GE11 Peptide Conjugated Liposomes for EGFR-Targeted and Chemophotothermal Combined Anticancer Therapy

Liposomes in the cosmetics: present and outlook

Liposomes are small spherical vesicles composed of phospholipid bilayers capable of encapsulating a variety of ingredients, including water- and oil-soluble compound, which are one of the most commonly used piggybacking and delivery techniques for many active ingredients and different compounds in biology, medicine and cosmetics. With the increasing number of active cosmetic ingredients, the concomitant challenge is to effectively protect, transport, and utilize these substances in a judicious manner. Many cosmetic ingredients are ineffective both topically and systemically when applied to the skin, thus changing the method of delivery and interaction with the skin of the active ingredients is a crucial step toward improving their effectiveness. Liposomes can improve the delivery of active ingredients to the skin, enhance their stability, and ultimately, improve the efficacy of cosmetics and and pharmaceuticals. In this review, we summarized the basic properties of liposomes and their recent advances of functionalities in cosmetics and and pharmaceuticals. Also, the current state of the art in the field is discussed and the prospects for future research areas are highlighted. We hope that this review will provide ideas and inspiration on the application and development of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

Near-infrared-responsive GE11-CuS@Gal nanoparticles as an intelligent drug release system for targeting therapy against oral squamous cell carcinoma

Galangin (Gal) is a natural plant flavonoid. More and more evidence shows that Gal can achieve anti-tumor effects by regulating various mechanisms. However, its poor water solubility, low bioavailability, and insufficient lesion targeting limit its clinical application. To overcome these shortcomings, we designed and developed a mesoporous nanosystem (GE11-CuS) that actively located the target area and photo-controlled drug release, which promoted the rapid accumulation of drugs in tumor tissues under NIR irradiation, thus achieving positive effects against cancer. In this study, we explored the application of the Gal-loaded nanometer system (GE11-CuS@Gal) in the treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) both in vitro and in vivo. The results exhibited that GE11-CuS@Gal had excellent targeting ability and could accumulate efficiently in tumor cells (HSC-3). Meanwhile, the temperature of GE11-CuS@Gal increasing rapidly under NIR illumination damaged the integrity of the carrier and allowed Gal molecules to escape from the pores of the nanoparticles. When the accumulation of Gal in the nidus reached a certain level, the intracellular ROS level could be significantly increased and the antioxidative stress pathway mediated by Nrf2/OH-1 was effectively blocked, to inhibit the growth and migration of tumors. In conclusion, the GE11-CuS improved the antitumor activity of Gal in the body, which laid a foundation for the treatment of OSCC with traditional Chinese medicine ingredients.

Supramolecular Nanostructures for the Delivery of Peptides in Cancer Therapy

Supramolecular nanostructured based delivery systems are emerging as a meaningful approach in the treatment of cancer, offering controlled drug release and improved therapeutic efficacy. The self-assembled structures can be small molecules, polymers, peptides, or proteins, which can be used and functionalized to achieve tailored release and target specific cells, tissues, or organs. These structures can improve the solubility and stability of drugs having low aqueous solubility by encapsulating and protecting them from degradation. Alongside, peptides as natural biomolecules have gained increasing attention as potential candidates in cancer treatment because of their biocompatibility, low cytotoxicity, and high specificity toward tumor cells. The amino acid sequences in peptide molecules are tunable, efficiently controlling the morphology of peptide-based self-assembled nanosystems and offering flexibility to form supramolecular nanostructures (SNs). It is evident from the current literature that the supramolecular nanostructures based delivery of peptide for cancer treatment hold great promise for future cancer therapy, offering potential strategies for personalized medicine with improved patient outcomes. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: This review focuses on fundamentals and various drug delivery mechanisms based on SNs. Different SN approaches and recent literature reviews on peptide delivery are also presented to the readers.

Research on the Inhibitory Effect of Doxorubicin-loaded Liposomes Targeting GFAP for Glioma Cells

BACKGROUND

Glioma is the most common and devastating brain tumor. In recent years, doxorubicin (DOX) is one of the drugs used in the treatment of gliomas, but it has side effects and poor clinical outcomes. Therefore, the delivery of drugs to the tumor site by targeted transport is a new approach to tumor treatment.

OBJECTIVE

This study focuses on the anti-tumor effects of GFAP-modified drug-carrying liposomes loaded with DOX (GFAP-DOX-LPs) on gliomas.

METHODS

GFAP-DOX-LPs were prepared by solvent evaporation method. After characterization analysis of GFAP-DOX-LPs, the encapsulation efficiency, the drug loading capacity and in vitro release performance were determined. Then, the MTT method was used to investigate the cytotoxicity and proliferative behavior of U251 and U87 cell lines. After that, flow cytometry was used to investigate the effect of the drug administration group on tumor cell apoptosis. Eventually, the anti-tumor activity was tested in vivo.

RESULTS

The average particle size of GFAP-DOX-LPs was determined to be 116.3 ± 6.2 nm, and the average potential was displayed as 22.8 ± 7.2 mv. Besides, the morphology of the particle indicated a spherical shape. The encapsulation rate and drug loading were calculated and determined, which were 91.84 ± 0.41% and 9.27 ± 0.55%. In an acidic medium, the DOX release rate reached about 87%. GFAP-DOX-LPs could target glioma cells with low cytotoxicity and inhibit glioma cell proliferation with high efficiency, resulting in promoting apoptosis. The anti-tumor effect of GFAP-DOX-LPs was significantly enhanced. At the same time, the number of GFAPpositive cells in tumor tissues was significantly lower after treatment. Therefore, the overall survival time could be significantly prolonged.

CONCLUSION

The prepared GFAP-DOX-LPs had good targeting and glioma cell inhibition ability. This demonstrated the promising application of the prepared liposomes in tumor targeting, especially in the field of targeted drug delivery for the treatment of brain tumor.

A Snapshot of Photoresponsive Liposomes in Cancer Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy: Opportunities and Challenges

To provide precise medical regimens, photonics technologies have been involved in the field of nanomedicine. Phototriggered liposomes have been cast as promising nanosystems that achieve controlled release of payloads in several pathological conditions such as cancer, autoimmune, and infectious diseases. In contrast to the conventional liposomes, this photoresponsive element greatly improves therapeutic efficacy and reduces the adverse effects of gene/drug therapy during treatment. Recently, cancer immunotherpay has been one of the hot topics in the field of oncology due to the great success and therapeutic benefits that were well-recognized by the patients. However, several side effects have been encountered due to the unmonitored augmentation of the immune system. This Review highlights the most recent advancements in the development of photoresponsive liposome nanosystems in the field of oncology, with a specific emphasis on challenges and opportunities in the field of cancer immunotherapy.

Macrophage targeted iron oxide nanodecoys augment innate immunological and drug killings for more effective Mycobacterium Tuberculosis clearance

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, is still one of the top killers worldwide among infectious diseases. The escape of Mtb from immunological clearance and the low targeting effects of anti-TB drugs remain the substantial challenges for TB control. Iron is particularly required for Mtb growth but also toxic for Mtb in high dosages, which makes iron an ideal toxic decoy for the 'iron-tropic' Mtb. Here, a macrophage-targeted iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs)-derived IONPs-PAA-PEG-MAN nanodecoy is designed to augment innate immunological and drug killings against intracellular Mtb. IONPs-PAA-PEG-MAN nanodecoy exhibits preferential uptake in macrophages to significantly increase drug uptake with sustained high drug contents in host cells. Moreover, it can serve as a specific nanodecoy for the 'iron-tropic' Mtb to realize the localization of Mtb contained phagosomes surrounding the drug encapsulated nanodecoys and co-localization of Mtb with the drug encapsulated nanodecoys in lysosomes, where the incorporated rifampicin (Rif) can be readily released under acidic lysosomal condition for enhanced Mtb killing. This drug encapsulated nanodecoy can also polarize Mtb infected macrophages into anti-mycobacterial M1 phenotype and enhance M1 macrophage associated pro-inflammatory cytokine (TNF-α) production to trigger innate immunological responses against Mtb. Collectively, Rif@IONPs-PAA-PEG-MAN nanodecoy can synergistically enhance the killing efficiency of intracellular Mtb in in vitro macrophages and ex vivo monocyte-derived macrophages, and also significantly reduce the mycobacterial burdens in the lung of infected mice with alleviated pathology. These results indicate that Rif@IONPs-PAA-PEG-MAN nanodecoy may have a potential for the development of more effective therapeutic strategy against TB by manipulating augmented innate immunity and drug killings.

Design of siRNA Bioconjugates for Efficient Control of Cancer-Associated Membrane Receptors

Research on siRNA delivery has seen tremendous growth over the past few decades. As one of the major delivery strategies, siRNA bioconjugates offer the potential to enhance and extend the pharmacological properties of siRNAs while minimizing toxicity. In this paper, we suggest the development of a siRNA conjugate platform with peptides and proteins that are ligands of target receptors for cancer treatment. The siRNA bioconjugates target and block the receptor membrane proteins, enter the cells through receptor-mediated endocytosis, and inhibit the expression of that same target membrane receptor, thereby doubly controlling the function of the membrane proteins. The three kinds of bioconjugates targeting CD47, PD-L1, and EGFR were synthesized via two different copper-free click chemistry reactions. Results showed the cellular uptake of each conjugate, reduction of target gene expression, and efficient functional control of receptor proteins. This platform provides an effective approach for regulating membrane proteins in various diseases beyond cancer.

Programming assembly of biomimetic exosomes: An emerging theranostic nanomedicine platform

Exosomes have emerged as a promising cell-free therapeutic approach. However, challenges in large-scale production, quality control, and heterogeneity must be overcome before they can be used clinically. Biomimetic exosomes containing key components of natural exosomes have been assembled through extrusion, artificial synthesis, and liposome fusion to address these limitations. These exosome-mimetics (EMs) possess similar morphology and function but provide higher yields, faster large-scale production, and similar size compared to conventional exosomes. This article provides an overview of the chemical and biological properties of various synthetic exosome systems, including nanovesicles (NVs), EMs, and hybrid exosomes. We highlight recent advances in the production and applications of nanobiotechnology and discuss the advantages, limitations, and potential clinical applications of programming assembly of exosome mimetics.

Urchin-Shaped Au-Ag@Pt Sensor Integrated Lateral Flow Immunoassay for Multimodal Detection and Specific Discrimination of Clinical Multiple Bacterial Infections

A new lateral flow immunoassay strip (LFIA) combining sensitive detection and identification of multiple bacteria remains a huge challenge. In this study, we first developed multifunctional urchin-shaped Au-Ag@Pt nanoparticles (UAA@P NPs) with a unique combination of colorimetric-SERS-photothermal-catalytic (CM/SERS/PT/CL) properties and integrated them with LFIA for multiplexed detection and specific discrimination of pathogenic bacteria in blood samples. Unlike the conventional LFIA that relied on antibody (Ab), this novel LFIA introduced 4-mercaptophenylboronic acid (4-MPBA) as an ideal Ab replacer that was functionalized on UAA@P NPs (UAA@P/M NPs) with outstanding binding and enrichment capacities toward bacteria. Taking Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) as model bacteria, the limit of detection (LOD) was 3 CFU/mL for SERS-LFIA, 27 CFU/mL for PT-LFIA, and 18 CFU/mL for CL-LFIA, three of which were over 330-fold, 37-fold, and 55-fold more sensitive than ordinary visual CM-LFIA, respectively. Besides, this SERS-LFIA is capable of identifying three types of bacterial spiked blood samples (E. coli, S. aureus, and P. aeruginosa) effectively according to specific bacterial Raman "fingerprints" by partial least-squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). More importantly, this LFIA was successfully applied to blood samples with satisfactory recoveries from 90.3% to 108.8% and capable of identifying the infected patients (N = 4) from healthy subjects (N = 2) with great accuracy. Overall, the multimodal LFIA incorporates bacteria discrimination and quantitative detection, offering an avenue for early warning and diagnosis of bacterial infection.

Well-Ordered Au Nanoarray for Sensitive and Reproducible Detection of Hepatocellular Carcinoma-Associated miRNA via CHA-Assisted SERS/Fluorescence Dual-Mode Sensing

Ultra-sensitive detection of cancer-related biomarkers in serum is of great significance for early diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and staging of cancer. In this work, we proposed a surface-enhanced Raman scattering and fluorescence (SERS/FL) dual-mode biosensor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-related miRNA (miR-224) detection using the composition of well-arranged Au nanoarrays (Au NAs) substrate coupled with the target-catalyzed hairpin assembly (CHA) strategy. The hot spots densely and uniformly distributed on the Au array offers considerably enhanced and reproducible SERS signals, along with their wide and open surface to facilitate miR-224 adsorption. By this sensing strategy, the target miR-224 can be detected in a wide linear range (1 fM to 1 nM) with a limit of detection of 0.34 fM in the SERS mode and 0.39 fM in the FL mode. Meanwhile, this biosensor with exceptional specificity and anti-interference ability can discriminate target miR-224 from other interference miRNAs. Practical analysis of human blood samples also demonstrated considerable reliability and repeatability of our developed strategy. Furthermore, this biosensor can distinguish HCC cancer subjects from normal ones and monitor HCC patients before and after hepatectomy as well as guide the distinct Barcelona clinic liver cancer (BCLC) stages. Overall, benefiting from a well-arranged Au nanoarray, CHA amplification strategy, and SERS/metal enhanced fluorescence effect, this established biosensor opens new avenues for the early prediction, warning, monitoring, and staging of HCC.

Real-time SERS monitoring anticancer drug release along with SERS/MR imaging for pH-sensitive chemo-phototherapy

In situ and real-time monitoring of responsive drug release is critical for the assessment of pharmacodynamics in chemotherapy. In this study, a novel pH-responsive nanosystem is proposed for real-time monitoring of drug release and chemo-phototherapy by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The Fe3O4@Au@Ag nanoparticles (NPs) deposited graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposites with a high SERS activity and stability are synthesized and labeled with a Raman reporter 4-mercaptophenylboronic acid (4-MPBA) to form SERS probes (GO-Fe3O4@Au@Ag-MPBA). Furthermore, doxorubicin (DOX) is attached to SERS probes through a pH-responsive linker boronic ester (GO-Fe3O4@Au@Ag-MPBA-DOX), accompanying the 4-MPBA signal change in SERS. After the entry into tumor, the breakage of boronic ester in the acidic environment gives rise to the release of DOX and the recovery of 4-MPBA SERS signal. Thus, the DOX dynamic release can be monitored by the real-time changes of 4-MPBA SERS spectra. Additionally, the strong T2 magnetic resonance (MR) signal and NIR photothermal transduction efficiency of the nanocomposites make it available for MR imaging and photothermal therapy (PTT). Altogether, this GO-Fe3O4@Au@Ag-MPBA-DOX can simultaneously fulfill the synergistic combination of cancer cell targeting, pH-sensitive drug release, SERS-traceable detection and MR imaging, endowing it great potential for SERS/MR imaging-guided efficient chemo-phototherapy on cancer treatment.

Curcumin-Encapsulated Fusion Protein-Based Nanocarrier Demonstrated Highly Efficient Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-Targeted Treatment of Colorectal Cancer

Curcumin, a polyphenol derived from turmeric, has multiple biological functions, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial and, above all, antitumor activity. Colorectal cancer is a common malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract with an extremely high mortality rate. However, the low bioavailability and poor targeting properties of curcumin generally limit its clinical application. In the present study, we designed a fusion protein GE11-HGFI as a nanodrug delivery system. The protein was connected by flexible linkers, inheriting the self-assembly properties of hydrophobin HGFI and the targeting ability of GE11. The data show that the encapsulation of curcumin by fusion protein GE11-HGFI can form uniform and stable nanoparticles with a size of only 80 nm. In addition, the nanocarrier had high encapsulation efficiency for curcumin and made it to release sustainably. Notably, the drug-loaded nanosystem selectively targeted colorectal cancer cells with high epidermal growth factor receptor expression, resulting in high aggregated concentrations of curcumin at tumor sites, thus showing a significant anticancer effect. These results suggest that the nanocarrier fusion protein has the potential to be a novel strategy for enhancing molecular bioactivity and drug targeting in cancer therapy.

Peptide-Based Bioconjugates and Therapeutics for Targeted Anticancer Therapy

With rapidly growing knowledge in bioinformatics related to peptides and proteins, amino acid-based drug-design strategies have recently gained importance in pharmaceutics. In the past, peptide-based biomedicines were not widely used due to the associated severe physiological problems, such as low selectivity and rapid degradation in biological systems. However, various interesting peptide-based therapeutics combined with drug-delivery systems have recently emerged. Many of these candidates have been developed for anticancer therapy that requires precisely targeted effects and low toxicity. These research trends have become more diverse and complex owing to nanomedicine and antibody–drug conjugates (ADC), showing excellent therapeutic efficacy. Various newly developed peptide–drug conjugates (PDC), peptide-based nanoparticles, and prodrugs could represent a promising therapeutic strategy for patients. In this review, we provide valuable insights into rational drug design and development for future pharmaceutics.

[Progresses on active targeting liposome drug delivery systems for tumor therapy]

Liposome is an ideal drug carrier with many advantages such as excellent biocompatibility, non-immunogenicity, and easy functionalization, and has been used for the clinical treatment of many diseases including tumors. For the treatment of tumors, liposome has some passive targeting capability, but the passive targeting effect alone is very limited in improving the drug enrichment in tumor tissues, and active targeting is an effective strategy to improve the drug enrichment. Therefore, active targeting liposome drug-carriers have been extensively studied for decades. In this paper, we review the research progresses on active targeting liposome drug-carriers based on the specific binding of the carriers to the surface of tumor cells, and summarize the opportunities, challenges and future prospects in this field.

Nanoparticles as Physically- and Biochemically-Tuned Drug Formulations for Cancers Therapy

Simple Summary

Conventional antitumor drugs have limitations, including poor water solubility and lack of targeting capability, with consequent non-specific distribution, systemic toxicity, and low therapeutic index. Nanotechnology promises to overcome these drawbacks by exploiting the physical properties of diverse nanocarriers that can be linked to moieties with binding selectivity for cancer cells. The use of nanoparticles as therapeutic formulations allows a targeted delivery and a slow, controlled release of the drug(s), making them tunable modules for applications in precision medicine. In addition, nanoparticles are also being developed as cancer vaccines, offering an opportunity to increase both cellular and humoral immunity, thus providing a new weapon to beat cancer.

Abstract

Malignant tumors originate from a combination of genetic alterations, which induce activation of oncogenes and inactivation of oncosuppressor genes, ultimately resulting in uncontrolled growth and neoplastic transformation. Chemotherapy prevents the abnormal proliferation of cancer cells, but it also affects the entire cellular network in the human body with heavy side effects. For this reason, the ultimate aim of cancer therapy remains to selectively kill cancer cells while sparing their normal counterparts. Nanoparticle formulations have the potential to achieve this aim by providing optimized drug delivery to a pathological site with minimal accumulation in healthy tissues. In this review, we will first describe the characteristics of recently developed nanoparticles and how their physical properties and targeting functionalization are exploited depending on their therapeutic payload, route of delivery, and tumor type. Second, we will analyze how nanoparticles can overcome multidrug resistance based on their ability to combine different therapies and targeting moieties within a single formulation. Finally, we will discuss how the implementation of these strategies has led to the generation of nanoparticle-based cancer vaccines as cutting-edge instruments for cancer immunotherapy.

A Photosensitized Singlet Oxygen (1O2) Toolbox for Bio-Organic Applications: Tailoring 1O2 Generation for DNA and Protein Labelling, Targeting and Biosensing

Singlet oxygen (¹O₂) is the excited state of ground, triplet state, molecular oxygen (O₂). Photosensitized ¹O₂ has been extensively studied as one of the reactive oxygen species (ROS), responsible for damage of cellular components (protein, DNA, lipids). On the other hand, its generation has been exploited in organic synthesis, as well as in photodynamic therapy for the treatment of various forms of cancer. The aim of this review is to highlight the versatility of ¹O_2, discussing the main bioorganic applications reported over the past decades, which rely on its production. After a brief introduction on the photosensitized production of ¹O₂, we will describe the main aspects involving the biologically relevant damage that can accompany an uncontrolled, aspecific generation of this ROS. We then discuss in more detail a series of biological applications featuring ¹O₂ generation, including protein and DNA labelling, cross-linking and biosensing. Finally, we will highlight the methodologies available to tailor ¹O₂ generation, in order to accomplish the proposed bioorganic transformations while avoiding, at the same time, collateral damage related to an untamed production of this reactive species.

Nanocages engineered from Bacillus Calmette-Guerin facilitate protective Vγ2Vδ2 T cell immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection

Tuberculosis (TB), induced by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection, remains a top killer among infectious diseases. While Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is the sole TB vaccine, the clumped-clustered features of BCG in intradermal immunization appear to limit both the BCG protection efficacy and the BCG vaccination safety. We hypothesize that engineering of clumped-clustered BCG into nanoscale particles would improve safety and also facilitate the antigen-presenting-cell (APC)’s uptake and the following processing/presentation for better anti-TB protective immunity. Here, we engineered BCG protoplasts into nanoscale membraned BCG particles, termed as “BCG-Nanocage” to enhance the anti-TB vaccination efficiency and safety. BCG-Nanocage could readily be ingested/taken by APC macrophages selectively; BCG-Nanocage-ingested macrophages exhibited better viability and developed similar antimicrobial responses with BCG-infected macrophages. BCG-Nanocage, like live BCG bacilli, exhibited the robust capability to activate and expand innate-like T effector cell populations of Vγ2+ T, CD4+ T and CD8+ T cells of rhesus macaques in the ex vivo PBMC culture. BCG-Nanocage immunization of rhesus macaques elicited similar or stronger memory-like immune responses of Vγ2Vδ2 T cells, as well as Vγ2Vδ2 T and CD4+/CD8+ T effectors compared to live BCG vaccination. BCG-Nanocage- immunized macaques developed rapidly-sustained pulmonary responses of Vγ2Vδ2 T cells upon Mtb challenge. Furthermore, BCG- and BCG-Nanocage- immunized macaques, but not saline controls, exhibited undetectable Mtb infection loads or TB lesions in the Mtb-challenged lung lobe and hilar lymph node at endpoint after challenge. Thus, the current study well justifies a large pre-clinical investigation to assess BCG-Nanocage for safe and efficacious anti-TB vaccination, which is expected to further develop novel vaccines or adjuvants.

Transdermal Drug delivery: A step towards treatment of cancer

BACKGROUND

Transdermal drug delivery is an emerging and tempting system over oral and hypodermic drug delivery system. With the new developments in skin penetration techniques, anticancer drugs ranging from hydrophilic macromolecules to lipophilic drugs can be administered via transdermal route to treat cancer.

OBJECTIVE

In the present review, various approaches to enhance the transdermal delivery of drugs is discussed including the micro and nanotechnology based transdermal formulations like chemotherapy, gene therapy, immunotherapy, phototherapy, vaccines and medical devices. Limitations and advantages of various transdermal technologies is also elaborated.

METHOD

In this review, patent applications and recent literature of transdermal drug delivery systems employed to cure mainly cancer are covered.

RESULTS

Transdermal drug delivery systems have proved their potential to cure cancer. They increase the bioavailability of drug by site specific drug delivery and can reduce the side effects/toxicity associated with anticancer drugs.

CONCLUSION

The potential of transdermal drug delivery systems to carry the drug may unclutter novel ways for therapeutic intercessions in various tumors.

Novel Peptide Therapeutic Approaches for Cancer Treatment

Peptides are increasingly being developed for use as therapeutics to treat many ailments, including cancer. Therapeutic peptides have the advantages of target specificity and low toxicity. The anticancer effects of a peptide can be the direct result of the peptide binding its intended target, or the peptide may be conjugated to a chemotherapy drug or radionuclide and used to target the agent to cancer cells. Peptides can be targeted to proteins on the cell surface, where the peptide–protein interaction can initiate internalization of the complex, or the peptide can be designed to directly cross the cell membrane. Peptides can induce cell death by numerous mechanisms including membrane disruption and subsequent necrosis, apoptosis, tumor angiogenesis inhibition, immune regulation, disruption of cell signaling pathways, cell cycle regulation, DNA repair pathways, or cell death pathways. Although using peptides as therapeutics has many advantages, peptides have the disadvantage of being easily degraded by proteases once administered and, depending on the mode of administration, often have difficulty being adsorbed into the blood stream. In this review, we discuss strategies recently developed to overcome these obstacles of peptide delivery and bioavailability. In addition, we present many examples of peptides developed to fight cancer.

Latest Innovations and Nanotechnologies with Curcumin as a Nature-Inspired Photosensitizer Applied in the Photodynamic Therapy of Cancer

In the context of the high incidence of cancer worldwide, state-of-the-art photodynamic therapy (PDT) has entered as a usual protocol of attempting to eradicate cancer as a minimally invasive procedure, along with pharmacological resources and radiation therapy. The photosensitizer (PS) excited at certain wavelengths of the applied light source, in the presence of oxygen releases several free radicals and various oxidation products with high cytotoxic potential, which will lead to cell death in irradiated cancerous tissues. Current research focuses on the potential of natural products as a superior generation of photosensitizers, which through the latest nanotechnologies target tumors better, are less toxic to neighboring tissues, but at the same time, have improved light absorption for the more aggressive and widespread forms of cancer. Curcumin incorporated into nanotechnologies has a higher intracellular absorption, a higher targeting rate, increased toxicity to tumor cells, accelerates the activity of caspases and DNA cleavage, decreases the mitochondrial activity of cancer cells, decreases their viability and proliferation, decreases angiogenesis, and finally induces apoptosis. It reduces the size of the primary tumor, reverses multidrug resistance in chemotherapy and decreases resistance to radiation therapy in neoplasms. Current research has shown that the use of PDT and nanoformulations of curcumin has a modulating effect on ROS generation, so light or laser irradiation will lead to excessive ROS growth, while nanocurcumin will reduce the activation of ROS-producing enzymes or will determine the quick removal of ROS, seemingly opposite but synergistic phenomena by inducing neoplasm apoptosis, but at the same time, accelerating the repair of nearby tissue. The latest curcumin nanoformulations have a huge potential to optimize PDT, to overcome major side effects, resistance to chemotherapy, relapses and metastases. All the studies reviewed and presented revealed great potential for the applicability of nanoformulations of curcumin and PDT in cancer therapy.

Peptide-Conjugated Nano Delivery Systems for Therapy and Diagnosis of Cancer

Peptides are strings of approximately 2-50 amino acids, which have gained huge attention for theranostic applications in cancer research due to their various advantages including better biosafety, customizability, convenient process of synthesis, targeting ability via recognizing biological receptors on cancer cells, and better ability to penetrate cell membranes. The conjugation of peptides to the various nano delivery systems (NDS) has been found to provide an added benefit toward targeted delivery for cancer therapy. Moreover, the simultaneous delivery of peptide-conjugated NDS and nano probes has shown potential for the diagnosis of the malignant progression of cancer. In this review, various barriers hindering the targeting capacity of NDS are addressed, and various approaches for conjugating peptides and NDS have been discussed. Moreover, major peptide-based functionalized NDS targeting cancer-specific receptors have been considered, including the conjugation of peptides with extracellular vesicles, which are biological nanovesicles with promising ability for therapy and the diagnosis of cancer.