Liposomal codelivery of inflammation inhibitor and collagen protector to the plaque for effective anti-atherosclerosis

Combination therapy and drug co-delivery systems for atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the accumulation of plaque within the arteries. Despite advances in therapeutic strategies including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and lipid metabolism modulation treatments over the past two decades, the treatment of atherosclerosis remains challenging, as arterial damage is the result of interconnected pathological factors. Therefore, current monotherapies often fail to address the complex nature of this disease, leading to insufficient therapeutic outcomes. This review addressed this paucity of effective treatment options by comprehensively exploring the potential for combination therapies and advanced drug co-delivery systems for the treatment of atherosclerosis. We investigated the pathological features of and risk factors for atherosclerosis, underscoring the importance of drug combination therapies for the treatment of atherosclerotic diseases. We discuss herein mathematical models for quantifying the efficacy of the combination therapies and provide a systematic summary of drug combinations for the treatment of atherosclerosis. We also provide a detailed review of the latest advances in nanoparticle-based drug co-delivery systems for the treatment of atherosclerosis, focusing on the design of carriers with high biocompatibility and efficacy. By exploring the possibilities and challenges inherent to this approach, we aim to highlight cutting-edge technologies that can foster the development of innovative strategies, optimize drug co-administration, improve treatment outcomes, and reduce the burden of atherosclerosis-related morbidity and mortality on the healthcare system.

Microfluidic development of liposome nanoparticles encapsulated with yam polysaccharide

A novel liposome nanoparticle loaded with yam polysaccharide was developed in this study via a tailor-made microfluidic device and further optimized through the Box-Behnken Design method of surface analysis to exploit combinational immunomodulatory effects of liposomes and yam polysaccharide. A chip of 100 μm in height and 200 μm in width with a mixing channel with embedded baffles to enhance fluid mixing was first designed and fabricated. Liposome nanoparticles were obtained by manipulating the operating parameters of the microfluidic chip. The formulation of yam polysaccharide loaded liposomes (YPL1) was optimized using response-surface analysis, and their physicochemical properties were characterized. In vitro cellular assays were performed to assess the effect of YPL on the activity of mouse dendritic cells (DC) and the secretion of immune-related cytokines to investigate the immune-enhancing effect of YPL in vitro. The resulting YPL had a mean size of 154.2±3.8 nm with a narrow size distribution (PDI=0.083) and had a high entrapment efficiency (EE) of 79.02%. The YPL exhibited good stability at 4°C over 14 days of storage, and an in vitro sustained release duration of approximately 30 h. The YPL demonstrated excellent biocompatibility and stimulated the expression of immune-related cytokines, especially TNF-α. Therefore, the YPL with well controlled particle size and high loading capacity, capable of exhibiting potent immunostimulatory activity was successfully developed in this study via a microfluidic device and optimized using response-surface analysis. The current YPL engineering methodology could further serve as an experimental platform for liposome nanoparticle development.

Targeted drug delivery systems for atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is a complex cardiovascular disease driven by multiple factors, including aging, inflammation, oxidative stress, and plaque rupture. The progression of this disease is often covert, emphasizing the need for early biomarkers and effective intervention measures. In recent years, advancements in therapeutic strategies have highlighted the potential of targeting specific processes in atherosclerosis, such as plaque localization, macrophage activity, and key enzymes. Based on this, this review discusses the potential role of targeted drugs in the treatment of atherosclerosis. It also focuses on their clinical efficacy in anti-atherosclerosis treatment and their ability to provide more precise therapeutic approaches. The findings underscore that future research can concentrate on exploring newer drug delivery systems and biomarkers to further refine clinical treatment strategies and enhance the long-term dynamic management of atherosclerosis.

Pure drug nanomedicines - where we are?

Pure drug nanomedicines (PDNs) encompass active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), including macromolecules, biological compounds, and functional components. They overcome research barriers and conversion thresholds associated with nanocarriers, offering advantages such as high drug loading capacity, synergistic treatment effects, and environmentally friendly production methods. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the latest advancements in PDNs, focusing on their essential components, design theories, and manufacturing techniques. The physicochemical properties and in vivo behaviors of PDNs are thoroughly analyzed to gain an in-depth understanding of their systematic characteristics. The review introduces currently approved PDN products and further explores the opportunities and challenges in expanding their depth and breadth of application. Drug nanocrystals, drug-drug cocrystals (DDCs), antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), and nanobodies represent the successful commercialization and widespread utilization of PDNs across various disease domains. Self-assembled pure drug nanoparticles (SAPDNPs), a next-generation product, still require extensive translational research. Challenges persist in transitioning from laboratory-scale production to mass manufacturing and overcoming the conversion threshold from laboratory findings to clinical applications.

Approved natural products-derived nanomedicines for disease treatment

In recent years, there has been an increasing emphasis on exploring innovative drug delivery approaches due to the limitations of conventional therapeutic strategies, such as inadequate drug targeting, insufficient therapeutic efficacy, and significant adverse effects. Nanomedicines have emerged as a promising solution with notable advantages, including extended drug circulation, targeted delivery, and improved bioavailability, potentially enhancing the clinical treatment of various diseases. Natural products/materials-derived nanomedicines, characterized by their natural therapeutic efficacy, superior biocompatibility, and safety profile, play a crucial role in nanomedicine-based treatments. This review provides a comprehensive overview of currently approved natural products-derived nanomedicines, emphasizing the essential properties of natural products-derived drug carriers, their applications in clinical diagnosis and treatment, and the current therapeutic potential and challenges. The aim is to offer guidance for the application and further development of these innovative therapeutic approaches.

Multifunctional nanoparticle-mediated combining therapy for human diseases

Combining existing drug therapy is essential in developing new therapeutic agents in disease prevention and treatment. In preclinical investigations, combined effect of certain known drugs has been well established in treating extensive human diseases. Attributed to synergistic effects by targeting various disease pathways and advantages, such as reduced administration dose, decreased toxicity, and alleviated drug resistance, combinatorial treatment is now being pursued by delivering therapeutic agents to combat major clinical illnesses, such as cancer, atherosclerosis, pulmonary hypertension, myocarditis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, metabolic disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. Combinatorial therapy involves combining or co-delivering two or more drugs for treating a specific disease. Nanoparticle (NP)-mediated drug delivery systems, i.e., liposomal NPs, polymeric NPs and nanocrystals, are of great interest in combinatorial therapy for a wide range of disorders due to targeted drug delivery, extended drug release, and higher drug stability to avoid rapid clearance at infected areas. This review summarizes various targets of diseases, preclinical or clinically approved drug combinations and the development of multifunctional NPs for combining therapy and emphasizes combinatorial therapeutic strategies based on drug delivery for treating severe clinical diseases. Ultimately, we discuss the challenging of developing NP-codelivery and translation and provide potential approaches to address the limitations. This review offers a comprehensive overview for recent cutting-edge and challenging in developing NP-mediated combination therapy for human diseases.

Current research trends of nanomedicines

Owing to the inherent shortcomings of traditional therapeutic drugs in terms of inadequate therapeutic efficacy and toxicity in clinical treatment, nanomedicine designs have received widespread attention with significantly improved efficacy and reduced non-target side effects. Nanomedicines hold tremendous theranostic potential for treating, monitoring, diagnosing, and controlling various diseases and are attracting an unfathomable amount of input of research resources. Against the backdrop of an exponentially growing number of publications, it is imperative to help the audience get a panorama image of the research activities in the field of nanomedicines. Herein, this review elaborates on the development trends of nanomedicines, emerging nanocarriers, in vivo fate and safety of nanomedicines, and their extensive applications. Moreover, the potential challenges and the obstacles hindering the clinical translation of nanomedicines are also discussed. The elaboration on various aspects of the research trends of nanomedicines may help enlighten the readers and set the route for future endeavors.

Advances in drug delivery to atherosclerosis: Investigating the efficiency of different nanomaterials employed for different type of drugs

Atherosclerosis is the build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries, which is the main underlying cause of cardiovascular diseases and the leading cause of global morbidity and mortality. Current pharmaceutical treatment options are unable to effectively treat the plaque in the later stages of the disease. Instead, they are aimed at resolving the risk factors. Nanomaterials and nanoparticle-mediated therapies have become increasingly popular for the treatment of atherosclerosis due to their targeted and controlled release of therapeutics. In this review, we discuss different types of therapeutics used to treat this disease and focus on the different nanomaterial strategies employed for the delivery of these drugs, enabling the effective and efficient resolution of the atherosclerotic plaque. The ideal nanomaterial strategy for each drug type (e.g. statins, nucleic acids, small molecule drugs, peptides) will be comprehensively discussed.

Approved Nanomedicine against Diseases

Nanomedicine is a branch of medicine using nanotechnology to prevent and treat diseases. Nanotechnology represents one of the most effective approaches in elevating a drug's treatment efficacy and reducing toxicity by improving drug solubility, altering biodistribution, and controlling the release. The development of nanotechnology and materials has brought a profound revolution to medicine, significantly affecting the treatment of various major diseases such as cancer, injection, and cardiovascular diseases. Nanomedicine has experienced explosive growth in the past few years. Although the clinical transition of nanomedicine is not very satisfactory, traditional drugs still occupy a dominant position in formulation development, but increasingly active drugs have adopted nanoscale forms to limit side effects and improve efficacy. The review summarized the approved nanomedicine, its indications, and the properties of commonly used nanocarriers and nanotechnology.

Liposomes and liposome-like nanoparticles: From anti-fungal infection to the COVID-19 pandemic treatment

The liposome is the first nanomedicine transformed into the market and applied to human patients. Since then, such phospholipid bilayer vesicles have undergone technological advancements in delivering small molecular-weight compounds and biological drugs. Numerous investigations about liposome uses were conducted in different treatment fields, including anti-tumor, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and clinical analgesia, owing to liposome's ability to reduce drug cytotoxicity and improve the therapeutic efficacy and combinatorial delivery. In particular, two liposomal vaccines were approved in 2021 to combat COVID-19. Herein, the clinically used liposomes are reviewed by introducing various liposomal preparations in detail that are currently proceeding in the clinic or on the market. Finally, we discuss the challenges of developing liposomes and cutting-edge liposomal delivery for biological drugs and combination therapy.