Preparation and Bioactivity Assessment of Chitosan-1-Acetic Acid-5-Flurouracil Conjugates as Cancer Prodrugs

Chitosan and hyaluronic acid in breast cancer treatment: Anticancer efficacy and nanoparticle and hydrogel development

The pervasive global health concern of breast cancer necessitates the development of innovative therapeutic interventions to enhance efficacy and mitigate adverse effects. Chitosan and hyaluronic acid, recognized for their biocompatibility and biodegradability, present compelling options for the novel drug delivery systems and therapeutic platforms in the context of breast cancer management. This review will delineate the distinctive attributes of chitosan and hyaluronic acid, encompassing their inherent anticancer properties, targeting capabilities, and suitability for chemical modifications along with nanoparticle development. These characteristics render them exceptionally well-suited for the fabrication of nanoparticles and hydrogels. The intrinsic anticancer potential of chitosan, in conjunction with its mucoadhesive properties, and the robust binding affinity of hyaluronic acid to CD44 receptors, facilitate specific drug delivery to the malignant cells, thus circumventing the limitations inherent in traditional treatment modalities such as chemotherapy. The incorporation of these materials into nanocarriers allows for the co-delivery of therapeutic agents, thereby potentiating synergistic effects, while hydrogel systems provide localized, controlled drug release and facilitate tissue regeneration. An analysis of advancements in their synthesis, functionalization, and application is presented, while also acknowledging challenges pertaining to scalability and clinical translation.

Nanotechnology-based drug delivery system for targeted therapy of ulcerative colitis from traditional Chinese medicine: A review

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic autoimmune disease and seriously affects the normal life of patients. Conventional therapeutic drugs are difficult to meet clinical needs. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) ingredients could effectively alleviate the symptoms of UC by anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, regulating the gut microbiota, and repairing the colonic epithelial barrier, but their low solubility and bioavailability severely limit their clinical application. Nano-drug delivery systems (NDDS) combined with TCM ingredients is a promising option for treating UC, and they could significantly enhance the stability, solubility, and bioavailability of TCM ingredients. The review describes the anti-UC mechanisms of TCM ingredients, systematically summarizes various kinds of NDDS for TCM ingredients according to different routes of administration, and highlights the advantages of NDDS for TCM ingredients in the treatmentof UC. In addition, we discuss the limitations of existing NDDS for TCM ingredients and the development direction in the future. This review will provide a basis for the future development of anti-UC NDDS for TCM ingredients.

Orally-administered nanomedicine systems targeting colon inflammation for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease: latest advances

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic and idiopathic condition that results in inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, leading to conditions such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Commonly used treatments for IBD include anti-inflammatory drugs, immunosuppressants, and antibiotics. Fecal microbiota transplantation is also being explored as a potential treatment method; however, these drugs may lead to systemic side effects. Oral administration is preferred for IBD treatment, but accurately locating the inflamed area in the colon is challenging due to multiple physiological barriers. Nanoparticle drug delivery systems possess unique physicochemical properties that enable precise delivery to the target site for IBD treatment, exploiting the increased permeability and retention effect of inflamed intestines. The first part of this review comprehensively introduces the pathophysiological environment of IBD, covering the gastrointestinal pH, various enzymes in the pathway, transport time, intestinal mucus, intestinal epithelium, intestinal immune cells, and intestinal microbiota. The second part focuses on the latest advances in the mechanism and strategies of targeted delivery using oral nanoparticle drug delivery systems for colitis-related fields. Finally, we present challenges and potential directions for future IBD treatment with the assistance of nanotechnology.

Symmetry between Structure–Antibacterial Effect of Polymers Functionalized with Phosphonium Salts

In actual context, when the terms of biomass and bioenergy are extensively used, it becomes clear that the comparative study of some biopolymers, such as cellulose and chitosan, can offer a large usage range, based on the scientific progress obtained in the biomaterials field. Starting from the structural similarity of these two polymers, we synthesized composite materials by grafting on their surface biocide substances (phosphonium salts). After testing the biocidal effect, we can conclude that the antibacterial effect depends on the ratio of support to phosphonium salt, influenced by the interaction between the cationic component of the biocides and by the anionic component of the bacterial cellular membrane. It was also observed that for the materials obtained by cellulose functionalization with tri-n-butyl-hexadecyl phosphonium bromide, the bacterial effect on E. coli strain was much better when chitosan was used as the support material.

Oral delivery of natural active small molecules by polymeric nanoparticles for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases

The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is rapidly rising throughout the world. Although tremendous efforts have been made, limited therapeutics are available for IBD management. Natural active small molecules (NASMs), which are a gift of nature to humanity, have been widely used in the prevention and alleviation of IBD; they have numerous advantageous features, including excellent biocompatibility, pharmacological activity, and mass production potential. Oral route is the most common and acceptable approach for drug administration, but the clinical application of NASMs in IBD treatment via oral route has been seriously restricted by their inherent limitations such as high hydrophobicity, instability, and poor bioavailability. With the development of nanotechnology, polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) have provided a promising platform that can efficiently encapsulate versatile NASMs, overcome multiple drug delivery barriers, and orally deliver the loaded NASMs to targeted tissues or cells while enhancing their stability and bioavailability. Thus, NPs can enhance the preventive and therapeutic effects of NASMs against IBD. Herein, we summarize the recent knowledge about polymeric matrix-based carriers, targeting ligands for drug delivery, and NASMs. We also discuss the current challenges and future developmental directions.

Close Packing of Cellulose and Chitosan in Regenerated Cellulose Fibers Improves Carbon Yield and Structural Properties of Respective Carbon Fibers

A low carbon yield is a major limitation for the use of cellulose-based filaments as carbon fiber precursors. The present study aims to investigate the use of an abundant biopolymer chitosan as a natural charring agent particularly on enhancing the carbon yield of the cellulose-derived carbon fiber. The ionic liquid 1,5-diazabicyclo[4.3.0]non-5-enium acetate ([DBNH]OAc) was used for direct dissolution of cellulose and chitosan and to spin cellulose-chitosan composite fibers through a dry-jet wet spinning process (Ioncell). The homogenous distribution and tight packing of cellulose and chitosan revealed by X-ray scattering experiments enable a synergistic interaction between the two polymers during the pyrolysis reaction, resulting in a substantial increase of the carbon yield and preservation of mechanical properties of cellulose fiber compared to other cobiopolymers such as lignin and xylan.

Kartogenin hydrolysis product 4-aminobiphenyl distributes to cartilage and mediates cartilage regeneration

Rationale The small molecule Kartogenin (KGN) promotes cartilage regeneration in osteoarthritis (OA) by activating stem cells differentiation, but its pharmacological mode-of-action remains unclear. KGN can be cleaved into 4-aminobiphenyl (4-ABP) and phthalic acid (PA) following enzymolysis of an amide bond. Therefore, this study investigated whether 4-ABP or PA exerted the same action as KGN. Methods KGN, 4-ABP and PA were analyzed in cartilage of mice after oral, intravenous or intra-articular administration of KGN by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method. Their effect on proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) was evaluated in vitro. Furthermore, their effect on cartilage preservation was tested in mice OA model induced by destabilization of medial meniscus. OA severity was quantified using OARSI histological scoring. Transcriptional analysis was used to find the possible targets of the chemicals, which were further validated. Results We demonstrated that while oral or intra-articular KGN delivery effectively ameliorated OA phenotypes in mice, only 4-ABP was detectable in cartilage. 4-ABP could induce chondrogenic differentiation and proliferation of MSC in vitro and promote cartilage repair in OA mouse models mainly by increasing the number of CD44+/CD105+ stem-cell and prevention of matrix loss. These effect of 4-ABP was stronger than that of KGN. Transcriptional profiling of 4-ABP-stimulated MSC suggested that RPS6KA2 and the PI3K-Akt pathway were 4-ABP targets; 4-ABP could activate the PI3K-Akt pathway to promote MSC proliferation and repair OA injury, which was blocked in RPS6KA2-knockdown MSC or RPS6KA2-deficient mice.Conclusion 4-ABP bio-distribution in cartilage promotes proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation of MSC, and repairs osteoarthritic lesions via PI3K-Akt pathway activation.

Synthesis, Biological Evaluation and Low-Toxic Formulation Development of Glycosylated Paclitaxel Prodrugs

Paclitaxel (PTX) is a famous anti-cancer drug with poor aqueous solubility. In clinical practices, Cremophor EL (polyethoxylated castor oil), a toxic surfactant, is used for dissolution of PTX, which accounts for serious side effects. In the present study, a single glucose-conjugated PTX prodrug (SG-PTX) and a double glucose-conjugated PTX prodrug (DG-PTX) were synthesized with a glycosylated strategy via succinate linkers. Both of the two prodrugs presented significant solubility improvement and drug-like lipophilicities. Compared to DG-PTX, SG-PTX manifested more promising release of the parent drug in serum. A high percentage of PTX released from SG-PTX could be detected after enzymatic hydrolysis of β-glucuronidase. Besides, both of the two prodrugs exhibited effective cytotoxicity against breast cancer cells and ovarian cancer cells, but presented reduced cytotoxicity against normal breast cells. Moreover, SG-PTX manifested impressive solubility in a low toxic formulation (without ethanol) with a different percentage of Cremophor EL. These results indicated that glycosylation is a promising strategy for PTX modification and SG-PTX may be a feasible and potential type of PTX prodrug. In addition, ethanol-free formulation with a low percentage of Cremophor EL might have the potential to develop a safer formulation for further studies of glycosylated PTX prodrugs.

Evaluation of in-vitro cytotoxic effect of 5-FU loaded-chitosan nanoparticles against spheroid models

PURPOSE

The studies investigate the anticancer activity of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-hyaluronidase (Hase) enzyme-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (5-FUChnps) using three-dimensional (3D) spheroid HCT-116 culture. Hase-loaded nanoparticles (Chnps) have recently been used to improve the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs for cancer treatment. It has been found that administration of Hase improves tumor vessel densities and increase perfusion within tumor.

METHODS

Particle size and zeta potential of the nanoparticles were determined using a particle size analyzer while Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) was used to investigate the interactions among the various components making up the chitosan nanoparticles. Cytotoxic effects of 5-FU and 5FUchnps against dimensional (2D) and 3D spheroid cultures were assessed using trypan blue assay.

RESULTS

Low molecular weight chitosan (Chi_L) nanoparticle size was determined to between 215 to 670 nm while medium molecular weight chitosan (Chi_M) nanoparticle size ranged from 151 to 778 nm. All 5FUChnps exhibited a zeta potential value ranging from +4 to +37 mV. Among the 16 formulations prepared, formulation #7 (5-FUChnps₇) was selected for the in-vitro cytotoxic studies based on its high 5-FU entrapment efficiency (59%). 5FUchnps treated 3D HCT-116 culture exhibited significant growth inhibition compared with 5-FU treated groups. Further, spheroids with significant growth inhibition exhibited high spheroid volume and non-spherical shapes.

CONCLUSION

5-FUChnps were significantly cytotoxic to the 3D HCT-116 cultures than that of the free 5-FU. Chnps proved to have the ability to deliver and improve the anticancer activity of 5-FU in 3D HCT-116 culture studies.

Polymeric advanced delivery systems for antineoplasic drugs: doxorubicin and 5-fluorouracil

Conventional pharmaceuticals generally display the inability to transport active ingredients directly to specific regions of the body, amongst some of their main limitations. The distribution of the drugs in the circulatory system may lead to undesired toxicity, and therefore, adverse reactions. To address this situation, a selective transport of drugs is required, that is, releasing drugs specifically to the site of action in appropriate concentrations and in the right time. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to develop delivery systems that respond to several features, such as low toxicity, optimum properties for the transport and release of the drug, as well as a long half-life in the body. This feature paper critically provides an overview of different strategies of controlled drug release for two model antineoplasic drugs, i.e. doxorubicin (DOX) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Any of the presented strategies for drug release possess advantages and disadvantages, and the selection of the strategy used will depend on the targeted tissue and nature of the drug.