Results of NC-6300 (Nanoparticle Epirubicin) in an Expansion Cohort of Patients with Angiosarcoma

Polymeric nanoparticle synthesis for biomedical applications: advancing from wet chemistry methods to dry plasma technologies

Nanotechnology has introduced a transformative leap in healthcare over recent decades, particularly through nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems. Among these, polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) have gained significant attention due to their tuneable physicochemical properties for overcoming biological barriers. Their surfaces can be engineered with chemical functional groups and biomolecules for a wide range of biomedical applications, ranging from drug delivery to diagnostics. However, despite these advancements, the clinical translation and large-scale commercialization of polymeric NPs face significant challenges. This review uncovers these challenges by examining the interplay between structural design and payload interaction mode. It provides a critical evaluation of the current synthesis methods, beginning with conventional wet chemical techniques, and progressing to emerging dry plasma technologies, such as plasma polymerization. Special attention is given to plasma polymerized nanoparticles (PPNs), highlighting their potential as paradigm-shifting platforms for biomedical applications while identifying key areas for improvement. The review concludes with a forward-looking discussion on strategies to address key challenges, such as achieving regulatory approval and advancing clinical translation of polymeric NP-based therapies, offering unprecedented opportunities for next-generation nanomedicine.

Biodistribution of Polyaldehydedextran Nanoparticle-Encapsulated Epirubicin in Ovarian Tumor-Bearing Mice via Optical Imaging

This study investigates the biodistribution of polysaccharide-based nanoparticles loaded with epirubicin (POLEPI) compared to epirubicin hydrochloride (EPI) in naïve female nude mice following a single intravenous dose. The inherent fluorescence of epirubicin was tracked using Newton 7 animal imager and Varioskan. Initial whole-animal optical imaging failed to reliably detect epirubicin distribution, necessitating ex vivo imaging of key tissues harvested at intervals between 10 min and 48 h post-injection. Optimal imaging conditions were established using a 5 s exposure time with excitation (Ex)/emission (Em) at 480 nm/550 nm. The biodistribution of POLEPI was further evaluated in both naïve mice and immunocompromised mice bearing patient-derived ovarian tumors. Unlike epirubicin, POLEPI exhibited notable tissue distribution within 3 h post-injection. By 48 h, fluorescence signals were undetectable in both models, although non-tumored animals exhibited persistent signals. In both models, the liver was the primary organ for POLEPI accumulation, with lower levels in tumored mice. Interestingly, brain fluorescence was higher in POLEPI-treated mice compared to those receiving epirubicin. Neither POLEPI nor epirubicin accumulated in the spleen or bone marrow. In tumors, POLEPI fluorescence peaked at 24 h, with levels 2.1 times higher than in the epirubicin-treated group over a 48 h period. Furthermore, POLEPI uptake in tumors exceeded that in healthy ovaries, with the most significant tumor-to-healthy-ovary ratio observed between 6 and 24 h post-injection. These findings demonstrate that POLEPI, a novel polyaldehydedextran nanoparticle formulation, exhibits enhanced accumulation and retention in tumor tissue compared to epirubicin, with preferential distribution to the orthotopic tumor-bearing ovary over healthy ovarian tissue. The inherent fluorescence of epirubicin provided a rapid and cost-effective means of estimating biodistribution, although the limitations of this method-particularly, the inability to differentiate between the parent drug and its metabolites-were acknowledged.

Functionalized Polymeric Micelles for Targeted Cancer Therapy: Steps from Conceptualization to Clinical Trials

Cancer is still ranked among the top three causes of death in the 30- to 69-year-old age group in most countries and carries considerable societal and macroeconomic costs that differ depending on the cancer type, geography, and patient gender. Despite advances in several pharmacological approaches, the lack of stability and specificity, dose-related toxicity, and limited bioavailability of chemotherapy (standard therapy) pose major obstacles in cancer treatment, with multidrug resistance being a driving factor in chemotherapy failure. The past three decades have been the stage for intense research activity on the topic of nanomedicine, which has resulted in many nanotherapeutics with reduced toxicity, increased bioavailability, and improved pharmacokinetics and therapeutic efficacy employing smart drug delivery systems (SDDSs). Polymeric micelles (PMs) have become an auspicious DDS for medicinal compounds, being used to encapsulate hydrophobic drugs that also exhibit substantial toxicity. Through preclinical animal testing, PMs improved pharmacokinetic profiles and increased efficacy, resulting in a higher safety profile for therapeutic drugs. This review focuses on PMs that are already in clinical trials, traveling the pathways from preclinical to clinical studies until introduction to the market.

Polymer-drug and polymer-protein conjugated nanocarriers: Design, drug delivery, imaging, therapy, and clinical applications

Polymer-drug conjugates and polymer-protein conjugates have been pivotal in the realm of drug delivery systems for over half a century. These polymeric drugs are characterized by the conjugation of therapeutic molecules or functional moieties to polymers, enabling a range of benefits including extended circulation times, targeted delivery, controlled release, and decreased immunogenicity. This review delves into recent advancements and challenges in the clinical translations and preclinical studies of polymer-drug conjugates and polymer-protein conjugates. The design principles and functionalization strategies crucial for the development of these polymeric drugs were explored followed by the review of structural properties and characteristics of various polymer carriers. This review also identifies significant obstacles in the clinical translation of polymer-drug conjugates and provides insights into the directions for their future development. This article is categorized under: Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Oncologic Disease.

Recent advances of polymeric nanoplatforms for cancer treatment: smart delivery systems (SDS), nanotheranostics and multidrug resistance (MDR) inhibition

Nanotheranostics is a promising field that combines the benefits of diagnostic and treatment into a single nano-platform that not only administers treatment but also allows for real-time monitoring of therapeutic response, decreasing the possibility of under/over-drug dosing. Furthermore, developing smart delivery systems (SDSs) for cancer theranostics that can take advantage of various tumour microenvironment (TME) conditions (such as deformed tumour vasculature, various over-expressed receptor proteins, reduced pH, oxidative stress, and resulting elevated glutathione levels) can aid in achieving improved pharmacokinetics, higher tumour accumulation, enhanced antitumour efficacy, and/or decreased side effects and multidrug resistance (MDR) inhibition. Polymeric nanoparticles (PNPs) are being widely investigated in this regard due to their unique features such as small size, passive/active targeting possibility, better pharmaceutical kinetics and biological distribution, decreased adverse reactions of the established drugs, inherent inhibitory properties to MDR efflux pump proteins, as well as the feasibility of delivering numerous therapeutic substances in just one design. Hence in this review, we have primarily discussed PNPs based targeted and/or controlled SDSs in which we have elaborated upon different TME mediated nanotheranostic platforms (NTPs) including active/passive/magnetic targeting platforms along with pH/ROS/redox-responsive platforms. Besides, we have elucidated different imaging guided cancer therapeutic platforms based on four major cancer imaging techniques i.e., fluorescence/photo-acoustic/radionuclide/magnetic resonance imaging, Furthermore, we have deliberated some of the most recently developed PNPs based multimodal NTPs (by combining two or more imaging or therapy techniques on a single nanoplatform) in cancer theranostics. Moreover, we have provided a brief update on PNPs based NTP which are recently developed to overcome MDR for effective cancer treatment. Additionally, we have briefly discussed about the tissue biodistribution/tumour targeting efficiency of these nanoplatforms along with recent preclinical/clinical studies. Finally, we have elaborated on various limitations associated with PNPs based nanoplatforms.

Polymeric micelles effectively reprogram the tumor microenvironment to potentiate nano-immunotherapy in mouse breast cancer models

Nano-immunotherapy improves breast cancer outcomes but not all patients respond and none are cured. To improve efficacy, research focuses on drugs that reprogram cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) to improve therapeutic delivery and immunostimulation. These drugs, however, have a narrow therapeutic window and cause adverse effects. Developing strategies that increase CAF-reprogramming while limiting adverse effects is urgent. Here, taking advantage of the CAF-reprogramming capabilities of tranilast, we developed tranilast-loaded micelles. Strikingly, a 100-fold reduced dose of tranilast-micelles induces superior reprogramming compared to free drug owing to enhanced intratumoral accumulation and cancer-associated fibroblast uptake. Combination of tranilast-micelles and epirubicin-micelles or Doxil with immunotherapy increases T-cell infiltration, resulting in cures and immunological memory in mice bearing immunotherapy-resistant breast cancer. Furthermore, shear wave elastography (SWE) is able to monitor reduced tumor stiffness caused by tranilast-micelles and predict response to nano-immunotherapy. Micellar encapsulation is a promising strategy for TME-reprogramming and SWE is a potential biomarker of response.

Anticancer Nanotherapeutics in Clinical Trials: The Work behind Clinical Translation of Nanomedicine

The ultimate goal of nanomedicine has always been the generation of translational technologies that can ameliorate current therapies. Cancer disease represented the primary target of nanotechnology applied to medicine, since its clinical management is characterized by very toxic therapeutics. In this effort, nanomedicine showed the potential to improve the targeting of different drugs by improving their pharmacokinetics properties and to provide the means to generate new concept of treatments based on physical treatments and biologics. In this review, we considered different platforms that reached the clinical trial investigation, providing an objective analysis about their physical and chemical properties and the working mechanism at the basis of their tumoritr opic properties. With this review, we aim to help other scientists in the field in conceiving their delivering platforms for clinical translation by providing solid examples of technologies that eventually were tested and sometimes approved for human therapy.