Rational design of polysorbate 80 stabilized human serum albumin nanoparticles tailored for high drug loading and entrapment of irinotecan

Application of a Two-Phase Experiment Design and Optimization Method to Formulate Ciprofloxacin-Loaded Bovine Serum Albumin Nanoparticles with High-Entrapment Efficiency for Targeting Urinary Tract Infections

Urinary tract infections (UTIs), predominantly caused by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC), pose a global health concern due to rising antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation. Albumin nanoparticles (NPs) offer a promising strategy for UTI treatment, with site-specific selectivity, improved bioavailability, and sustained drug release. This study focused on developing an optimized method for formulating ciprofloxacin-loaded albumin nanoparticles (CPF-loaded BSA NPs) to treat UPEC and its biofilms effectively. A desolvation method was used to synthesize the nanoparticles, and a two-phase experimental design was used for optimization. Evaluation parameters included size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, morphology, encapsulation efficiency, drug release, storage stability, cytotoxicity, and effectiveness against UPEC. The optimized CPF-loaded BSA NPs exhibited desirable characteristics such as small particle size (123 nm), low polydispersity index (0.178), optimum zeta potential (-31.8), and high encapsulation efficiency (> 80%). They also exhibited low cytotoxicity, high stability, and sustained drug release, making them an ideal drug delivery system. Critically, they demonstrated effectiveness against UPEC and its biofilm. This study suggests that the optimized CPF-loaded BSA NPs, synthesized using our optimized desolvation technique, hold the potential for effectively treating UTIs caused by UPEC.

An Overview of Biopolymers for Drug Delivery Applications

Nowadays, drug delivery has an important role in medical therapy. The use of biopolymers in developing drug delivery systems (DDSs) is increasingly attracting attention due to their remarkable and numerous advantages, in contrast to conventional polymers. Biopolymers have many advantages (biodegradability, biocompatibility, renewability, affordability, and availability), which are extremely important for developing materials with applications in the biomedical field. Additionally, biopolymers are appropriate when they improve functioning and have a number of positive effects on human life. Therefore, this review presents the most used biopolymers for biomedical applications, especially in drug delivery. In addition, by combining different biopolymers DDSs with tailored functional properties (e.g., physical properties, biodegradability) can be developed. This review summarizes and provides data on the progress of research on biopolymers (chitosan, alginate, starch, cellulose, albumin, silk fibroin, collagen, and gelatin) used in DDSs, their preparation, and mechanism of action.

Quality by design fostered fabrication of cabazitaxel loaded pH-responsive Improved nanotherapeutics against prostate cancer

Cabazitaxel has been approved for the treatment of prostate cancer since 2010. However, its poor solubility and permeability pitfalls prevent its accumulation at the target site and promote severe adverse effects. About 90% of prostate cancer (PCa) patients suffer from bone metastasis. This advent reports the development of CBZ-loaded pH-responsive polydopamine nanoparticles (CBZ NP) against metastatic PCa cells. Quality by design (QbD) and multivariate analysis tools were employed for the optimization of CBZ NP. Amorphisation of CBZ along with metastatic microenvironment responsive release was observed thereby imparting spatial release and circumventing solubility pitfalls. CBZ NP retained its cytotoxic potential, with a significant increase in quantitative cellular uptake. Apoptotic markers observed from nuclear staining with elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial damage revealed by JC-1 staining demonstrated the efficacy of CBZ NP against PC-3 cells with good serum stability and diminished hemolysis. Cell cycle analysis revealed substantial S and G2/M phase arrest with enhancement in apoptosis was observed. Western blot studies revealed an elevation in caspase-1 and suppression in Bcl-2 indicating enhanced apoptosis compared to the control group. Substantial reduction in the diameter of 3D-Tumoroid and enhanced cell proliferation inhibition indicated the efficacy of CBZ NP in PCa. Thus, we conclude that CBZ NP could be a promising Nanotherapeutic approach for PCa.

Quality by design endorsed fabrication of Ibrutinib-loaded human serum albumin nanoparticles for the management of leukemia

Ibrutinib (IB), a BCS class II drug suffers from limited aqueous solubility, short half-life and extensive first-pass metabolism. In this project, we aim to recruit the desirable properties of human serum albumin (HSA) as a biocompatible drug carrier to circumvent nanoparticle-associated drawbacks. Quality by design and multivariate analysis was used for the optimization of IB-NPs. Cell culture studies performed on the K562 cell line revealed that the Ibrutinib-loaded HSA NPs demonstrated improved cytotoxicity, drug uptake, and reactive oxygen species generation in the leukemic K562 cells. Cell cycle analysis revealed G2/M phase retention of the leukemia cells. In vitro protein corona and hemolysis studies revealed superior hematological stability compared to the free drug which showed greater than 40 % hemolysis. In vitro drug release studies showed prolonged release profile till 48 h. Pharmacokinetic studies demonstrated a 2.31-fold increase in AUC and an increase in half-life from 0.43 h to 2.887 h with a tremendous reduction in clearance and elimination rate indicating prolonged systemic circulation which is desirable in leukemia. Hence, we conclude that IB-loaded albumin nanoparticles could be a promising approach for the management of leukemia.

State-of-the-art advances in nanocomposite and bio-nanocomposite polymeric materials: A comprehensive review

The modern eco-friendly materials used in research and innovation today consist of nanocomposites and bio-nanocomposite polymers. Their unique composite properties make them suitable for various industrial, medicinal, and energy applications. Bio-nanocomposite polymers are made of biopolymer matrices that have nanofillers dispersed throughout them. There are several types of fillers that can be added to polymers to enhance their quality, such as cellulose-based fillers, clay nanomaterials, carbon black, talc, carbon quantum dots, and many others. Biopolymer-based nanocomposites are considered a superior alternative to traditional materials as they reduce reliance on fossil fuels and promote the use of renewable resources. This review covers the current state-of-the-art in nanocomposite and bio-nanocomposite materials, focusing on ways to improve their features and the various applications they can be used for. The review article also investigates the utilization of diverse nanocomposites as a viable approach for developing bio-nanocomposites. It delves into the underlying principles that govern the synthesis of these materials and explores their prospective applications in the biomedical field, food packaging, sensing (Immunosensors), and energy storage devices. Lastly, the review discusses the future outlook and current challenges of these materials, with a focus on sustainability.

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.

The interplay of solvent-drug-protein interactions during albumin nanoparticles formulations for temozolomide delivery to brain cancer cells

OBJECTIVES

Temozolomide (TMZ), the first line for glioma therapy, suffers from stability at physiological pH. TMZ was selected as a challenging model drug for loading into human serum albumin nanoparticles (HSA NPs). Our aim is to optimise the conditions for TMZ loading into HSA NPs while ensuring TMZ stability.

METHODS

Blank and TMZ-HSA NPs were fabricated using the de-solvation technique and the effect of different formulation parameters was evaluated.

KEY FINDINGS

For blank NPs, crosslinking time had no significant effect on NPs' size while acetone produced significantly smaller particles than ethanol. Upon drug loading, though TMZ was stable in acetone and ethanol as single agents yet, ethanol-based NPs showed misleadingly high EE% due to drug instability in ethanol formulations as evident by the UV spectrum.The optimum conditions for drug-loaded particles were: 10 mg/ml HSA, 4 mg TMZ using acetone, yielded NPs with 145 nm in diameter, ξ of -16.98 mV and 0.16% DL. The selected formula reduced the cell viabilities of GL261 glioblastoma cells and BL6 glioblastoma stem cells to 61.9% and 38.3%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results corroborated that careful manipulation of TMZ formulation processing parameters is crucial for encapsulating such chemically unstable dug while simultaneously ensuring its chemical stability.

The influence of pH and ionic strength on the interactions between human serum albumin and magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles

Human serum albumin (HSA) is a very well-characterized protein, which has already been used for many biocompatible coatings. We hypothesized binding between HSA and magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (MNPs) as well as HSA coating stability to be pH- and ionic strength-dependent. The impact of phosphate buffer on protein coating was studied at varying pH (6.0, 6.6, and 7.5) and ionic strengths (0.15 and 0.30 M NaCl) using different physicochemical methods. In addition, the stability of HSA coatings on MNPs was studied by means of UV/visible spectrophotometry, dynamic light scattering, and electron magnetic resonance. We used differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to determine the differences in the change of enthalpies and denaturation temperatures of HSA in various buffer conditions and on the surface of the particles. The binding thermodynamics of HSA and MNPs were determined by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), and it was also dependent on pH and ionic strength. The stability of adsorbed layer on MNPs decreases with increasing pH [from weakly acidic (pH 6.0-6.6) to slightly alkaline (pH 7.5)], as well as with an increase of ionic strength. This study develops stable HSA coating on MNPs which might be applied to a wide range of biomedical applications.

The Development of the Innovative Synthesis Methodology of Albumin Nanoparticles Supported by Their Physicochemical, Cytotoxic and Hemolytic Evaluation

Many studies are being performed to develop effective carriers for controlled cytostatic delivery wherein albumin is a promising material due to its tendency to accumulate near cancer cells. The novelty of this work involves the development of the synthesis methodology of albumin nanoparticles and their biological and physicochemical evaluation. Albumin particles were obtained via the salt-induced precipitation and K3PO4 was used as a salting-out agent. Various concentrations of protein and salting-out agent solutions were mixed using a burette or a syringe system. It was proved that the size of the particles depended on the concentrations of the reagents and the methodology applied. As a result of a process performed using a burette and 2 M K3PO4, albumin spheres having a size 5-25 nm were obtained. The size of nanospheres and their spherical shape was confirmed via TEM analysis. The use of a syringe system led to preparation of particles of large polydispersity. The highest albumin concentration allowing for synthesis of homogeneous particles was 2 g/L. The presence of albumin in spheres was confirmed via the FT-IR technique and UV-Vis spectroscopy. All samples showed no cytotoxicity towards normal human dermal fibroblasts and no hemolytic properties against human erythrocytes (the hemolysis did not exceed 2.5%).

Nebulised surface-active hybrid nanoparticles of voriconazole for pulmonary Aspergillosis demonstrate clathrin-mediated cellular uptake, improved antifungal efficacy and lung retention

BACKGROUND

Incidence of pulmonary aspergillosis is rising worldwide, owing to an increased population of immunocompromised patients. Notable potential of the pulmonary route has been witnessed in antifungal delivery due to distinct advantages of direct lung targeting and first-pass evasion. The current research reports biomimetic surface-active lipid-polymer hybrid (LPH) nanoparticles (NPs) of voriconazole, employing lung-specific lipid, i.e., dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine and natural biodegradable polymer, i.e., chitosan, to augment its pulmonary deposition and retention, following nebulization.

RESULTS

The developed nanosystem exhibited a particle size in the range of 228-255 nm and drug entrapment of 45-54.8%. Nebulized microdroplet characterization of NPs dispersion revealed a mean diameter of  ≤ 5 μm, corroborating its deep lung deposition potential as determined by next-generation impactor studies. Biophysical interaction of LPH NPs with lipid-monolayers indicated their surface-active potential and ease of intercalation into the pulmonary surfactant membrane at the air-lung interface. Cellular viability and uptake studies demonstrated their cytocompatibility and time-and concentration-dependent uptake in lung-epithelial A549 and Calu-3 cells with clathrin-mediated internalization. Transepithelial electrical resistance experiments established their ability to penetrate tight airway Calu-3 monolayers. Antifungal studies on laboratory strains and clinical isolates depicted their superior efficacy against Aspergillus species. Pharmacokinetic studies revealed nearly 5-, 4- and threefolds enhancement in lung AUC, Tmax, and MRT values, construing significant drug access and retention in lungs.

CONCLUSIONS

Nebulized LPH NPs were observed as a promising solution to provide effective and safe therapy for the management of pulmonary aspergillosis infection with improved patient compliance and avoidance of systemic side-effects.

A novel stability-indicating analytical method development for simultaneous determination of carboplatin and decitabine from nanoparticles

Drug resistance is one of the main problems of cancer treatment. For this reason, combination therapy is commonly used for years. The combination of a chemotherapeutic, carboplatin, and the epigenetic drug decitabine is a new approach to modulate drug resistance. Nanoparticulate systems can overcome the drawbacks associated with the drug combinations. An analytical method that can detect and quantify carboplatin and decitabine which is encapsulated into the nanoparticles is necessary for nanoparticle development. In the literature, there is no analytical method in which carboplatin and decitabine are determined simultaneously. The primary purpose of this study is to develop and validate a novel, and stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatography method for simultaneous determination of carboplatin and decitabine in pharmaceutical preparations in addition to developing the first nanoformulation for this drug combination. Therefore, various experimental parameters were optimized. The chromatographic separation was achieved using an XSelect^® CSH C18 (250 × 4.6 mm I.D., 5 µm) column and a mobile phase consisting of methanol:water (containing 0.1% phosphoric acid) (3:97, v/v). The mobile phase pH was adjusted to 7.0 with 5 M NaOH. The developed method was successfully applied for the simultaneous determination and quantification of carboplatin and decitabine co-encapsulated in nanoparticles and released into in vitro dissolution medium.

T807-modified human serum albumin biomimetic nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier

Novel biocompatible Human Serum Albumin (HSA) nanoparticles composed of membrane of erythrocytes (ETm)-coated and DSPE-PEG₃₄₀₀-T807 segments have been designed for sustained drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The nanoparticles have developed by induced albumin self-assembly with glutathione as reducing agent. The chemical, physical and biocompatible properties of the T807/ETm-HSA nanoparticles have been characterised by hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering and confocal laser scanning microscopy techniques. The unique targeting properties of the nanoparticles after fabrication with the brain-targeted ligand T807 was demonstrated by their attaching to brain cells as well as their enhanced transport ability to cross the BBB. In a further demonstration of their ability to target brain cells, in vivo living imaging revealed that T807/ETm-HSA nanoparticles accumulated in the mice brain after intravenous injection. The surface modification of ETm/HSA nanoparticles with the brain-targeted T807 demonstrated in this work represents a highly novel and effective strategy to provide efficient brain targeting and shows promise for the future in using modified ETm-coated HSA nanoparticles to penetrate the brain.

Resveratrol loaded glycyrrhizic acid-conjugated human serum albumin nanoparticles for tail vein injection II: pharmacokinetics, tissue distribution and bioavailability

There are many kinds of biological activities of resveratrol itself, but its clinical application is limited by its poor solubility in water and low bioavailability. Therefore, we have prepared glycyrrhizic acid-conjugated human serum albumin nanoparticles wrapping resveratrol nanoparticles (GL-HSA-RESNPs). The purpose of this study was to investigate the bioavailability, pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of resveratrol in rats after single-dose tail vein injection administration of GL-HSA-RESNPs. A sensitive and reliable high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was established to verify the content of resveratrol in rat plasma and organs. The C_max value after GL-HSA-RESNPs administration was significantly higher than that of resveratrol suspension (933 ± 76.64 ng/mL vs. 618 ± 42.54 ng/mL, p < .01). The T_max value obtained after GL-HSA-RESNPs administration was significantly shorter than that after resveratrol suspension administration (0.17 ± 0.01 h vs. 0.25 ± 0.01 h, p < .001). The bioavailability of GL-HSA-RESNPs was 4.25 times higher than that of the pure resveratrol. The concentration of resveratrol in the main organs of rats treated with the GL-HSA-RESNPs was higher than that in rats treated with the pure resveratrol. Rats treated with GL-HSA-RESNPs had the highest concentration of resveratrol in their liver. It is indicated that GL-HSA-RESNPs is a promising liver-targeted delivery system that improves the in vivo bioavailability of resveratrol.

Albumin nanoscience: homing nanotechnology enabling targeted drug delivery and therapy

Albumin is a biocompatible, non-immunogenic and versatile drug carrier system. It has been widely used to extend the half-life, enhance stability, provide protection from degradation and allow specific targeting of therapeutic agents to various disease states. Understanding the role of albumin as a drug delivery and distribution system has increased remarkably in the recent years from the development of albumin-binding prodrugs to albumin as a drug carrier system. The extraordinary surface property of albumin makes it possible to bind various endogenous and exogenous molecules. This review succinctly deals with several albumin-drug conjugates and nanoparticles along with their preparation techniques and focuses on surface-modified albumin and targeting of albumin formulation to specific organs and tissues. It also summarizes research efforts on albumin nanoparticles used for delivering drugs to tumor cells and describes their role in permeation through tumor vasculature and in receptor mediated endocytosis, which is also described in this review. The versatility of albumin and ease of preparation makes it a suitable drug carrier system, swhich is the major objective of this review.

Topoisomerase inhibitors: Pharmacology and emerging nanoscale delivery systems

Topoisomerase enzymes have shown unique roles in replication and transcription. These enzymes which were initially found in Escherichia coli have attracted considerable attention as target molecules for cancer therapy. Nowadays, there are several topoisomerase inhibitors in the market to treat or at least control the progression of cancer. However, significant toxicity, low solubility and poor pharmacokinetic properties have limited their wide application and these characteristics need to be improved. Nano-delivery systems have provided an opportunity to modify the intrinsic properties of molecules and also to transfer the toxic agent to the target tissues. These delivery systems leads to the re-introduction of existing molecules present in the market as novel therapeutic agents with different physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties. This review focusses on a variety of nano-delivery vehicles used for the improvement of pharmacological properties of topoisomerase inhibitors and thus enabling their potential application as novel drugs in the market.

High Potency of SN-38-Loaded Bovine Serum Albumin Nanoparticles Against Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive type of breast cancer with a worse prognosis than other types. There are currently no specific approved treatments for TNBC. Albumin is a promising biomimetic material that may be fabricated into nanoparticles to possibly exert passive effects on targeted tumors. Irinotecan has been extensively used in clinical settings, although a high dosage is required due to its low efficiency of conversion into the active metabolite SN-38, also known as 7-ethyl-10-hydroxy-camptothecin. The aim of this work was to optimize SN-38-loaded bovine serum albumin nanoparticles (sBSANPs) and evaluate their potency against TNBC. The sBSANPs were characterized by a small size of about 134-264 nm, a negative charge of -37 to -40 mV, an entrapment efficiency of 59-71%, and a particle yield of 65-86%. The cytotoxicity assays using sBSANPs showed a higher potency specifically against both MDA-MB-468 and MDA-MB-231 cells (ER-, PR-, HER2-) compared to MCF-7 (ER+, PR+, HER2-), and exhibited an extremely low IC₅₀ at the nanomolar levels (2.01-6.82 nM). The release profiles indicated that SN-38 presented an initial burst release within 12 h, and sBSANPs had a slow release pattern. Flow cytometry results showed that the fluorescence intensity of sBSANPs was significantly higher than that of the control group. The confocal images also confirmed that sBSANPs were taken up by MDA-MB-468 cells. Moreover, we found that a larger BSANP size resulted in an increased hemolytic effect. In vivo animal studies demonstrated that loading of SN-38 into bovine serum albumin nanoparticles could minimize the initial concentration without extending the elimination half-life, but significantly minimized the Cmax (p < 0.001) as compared with irinotecan treatment.