A glutathione-responsive silica-based nanosystem capped with in-situ polymerized cell-penetrating poly(disulfide)s for precisely modulating immuno-inflammatory responses

Nanomaterials: innovative approaches for addressing key objectives in periodontitis treatment

Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease primarily caused by dental plaque, which is a significant global public health concern due to its high prevalence and severe impact on oral, and even systemic diseases. The current therapeutic plan focuses on three objectives: pathogenic bacteria inhibition, inflammation control, and osteogenic differentiation induction. Existing treatments still have plenty of drawbacks, thus, there is a pressing need for novel methods to achieve more effective treatment effects. Nanomaterials, as emerging materials, have been proven to exert their inherent biological properties or serve as stable drug delivery platforms, which may offer innovative solutions in periodontitis treatment. Nanomaterials utilized in periodontitis treatment fall into two categories, organic and inorganic nanomaterials. Organic nanomaterials are known for their biocompatibility and their potential to promote tissue regeneration and cell functions, including natural and synthetic polymers. Inorganic nanomaterials, such as metal, oxides, and mesoporous silica nanoparticles, exhibit unique physicochemical properties that make them suitable as antibacterial agents and drug delivery platforms. The inorganic nanosurface provides terrain induction for cell migration and osteogenic regeneration at defect sites by introducing different surface morphologies. Inorganic nanomaterials also play a role in antibacterial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) for eliminating pathogenic bacteria in the oral cavity. In this review, we will introduce multiple forms and applications of nanomaterials in periodontitis treatment and focus on their roles in addressing the key therapeutic objectives, to emphasize their promising future in achieving more effective and patient-friendly approaches toward periodontal tissue regeneration and overall health.

Effect of chitosan/dioleyl phosphatidyl ethanolamine - Baicalein nanohydrogel in the treatment of rat with periodontitis

Objective

this work aimed to investigate the effectiveness of chitosan (CS)/dioleyl phosphatidyl ethanolamine (DOPE) - baicalein (CS/DOPE-BAE) nanohydrogel as a novel drug delivery system for the treatment of periodontitis in rats.

Materials and methods

the CS/DOPE-BAE nanohydrogel was synthesized and characterized for its morphology, particle size (PS), drug loading, and release properties. A rat periodontitis model was established, and the rats were randomly assigned to four groups, receiving treatment of normal saline, CS/DOPE blank nanohydrogel, baicalein solution, and CS/DOPE-BAE nanohydrogel through local injection, respectively. Clinical symptoms, periodontal tissue morphology, and the levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and IL-10 in the periodontal tissue were observed and compared.

Results

the CS/DOPE-BAE nanohydrogel exhibited a spherical shape with a PS of approximately 200 nm and a drug loading of 8.6 %. It demonstrated excellent sustained-release properties. The group treated with CS/DOPE-BAE nanohydrogel showed significant improvement in clinical symptoms, such as reduced gingival redness and bleeding in rats, decreased inflammatory cell infiltration, and weakened fibroblast proliferation in the periodontal tissue. Additionally, IL-1β and TNF-α levels were downregulated, while IL-10 level was elevated.

Conclusion

the CS/DOPE-BAE nanohydrogel was an effective baicalein delivery system that can inhibit the progression of periodontitis, improve the inflammatory response in periodontal tissue, and deliver promising therapeutic effects.

Nano-based theranostic approaches for infection control: current status and perspectives

Nano-based theranostic platforms constructed from various nanomaterials possess unique advantages in tackling bacterial and fungal infections while detecting pathogenic cells, making them a potential modality for addressing global healthcare burdens.

Nanoparticle-Mediated Delivery of Flavonoids: Impact on Proinflammatory Cytokine Production: A Systematic Review

Flavonoids are a diverse group of plant-derived compounds that have been shown to have various health benefits, including anti-inflammatory effects. However, their use in the treatment of inflammatory diseases has been limited due to their low bioavailability. The nanoparticle-mediated delivery of flavonoids has been proposed as a potential solution to this issue, as it allows the sustained release of the flavonoids over time. There are several different nanoparticle systems that have been developed for flavonoid delivery, including polymeric nanoparticles, liposomes, and inorganic nanoparticles. This systematic review aims to evaluate the impact of nanoparticle-mediated delivery of flavonoids on pro-inflammatory cytokine production in various diseases. We analyzed the performance of flavonoid-encapsulated nanoparticles in regulating cytokine production in different in vitro and in vivo studies. To this end, we followed the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) to conduct a comprehensive search of the literature and to assess the quality of the included studies. The results showed that flavonoid-encapsulated nanoparticles significantly downregulated pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-18. In some cases, this effect was significantly greater than that observed with non-encapsulated flavonoids These findings suggest that nanoparticle-mediated delivery of flavonoids may have potential as a therapeutic approach for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Advances in cell-penetrating poly(disulfide)s for intracellular delivery of therapeutics

Efficient intracellular delivery is essential for most therapeutic agents; however, existing delivery vectors face a dilemma between efficiency and toxicity, and always encounter the challenge of endolysosomal trapping. The cell-penetrating poly(disulfide) (CPD) is an effective tool for intracellular delivery, as it is taken up through thiol-mediated cellular uptake, thus avoiding endolysosomal entrapment and ensuring efficient cytosolic availability. Upon cellular uptake, CPD undergoes reductive depolymerization by glutathione inside cells and has minimal cytotoxicity. This review summarizes CPD's chemical synthesis approaches, cellular uptake mechanism, and recent advances in the intracellular delivery of proteins, antibodies, nucleic acids, and other nanoparticles. Overall, CPD is a promising candidate carrier for efficient intracellular delivery.

Combined chemo and photo therapy of programmable prodrug carriers to overcome delivery barriers against nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Indocyanine green (ICG) has been employed in medical diagnostics due to its superior photophysical characteristics. However, these advantages are offset by its quick body clearance and inferior photo-stability. In this work, programmable prodrug carriers for chemotherapy/PDT/PTT against nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) were created in order to increase photo-stability and get around biochemical hurdles. The programmable prodrug carriers (PEG-PLA@DIT-PAMAM) that proactively penetrated deeply into NPC tumors and produced the deep phototherapy and selective drug release under laser irradiation was created by dendrimer-DOX/ICG/TPP (DIT-PAMAM) and PEGylated poly (α-lipoic acid) (PLA) copolymer. Long circulation times and minimal toxicity to mammalian cells are two benefits of PEG-coated carriers. The overexpressed GSH on the tumor cell or vascular endothelial cell of the NPC disintegrated the PEG-g-PLA chains and released the DIT-PAMAM nanoparticles after the carriers had reached the NPC tumor periphery. Small, positively charged DIT-PAMAM nanoparticles may penetrate tumors effectively and remain inside tumor for an extended period of time. In addition, the induced ROS cleaved the thioketal linkers for both DOX and nanoparticles and product hyperthermia (PTT) to kill cancer cells under laser irradiation, facilitating faster diffusion of nanoparticles and more effective tumor penetration with a programmable publication of DOX. The programmable prodrug carries showed high photo-stability high photo-stability, which enabled very effective PDT, PTT, and tumor-specific DOX release. With the goal of combining the effects of chemotherapy, PDT, and PTT against NPC, this research showed the great efficacy of programmable prodrug carriers.

Emerging Bioactive Agent Delivery-Based Regenerative Therapies for Lower Genitourinary Tissues

Injury to lower genitourinary (GU) tissues, which may result in either infertility and/or organ dysfunctions, threatens the overall health of humans. Bioactive agent-based regenerative therapy is a promising therapeutic method. However, strategies for spatiotemporal delivery of bioactive agents with optimal stability, activity, and tunable delivery for effective sustained disease management are still in need and present challenges. In this review, we present the advancements of the pivotal components in delivery systems, including biomedical innovations, system fabrication methods, and loading strategies, which may improve the performance of delivery systems for better regenerative effects. We also review the most recent developments in the application of these technologies, and the potential for delivery-based regenerative therapies to treat lower GU injuries. Recent progress suggests that the use of advanced strategies have not only made it possible to develop better and more diverse functionalities, but also more precise, and smarter bioactive agent delivery systems for regenerative therapy. Their application in lower GU injury treatment has achieved certain effects in both patients with lower genitourinary injuries and/or in model animals. The continuous evolution of biomaterials and therapeutic agents, advances in three-dimensional printing, as well as emerging techniques all show a promising future for the treatment of lower GU-related disorders and dysfunctions.

Polymeric Nanotechnologies for the Treatment of Periodontitis: A Chronological Review

Periodontitis is a chronic infectious and inflammatory disease of periodontal tissues estimated to affect 70 - 80 % of all adults. At the same time, periodontium, the site of periodontal pathologies, is an extraordinarily complex plexus of soft and hard tissues, the regeneration of which using even the most advanced forms of tissue engineering continues to be a challenge. Nanotechnologies, meanwhile, have provided exquisite tools for producing biomaterials and pharmaceutical formulations capable of elevating the efficacies of standard pharmacotherapies and surgical approaches to whole new levels. A bibliographic analysis provided here demonstrates a continuously increasing research output of studies on the use of nanotechnologies in the management of periodontal disease, even when they are normalized to the total output of studies on periodontitis. The great majority of biomaterials used to tackle periodontitis, including those that pioneered this interesting field, have been polymeric. In this article, a chronological review of polymeric nanotechnologies for the treatment of periodontitis is provided, focusing on the major conceptual innovations since the late 1990s, when the first nanostructures for the treatment of periodontal diseases were fabricated. In the opening sections, the etiology and pathogenesis of periodontitis and the anatomical and histological characteristics of the periodontium are being described, along with the general clinical manifestations of the disease and the standard means of its therapy. The most prospective chemistries in the design of polymers for these applications are also elaborated. It is concluded that the amount of innovation in this field is on the rise, despite the fact that most studies are focused on the refinement of already established paradigms in tissue engineering rather than on the development of revolutionary new concepts.