Decapeptide Modified Doxorubicin Loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles as Targeted Drug Delivery System against Prostate Cancer

Enhanced Codelivery of Gefitinib and Azacitidine for Treatment of Metastatic-Resistant Lung Cancer Using Biodegradable Lipid Nanoparticles

Lung cancer is a formidable challenge in clinical practice owing to its metastatic nature and resistance to conventional treatments. The codelivery of anticancer agents offers a potential solution to overcome resistance and minimize systemic toxicity. The encapsulation of these agents within nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) provides a promising strategy to enhance lymphatic delivery and reduce the risk of relapse. This study aimed to develop an NLC formulation loaded with Gefitinib and Azacitidine (GEF-AZT-NLC) for the treatment of metastatic-resistant lung cancer. The physicochemical properties of the formulations were characterized, and in vitro drug release was evaluated using the dialysis bag method. The cytotoxic activity of the GEF-AZT-NLC formulations was assessed on a lung cancer cell line, and hemocompatibility was evaluated using suspended red blood cells. The prepared formulations exhibited nanoscale size (235-272 nm) and negative zeta potential values (-15 to -31 mV). In vitro study revealed that the GEF-AZT-NLC formulation retained more than 20% and 60% of GEF and AZT, respectively, at the end of the experiment. Hemocompatibility study demonstrated the safety of the formulation for therapeutic use, while cytotoxicity studies suggested that the encapsulation of both anticancer agents within NLCs could be advantageous in treating resistant cancer cells. In conclusion, the GEF-AZT-NLC formulation developed in this study holds promise as a potential therapeutic tool for treating metastatic-resistant lung cancer.

Synthesis, Characterization, and Biological Evaluation of Radiolabeled Glutamine Conjugated Polymeric Nanoparticles: A Simple Approach for Tumor Imaging

Application of nanoradiopharmaceuticals for molecular imaging has gained worldwide importance for their multifaceted potentials focusing on providing a safe and cost-effective approach. Biodistribution studies on such species are capable of bringing nanomedicine to patients. Current therapeutically available labeling strategies suffer from different limitations, including off-target cytotoxicity and radiolabel release over time. Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)(PLGA) nanoparticles are biodegradable carriers for a variety of contrast agents that can be employed in medicine with high loading capacity for multimodal imaging agents. Here, glutamine-conjugated PLGA polymers were used to construct polymeric nanoparticles (G-PNP) similar to unconjugated PLGA nanoparticles (PNP)s formulated for ex vivo cell labeling and in vivo tumor scintigraphy studies. G-PNP/PNP, characterized by Fourier-transform infrared, atomic-force-microscopy, particle-size, and zeta-potential studies, were biocompatible as evaluated by MTT assay. G-PNPs were radiolabeled with ^99mtechnetium (^99mTc) by borohydrite reduction. G-PNPs demonstrated higher cellular uptake than PNPs, with no major cytotoxicity. Radiochemical purity indicated that ^99mTc labeled G-PNP (^99mTc-G-PNP) can form a stable complex with substantial stability in serum with respect to time. Imaging studies showed that ^99mTc-G-PNP significantly accumulated at the C6 glioma cell induced tumor-site in rats. Thus, ^99mTc-G-PNP demonstrated favorable characteristics and imaging potential which may make it a promising tumor imaging nanoprobe as a nanoradiopharmaceutical.

Paclitaxel and docetaxel resistance in prostate cancer: Molecular mechanisms and possible therapeutic strategies

Prostate cancer is among most malignant tumors around the world and this urological tumor can be developed as result of genomic mutations and their accumulation during progression towards advanced stage. Due to lack of specific symptoms in early stages of prostate cancer, most cancer patients are diagnosed in advanced stages that tumor cells display low response to chemotherapy. Furthermore, genomic mutations in prostate cancer enhance the aggressiveness of tumor cells. Docetaxel and paclitaxel are suggested as well-known compounds for chemotherapy of prostate tumor and they possess a similar function in cancer therapy that is based on inhibiting depolymerization of microtubules, impairing balance of microtubules and subsequent delay in cell cycle progression. The aim of current review is to highlight mechanisms of paclitaxel and docetaxel resistance in prostate cancer. When oncogenic factors such as CD133 display upregulation and PTEN as tumor-suppressor shows decrease in expression, malignancy of prostate tumor cells enhances and they can induce drug resistance. Furthermore, phytochemicals as anti-tumor compounds have been utilized in suppressing chemoresistance in prostate cancer. Naringenin and lovastatin are among the anti-tumor compounds that have been used for impairing progression of prostate tumor and enhancing drug sensitivity. Moreover, nanostructures such as polymeric micelles and nanobubbles have been utilized in delivery of anti-tumor compounds and decreasing risk of chemoresistance development. These subjects are highlighted in current review to provide new insight for reversing drug resistance in prostate cancer.

Nanoconstructs for theranostic application in cancer: Challenges and strategies to enhance the delivery

Nanoconstructs are made up of nanoparticles and ligands, which can deliver the loaded cargo at the desired site of action. Various nanoparticulate platforms have been utilized for the preparation of nanoconstructs, which may serve both diagnostic as well as therapeutic purposes. Nanoconstructs are mostly used to overcome the limitations of cancer therapies, such as toxicity, nonspecific distribution of the drug, and uncontrolled release rate. The strategies employed during the design of nanoconstructs help improve the efficiency and specificity of loaded theranostic agents and make them a successful approach for cancer therapy. Nanoconstructs are designed with a sole purpose of targeting the requisite site, overcoming the barriers which hinders its right placement for desired benefit. Therefore, instead of classifying modes for delivery of nanoconstructs as actively or passively targeted systems, they are suitably classified as autonomous and nonautonomous types. At large, nanoconstructs offer numerous benefits, however they suffer from multiple challenges, too. Hence, to overcome such challenges computational modelling methods and artificial intelligence/machine learning processes are being explored. The current review provides an overview on attributes and applications offered by nanoconstructs as theranostic agent in cancer.

mRNA delivery technologies: Toward clinical translation

Messenger RNA (mRNA)-therapies have recently taken a huge step toward clinic thanks to the first mRNA-based medicinal products marketed. mRNA features for clinical purposes are improved by chemical modifications, but the inclusion in a delivery system is a regular requirement. mRNA nanomedicines must be designed for the specific therapeutic purpose, protecting the nucleic acid and facilitating the overcoming of biological barriers. Polymers, polypeptides, and cationic lipids are the main used materials to design mRNA delivery systems. Among them, lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are the most advanced ones, and currently they are at the forefront of preclinical and clinical evaluation in several fields, including immunotherapy (against infectious diseases and cancer), protein replacement, gene editing and regenerative medicine. This chapter includes an overview on mRNA delivery technologies, with special interest in LNPs, and the most recent advances in their clinical application. Liposomes are the mRNA delivery technology with the highest clinical translation among LNPs, whereas the first clinical trial of a therapeutic mRNA formulated in exosomes has been recently approved for protein replacement therapy. The first mRNA products approved by the regulatory agencies worldwide are LNP-based mRNA vaccines against viral infections, specifically against the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The clinical translation of mRNA-therapies for cancer is mainly focused on three strategies: anti-cancer vaccination by means of delivering cancer antigens or acting as an adjuvant, mRNA-engineered chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) and T-cell receptors (TCRs), and expression of antibodies and immunomodulators. Cancer immunotherapy and, more recently, COVID-19 vaccines spearhead the advance of mRNA clinical use.

In Vitro Evaluation of Nanoerythrosome Cytotoxicity and Uptake in Pancreatic Endothelial Cells: Implications for β-Cell Imaging Applications

Biomolecule-targeted imaging represents one of the most difficult challenges in medicine. Nanoerythrosomes (NERs) are nanovesicles obtained after lysis of red blood cells, and they are promising tools for drug delivery and imaging. In this work, a formulation based on NERs functionalized with 7-amino-3-methylcoumarin via cross-linking was tested on rat INS-1E and mouse MIN6 β-cells and endothelial MSI cell lines. First, the morphology, size, ζ-potentials, and spectroscopic properties of the aggregates were investigated, highlighting that the functionalization did not significantly affect the nanoparticles' physicochemical features. In vitro, the nanoparticles did not significantly affect the proliferation and function of INS-1E and MIN6 β-cells at different concentrations. Only at the highest concentration tested on the MSI cell line, the formulation inhibited proliferation. Furthermore, NER aggregates were not internalized in both INS-1E and MIN6 cell lines, while a diffuse fluorescence was noticed in the cytosol of the MSI cell line at the highest concentrations. These findings proved that NER formulations might represent a new nanotool for β-cell imaging as a part of a strategy aimed to prevent any intracellular accumulation, thus reducing/avoiding side effects.