Development of curcumin and docetaxel co-loaded actively targeted PLGA nanoparticles to overcome blood brain barrier

Nanoparticles with curcumin and piperine modulate steroid biosynthesis in prostate cancer

Endogenous androgens are pivotal in the development and progression of prostate cancer (PC). We investigated nanoparticle formulations of curcumin and piperine in modulating steroidogenesis within PC cells. Using multiple PC cell lines (LNCaP, VCaP, DU145 and PC3) we studied the effects of curcumin, piperine, and their nanoparticle formulations-curcumin nanoparticles, piperine nanoparticles, and curcumin-piperine nanoparticles (CPN)-on cell viability, migration, and steroid biosynthesis. Curcumin and its nanoparticle formulations significantly reduced cell viability in PC cells, with curcumin-piperine nanoparticles showing the highest efficacy. These treatments also inhibited cell migration, with CPN exhibiting the most pronounced effect. In assays for steroid biosynthesis, curcumin, and its nanoparticle formulations, as well as piperine and its nanoparticles, selectively inhibited 17α-hydroxylase and 17,20-lyase activities of cytochrome P450 17A1 (CYP17A1). Abiraterone, a CYP17A1 inhibitor, displayed a broader inhibition of steroid metabolism including cytochrome P450 21-hydroxylase activity, whereas curcumin and piperine provided a more targeted inhibition profile. Analysis of steroid metabolites by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed that CPN caused significant reduction of androstenedione and cortisol, suggesting potential synergistic effects. In conclusion, nanoformulations co-loaded with curcumin and piperine offer an effective approach to targeting steroidogenesis and could be promising candidates for therapies aimed at managing androgen-dependent PC.

A novel approach to glioblastoma multiforme treatment using modulation of key pathways by naturally occurring small molecules

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the fatal primary brain malignancy in adults, represents significant health challenges, and its eradication has been the ultimate goal of numerous medical investigations. GBM therapy encompasses various interventions, e.g., chemotherapy by synthetic cytotoxic agents like temozolomide (TMZ), radiotherapy, and, more recently, immunotherapy. A notable focus has been on incorporating naturally occurring substances in treating malignancies. Polyphenols and terpenoids, widely present in fruits and vegetables, constitute primary categories of agents employed for this purpose. They pose direct and indirect impacts on tumor growth and chemoresistance, mainly through impacting the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling, crucial in cellular processes, metabolism, and programmed death. This paper thoroughly discusses the biologic effects and practical application of polyphenols and terpenoids on GBM through the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling in vitro and in vivo.

Ophthalmic In Situ Nanocomposite Gel for Delivery of a Hydrophobic Antioxidant

The topical administration of in situ hydrogels for ocular pathologies is a promising application strategy for providing high effectiveness and patient compliance. Curcumin, a natural polyphenol, possesses all the prerequisites for successful therapy of ophthalmic diseases, but unfortunately its physicochemical properties hurdle the practical use. Applying a composite in situ thermoresponsive hydrogel formulation embedded with polymer nanoparticles is a potent strategy to overcome all the identified drawbacks. In the present work we prepared uniform spherical nanoparticles (296.4 ± 3.1 nm) efficiently loaded with curcumin (EE% 82.5 ± 2.3%) based on the biocompatible and biodegradable poly-(lactic-co-glycolic acid). They were thoroughly physicochemically characterized in terms of FTIR, SEM, TGA, and DLS, in vitro release following Fickian diffusion (45.62 ± 2.37%), and stability over 6 months. Their lack of cytotoxicity was demonstrated in vitro on HaCaT cell lines, and the potential for antioxidant protection was also outlined, starting from concentrations as low as 0.1 µM and reaching 41% protection at 5 µM. An in situ thermoresponsive hydrogel (17% w/v poloxamer 407 and 0.1% Carbopol) with suitable properties for ophthalmic application was optimized with respect to gelation temperature (31.40 ± 0.36 °C), gelling time (8.99 ± 0.28 s) upon tears dilution, and gel erosion (90.75 ± 4.06%). Upon curcumin-loaded nanoparticle embedding, the in situ hydrogels demonstrated appropriate pseudoplastic behavior and viscosity at 35 °C (2129 ± 24 Pa∙s), 6-fold increase in the permeation, and prolonged release over 6 h.

Comparison of Drug Delivery Systems with Different Types of Nanoparticles in Terms of Cellular Uptake and Responses in Human Endothelial Cells, Pericytes, and Astrocytes

Background/Objectives: The key components of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) are endothelial cells, pericytes, astrocytes, and the capillary basement membrane. The BBB serves as the main barrier for drug delivery to the brain and is the most restrictive endothelial barrier in the body. Nearly all large therapeutic molecules and over 90% of small-molecule drugs cannot cross the BBB. To overcome this challenge, nanotechnology, particularly drug delivery systems such as nanoparticles (NPs), have gained significant attention. Methods: Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and albumin-based NPs (bovine/human), with or without transferrin (Tf) ligands (BSA, HSA, BSA-Tf, HSA-Tf), and nanolipid carriers (NLC) were synthesized. The interactions of these NPs with human brain microvascular endothelial cells (hBMECs), human brain vascular pericytes (hBVPs), and human astrocytes (hASTROs) were analyzed. Results: At doses of 15.62 µg/mL, 31.25 µg/mL, and 62.5 µg/mL, none of the NPs caused toxic effects on hBMECs, hBVPs, or hASTROs after 3 h of incubation. All NPs were internalized by the cells, but BSA-Tf and HSA-Tf showed significantly higher uptake in hBMECs in a dose-dependent manner. Ultrastructural analysis revealed notable differences between NP formulation and cell type. Conclusions: Our findings underscore the potential of ligand-targeted NPs to selectively interact with BBB endothelial cells. Ultrastructural analysis reveals distinct cellular processing pathways for various NP formulations across BBB-associated cell types, with autophagy emerging as a crucial mechanism for NP handling in pericytes and astrocytes. Changes in NP chemical properties upon biological exposure present significant challenges for nanomedicine design, emphasizing the need for further investigation into NP interactions at the cellular and subcellular levels.

Recent Advances and Challenges in Targeted Drug Delivery Using Biofunctional Coatings

Globally, clinics are overwhelmed by drugs targeting undesired cells and organs, causing adverse systemic effects on the body. This shortfall in targeting specificity, safety, and efficiency has noticeably contributed to the failure of the bench-to-bedside transition. Activation or impairment of immune activity due to a misdirected drug and its carrier fuels complications, extending the range of destruction which can convert the course of disease into a life-threatening route. To address these great challenges, advanced coatings as indispensable components of future medicine have been investigated over the last few decades for precisely targeted drug delivery to achieve favorable prognoses in the treatment of a broad spectrum of diseases. Complemented by advancements in the pharmacological parameters, these systems hold great promise for the field. This chapter aims to discuss recent progress on new coatings for targeted drug delivery and the parameters for manufacturing these platforms for their cargo based on major determinants such as biocompatibility and bioactivity. A brief overview of the various applications of targeted drug delivery with functional coatings is also provided to offer a new perspective on the field.

Combination chemotherapy via poloxamer 188 surface-modified PLGA nanoparticles that traverse the blood-brain-barrier in a glioblastoma model

The effect of chemotherapy for anti-glioblastoma is limited due to insufficient drug delivery across the blood-brain-barrier. Poloxamer 188-coated nanoparticles can enhance the delivery of nanoparticles across the blood-brain-barrier. This study presents the design, preparation, and evaluation of a combination of PLGA nanoparticles (PLGA NPs) loaded with methotrexate (P-MTX NPs) and PLGA nanoparticles loaded with paclitaxel (P-PTX NPs), both of which were surface-modified with poloxamer188. Cranial tumors were induced by implanting C6 cells in a rat model and MRI demonstrated that the tumors were indistinguishable in the two rats with P-MTX NPs + P-PTX NPs treated groups. Brain PET scans exhibited a decreased brain-to-background ratio which could be attributed to the diminished metabolic tumor volume. The expression of Ki-67 as a poor prognosis factor, was significantly lower in P-MTX NPs + P-PTX NPs compared to the control. Furthermore, the biodistribution of PLGA NPs was determined by carbon quantum dots loaded into PLGA NPs (P-CQD NPs), and quantitative analysis of ex-vivo imaging of the dissected organs demonstrated that 17.2 ± 0.6% of the NPs were concentrated in the brain after 48 h. The findings highlight the efficacy of combination nanochemotherapy in glioblastoma treatment, indicating the need for further preclinical studies.

Innovative Delivery Systems for Curcumin: Exploring Nanosized and Conventional Formulations

Curcumin, a polyphenol with a rich history spanning two centuries, has emerged as a promising therapeutic agent targeting multiple signaling pathways and exhibiting cellular-level activities that contribute to its diverse health benefits. Extensive preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated its ability to enhance the therapeutic potential of various bioactive compounds. While its reported therapeutic advantages are manifold, predominantly attributed to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, its efficacy is hindered by poor bioavailability stemming from inadequate absorption, rapid metabolism, and elimination. To address this challenge, nanodelivery systems have emerged as a promising approach, offering enhanced solubility, biocompatibility, and therapeutic effects for curcumin. We have analyzed the knowledge on curcumin nanoencapsulation and its synergistic effects with other compounds, extracted from electronic databases. We discuss the pharmacokinetic profile of curcumin, current advancements in nanoencapsulation techniques, and the combined effects of curcumin with other agents across various disorders. By unifying existing knowledge, this analysis intends to provide insights into the potential of nanoencapsulation technologies to overcome constraints associated with curcumin treatments, emphasizing the importance of combinatorial approaches in improving therapeutic efficacy. Finally, this compilation of study data aims to inform and inspire future research into encapsulating drugs with poor pharmacokinetic characteristics and investigating innovative drug combinations to improve bioavailability and therapeutic outcomes.

Investigation of Gold Nanoparticle Naproxen-Derived Conjugations in Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer, which is one of the most diagnosed cancer types among women, maintains its significance as a global health problem. Several drug candidates have been investigated for the potential treatment of ovarian cancer. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) demonstrated anti-cancer activity through the inhibition of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) and by inhibiting COX-2-dependent prostaglandin (PG) production. Naproxen is one of the most used NSAIDs and Naproxen-derived compounds (NDCs) may show potential treatment effects on cancer as chemotherapeutic drugs. Although there are successful drug development studies, the lack of solubility of these drug candidates in aqueous media results in limited bioavailability and high variability of patient responses during treatment. Low aqueous solubility is one of the main problems in the pharmaceutical industry in terms of drug development. Nanotechnology-based strategies provide solutions to hydrophobic drug limitations by increasing dispersion and improving internalization. In this study, two different NDCs (NDC-1 and NDC-2) bearing a thiosemicarbazide/1,2,4-triazole moiety were synthesized and tested for chemotherapeutic effects on ovarian cancer cells, which have a high COX-2 expression. To overcome the limited dispersion of these hydrophobic drugs, the drug molecules were conjugated to the surface of 13 nm AuNPs. Conjugation of drugs to AuNPs increased the distribution of drugs in aqueous media, and NDC@AuNP conjugates exhibited excellent colloidal stability for up to 8 weeks. The proposed system demonstrated an increased chemotherapeutic effect than the free drug counterparts with at least 5 times lower IC50 values. NDC@AuNP nanosystems induced higher apoptosis rates, which established a simple and novel way to investigate activity of prospective drugs in drug discovery research.

Polymeric Nanoparticles for Delivery of Natural Bioactive Agents: Recent Advances and Challenges

In the last few decades, several natural bioactive agents have been widely utilized in the treatment and prevention of many diseases owing to their unique and versatile therapeutic effects, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and neuroprotective action. However, their poor aqueous solubility, poor bioavailability, low GIT stability, extensive metabolism as well as short duration of action are the most shortfalls hampering their biomedical/pharmaceutical applications. Different drug delivery platforms have developed in this regard, and a captivating tool of this has been the fabrication of nanocarriers. In particular, polymeric nanoparticles were reported to offer proficient delivery of various natural bioactive agents with good entrapment potential and stability, an efficiently controlled release, improved bioavailability, and fascinating therapeutic efficacy. In addition, surface decoration and polymer functionalization have opened the door to improving the characteristics of polymeric nanoparticles and alleviating the reported toxicity. Herein, a review of the state of knowledge on polymeric nanoparticles loaded with natural bioactive agents is presented. The review focuses on frequently used polymeric materials and their corresponding methods of fabrication, the needs of such systems for natural bioactive agents, polymeric nanoparticles loaded with natural bioactive agents in the literature, and the potential role of polymer functionalization, hybrid systems, and stimuli-responsive systems in overcoming most of the system drawbacks. This exploration may offer a thorough idea of viewing the polymeric nanoparticles as a potential candidate for the delivery of natural bioactive agents as well as the challenges and the combating tools used to overcome any hurdles.

The Idiosyncratic Efficacy of Spironolactone-Loaded PLGA Nanoparticles Against Murine Intestinal Schistosomiasis

Background

Schistosomiasis is a chronic debilitating parasitic disease accompanied with severe mortality rates. Although praziquantel (PZQ) acts as the sole drug for the management of this disease, it has many limitations that restrict the use of this treatment approach. Repurposing of spironolactone (SPL) and nanomedicine represents a promising approach to improve anti-schistosomal therapy. We have developed SPL-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) to enhance the solubility, efficacy, and drug delivery and hence decrease the frequency of administration, which is of great clinical value.

Methods

The physico-chemical assessment was performed starting with particle size analysis and confirmed using TEM, FT-IR, DSC, and XRD. The antischistosomal effect of the SPL-loaded PLGA NPs against Schistosoma mansoni (S. mansoni)-induced infection in mice was also estimated.

Results

Our results manifested that the optimized prepared NPs had particle size of 238.00 ± 7.21 nm, and the zeta potential was -19.66 ± 0.98 nm, effective encapsulation 90.43±8.81%. Other physico-chemical features emphasized that nanoparticles were completely encapsulated inside the polymer matrix. The in vitro dissolution studies revealed that SPL-loaded PLGA NPs showed sustained biphasic release pattern and followed Korsmeyer-Peppas kinetics corresponding to Fickian diffusion (n<0.45). The used regimen was efficient against S. mansoni infection and induced significant reduction in spleen, liver indices, and total worm count (ρ<0.05). Besides, when targeting the adult stages, it induced decline in the hepatic egg load and the small intestinal egg load by 57.75% and 54.17%, respectively, when compared to the control group. SPL-loaded PLGA NPs caused extensive damage to adult worms on tegument and suckers, leading to the death of the parasites in less time, plus marked improvement in liver pathology.

Conclusion

Collectively, these findings provided proof-of-evidence that the developed SPL-loaded PLGA NPs could be potentially used as a promising candidate for new antischistosomal drug development.

Modulation of Macrophages Using Nanoformulations with Curcumin to Treat Inflammatory Diseases: A Concise Review

Curcumin (Cur), a traditional Chinese medicine extracted from natural plant rhizomes, has become a candidate drug for the treatment of diseases due to its anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antioxidant, and antibacterial activities. However, the poor water solubility and low bioavailability of Cur limit its therapeutic effects for clinical applications. A variety of nanocarriers have been successfully developed to improve the water solubility, in vivo distribution, and pharmacokinetics of Cur, as well as to enhance the ability of Cur to polarize macrophages and relieve macrophage oxidative stress or anti-apoptosis, thus accelerating the therapeutic effects of Cur on inflammatory diseases. Herein, we review the design and development of diverse Cur nanoformulations in recent years and introduce the biomedical applications and potential therapeutic mechanisms of Cur nanoformulations in common inflammatory diseases, such as arthritis, neurodegenerative diseases, respiratory diseases, and ulcerative colitis, by regulating macrophage behaviors. Finally, the perspectives of the design and preparation of future nanocarriers aimed at efficiently exerting the biological activity of Cur are briefly discussed.

The Synergistic Effects of Curcumin and Chemotherapeutic Drugs in Inhibiting Metastatic, Invasive and Proliferative Pathways

Curcumin, the main phytochemical identified from the Curcuma longa L. family, is one of the spices used in alternative medicine worldwide. It has exhibited a broad range of pharmacological activities as well as promising effects in the treatment of multiple cancer types. Moreover, it has enhanced the activity of other chemotherapeutic drugs and radiotherapy by promoting synergistic effects in the regulation of various cancerous pathways. Despite all the literature addressing the molecular mechanism of curcumin on various cancers, no review has specifically addressed the molecular mechanism underlying the effect of curcumin in combination with therapeutic drugs on cancer metastasis. The current review assesses the synergistic effects of curcumin with multiple drugs and light radiation, from a molecular perspective, in the inhibition of metastasis, invasion and proliferation. A systemic review of articles published during the past five years was performed using MEDLINE/PubMed and Scopus. The assessment of these articles evidenced that the combination therapy with various drugs, including doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil, paclitaxel, berberine, docetaxel, metformin, gemcitabine and light radiation therapy on various types of cancer, is capable of ameliorating different metastatic pathways that are presented and evaluated. However, due to the heterogeneity of pathways and proteins in different cell lines, more research is needed to confirm the root causes of these pathways.