The achievement of ligand-functionalized organic/polymeric nanoparticles for treating multidrug resistant cancer

Nanomaterials-driven in situ vaccination: a novel frontier in tumor immunotherapy

In situ vaccination (ISV) has emerged as a promising strategy in cancer immunotherapy, offering a targeted approach that uses the tumor microenvironment (TME) to stimulate an immune response directly at the tumor site. This method minimizes systemic exposure while maintaining therapeutic efficacy and enhancing safety. Recent advances in nanotechnology have enabled new approaches to ISV by utilizing nanomaterials with unique properties, including enhanced permeability, retention, and controlled drug release. ISV employing nanomaterials can induce immunogenic cell death and reverse the immunosuppressive and hypoxic TME, thereby converting a "cold" tumor into a "hot" tumor and facilitating a more robust immune response. This review examines the mechanisms through which nanomaterials-based ISV enhances anti-tumor immunity, summarizes clinical applications of these strategies, and evaluates its capacity to serve as a neoadjuvant therapy for eliminating micrometastases in early-stage cancer patients. Challenges associated with the clinical translation of nanomaterials-based ISV, including nanomaterial metabolism, optimization of treatment protocols, and integration with other therapies such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and photothermal therapy, are also discussed. Advances in nanotechnology and immunotherapy continue to expand the possible applications of ISV, potentially leading to improved outcomes across a broad range of cancer types.

Harnessing nanotechnology for cancer treatment

Nanotechnology has become a groundbreaking innovation force in cancer therapy, offering innovative solutions to the limitations of conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation. By manipulating materials at the nanoscale, researchers have developed nanocarriers capable of targeted drug delivery, improving therapeutic efficacy while reducing systemic toxicity. Nanoparticles like liposomes, dendrimers, and polymeric nanomaterials have shown significant promise in delivering chemotherapeutic agents directly to tumor sites, enhancing drug bioavailability and minimizing damage to healthy tissues. In addition to drug delivery, with the utilization of tools such as quantum dots and nanosensors that enables more precise identification of cancer biomarkers, nanotechnology is also playing a pivotal role in early cancer detection and diagnosis. Furthermore, nanotechnology-based therapeutic strategies, including photothermal therapy, gene therapy and immunotherapy are offering novel ways to combat cancer by selectively targeting tumor cells and enhancing the immune response. Nevertheless, despite these progressions, obstacles still persist, particularly in the clinical translation of these technologies. Issues such as nanoparticle toxicity, biocompatibility, and the complexity of regulatory approval hinder the widespread adoption of nanomedicine in oncology. This review discusses different applications of nanotechnology in cancer therapy, highlighting its potential and the hurdles to its clinical implementation. Future research needs to concentrate on addressing these obstacles to unlock the full potential of nanotechnology in providing personalized, effective, and minimally invasive cancer treatments.

Overcoming MDR by Associating Doxorubicin and pH-Sensitive PLGA Nanoparticles Containing a Novel Organoselenium Compound-An In Vitro Study

In this study, we developed PLGA nanoparticles (NPs) as an effective carrier for 5'-Se-(phenyl)-3-(amino)-thymidine (ACAT-Se), an organoselenium compound, nucleoside analogue that showed promising antitumor activity in vitro. The PLGA NPs were prepared by the nanoprecipitation method and modified with a pH-responsive lysine-based surfactant (77KL). The ACAT-Se-PLGA-77KL-NPs presented nanometric size (around 120 nm), polydispersity index values < 0.20 and negative zeta potential values. The nanoencapsulation of ACAT-Se increased its antioxidant (DPPH and ABTS assays) and antitumor activity in MCF-7 tumor cells. Hemolysis study indicated that ACAT-Se-PLGA-77KL-NPs are hemocompatible and that 77KL provided a pH-sensitive membranolytic behavior to the NPs. The NPs did not induce cytotoxic effects on the nontumor cell line 3T3, suggesting its selectivity for the tumor cells. Moreover, the in vitro antiproliferative activity of NPs was evaluated in association with the antitumor drug doxorubicin. This combination result in synergistic effect in sensitive (MCF-7) and resistant (NCI/ADR-RES) tumor cells, being especially able to successfully sensitize the MDR cells. The obtained results suggested that the proposed ACAT-Se-loaded NPs are a promising delivery system for cancer therapy, especially associated with doxorubicin.

Traditional herbal medicine and nanomedicine: Converging disciplines to improve therapeutic efficacy and human health

Traditional herbal medicine (THM), an ancient science, is a gift from nature. For thousands of years, it has helped humans fight diseases and protect life, health, and reproduction. Nanomedicine, a newer discipline has evolved from exploitation of the unique nanoscale morphology and is widely used in diagnosis, imaging, drug delivery, and other biomedical fields. Although THM and nanomedicine differ greatly in time span and discipline dimensions, they are closely related and are even evolving toward integration and convergence. This review begins with the history and latest research progress of THM and nanomedicine, expounding their respective developmental trajectory. It then discusses the overlapping connectivity and relevance of the two fields, including nanoaggregates generated in herbal medicine decoctions, the application of nanotechnology in the delivery and treatment of natural active ingredients, and the influence of physiological regulatory capability of THM on the in vivo fate of nanoparticles. Finally, future development trends, challenges, and research directions are discussed.

Anticancer Activity of Selenium Nanoparticles In Vitro Studies

Health systems worldwide consider cancer a disease that causes the highest number of deaths per year. The low efficacy of current cancer therapies has led other areas of science to search for new alternatives, including nanomaterial sciences. Selenium nanoparticles have anticancer activity, as revealed by in vitro tests performed on prostate, breast, cervical, lung, colorectal, and liver cancer cell lines. Studies attribute anticancer activity to the anti-metastatic effect due to the inhibition of migration and invasion processes. The antiproliferative effect is the low expression of molecules such as cyclin D1, cyclin E, and CDK2. In addition to the activation of cell apoptosis by caspase-dependent mechanisms, there is a low expression of anti-apoptotic proteins such as Bcl-2 and a high expression of the apoptotic proteins like Bax and Bad. Other studies attribute anticancer activity to the activation of cell necroptosis, where molecules such as TNF and IRF1 participate. The pharmacological potential of selenium nanoparticles depends primarily on the administered dose, particle size, and chemical composition. Furthermore, several studies have shown that the administration of these nanoparticles is safe due to their low toxicity in non-cancerous cells. In this review, the most relevant antecedents on the anticancer potential of selenium nanoparticles in prostate, breast, cervical, lung, liver, and colorectal cancer cell lines are discussed.

Recent development of gene therapy for pancreatic cancer using non-viral nanovectors

Pancreatic cancer (PC), characterized by its dense desmoplastic stroma and hypovascularity, is one of the most lethal cancers with a poor prognosis in the world. Traditional treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and targeted therapy show little benefit in the survival rate in patients with advanced PC due to the poor penetration and resistance of drugs, low radiosensitivity, or severe side effects. Gene therapy can modify the morbific and drug-resistant genes as well as insert the tumor-suppressing genes, which has been shown to have great potential in PC treatment. The development of safe non-viral vectors for the highly efficient delivery of nucleic acids is essential for effective gene therapy, and has been attracting much attention. In this review, we first summarized the PC-promoting genes and gene therapies using plasmid DNA, mRNA, miRNA/siRNA-based RNA interference technology, and genome editing technology. Second, the commonly used non-viral nanovector and theranostic gene delivery nanosystem, especially the tumor microenvironment-sensitive delivery nanosystem and the cell/tumor-penetrating delivery nanosystem, were introduced. Third, a combination of non-viral nanovector-based gene therapy and other therapies, such as immunotherapy, chemotherapy, photothermal therapy (PTT), and photodynamic therapy (PDT), for PDAC treatment was discussed. Finally, a number of clinical trials have demonstrated the proof-of-principle that gene therapy or the combination of gene therapy and chemotherapy using non-viral vectors can inhibit the progression of PC. Although most of the non-viral vector-based gene therapies and their combination therapy are still under preclinical research, the development of genetics, molecular biology, and novel vectors would promote the clinical transformation of gene therapy.

Potential Alternatives to Conventional Cancer Therapeutic Approaches: The Way Forward

onventional cancer therapeutic approaches broadly include chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery. These established approaches have evolved over several decades of clinical experience. For a complex disease like cancer, satisfactory treatment remains an enigma for the simple fact that the causal factors for cancer are extremely diverse. In order to overcome existing therapeutic limitations, consistent scientific endeavors have evolved several potential therapeutic approaches, majority of which focuses essentially on targeted drug delivery, minimal concomitant ramification, and selective high cytotoxicity. The current review focuses on highlighting some of these potential alternatives that are currently in various stages of in vitro, in vivo, and clinical trials. These include physical, chemical and biological entities that are avidly being explored for therapeutic alternatives. Some of these entities include suicide gene, micro RNA, modulatory peptides, ultrasonic waves, free radicals, nanoparticles, phytochemicals, and gene knockout, and stem cells. Each of these techniques may be exploited exclusively and in combination with conventional therapeutic approaches thereby enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of the treatment. The review intends to briefly discuss the mechanism of action, pros, and cons of potential alternatives to conventional therapeutic approaches.

The reversal of chemotherapy-induced multidrug resistance by nanomedicine for cancer therapy

Multidrug resistance (MDR) of cancer is a persistent problem in chemotherapy. Scientists have considered the overexpressed efflux transporters responsible for MDR and chemotherapy failure. MDR extremely limits the therapeutic effect of chemotherapy in cancer treatment. Many strategies have been applied to solve this problem. Multifunctional nanoparticles may be one of the most promising approaches to reverse MDR of tumor. These nanoparticles can keep stability in the blood circulation and selectively accumulated in the tumor microenvironment (TME) either by passive or active targeting. The stimuli-sensitive or organelle-targeting nanoparticles can release the drug at the targeted-site without exposure to normal tissues. In order to better understand reversal of MDR, three main strategies are concluded in this review. First strategy is the synergistic effect of chemotherapeutic drugs and ABC transporter inhibitors. Through directly inhibiting overexpressed ABC transporters, chemotherapeutic drugs can enter into resistant cells without being efflux. Second strategy is based on nanoparticles circumventing over-expressed efflux transporters and directly targeting resistance-related organelles. Third approach is the combination of multiple therapy modes overcoming cancer resistance. At last, numerous researches demonstrated cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) had a deep relation with drug resistance. Here, we discuss two different drug delivery approaches of nanomedicine based on CSC therapy.

Metallic nanoparticles as drug delivery system for the treatment of cancer

INTRODUCTION

The targeted delivery of anticancer agents to tumor is a major challenge because most of the drugs show off-target effect resulting in nonspecific cell death. Multifunctionalized metallic nanoparticles (NPs) are explored as new carrier system in the era of cancer therapeutics. Researchers investigated the potential of metallic NPs to target tumor cells by active and passive mechanisms, thereby reducing off-target effects of anticancer agents. Moreover, photocatalytic activity of upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) and the enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) effect have also gained wide potential in cancer treatment. Recent advancement in the field of nanotechnology highlights their potency for cancer therapy.

AREAS COVERED

This review summarizes the types of gold and silver metallic NPs with targeting mechanisms and their potentiality in cancer therapy.

EXPERT OPINION

Recent advances in the field of nanotechnology for cancer therapy offer high specificity and targeting efficiency. Targeting tumor cells through mechanistic pathways using metallic NPs for the disruption/alteration of molecular profile and survival rate of the tumor cells has led to an effective approach for cancer therapeutics. This alteration in the survival rate of the tumor cells might decrease the proliferation thereby resulting in more efficient management in the treatment of cancer.

Lysine Decorated Solid Lipid Nanoparticles of Epirubicin for Cancer Targeting and Therapy

Purpose: Cancer is an example of the most important growing diseases in human society and scientists are trying to treat it without considerable side effects on patient’s health. Solid lipids are colloidal nanoparticles that were used in drug delivery due to their several advantages.

Methods: In this work, surface modified targeted solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) were fabricated by nano-homogenizer using tripalmitin glyceride and stearic acid as lipid constituents. The size of nanoparticles and morphological evaluations were surveyed using particle size analyzer, scanning electron microscopy; Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).

Results: The particle size of 148.5 and appropriate polydispersity index were achieved for lipid nanoparticles with an entrapment efficiency of 86.1%. The FT-IR analysis confirmed the coupling of lysine to the free functional group of SLNs. DSC proved the conjugation of amino acid to the surface of carriers. The in vitro epirubicin (EPI) release test exhibited the further controlled release phenomenon for the lysine conjugated nanoparticles. The cytotoxicity assay showed lower IC50 of lysine conjugated SLNs of EPI on the investigated cell line.

Conclusion: These studies showed that the fabricated targeted carrier has a very remarkable anticancer effect on breast cancer cell lines in comparison with pure drug.

Recent progress in nanoformulations of cabazitaxel

The antitumor efficacy of various paclitaxel (PTX) and docetaxel (DTX) formulations in clinical applications is seriously affected by drug resistance. Cabazitaxel, a second-generation taxane, exhibits greater anticancer activity than paclitaxel and docetaxel and has low affinity for the P-glycoprotein (P-gp) efflux pump because of its structure. Therefore, cabazitaxel has the potential to overcome taxane resistance. However, owing to the high systemic toxicity and hydrophobicity of cabazitaxel and the instability of its commercial preparation, Jevtana®, the clinical use of cabazitaxel is restricted to patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who show progression after docetaxel-based chemotherapy. Nanomedicine is expected to overcome the limitations associated with cabazitaxel application and surmount taxane resistance. This review outlines the drug delivery systems of cabazitaxel published in recent years, summarizes the challenges faced in the development of cabazitaxel nanoformulations, and proposes strategies to overcome these challenges.

Carbon nano-onion-mediated dual targeting of P-selectin and P-glycoprotein to overcome cancer drug resistance

The transmembrane P-glycoprotein (P-gp) pumps that efflux drugs are a major mechanism of cancer drug resistance. They are also important in protecting normal tissue cells from poisonous xenobiotics and endogenous metabolites. Here, we report a fucoidan-decorated silica-carbon nano-onion (FSCNO) hybrid nanoparticle that targets tumor vasculature to specifically release P-gp inhibitor and anticancer drug into tumor cells. The tumor vasculature targeting capability of the nanoparticle is demonstrated using multiple models. Moreover, we reveal the superior light absorption property of nano-onion in the near infrared region (NIR), which enables triggered drug release from the nanoparticle at a low NIR power. The released inhibitor selectively binds to P-gp pumps and disables their function, which improves the bioavailability of anticancer drug inside the cells. Furthermore, free P-gp inhibitor significantly increases the systemic toxicity of a chemotherapy drug, which can be resolved by delivering them with FSCNO nanoparticles in combination with a short low-power NIR laser irradiation.

Development and Evaluation of Paclitaxel and Curcumin Dry Powder for Inhalation Lung Cancer Treatment

Despite the effort to develop efficient targeted drug delivery for lung cancer treatment, the outcome remains unsatisfactory with a survival rate of 15% after 5 years of diagnosis. Inhalation formulation is an ideal alternative that could ensure the direct deposition of chemotherapeutics to the lungs. However, the design of an inhalable formulation that could simultaneously achieve a high local chemotherapeutic dose to the solid tumor and exert low pulmonary toxicities is a challenge, as the presence of 10–30% of chemotherapeutics in the lung is sufficient to induce toxicity. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a simple dry powder inhalation (DPI) formulation containing a model chemotherapeutic agent (paclitaxel, PTX) and a natural antioxidant (curcumin, CUR) that acts to protect healthy lung cells from injury during direct lung delivery. The co-jet-milling of CUR and PTX resulted in formulations with suitable aerosol performance, as indicated in the high fine particle fractions (FPF) (>60%) and adequate mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD). The CUR/PTX combination showed a more potent cytotoxic effect against lung cancer cells. This is evident from the induction of apoptosis/necrotic cell death and G2/M cell cycle arrests in both A549 and Calu-3 cells. The increased intracellular ROS, mitochondrial depolarization and reduced ATP content in A549 and Calu-3 cells indicated that the actions of CUR and PTX were associated with mitochondrial oxidative stress. Interestingly, the presence of CUR is crucial to neutralize the cytotoxic effects of PTX against healthy cells (Beas-2B), and this is dose-dependent. This study presents a simple approach to formulating an effective DPI formulation with preferential cytotoxicity towards lung cancer.

Polymer nanoparticle-assisted chemotherapy of pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a lethal disease characterized by highly dense stroma fibrosis. Only 15-20% of patients with pancreatic cancer have resectable tumors, and only around 20% of them survive to 5 years. Traditional cancer treatments have little effect on their prognosis, and successful surgical resection combined with effective perioperative therapy is the main method for maximizing long-term survival. For this reason, chemotherapy is an adjunct treatment for resectable cancer and is the main therapy for incurable pancreatic cancer, including metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. However, there are various side effects of chemotherapeutic medicine and low drug penetration because the complex tumor microenvironment limits the application of chemotherapy. As a novel strategy, polymer nanoparticles make it possible to target the tumor microenvironment, release cytotoxic agents through various responsive reactions, and thus overcome the treatment barrier. As drug carriers, polymer nanoparticles show marked advantages, such as increased drug delivery and efficiency, controlled drug release, decreased side effects, prolonged half-life, and evasion of immunogenic blockade. In this review, we discuss the factors that cause chemotherapy obstacles in pancreatic cancer, and introduce the application of polymer nanoparticles to treat pancreatic cancer.

Peptide V3 Inhibits the Growth of Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Inhibiting the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK Signaling Pathway

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths. Peptide V3 has shown anti-angiogenic and anti-tumor effects on S180 and H22 xenografts in nude mice. However, the detailed mechanism of action of peptide V3 has not yet been fully elucidated. In the present study, the effects of peptide V3 on the growth of human HCC cells were examined both in vitro and in vivo. Our results showed that peptide V3 inhibited the proliferation, viability, migration, and invasion of human HCC cells. However, no obvious effect was observed in HL-7702 cells. Peptide V3 increased the apoptosis and decreased the protein levels of H-RAS, phospho (p)-RAF, p-MEK, and p-extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) in human HCC cells. Peptide V3 suppressed the growth of human HCC xenografts by down-regulating angiogenesis and up-regulating apoptosis. In conclusion, peptide V3 could inhibit the growth of human HCC by inhibiting the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathway. Novel peptides and modification strategies could be designed and applied for the treatment of different types of cancer.

Clinically advancing and promising polymer-based therapeutics

In this review article, we will examine the history of polymers and their evolution from provisional World War II materials to medical therapeutics. To provide a comprehensive look at the current state of polymer-based therapeutics, we will classify technologies according to targeted areas of interest, including central nervous system-based and intraocular-, gastrointestinal-, cardiovascular-, dermal-, reproductive-, skeletal-, and neoplastic-based systems. Within each of these areas, we will consider several examples of novel, clinically available polymer-based therapeutics; in addition, this review will also include a discussion of developing therapies, ranging from the in vivo to clinical trial stage, for each targeted area of treatment. Finally, we will emphasize areas of patient care in need of more effective, accessible, and targeted treatment approaches where polymer-based therapeutics may offer potential solutions.

Exploiting cancer's phenotypic guise against itself: targeting ectopically expressed peptide G-protein coupled receptors for lung cancer therapy

Lung cancer, claiming millions of lives annually, has the highest mortality rate worldwide. This advocates the development of novel cancer therapies that are highly toxic for cancer cells but negligibly toxic for healthy cells. One of the effective treatments is targeting overexpressed surface receptors of cancer cells with receptor-specific drugs. The receptors-in-focus in the current review are the G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), which are often overexpressed in various types of tumors. The peptide subfamily of GPCRs is the pivot of the current article owing to the high affinity and specificity to and of their cognate peptide ligands, and the proven efficacy of peptide-based therapeutics. The article summarizes various ectopically expressed peptide GPCRs in lung cancer, namely, Cholecystokinin-B/Gastrin receptor, the Bombesin receptor family, Bradykinin B1 and B2 receptors, Arginine vasopressin receptors 1a, 1b and 2, and the Somatostatin receptor type 2. The autocrine growth and pro-proliferative pathways they mediate, and the distinct tumor-inhibitory effects of somatostatin receptors are then discussed. The next section covers how these pathways may be influenced or 'corrected' through therapeutics (involving agonists and antagonists) targeting the overexpressed peptide GPCRs. The review proceeds on to Nano-scaled delivery platforms, which enclose chemotherapeutic agents and are decorated with peptide ligands on their external surface, as an effective means of targeting cancer cells. We conclude that targeting these overexpressed peptide GPCRs is potentially evolving as a highly promising form of lung cancer therapy.

Chemo-photodynamic combined gene therapy and dual-modal cancer imaging achieved by pH-responsive alginate/chitosan multilayer-modified magnetic mesoporous silica nanocomposites

Novel nanocomposites were fabricated as theranostics for MR/CT imaging and tumor therapy in vivo.