Thermal-triggered loading and GSH-responsive releasing property of HBc particles for drug delivery

Prominent supramolecular systems for cancer Therapy: From structural design to tailored applications

Supramolecular materials represent a powerful class of platforms in cancer diagnosis and therapy, owing to their dynamic architectures, stimuli responsiveness, and high biocompatibility. This review focused on three representative categories-Pillarene-based systems, virus-mimetic nanoparticles (VMNs), and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)-each offering unique structural and functional properties. Pillarene-based assemblies enable precise host-guest interactions, by being classified into amphiphilic, ionic, and chiral varieties, the robust drug loading and controlled release capabilities of the Pillarene family were emphasized. At the same time, the VMNs, including virus-like particles and virosomes, show power in cancer cell targeting and membrane penetration by emulating natural viral architectures. By discussing the fabrication and application of single-metallic, multi-metallic, and composite MOFs, their potential in multimodal diagnosis and therapy was revealed. In addition, other supramolecular categories, such as cyclodextrin and dendrimers, were introduced as well. We highlighted representative approaches and emerging methods, and comparative perspectives with traditional nanocarriers were included. A critical evaluation of pharmacokinetic behaviors, biosafety concerns, and translational limitations was also proposed, aiming to guide future research in supramolecular cancer nanomedicine. Through an integrative and forward-looking analysis, this review provided a comprehensive framework for understanding and designing supramolecular systems for precision oncology. These emerging nanotechnologies hold promise to reshape cancer medicine by enabling adaptive, targeted, and multifunctional therapeutic strategies.

Nanoarchitecting intelligently encapsulated designs for improved cancer therapy

Despite the success in exploring various aspects of origination and therapeutic strategies, cancer has remained one of the most dreadful metabolic disorders due to failure to eradicate tumors comprehensively and frequent recurrence because of acquired resistance to the drugs. Recently, several advancements have been evidenced in the fabrication of various smart nanocarriers encapsulated with multiple components. Several reasons for smart nanoencapsulation include the enhancement of the bioavailability of drugs, precise targetability to reduce adverse effects on normal cells, and the ability to enable controlled drug release rates at the tumor sites. In addition, these smart nanocarriers protect encapsulated therapeutic cargo from deactivation, responsively delivering it based on the physiological or pathological characteristics of tumors. In this review, we present various smart approaches for cancer therapy, including organic materials, inorganic components, and their composites, as well as biomembrane-based nanoencapsulation strategies. These nanoencapsulation strategies, along with practical applications and their potential in cancer treatment, are discussed in depth, highlighting advantages and disadvantages, as well as aiming to reveal the ultimate prospects of nanoencapsulation in enhancing drug delivery efficiency and targeted cancer therapy.

Investigating the stability of chimeric murine polyomavirus VP1 Capsomeres via molecular dynamics simulations and experimental analysis

The development of modular virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine platforms with genetically inserted antigens in viral structural proteins shows great promise for advancing vaccine technology. However, the instability of many constructs leads to trial-and-error approaches, and the challenge of predicting stability based solely on amino acid sequences remains unresolved, yet highly appealing. This study evaluates the stability of wild-type murine polyomavirus (MPV) VP1 capsomeres and three engineered chimeric variants using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and laboratory experiments. MD simulations, based on AlphaFold2 predictions and up-to-date all-atom force fields, accurately predicted the thermal stability and hydrophobicity of VP1-based capsomeres. Thermodynamic analysis revealed that binding energies from simulations reliably indicate thermal stability. Experiments and simulation results showed that inserts influence the stability of capsomeres differently, with larger insertions generally having a greater impact on the structures of capsomeres. This leads to increased intra-subunit distances and a higher proportion of flexible regions in the capsomere chassis. Capsomeres with less compact structures were found to have lower thermal stability. Specifically, the thermal transitional temperature (Tm) of the wild-type capsomeres was 46.9 °C, while the Tm values of the three chimeric derivatives were 42.0 °C, 38.8 °C, and 37.7 °C, reflecting a correlation between decreased thermal stability and reduced structural compactness. This research presents a robust approach for predicting the stability of novel VLP constructs based on amino acid sequences, potentially enhancing vaccine design by reducing failures, and suggests a shift towards minimal epitope insertions for improved stability.

Tailored design of NHS-SS-NHS cross-linked chitosan nano-hydrogels for enhanced anti-tumor efficacy by GSH-responsive drug release

The traditional chemotherapeutic agents' disadvantages such as high toxicity, untargeting and poor water solubility lead to disappointing chemotherapy effects, which restricts its clinical application. In this work, novel size-appropriate and glutathione (GSH)-responsive nano-hydrogels were successfully prepared via the active ester method between chitosan (containing -NH2) and cross-linker (containing NHS). Especially, the cross-linker was elaborately designed to possess a disulfide linkage (SS) as well as two terminal NHS groups, namely NHS-SS-NHS. These functionalities endowed chitosan-based cross-linked scaffolds with capabilities for drug loading and delivery, as well as a GSH-responsive mechanism for drug release. The prepared nano-hydrogels demonstrated excellent performance applicable morphology, excellent drug loading efficiency (∼22.5%), suitable size (∼100 nm) and long-term stability. The prepared nano-hydrogels released over 80% doxorubicin (DOX) after incubation in 10 mM GSH while a minimal DOX release less than 25% was tested in normal physiological buffer (pH = 7.4). The unloaded nano-hydrogels did not show any apparent cytotoxicity to A 549 cells. In contrast, DOX-loaded nano-hydrogels exhibited marked anti-tumor activity against A 549 cells, especially in high GSH environment. Finally, through fluorescent imaging and flow cytometry analysis, fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled nano-hydrogels show obvious specific binding to the GSH high-expressing A549 cells and nonspecific binding to the GSH low-expressing A549 cells. Therefore, with this cross-linking approach, our present finding suggests that cross-linked chitosan nano-hydrogel drug carrier improves the anti-tumor effect of the A 549 cells and may serve as a potential injectable delivery carrier.

Thermally-responsive and reduced glutathione-sensitive folate-targeted nanocarrier based on alginate and pluronic F127 for on-demand release of methotrexate

A specific rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-microenvironment-triggered nanocarrier for RA treatment of a first-line antirheumatic drug (Methotrexate, MTX) has been proposed. Reduced glutathione (GSH) responsivity, cystamine, was first introduced on the alginate backbone, which was then used as the bridge to connect pluronic F127 (temperature-responsive factor) and folic acid (targeting factor for active immune cells), resulting in dual-responsive triggered targeting carrier, PCAC-FA. In vitro study demonstrated that PCAC-FA was preferentially taken up by activated macrophage cells rather than normal ones, suggesting the targeting of PCAC-FA to inflamed tissue. The loading capacity of the designed carrier was 21.23 ± 0.91 %. MTX from the PCAC-FA carrier was significantly accelerated release in the presentation of glutathione or in cold shock condition, proposing the efficacy-controlled release. MTX@PCAC-FA showed excellent hemocompatibility, confirming a suitable application with parenteral administration. Notably, the acute and subacute toxicity in the mice model showed that the toxicity of MTX had significantly reduced after encapsulating in the PCAC-FA carrier. These nanoplatforms not only provide an alternative safe strategy for the clinical treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with MTX but also deliver MTX selectively and provide on-demand drug release via external and internal signals, thus emerging as a promising therapeutic option for precise RA therapy.

In situ bio-mineralized Mn nanoadjuvant enhances anti-influenza immunity of recombinant virus-like particle vaccines

Virus like particles (VLPs) have been well recognized as one of the most important vaccine platforms due to their structural similarity to natural viruses to induce effective humoral and cellular immune responses. Nevertheless, lack of viral nucleic acids in VLPs usually leads the vaccine candidates less efficient in provoking innate immune against viral infection. Here, we constructed a biomimetic dual antigen hybrid influenza nanovaccines THM-HA@Mn with robust immunogenicity via in situ synthesizing a stimulator of interferon genes (STING) agonist Mn3O4 inside the cavity of a recombinant Hepatitis B core antigen VLP (HBc VLP) having fused SpyTag and influenza M2e antigen peptides (Tag-HBc-M2e, THM for short), followed by conjugating a recombinant hemagglutinin (rHA) antigen on the surface of the nanoparticles through SpyTag/SpyCatcher ligating. Such inside Mn3O4 immunostimulator-outside rHA antigen design, together with the chimeric M2e antigen on the HBc skeleton, enabled the synthesized hybrid nanovaccines THM-HA@Mn to well imitate the spatial distribution of M2e/HA antigens and immunostimulant in natural influenza virus. In vitro cellular experiments indicated that compared with the THM-HA antigen without Mn3O4 and a mixture vaccine consisting of THM-HA + MnOx, the THM-HA@Mn hybrid nanovaccines showed the highest efficacies in dendritic cells uptake and in promoting BMDC maturation, as well as inducing expression of TNF-α and type I interferon IFN-β. The THM-HA@Mn also displayed the most sustained antigen release at the injection site, the highest efficacies in promoting the DC maturation in lymph nodes and germinal center B cells activation in the spleen of the immunized mice. The co-delivery of immunostimulant and antigens enabled the THM-HA@Mn nanovaccines to induce the highest systemic antigen-specific antibody responses and cellular immunogenicity in mice. Together with the excellent colloid dispersion stability, low cytotoxicity, as well as good biosafety, the synthetic hybrid nanovaccines presented in this study offers a promising strategy to design VLP-based vaccine with robust natural and adaptive immunogenicity against emerging viral pathogens.