubicin can be quickly and tracelessly released into the cytoplasm in their original form, which bestows PPPDMA nanogels the capability to overwhelm the processing capacity of cancer cell's P-glycoprotein efflux pump allows, and ultimately kill them without inducing side effects. The PPPDMA treatment reduced its tumor burden over 99% (in tumor weight) and 96% (in tumor number). Most importantly, no detectable tumor in more than half of the PPPDMA treated mice. We conclude that traceless linker and hetero-targeted nano-cocktail strategy could be a safe and effective approach for cancer treatment.

Recent advances in metallopolymer-based drug delivery systems

Metallopolymers (MPs) or metal-containing polymers have shown great potential as new drug delivery systems (DDSs) due to their unique properties, including universal architectures, composition, properties and surface chemistry. Over the past few decades, the exponential growth of many new classes of MPs that deal with these issues has been demonstrated. This review presents and assesses the recent advances and challenges associated with using MPs as DDSs. Among the most widely used MPs for these purposes, metal complexes based on synthetic and natural polymers, coordination polymers, metal-organic frameworks, and metallodendrimers are distinguished. Particular attention is paid to the stimulus- and multistimuli-responsive metallopolymer-based DDSs. Of considerable interest is the use of MPs for combination therapy and multimodal systems. Finally, the problems and future prospects of using metallopolymer-based DDSs are outlined. The bibliography includes articles published over the past five years.

Strategies for Hyaluronic Acid-Based Hydrogel Design in Drug Delivery

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a natural, linear, endogenous polysaccharide that plays important physiological and biological roles in the human body. Nowadays, among biopolymers, HA is emerging as an appealing starting material for hydrogels design due to its biocompatibility, native biofunctionality, biodegradability, non-immunogenicity, and versatility. Since HA is not able to form gels alone, chemical modifications, covalent crosslinking, and gelling agents are always needed in order to obtain HA-based hydrogels. Therefore, in the last decade, different strategies for the design of physical and chemical HA hydrogels have been developed, such as click chemistry reactions, enzymatic and disulfide crosslinking, supramolecular assembly via inclusion complexation, and so on. HA-based hydrogels turn out to be versatile platforms, ranging from static to smart and stimuli-responsive systems, and for these reasons, they are widely investigated for biomedical applications like drug delivery, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, cell therapy, and diagnostics. Furthermore, the overexpression of HA receptors on various tumor cells makes these platforms promising drug delivery systems for targeted cancer therapy. The aim of the present review is to highlight and discuss recent advances made in the last years on the design of chemical and physical HA-based hydrogels and their application for biomedical purposes, in particular, drug delivery. Notable attention is given to HA hydrogel-based drug delivery systems for targeted therapy of cancer and osteoarthritis.

Harmonious Biomaterials for Development of In situ Approaches for Locoregional Delivery of Anti-cancer Drugs: Current Trends

Locoregional drug delivery is a novel approach for the effective delivery of anti-cancer agents as it exposes the tumors to high concentration of drugs. In situ gelling systems have fetched paramount attention in the field of localized cancer chemotherapy due to their targeted delivery, ease of preparation, prolonged or sustained drug release and improved patient compliance. Numerous polymers have been investigated for their properties like swelling along with biodegradation, drug release and physicochemical properties for successful targeting of the drugs at the site of implantation. The polymers such as chitosan, Hyaluronic Acid (HA), poloxamer, Poly Glycolic Lactic Acid (PGLA) and Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) tend to form in situ hydrogels and have been exploited to develop localized delivery vehicles. These formulations are administered in the solution form and on exposure to physiological environment such as temperature, pH or ionic composition they undergo phase conversion into a hydrogel drug depot. The use of in situ gelling approach has provided prospects to increase overall survival and life quality of cancer patient by enhancing the bioavailability of drug to the site of tumor by minimizing the exposure to normal cells and alleviating systemic side effects. Because of its favorable safety profile and clinical benefits, United States Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) has approved polymer based in situ systems for prolonged locoregional activity. This article discusses the rationale for developing in situ systems for targeted delivery of anti-cancer agents with special emphasis on types of polymers used to formulate the in situ system. In situ formulations for locoregional anti-cancer drug delivery that are marketed and are under clinical trials have also been discussed in detail in this article.

Developing Body-Components-Based Theranostic Nanoparticles for Targeting Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer mortality is the highest among gynecologic malignancies. Hence, the major challenges are early diagnosis and efficient targeted therapy. Herein, we devised model theranostic nanoparticles (NPs) for combined diagnostics and delivery of chemotherapeutics, targeted to ovarian cancer cells. These NPs were made of natural biocompatible and biodegradable body components: hyaluronic acid (HA) and serum albumin (SA). The hydrophilic HA served as the targeting ligand for cancer cells overexpressing CD44, the HA receptor. SA, the natural carrier of various ligands through the blood, served as the hydrophobic block of the self-assembling block copolymeric Maillard-conjugates. We show the successful construction of fluorescently-labeled SA-HA conjugate-based theranostic NPs, their loading with paclitaxel (PTX) (association constant (8.6 ± 0.8) × 103 M-1, maximal loading capacity of 4:1 PTX:BSA, and 96% encapsulation efficiency), selective internalization and cytotoxicity to CD44-overexpressing ovarian cancer cells (IC50: 26.4 ± 2.3 nM, compared to 115.0 ± 17.4 of free PTX, and to 58.6 ± 19.7 nM for CD44-lacking cognate ovarian cancer cells). Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) was used for in vitro imaging, whereas long wavelength fluorophores or other suitable tracers would be used for future in vivo diagnostic imaging. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that fluorescent HA-SA NPs harboring a cytotoxic drug cargo can specifically target, label CD44-expressing ovarian cancer cells and efficiently eradicate them.

A perspective on biogenic synthesis of platinum nanoparticles and their biomedical applications

In recent era, the interest on inorganic nanoparticles is augmenting due to their engrossing and uncanny properties. Among them, platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) are highly remarkable owing to their intrinsic physicochemical and biological properties making them an effective candidate towards catalytic and biomedical applications. Nevertheless, conventional physical and chemical methodologies of PtNPs synthesis are among the most prevalent protocols to synthesize PtNPs of desired shape and size. However, the above methods create notable concern to health and environment due to the use of harsh and toxic chemicals as well as violent reaction conditions. Hence, an economic, eco-friendly, non-toxic and sustainable route for the synthesis of PtNPs is the need of the hour to circumvent the shortcomings associated with conventional methodologies. In this aspect, the approach of green synthesis has lightened up the way for the environmentally benign synthesis of PtNPs. Interestingly, this review focuses chiefly on the green synthesis of PtNPs from various biological entities such as microorganisms, plants, seaweeds and other innovative miscellaneous protocols. Furthermore, it also summarizes the potential biomedical applications of PtNPs especially as an antibacterial agent and their role as nanomedicine. Overall, the emerging biogenic synthesis of PtNPs makes it feasible to foresee more promising biomedical outcomes in the upcoming future.

Dual-degradable and injectable hyaluronic acid hydrogel mimicking extracellular matrix for 3D culture of breast cancer MCF-7 cells

In tumor biology, it is widely recognized that 3D rather than 2D cell culture can recapitulate key features of solid tumors, including cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions. In this study, to mimick the ECM of breast cancer, hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogels were synthesized from two polyvalent HA derivatives through a hydrazone and photo dual crosslinking process. HA hydrogels could be formed within 120 s. The hydrogels had similar topography and mechanical properties to breast tumor and displayed glutathione and hyaluronidase dual-responsive degradation behavior. Biological studies demonstrated that HA hydrogel could support the proliferation and clustering of breast cancer MCF-7 cells. The expression levels of VEGF, IL-8 and bFGF in hydrogel-cultured cells were significantly greater than those in 2D culture. Moreover, cells from hydrogel culture exhibited greater migration/invasion abilities and tumorigenicity than 2D-cultured cells. Therefore, the HA hydrogels are a promising ECM-mimicking matrix for in vitro construction of breast cancer.

Biopolymers for Antitumor Implantable Drug Delivery Systems: Recent Advances and Future Outlook

In spite of remarkable improvements in cancer treatments and survivorship, cancer still remains as one of the major causes of death worldwide. Although current standards of care provide encouraging results, they still cause severe systemic toxicity and also fail in preventing recurrence of the disease. In order to address these issues, biomaterial-based implantable drug delivery systems (DDSs) have emerged as promising therapeutic platforms, which allow local administration of drugs directly to the tumor site. Owing to the unique properties of biopolymers, they have been used in a variety of ways to institute biodegradable implantable DDSs that exert precise spatiotemporal control over the release of therapeutic drug. Here, the most recent advances in biopolymer-based DDSs for suppressing tumor growth and preventing tumor recurrence are reviewed. Novel emerging biopolymers as well as cutting-edge polymeric microdevices deployed as implantable antitumor DDSs are discussed. Finally, a review of a new therapeutic modality within the field, which is based on implantable biopolymeric DDSs, is given.

Cholesterol Modification of an Anticancer Drug for Efficient Incorporation into a Supramolecular Hydrogel System

Treatment of cancer in the peritoneal cavity may be improved with macroscale drug delivery systems that offer control over intraperitoneal concentration of chemotherapeutic agents. Currently, suitable drug carriers to facilitate a sustained release of small hydrophilic drugs such as mitomycin C are lacking. For this purpose, a pH-responsive supramolecular hydrogel based on ureido-pyrimidinone (UPy) chemistry is utilized here. In order to provide a sustained release profile, a lipophilicity-increasing cholesterol conjugation strategy is proposed that enhances affinity between the modified drug (mitomycin-PEG₂₄ -cholesterol, MPC) and the hydrophobic compartments in the UPy gel. Additional advantages of cholesterol conjugation include improved chemical stability and potency of mitomycin C. In vitro the tunability of the system to obtain optimal effective concentrations over time is demonstrated with a combinatorial treatment of mitomycin C and MPC in one UPy hydrogel delivery system.

Slow-Release Formulation of Cowpea Mosaic Virus for In Situ Vaccine Delivery to Treat Ovarian Cancer

The plant viral nanoparticle cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV) is shown to be an effective immunotherapy for ovarian cancer when administered as in situ vaccine weekly, directly into the intraperitoneal (IP) space in mice with disseminated tumors. While the antitumor efficacy is promising, the required frequency of administration may pose challenges for clinical implementation. To overcome this, a slow release formulation is developed. CPMV and polyamidoamine generation 4 dendrimer form aggregates (CPMV-G4) based on electrostatic interactions and as a function of salt concentration, allowing for tailoring of aggregate size and release of CPMV. The antitumor efficacy of a single administration of CPMV-G4 is compared to weekly administration of soluble CPMV in a mouse model of peritoneal ovarian cancer and found to be as effective at reducing disease burden as more frequent administrations of soluble CPMV; a single injection of soluble CPMV, does not significantly slow cancer development. The ability of CPMV-G4 to control tumor growth following a single injection is likely due to the continued presence of CPMV in the IP space leading to prolonged immune stimulation. This enhanced retention of CPMV and its antitumor efficacy demonstrates the potential for viral-dendrimer hybrids to be used for delayed release applications.

Platinum nanoparticles in nanobiomedicine

Oxidative stress-dependent inflammatory diseases represent a major concern for the population's health worldwide. Biocompatible nanomaterials with enzymatic properties could play a crucial role in the treatment of such pathologies. In this respect, platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) are promising candidates, showing remarkable catalytic activity, able to reduce the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and impair the downstream pathways leading to inflammation. This review reports a critical overview of the growing evidence revealing the anti-inflammatory ability of PtNPs and their potential applications in nanomedicine. It provides a detailed description of the wide variety of synthetic methods recently developed, with particular attention to the aspects influencing biocompatibility. Special attention has been paid to the studies describing the toxicological profile of PtNPs with an attempt to draw critical conclusions. The emerging picture suggests that the material per se is not causing cytotoxicity, while other physicochemical features related to the synthesis and surface functionalization may play a crucial role in determining the observed impairment of cellular functions. The enzymatic activity of PtNPs is also summarized, analyzing their action against ROS produced by pathological conditions within the cells. In particular, we extensively discuss the potential of these properties in nanomedicine to down-regulate inflammatory pathways or to be employed as diagnostic tools with colorimetric readout. A brief overview of other biomedical applications of nanoplatinum is also presented.

Intraperitoneal chemotherapy for ovarian cancer using sustained-release implantable devices

INTRODUCTION

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) remains to be the most lethal of all gynecological malignancies mainly due to its asymptomatic nature. The late stages are manifested with predominant metastases confined to the peritoneal cavity. Although there has been a substantial progress in the treatment avenue with different therapeutic interventions, the overall survival rate of patients remain poor due to relapse and drug resistance.

AREAS COVERED

The pharmacokinetic advantages offered by intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy due to peritoneal-plasma barrier can be potentially exploited for EOC relapse treatment. The ability to retain high concentrations of chemo-drugs with high AUC peritoneum/plasma for prolonged durations in the peritoneal cavity can be utilized effectively through the clinical adoption of drug delivery systems (DDSs) which obviates the need for indwelling catheters. The metronomic dosing strategy could enhance anti-tumor efficacy with a continuous, low dose of chemo-drugs providing minimal systemic toxicity.

EXPERT OPINION

The development of a feasible, non-catheter based, IP DDS, retaining the peritoneal-drug levels, with less systemic levels could offer significant survival advantages as a patient-compliant therapeutic strategy. Suturable-implantable devices based on metronomic dosing, eluting drug in a sustained manner at low doses, could be implanted surgically post-debulking for treatment of refractory EOC patients.

Repurposing disulfiram for cancer therapy via targeted nanotechnology through enhanced tumor mass penetration and disassembly

Disulfiram (DSF), an FDA approved drug for the treatment of alcoholism, degrades to therapeutically active diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC) in the body by reduction. Hereby, we developed a redox sensitive DDTC-polymer conjugate for targeted cancer therapy. It was found that the DDTC-polymer conjugate modified with a β-d-galactose receptor targeting ligand can self-assemble into LDNP nanoparticle and efficiently enter cancer cells by receptor-mediated endocytosis. Upon cellular uptake, the LDNP nanoparticle degrades and releases DDTC due to the cleavage of disulfide bonds, and subsequently forms copper (II) DDTC complex to kill a broad spectrum of cancer cells. 3D cell culture revealed that this nanoparticle shows much stronger tumor mass penetrating and destructive capacity. Furthermore, LDNP nanoparticles exhibited much greater potency in inhibiting tumor growth in a peritoneal metastatic ovarian tumor model.

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

The β-d-galactose receptor targeted disulfiram loaded nanoparticle (LDNP) is novel in the following aspects.

Nanogels for Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Applications and Their Fabrication Using 3D Printing Technologies

Nanogels are hydrogels formed by connecting nanoscopic micelles dispersed in an aqueous medium, which give an opportunity for incorporating hydrophilic payloads to the exterior of the micellar networks and hydrophobic payloads in the core of the micelles. Biomedical and pharmaceutical applications of nanogels have been explored for tissue regeneration, wound healing, surgical device, implantation, and peroral, rectal, vaginal, ocular, and transdermal drug delivery. Although it is still in the early stages of development, due to the increasing demands of precise nanogel production to be utilized for personalized medicine, biomedical applications, and specialized drug delivery, 3D printing has been explored in the past few years and is believed to be one of the most precise, efficient, inexpensive, customizable, and convenient manufacturing techniques for nanogel production.

Synthesis and characterization of arginine-NIPAAm hybrid hydrogel as wound dressing: In vitro and in vivo study

A multi-functional hybrid hydrogel P(M-Arg/NIPAAm) with temperature response, anti-protein adsorption and antibacterial properties was prepared and applied as wound dressing. The hydrogel was carried out by free radical copolymerization of methacrylate arginine (M-Arg) and N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAAm) monomers using N,N'-methylene bisacrylamide as a crosslinker, and ammonium persulfate/N,N,N', N'-tetramethylethylenediamine as the redox initiator. To endow the antimicrobial property, chlorhexidine diacetate (CHX) was preloaded into the hydrogel and polyhexamethylene guanidine phosphate (PHMG) was grafted on the hydrogel surface, respectively. The antimicrobial property of two series of hydrogels was evaluated and compared. The successful synthesis of M-Arg, PHMG and hydrogels was proved by ¹³C NMR, ¹H NMR and FTIR spectroscopy. The hydrogel morphology characterized by scanning electron microscopy confirmed that the homogeneous porous and interconnected structures of the hydrogels. The swelling, protein adsorption property, in vitro release of CHX, antimicrobial assessment, cell viability as well as in vivo wound healing in a mouse model were studied. The results showed the nontoxicity and antimicrobial P(M-Arg/NIPAAm) hydrogel accelerated the full-thickness wound healing process and had the potential application in wound dressing.

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

Despite the zwitterionic characteristic and biocompatible property of arginine based hydrogels, the brittle behavior and non-transparency still remain as a significant problem for wound dressing. Furthermore promoting the antibacterial property of the zwitterionic hydrogel is also necessary to prevent the bacterial colonization and subsequent wound infection. Therefore, we created a hybrid hydrogel combined methacrylate arginine (M-Arg) and N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAAm). NIPAAm improves transparency and mechanical property as well as acts as a temperature-response drug release system. Additionally, chlorhexidine (CHX) was preloaded into the hydrogels and polyhexamethylene guanidine phosphate (PHMG) was grafted on the hydrogel surface, respectively, which make the hydrogel useful as a favorable antibacterial dressing. The hybrid hydrogel has a combination effect of biocompatibility, environmentally responsive transformation behavior, biodegradability, anti-protein adsorption and antimicrobial properties. This report proposes the preparation of P(M-Arg/NIPAAm) hydrogel that has a great potential for wound healing.

Intratumoral injection of thermogelling and sustained-release carboplatin-loaded hydrogel simplifies the administration and remains the synergistic effect with radiotherapy for mice gliomas

BACKGROUND

Carboplatin, an antineoplastic agent, binds DNA and enhances radiotherapy (RT) effects. Carboplatin-loaded hydrogel (oxidized hyaluronic acid/adipic acid dihydrazide) enables the sustained drug release and facilitates the synergistic effect with RT.

PURPOSE

We investigated the effectiveness and convenience of hydrogel carboplatin combined with RT for mice glioma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Mouse glioma cells (ALTS1C1) were subcutaneously implanted in the right thigh of C57BL/6 mice on Day 0. The mice were categorized by treatments: sham, hydrogel, hydrogel carboplatin, aqueous carboplatin, RT, hydrogel carboplatin/RT, and aqueous carboplatin/RT. Hydrogel carboplatin (300 μg single dose on Day 7) or aqueous carboplatin (100 μg daily dose on Days 7, 8, and 9) was administered via intratumoral injection. RT was delivered a daily dose of 10 Gy on Days 8 and 9.

RESULTS

For mice administered hydrogel carboplatin/RT versus those administered aqueous carboplatin/RT, the 24-day tumor growth control rate and 104-day recurrence-free survival rate were 100% and 50% versus 100% and 66.7% (p = 0.648), respectively. However, mice receiving other treatments showed tumor progression by Day 24 and died within 40 days of tumor cell implantation.

CONCLUSIONS

Hydrogel carboplatin simplified intratumoral drug delivery and remained the synergistic effects with RT, which is potential for clinical applications.