Sample records for nanoparticle-based delivery systems

  1. Spray-Dried Nanoparticle-in-Microparticle Delivery Systems (NiMDS) for Gene Delivery, Comprising Polyethylenimine (PEI)-Based Nanoparticles in a Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Matrix.

    PubMed

    Schulze, Jan; Kuhn, Stephanie; Hendrikx, Stephan; Schulz-Siegmund, Michaela; Polte, Tobias; Aigner, Achim

    2018-03-01

    Nucleic acid-based therapies rely on efficient formulations for nucleic acid protection and delivery. As nonviral strategies, polymeric and lipid-based nanoparticles have been introduced; however, biological efficacy and biocompatibility as well as poor storage properties due to colloidal instability and their unavailability as ready-to-use systems are still major issues. Polyethylenimine is the most widely explored and promising candidate for gene delivery. Polyethylenimine-based polyplexes and their combination with liposomes, lipopolyplexes, are efficient for DNA or siRNA delivery in vitro and in vivo. In this study, a highly potent spray-dried nanoparticle-in-microparticle delivery system is presented for the encapsulation of polyethylenimine-based polyplexes and lipopolyplexes into poly(vinyl alcohol) microparticles, without requiring additional stabilizing agents. This easy-to-handle gene delivery device allows prolonged nanoparticle storage and protection at ambient temperature. Biological analyses reveal further advantages regarding profoundly reduced cytotoxicity and enhanced transfection efficacies of polyethylenimine-based nanoparticles from the nanoparticle-in-microparticle delivery system over their freshly prepared counterparts, as determined in various cell lines. Importantly, this nanoparticle-in-microparticle delivery system is demonstrated as ready-to-use dry powder to be an efficient device for the inhalative delivery of polyethylenimine-based lipopolyplexes in vivo, as shown by transgene expression in mice after only one administration. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  2. Recent advancements in nanoparticle based drug delivery for gastrointestinal disorders.

    PubMed

    Mittal, Rahul; Patel, Amit P; Jhaveri, Vasanti M; Kay, Sae-In S; Debs, Luca H; Parrish, James M; Pan, Debbie R; Nguyen, Desiree; Mittal, Jeenu; Jayant, Rahul Dev

    2018-03-01

    The emergent field of nanoparticles has presented a wealth of opportunities for improving the treatment of human diseases. Recent advances have allowed for promising developments in drug delivery, diagnostics, and therapeutics. Modified delivery systems allow improved drug delivery over traditional pH, microbe, or receptor dependent models, while antibody association allows for more advanced imaging modalities. Nanoparticles have potential clinical application in the field of gastroenterology as they offer several advantages compared to the conventional treatment systems including target drug delivery, enhanced treatment efficacy, and reduced side effects. Areas covered: The aim of this review article is to summarize the recent advancements in developing nanoparticle technologies to treat gastrointestinal diseases. We have covered the application of nanoparticles in various gastrointestinal disorders including inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer. We also have discussed how the gut microbiota affects the nanoparticle based drug delivery in the gastrointestinal tract. Expert opinion: Nanoparticles based drug delivery offers a great platform for targeted drug delivery for gastrointestinal disorders. However, it is influenced by the presence of microbiota, drug interaction with nanoparticles, and cytotoxicity of nanoparticles. With the advancements in nanoparticle technology, it may be possible to overcome these barriers leading to efficient drug delivery for gastrointestinal disorders based on nanoparticle platform.

  3. Nanoparticles in the clinic

    PubMed Central

    Anselmo, Aaron C.

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Nanoparticle/microparticle‐based drug delivery systems for systemic (i.e., intravenous) applications have significant advantages over their nonformulated and free drug counterparts. For example, nanoparticle systems are capable of delivering therapeutics and treating areas of the body that other delivery systems cannot reach. As such, nanoparticle drug delivery and imaging systems are one of the most investigated systems in preclinical and clinical settings. Here, we will highlight the diversity of nanoparticle types, the key advantages these systems have over their free drug counterparts, and discuss their overall potential in influencing clinical care. In particular, we will focus on current clinical trials for nanoparticle formulations that have yet to be clinically approved. Additional emphasis will be on clinically approved nanoparticle systems, both for their currently approved indications and their use in active clinical trials. Finally, we will discuss many of the often overlooked biological, technological, and study design challenges that impact the clinical success of nanoparticle delivery systems. PMID:29313004

  4. Introduction for Design of Nanoparticle Based Drug Delivery Systems.

    PubMed

    Edgar, Jun Yan Chan; Wang, Hui

    2017-01-01

    Conventional drug delivery systems contain numerous limitations such as limited targeting, low therapeutic indices, poor water solubility, and the induction of drug resistances. In order to overcome the drawbacks of conventional pathway of drug delivery, nanoparticle delivery systems are therefore designed and used as the drug carriers. Nanoparticle based drug delivery systems have been rapidly growing and are being applied to various sections of biomedicine. Drug nanocarriers based on dendrimers, liposomes, self-assembling peptides, watersoluble polymers, and block copolymer micelles are the most extensively studied types of drug delivery systems and some of them are being used in clinical therapy. In particular for cancer therapy, antineoplastic drugs are taking advantage of nanoparticulate drug carriers to improve the cure efficacy. Nanoparticle based drug carriers are capable of improving the therapeutic effectiveness of the drugs by using active targeting for the site-specific delivery, passive targeting mechanisms such as enhanced permeability and retention (EPR), de novo synthesis and uptake of low density liposome in cancer cells or by being water-soluble to improve the suboptimal pharmacokinetics in limited water-soluble delivery methods. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  5. Assembling nanoparticle coatings to improve the drug delivery performance of lipid based colloids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Simovic, Spomenka; Barnes, Timothy J.; Tan, Angel; Prestidge, Clive A.

    2012-02-01

    Lipid based colloids (e.g. emulsions and liposomes) are widely used as drug delivery systems, but often suffer from physical instabilities and non-ideal drug encapsulation and delivery performance. We review the application of engineered nanoparticle layers at the interface of lipid colloids to improve their performance as drug delivery systems. In addition we focus on the creation of novel hybrid nanomaterials from nanoparticle-lipid colloid assemblies and their drug delivery applications. Specifically, nanoparticle layers can be engineered to enhance the physical stability of submicron lipid emulsions and liposomes, satbilise encapsulated active ingredients against chemical degradation, control molecular transport and improve the dermal and oral delivery characteristics, i.e. increase absorption, bioavailability and facilitate targeted delivery. It is feasible that hybrid nanomaterials composed of nanoparticles and colloidal lipids are effective encapsulation and delivery systems for both poorly soluble drugs and biological drugs and may form the basis for the next generation of medicines. Additional pre-clinical research including specific animal model studies are required to advance the peptide/protein delivery systems, whereas the silica lipid hybrid systems have now entered human clinical trials for poorly soluble drugs.

  6. Functionally engineered nanosized particles in pharmaceutics: improved oral delivery of poorly water-soluble drugs.

    PubMed

    Ozeki, Tetsuya; Tagami, Tatsuaki

    2013-01-01

    The development of drug nanoparticles has attracted substantial attention because of their potential to improve the dissolution rate and oral availability of poorly water-soluble drugs. This review summarizes the recent articles that discussed nanoparticle-based oral drug delivery systems. The preparation methods were categorized as top-down and bottom-up methods, which are common methods for preparing drug nanoparticles. In addition, methods of handling drug nanoparticles (e.g., one-step preparation of nanocomposites which are microparticles containing drug nanoparticles) were introduced for the effective preservation of drug nanoparticles. The carrier-based preparation of drug nanoparticles was also introduced as a potentially promising oral drug delivery system.

  7. Polymeric nanoparticles-based topical delivery systems for the treatment of dermatological diseases

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Zheng; Tsai, Pei-Chin; Ramezanli, Tannaz; Michniak-Kohn, Bozena B.

    2013-01-01

    Human skin not only functions as a permeation barrier (mainly due to the stratum corneum layer), but also provides a unique delivery pathway for therapeutic and other active agents. These compounds penetrate via intercellular, intracellular and transappendageal routes, resulting in topical delivery (into skin strata) and transdermal delivery (to subcutaneous tissues and into the systemic circulation). Passive and active permeation enhancement methods have been widely applied to increase the cutaneous penetration. The pathology, pathogenesis and topical treatment approaches of dermatological diseases, such as psoriasis, contact dermatitis, and skin cancer, are then discussed. Recent literature has demonstrated that nanoparticles-based topical delivery systems can be successful in treating these skin conditions. The studies are reviewed starting with the nanoparticles based on natural polymers specially chitosan, followed by those made of synthetic, degradable (aliphatic polyesters) and non-degradable (polyarylates) polymers; emphasis is given to nanospheres made of polymers derived from naturally occurring metabolites, the tyrosine-derived nanospheres (TyroSpheres™). In summary, the nanoparticles-based topical delivery systems combine the advantages of both the nano-sized drug carriers and the topical approach, and are promising for the treatment of skin diseases. For the perspectives, the penetration of ultra-small nanoparticles (size smaller than 40 nm) into skin strata, the targeted delivery of the encapsulated drugs to hair follicle stem cells, and the combination of nanoparticles and microneedle array technologies for special applications such as vaccine delivery are discussed. PMID:23386536

  8. Protamine-based nanoparticles as new antigen delivery systems.

    PubMed

    González-Aramundiz, José Vicente; Peleteiro Olmedo, Mercedes; González-Fernández, África; Alonso Fernández, María José; Csaba, Noemi Stefánia

    2015-11-01

    The use of biodegradable nanoparticles as antigen delivery vehicles is an attractive approach to overcome the problems associated with the use of Alum-based classical adjuvants. Herein we report, the design and development of protamine-based nanoparticles as novel antigen delivery systems, using recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen as a model viral antigen. The nanoparticles, composed of protamine and a polysaccharide (hyaluronic acid or alginate), were obtained using a mild ionic cross-linking technique. The size and surface charge of the nanoparticles could be modulated by adjusting the ratio of the components. Prototypes with optimal physicochemical characteristics and satisfactory colloidal stability were selected for the assessment of their antigen loading capacity, antigen stability during storage and in vitro and in vivo proof-of-concept studies. In vitro studies showed that antigen-loaded nanoparticles induced the secretion of cytokines by macrophages more efficiently than the antigen in solution, thus indicating a potential adjuvant effect of the nanoparticles. Finally, in vivo studies showed the capacity of these systems to trigger efficient immune responses against the hepatitis B antigen following intramuscular administration, suggesting the potential interest of protamine-polysaccharide nanoparticles as antigen delivery systems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Overcoming the Challenges of siRNA Delivery: Nanoparticle Strategies.

    PubMed

    Shajari, Neda; Mansoori, Behzad; Davudian, Sadaf; Mohammadi, Ali; Baradaran, Behzad

    2017-01-01

    Despite therapeutics based on siRNA have an immense potential for the treatment of incurable diseases such as cancers. However, the in vivo utilization of siRNA and also the delivery of this agent to the target site is one of the most controversial challenges. The helpful assistance by nanoparticles can improve stable delivery and also enhance efficacy. More nanoparticle-based siRNA therapeutics is expected to become available in the near future. The search strategy followed the guidelines of the Centre of Reviews and Dissemination. The studies were identified from seven databases (Scopus, Web of Science, Academic Search Premiere, CINAHL, Medline Ovid, Eric and Cochrane Library). Studies was selected based on titles, abstracts and full texts. One hundred twenty nine papers were included in the review. These papers defined hurdles in RNAi delivery and also strategies to overcome these hurdles. This review discussed the existing hurdles for systemic administration of siRNA as therapeutic agents and highlights the various strategies to overcome these hurdles, including lipid-based nanoparticles and polymeric nanoparticles, and we also briefly reviewed chemical modification. Delivery of siRNA to the target site is the biggest challenge for its application in the clinic. The findings of this review confirmed by encapsulation siRNA in the nanoparticles can overcome these challenges. The rapid progress in nanotechnology has enabled the development of effective nanoparticles as the carrier for siRNA delivery. However, our data about siRNA-based therapeutics and also nanomedicine are still limited. More clinical data needs to be completely understood in the benefits and drawbacks of siRNA-based therapeutics. Prospective studies must pay attention to the in vivo safety profiles of the different delivery systems, including uninvited immune system stimulation and cytotoxicity. In essence, the development of nontoxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable delivery systems for medical application of RNAi-based therapeutics is needed. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  10. Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticle-Based Delivery Systems for Biotherapeutics

    PubMed Central

    Mok, Hyejung; Zhang, Miqin

    2014-01-01

    Introduction Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (SPION)-based carrier systems have many advantages over other nanoparticle-based systems. They are biocompatible, biodegradable, facilely tunable, and superparamagnetic and thus controllable by an external magnetic field. These attributes enable their broad biomedical applications. In particular, magnetically-driven carriers are drawing considerable interest as an emerging therapeutic delivery system because of their superior delivery efficiency. Area covered This article reviews the recent advances in use of SPION-based carrier systems to improve the delivery efficiency and target specificity of biotherapeutics. We examine various formulations of SPION-based delivery systems, including SPION micelles, clusters, hydrogels, liposomes, and micro/nanospheres, as well as their specific applications in delivery of biotherapeutics. Expert opinion Recently, biotherapeutics including therapeutic cells, proteins and genes have been studied as alternative treatments to various diseases. Despite the advantages of high target specificity and low adverse effects, clinical translation of biotherapeutics has been hindered by the poor stability and low delivery efficiency compared to chemical drugs. Accordingly, biotherapeutic delivery systems that can overcome these limitations are actively pursued. SPION-based materials can be ideal candidates for developing such delivery systems because of their excellent biocompatibility and superparamagnetism that enables long-term accumulation/retention at target sites by utilization of a suitable magnet. In addition, synthesis technologies for production of finely-tuned, homogeneous SPIONs have been well developed, which may promise their rapid clinical translation. PMID:23199200

  11. Recent advances in inorganic nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems.

    PubMed

    Murakami, Tatsuya; Tsuchida, Kunihiro

    2008-02-01

    Drug delivery systems, designed to enhance drug efficacy and reduce their adverse effects, have evolved accompanied by the development of novel materials. Nanotechnology is an emerging scientific area that has created a variety of intriguing inorganic nanoparticles. In this review, we focus on the feasibility of inorganic nanoparticles, including iron oxide nanoparticles, gold nanoparticles, fullerenes and carbon nanohorns, as drug carriers, and summarize recent advances in this field.

  12. Polymeric nanoparticles: potent vectors for vaccine delivery targeting cancer and infectious diseases.

    PubMed

    Bolhassani, Azam; Javanzad, Shabnam; Saleh, Tayebeh; Hashemi, Mehrdad; Aghasadeghi, Mohammad Reza; Sadat, Seyed Mehdi

    2014-01-01

    Nanocarriers with various compositions and biological properties have been extensively applied for in vitro/in vivo drug and gene delivery. The family of nanocarriers includes polymeric nanoparticles, lipid-based carriers (liposomes/micelles), dendrimers, carbon nanotubes, and gold nanoparticles (nanoshells/nanocages). Among different delivery systems, polymeric carriers have several properties such as: easy to synthesize, inexpensive, biocompatible, biodegradable, non-immunogenic, non-toxic, and water soluble. In addition, cationic polymers seem to produce more stable complexes led to a more protection during cellular trafficking than cationic lipids. Nanoparticles often show significant adjuvant effects in vaccine delivery since they may be easily taken up by antigen presenting cells (APCs). Natural polymers such as polysaccharides and synthetic polymers have demonstrated great potential to form vaccine nanoparticles. The development of new adjuvants or delivery systems for DNA and protein immunization is an expanding research field. This review describes polymeric carriers especially PLGA, chitosan, and PEI as vaccine delivery systems.

  13. Mitochondrion: A Promising Target for Nanoparticle-Based Vaccine Delivery Systems

    PubMed Central

    Wen, Ru; Umeano, Afoma C.; Francis, Lily; Sharma, Nivita; Tundup, Smanla; Dhar, Shanta

    2016-01-01

    Vaccination is one of the most popular technologies in disease prevention and eradication. It is promising to improve immunization efficiency by using vectors and/or adjuvant delivery systems. Nanoparticle (NP)-based delivery systems have attracted increasing interest due to enhancement of antigen uptake via prevention of vaccine degradation in the biological environment and the intrinsic immune-stimulatory properties of the materials. Mitochondria play paramount roles in cell life and death and are promising targets for vaccine delivery systems to effectively induce immune responses. In this review, we focus on NPs-based delivery systems with surfaces that can be manipulated by using mitochondria targeting moieties for intervention in health and disease. PMID:27258316

  14. Novel Polysaccharide Based Polymers and Nanoparticles for Controlled Drug Delivery and Biomedical Imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shalviri, Alireza

    The use of polysaccharides as building blocks in the development of drugs and contrast agents delivery systems is rapidly growing. This can be attributed to the outstanding virtues of polysaccharides such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, upgradability, multiple reacting groups and low cost. The focus of this thesis was to develop and characterize novel starch based hydrogels and nanoparticles for delivery of drugs and imaging agents. To this end, two different systems were developed. The first system includes polymer and nanoparticles prepared by graft polymerization of polymethacrylic acid and polysorbate 80 onto starch. This starch based platform nanotechnology was developed using the design principles based on the pathophysiology of breast cancer, with applications in both medical imaging and breast cancer chemotherapy. The nanoparticles exhibited a high degree of doxorubicin loading as well as sustained pH dependent release of the drug. The drug loaded nanoparticles were significantly more effective against multidrug resistant human breast cancer cells compared to free doxorubicin. Systemic administration of the starch based nanoparticles co-loaded with doxorubicin and a near infrared fluorescent probe allowed for non-invasive real time monitoring of the nanoparticles biodistribution, tumor accumulation, and clearance. Systemic administration of the clinically relevant doses of the drug loaded particles to a mouse model of breast cancer significantly enhanced therapeutic efficacy while minimizing side effects compared to free doxorubicin. A novel, starch based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent with good in vitro and in vivo tolerability was formulated which exhibited superior signal enhancement in tumor and vasculature. The second system is a co-polymeric hydrogel of starch and xanthan gum with adjustable swelling and permeation properties. The hydrogels exhibited excellent film forming capability, and appeared to be particularly useful in controlled delivery applications of larger molecular size compounds. The starch based hydrogels, polymers and nanoparticles developed in this work have shown great potentials for controlled drug delivery and biomedical imaging applications.

  15. A Critical Review of Lipid-based Nanoparticles for Taxane Delivery

    PubMed Central

    Feng, Lan; Mumper, Russell J.

    2012-01-01

    Nano-based delivery systems have attracted a great deal of attention in the past two decades as a strategy to overcome the low therapeutic index of conventional anticancer drugs and delivery barriers in solid tumors. Myriads of preclinical studies have been focused on developing nano-based formulations to effectively deliver taxanes, one of the most important and most prescribed anticancer drug types in the clinic. Given the hydrophobic property of taxanes, lipid-based NPs, serve as a viable alternative delivery system. This critical review will provide an overview and perspective of the advancement of lipid-based nanoparticles for taxane delivery. Currently available formulations of taxanes and their drawbacks as well as criteria for idea taxane delivery system will be discussed. PMID:22796606

  16. Recent trends in drug delivery system using protein nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Sripriyalakshmi, S; Jose, Pinkybel; Ravindran, Aswathy; Anjali, C H

    2014-09-01

    Engineered nanoparticles that can facilitate drug formulation and passively target tumours have been under extensive research in recent years. These successes have driven a new wave of significant innovation in the generation of advanced particles. The fate and transport of diagnostic nanoparticles would significantly depend on nonselective drug delivery, and hence the use of high drug dosage is implemented. In this perspective, nanocarrier-based drug targeting strategies can be used which improve the selective delivery of drugs to the site of action, i.e. drug targeting. Pharmaceutical industries majorly focus on reducing the toxicity and side effects of drugs but only recently it has been realised that carrier systems themselves may pose risks to the patient. Proteins are compatible with biological systems and they are biodegradable. They offer a multitude of moieties for modifications to tailor drug binding, imaging or targeting entities. Thus, protein nanoparticles provide outstanding contributions as a carrier for drug delivery systems. This review summarises recent progress in particle-based therapeutic delivery and discusses important concepts in particle design and biological barriers for developing the next generation of particles drug delivery systems.

  17. Enhancing endosomal escape for nanoparticle mediated siRNA delivery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ma, Da

    2014-05-01

    Gene therapy with siRNA is a promising biotechnology to treat cancer and other diseases. To realize siRNA-based gene therapy, a safe and efficient delivery method is essential. Nanoparticle mediated siRNA delivery is of great importance to overcome biological barriers for systemic delivery in vivo. Based on recent discoveries, endosomal escape is a critical biological barrier to be overcome for siRNA delivery. This feature article focuses on endosomal escape strategies used for nanoparticle mediated siRNA delivery, including cationic polymers, pH sensitive polymers, calcium phosphate, and cell penetrating peptides. Work has been done to develop different endosomal escape strategies based on nanoparticle types, administration routes, and target organ/cell types. Also, enhancement of endosomal escape has been considered along with other aspects of siRNA delivery to ensure target specific accumulation, high cell uptake, and low toxicity. By enhancing endosomal escape and overcoming other biological barriers, great progress has been achieved in nanoparticle mediated siRNA delivery.

  18. Generic delivery of payload of nanoparticles intracellularly via hybrid polymer capsules for bioimaging applications.

    PubMed

    Sami, Haider; Maparu, Auhin K; Kumar, Ashok; Sivakumar, Sri

    2012-01-01

    Towards the goal of development of a generic nanomaterial delivery system and delivery of the 'as prepared' nanoparticles without 'further surface modification' in a generic way, we have fabricated a hybrid polymer capsule as a delivery vehicle in which nanoparticles are loaded within their cavity. To this end, a generic approach to prepare nanomaterials-loaded polyelectrolyte multilayered (PEM) capsules has been reported, where polystyrene sulfonate (PSS)/polyallylamine hydrochloride (PAH) polymer capsules were employed as nano/microreactors to synthesize variety of nanomaterials (metal nanoparticles; lanthanide doped inorganic nanoparticles; gadolinium based nanoparticles, cadmium based nanoparticles; different shapes of nanoparticles; co-loading of two types of nanoparticles) in their hollow cavity. These nanoparticles-loaded capsules were employed to demonstrate generic delivery of payload of nanoparticles intracellularly (HeLa cells), without the need of individual nanoparticle surface modification. Validation of intracellular internalization of nanoparticles-loaded capsules by HeLa cells was ascertained by confocal laser scanning microscopy. The green emission from Tb(3+) was observed after internalization of LaF(3):Tb(3+)(5%) nanoparticles-loaded capsules by HeLa cells, which suggests that nanoparticles in hybrid capsules retain their functionality within the cells. In vitro cytotoxicity studies of these nanoparticles-loaded capsules showed less/no cytotoxicity in comparison to blank capsules or untreated cells, thus offering a way of evading direct contact of nanoparticles with cells because of the presence of biocompatible polymeric shell of capsules. The proposed hybrid delivery system can be potentially developed to avoid a series of biological barriers and deliver multiple cargoes (both simultaneous and individual delivery) without the need of individual cargo design/modification.

  19. Generic Delivery of Payload of Nanoparticles Intracellularly via Hybrid Polymer Capsules for Bioimaging Applications

    PubMed Central

    Sami, Haider; Maparu, Auhin K.; Kumar, Ashok; Sivakumar, Sri

    2012-01-01

    Towards the goal of development of a generic nanomaterial delivery system and delivery of the ‘as prepared’ nanoparticles without ‘further surface modification’ in a generic way, we have fabricated a hybrid polymer capsule as a delivery vehicle in which nanoparticles are loaded within their cavity. To this end, a generic approach to prepare nanomaterials-loaded polyelectrolyte multilayered (PEM) capsules has been reported, where polystyrene sulfonate (PSS)/polyallylamine hydrochloride (PAH) polymer capsules were employed as nano/microreactors to synthesize variety of nanomaterials (metal nanoparticles; lanthanide doped inorganic nanoparticles; gadolinium based nanoparticles, cadmium based nanoparticles; different shapes of nanoparticles; co-loading of two types of nanoparticles) in their hollow cavity. These nanoparticles-loaded capsules were employed to demonstrate generic delivery of payload of nanoparticles intracellularly (HeLa cells), without the need of individual nanoparticle surface modification. Validation of intracellular internalization of nanoparticles-loaded capsules by HeLa cells was ascertained by confocal laser scanning microscopy. The green emission from Tb3+ was observed after internalization of LaF3:Tb3+(5%) nanoparticles-loaded capsules by HeLa cells, which suggests that nanoparticles in hybrid capsules retain their functionality within the cells. In vitro cytotoxicity studies of these nanoparticles-loaded capsules showed less/no cytotoxicity in comparison to blank capsules or untreated cells, thus offering a way of evading direct contact of nanoparticles with cells because of the presence of biocompatible polymeric shell of capsules. The proposed hybrid delivery system can be potentially developed to avoid a series of biological barriers and deliver multiple cargoes (both simultaneous and individual delivery) without the need of individual cargo design/modification. PMID:22649489

  20. Photoacoustic microscopy imaging for microneedle drug delivery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moothanchery, Mohesh; Seeni, Razina Z.; Xu, Chenjie; Pramanik, Manojit

    2018-02-01

    The recent development of novel transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDS) using microneedle technology allows micron-sized conduits to be formed within the outermost skin layers attracting keen interest in skin as an interface for localized and systemic delivery of therapeutics. In light of this, researchers are using microneedles as tools to deliver nanoparticle formulations to targeted sites for effective therapy. However, in such studies the use of traditional histological methods are employed for characterization and do not allow for the in vivo visualization of drug delivery mechanism. Hence, this study presents a novel imaging technology to characterize microneedle based nanoparticle delivery systems using optical resolution-photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM). In this study in vivo transdermal delivery of gold nanoparticles using microneedles in mice ear and the spatial distribution of the nanoparticles in the tissue was successfully illustrated. Characterization of parameters that are relevant in drug delivery studies such as penetration depth, efficiency of delivered gold nanoparticles were monitored using the system. Photoacoustic microscopy proves an ideal tool for the characterization studies of microneedle properties and the studies shows microneedles as an ideal tool for precise and controlled drug delivery.

  1. A sight on protein-based nanoparticles as drug/gene delivery systems.

    PubMed

    Salatin, Sara; Jelvehgari, Mitra; Maleki-Dizaj, Solmaz; Adibkia, Khosro

    2015-01-01

    Polymeric nanomaterials have extensively been applied for the preparation of targeted and controlled release drug/gene delivery systems. However, problems involved in the formulation of synthetic polymers such as using of the toxic solvents and surfactants have limited their desirable applications. In this regard, natural biomolecules including proteins and polysaccharide are suitable alternatives due to their safety. According to literature, protein-based nanoparticles possess many advantages for drug and gene delivery such as biocompatibility, biodegradability and ability to functionalize with targeting ligands. This review provides a general sight on the application of biodegradable protein-based nanoparticles in drug/gene delivery based on their origins. Their unique physicochemical properties that help them to be formulated as pharmaceutical carriers are also discussed.

  2. Polymeric nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Bolhassani, Azam; Javanzad, Shabnam; Saleh, Tayebeh; Hashemi, Mehrdad; Aghasadeghi, Mohammad Reza; Sadat, Seyed Mehdi

    2014-01-01

    Nanocarriers with various compositions and biological properties have been extensively applied for in vitro/in vivo drug and gene delivery. The family of nanocarriers includes polymeric nanoparticles, lipid-based carriers (liposomes/micelles), dendrimers, carbon nanotubes, and gold nanoparticles (nanoshells/nanocages). Among different delivery systems, polymeric carriers have several properties such as: easy to synthesize, inexpensive, biocompatible, biodegradable, non-immunogenic, non-toxic, and water soluble. In addition, cationic polymers seem to produce more stable complexes led to a more protection during cellular trafficking than cationic lipids. Nanoparticles often show significant adjuvant effects in vaccine delivery since they may be easily taken up by antigen presenting cells (APCs). Natural polymers such as polysaccharides and synthetic polymers have demonstrated great potential to form vaccine nanoparticles. The development of new adjuvants or delivery systems for DNA and protein immunization is an expanding research field. This review describes polymeric carriers especially PLGA, chitosan, and PEI as vaccine delivery systems. PMID:24128651

  3. Nanoparticles Effectively Target Rapamycin Delivery to Sites of Experimental Aortic Aneurysm in Rats.

    PubMed

    Shirasu, Takuro; Koyama, Hiroyuki; Miura, Yutaka; Hoshina, Katsuyuki; Kataoka, Kazunori; Watanabe, Toshiaki

    2016-01-01

    Several drugs targeting the pathogenesis of aortic aneurysm have shown efficacy in model systems but not in clinical trials, potentially owing to the lack of targeted drug delivery. Here, we designed a novel drug delivery system using nanoparticles to target the disrupted aortic aneurysm micro-structure. We generated poly(ethylene glycol)-shelled nanoparticles incorporating rapamycin that exhibited uniform diameter and long-term stability. When injected intravenously into a rat model in which abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) had been induced by infusing elastase, labeled rapamycin nanoparticles specifically accumulated in the AAA. Microscopic analysis revealed that rapamycin nanoparticles were mainly distributed in the media and adventitia where the wall structures were damaged. Co-localization of rapamycin nanoparticles with macrophages was also noted. Rapamycin nanoparticles injected during the process of AAA formation evinced significant suppression of AAA formation and mural inflammation at 7 days after elastase infusion, as compared with rapamycin treatment alone. Correspondingly, the activities of matrix metalloproteinases and the expression of inflammatory cytokines were significantly suppressed by rapamycin nanoparticle treatment. Our findings suggest that the nanoparticle-based delivery system achieves specific delivery of rapamycin to the rat AAA and might contribute to establishing a drug therapy approach targeting aortic aneurysm.

  4. Nanoparticles Effectively Target Rapamycin Delivery to Sites of Experimental Aortic Aneurysm in Rats

    PubMed Central

    Shirasu, Takuro; Koyama, Hiroyuki; Miura, Yutaka; Hoshina, Katsuyuki; Kataoka, Kazunori; Watanabe, Toshiaki

    2016-01-01

    Several drugs targeting the pathogenesis of aortic aneurysm have shown efficacy in model systems but not in clinical trials, potentially owing to the lack of targeted drug delivery. Here, we designed a novel drug delivery system using nanoparticles to target the disrupted aortic aneurysm micro-structure. We generated poly(ethylene glycol)-shelled nanoparticles incorporating rapamycin that exhibited uniform diameter and long-term stability. When injected intravenously into a rat model in which abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) had been induced by infusing elastase, labeled rapamycin nanoparticles specifically accumulated in the AAA. Microscopic analysis revealed that rapamycin nanoparticles were mainly distributed in the media and adventitia where the wall structures were damaged. Co-localization of rapamycin nanoparticles with macrophages was also noted. Rapamycin nanoparticles injected during the process of AAA formation evinced significant suppression of AAA formation and mural inflammation at 7 days after elastase infusion, as compared with rapamycin treatment alone. Correspondingly, the activities of matrix metalloproteinases and the expression of inflammatory cytokines were significantly suppressed by rapamycin nanoparticle treatment. Our findings suggest that the nanoparticle-based delivery system achieves specific delivery of rapamycin to the rat AAA and might contribute to establishing a drug therapy approach targeting aortic aneurysm. PMID:27336852

  5. Single-step assembly of cationic lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles for systemic delivery of siRNA.

    PubMed

    Yang, Xian-Zhu; Dou, Shuang; Wang, Yu-Cai; Long, Hong-Yan; Xiong, Meng-Hua; Mao, Cheng-Qiong; Yao, Yan-Dan; Wang, Jun

    2012-06-26

    The clinical success of therapeutics of small interfering RNA (siRNA) is still hindered by its delivery systems. Cationic polymer or lipid-based vehicles as the major delivery systems of siRNA cannot sufficiently satisfy siRNA therapeutic applications. It is hypothesized that cationic lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles may take advantage of both polymeric and lipid-based nanoparticles for siRNA delivery, while diminishing the shortcomings of both. In this study, cationic lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles were prepared by a single-step nanoprecipitation of a cationic lipid (N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)-N-methyl-N-(2-cholesteryloxycarbonyl aminoethyl) ammonium bromide, BHEM-Chol) and amphiphilic polymers for systemic delivery of siRNA. The formed hybrid nanoparticles comprised a hydrophobic polylactide core, a hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) shell, and a cationic lipid monolayer at the interface of the core and the shell. Such hybrid nanoparticles exhibited excellent stability in serum and showed significantly improved biocompatibility compared to that of pure BHEM-Chol particles. The hybrid nanoparticles were capable of delivering siRNA into BT474 cells and facilitated the escape of loaded siRNA from the endosome into the cytoplasm. The hybrid nanoparticles carrying polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1)-specific siRNA (siPlk1) remarkably and specifically downregulated expression of the oncogene Plk1 and induced cancer cell apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo and significantly suppressed tumor growth following systemic administration. We demonstrate that this system is stable, nontoxic, highly efficient, and easy to scale up, bringing the clinical application of siRNA therapy one important step closer to reality.

  6. Recent progress on nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems for cancer therapy

    PubMed Central

    Xin, Yanru; Yin, Mingming; Zhao, Liyuan; Meng, Fanling; Luo, Liang

    2017-01-01

    The development of cancer nanotherapeutics has attracted great interest in the recent decade. Cancer nanotherapeutics have overcome several limitations of conventional therapies, such as nonspecific biodistribution, poor water solubility, and limited bioavailability. Nanoparticles with tuned size and surface characteristics are the key components of nanotherapeutics, and are designed to passively or actively deliver anti-cancer drugs to tumor cells. We provide an overview of nanoparticle-based drug delivery methods and cancer therapies based on tumor-targeting delivery strategies that have been developed in recent years. PMID:28884040

  7. Standardization of Nanoparticle Characterization: Methods for Testing Properties, Stability, and Functionality of Edible Nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    McClements, Jake; McClements, David Julian

    2016-06-10

    There has been a rapid increase in the fabrication of various kinds of edible nanoparticles for oral delivery of bioactive agents, such as those constructed from proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and/or minerals. It is currently difficult to compare the relative advantages and disadvantages of different kinds of nanoparticle-based delivery systems because researchers use different analytical instruments and protocols to characterize them. In this paper, we briefly review the various analytical methods available for characterizing the properties of edible nanoparticles, such as composition, morphology, size, charge, physical state, and stability. This information is then used to propose a number of standardized protocols for characterizing nanoparticle properties, for evaluating their stability to environmental stresses, and for predicting their biological fate. Implementation of these protocols would facilitate comparison of the performance of nanoparticles under standardized conditions, which would facilitate the rational selection of nanoparticle-based delivery systems for different applications in the food, health care, and pharmaceutical industries.

  8. Nanotechnology-Based Drug Delivery Systems for Photodynamic Therapy of Cancer: A Review.

    PubMed

    Calixto, Giovana Maria Fioramonti; Bernegossi, Jéssica; de Freitas, Laura Marise; Fontana, Carla Raquel; Chorilli, Marlus

    2016-03-11

    Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising alternative approach for improved cancer treatment. In PDT, a photosensitizer (PS) is administered that can be activated by light of a specific wavelength, which causes selective damage to the tumor and its surrounding vasculature. The success of PDT is limited by the difficulty in administering photosensitizers (PSs) with low water solubility, which compromises the clinical use of several molecules. Incorporation of PSs in nanostructured drug delivery systems, such as polymeric nanoparticles (PNPs), solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs), gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), hydrogels, liposomes, liquid crystals, dendrimers, and cyclodextrin is a potential strategy to overcome this difficulty. Additionally, nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems may improve the transcytosis of a PS across epithelial and endothelial barriers and afford the simultaneous co-delivery of two or more drugs. Based on this, the application of nanotechnology in medicine may offer numerous exciting possibilities in cancer treatment and improve the efficacy of available therapeutics. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to review nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems for photodynamic therapy of cancer.

  9. Photo-synthesis of protein-based nanoparticles and the application in drug delivery

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Xie, Jinbing; Wang, Hongyang; Cao, Yi

    Recently, protein-based nanoparticles as drug delivery systems have attracted great interests due to the excellent behavior of high biocompatibility and biodegradability, and low toxicity. However, the synthesis techniques are generally costly, chemical reagents introduced, and especially present difficulties in producing homogeneous monodispersed nanoparticles. Here, we introduce a novel physical method to synthesize protein nanoparticles which can be accomplished under physiological condition only through ultraviolet (UV) illumination. By accurately adjusting the intensity and illumination time of UV light, disulfide bonds in proteins can be selectively reduced and the subsequent self-assembly process can be well controlled. Importantly, the co-assembly can also bemore » dominated when the proteins mixed with either anti-cancer drugs, siRNA, or active targeting molecules. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments indicate that our synthesized protein–drug nanoparticles (drug-loading content and encapsulation efficiency being ca. 8.2% and 70%, respectively) not only possess the capability of traditional drug delivery systems (DDS), but also have a greater drug delivery efficiency to the tumor sites and a better inhibition of tumor growth (only 35% of volume comparing to the natural growing state), indicating it being a novel drug delivery system in tumor therapy.« less

  10. Nanomedicines for cancer therapy: state-of-the-art and limitations to pre-clinical studies that hinder future developments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dawidczyk, Charlene; Russell, Luisa; Searson, Peter

    2014-08-01

    The ability to efficiently deliver a drug or gene to a tumor site is dependent on a wide range of factors including circulation time, interactions with the mononuclear phagocyte system, extravasation from circulation at the tumor site, targeting strategy, release from the delivery vehicle, and uptake in cancer cells. Nanotechnology provides the possibility of creating delivery systems where the design constraints are decoupled, allowing new approaches for reducing the unwanted side effects of systemic delivery, increasing tumor accumulation, and improving efficacy. The physico-chemical properties of nanoparticle-based delivery platforms introduce additional complexity associated with pharmacokinetics and tumor accumulation. To assess the impact of nanoparticle-based delivery systems, we first review the design strategies and pharmacokinetics of FDA-approved nanomedicines. Next we review nanomedicines under development, summarizing the range of nanoparticle platforms, strategies for targeting, and pharmacokinetics. We show how the lack of uniformity in preclinical trials prevents systematic comparison and hence limits advances in the field.

  11. Concepts and practices used to develop functional PLGA-based nanoparticulate systems.

    PubMed

    Sah, Hongkee; Thoma, Laura A; Desu, Hari R; Sah, Edel; Wood, George C

    2013-01-01

    The functionality of bare polylactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) nanoparticles is limited to drug depot or drug solubilization in their hard cores. They have inherent weaknesses as a drug-delivery system. For instance, when administered intravenously, the nanoparticles undergo rapid clearance from systemic circulation before reaching the site of action. Furthermore, plain PLGA nanoparticles cannot distinguish between different cell types. Recent research shows that surface functionalization of nanoparticles and development of new nanoparticulate dosage forms help overcome these delivery challenges and improve in vivo performance. Immense research efforts have propelled the development of diverse functional PLGA-based nanoparticulate delivery systems. Representative examples include PEGylated micelles/nanoparticles (PEG, polyethylene glycol), polyplexes, polymersomes, core-shell-type lipid-PLGA hybrids, cell-PLGA hybrids, receptor-specific ligand-PLGA conjugates, and theranostics. Each PLGA-based nanoparticulate dosage form has specific features that distinguish it from other nanoparticulate systems. This review focuses on fundamental concepts and practices that are used in the development of various functional nanoparticulate dosage forms. We describe how the attributes of these functional nanoparticulate forms might contribute to achievement of desired therapeutic effects that are not attainable using conventional therapies. Functional PLGA-based nanoparticulate systems are expected to deliver chemotherapeutic, diagnostic, and imaging agents in a highly selective and effective manner.

  12. Concepts and practices used to develop functional PLGA-based nanoparticulate systems

    PubMed Central

    Sah, Hongkee; Thoma, Laura A; Desu, Hari R; Sah, Edel; Wood, George C

    2013-01-01

    The functionality of bare polylactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) nanoparticles is limited to drug depot or drug solubilization in their hard cores. They have inherent weaknesses as a drug-delivery system. For instance, when administered intravenously, the nanoparticles undergo rapid clearance from systemic circulation before reaching the site of action. Furthermore, plain PLGA nanoparticles cannot distinguish between different cell types. Recent research shows that surface functionalization of nanoparticles and development of new nanoparticulate dosage forms help overcome these delivery challenges and improve in vivo performance. Immense research efforts have propelled the development of diverse functional PLGA-based nanoparticulate delivery systems. Representative examples include PEGylated micelles/nanoparticles (PEG, polyethylene glycol), polyplexes, polymersomes, core-shell–type lipid-PLGA hybrids, cell-PLGA hybrids, receptor-specific ligand-PLGA conjugates, and theranostics. Each PLGA-based nanoparticulate dosage form has specific features that distinguish it from other nanoparticulate systems. This review focuses on fundamental concepts and practices that are used in the development of various functional nanoparticulate dosage forms. We describe how the attributes of these functional nanoparticulate forms might contribute to achievement of desired therapeutic effects that are not attainable using conventional therapies. Functional PLGA-based nanoparticulate systems are expected to deliver chemotherapeutic, diagnostic, and imaging agents in a highly selective and effective manner. PMID:23459088

  13. Nanomaterials in cancer-therapy drug delivery system.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Gen; Zeng, Xin; Li, Ping

    2013-05-01

    Nanomaterials can enhance the delivery and treatment efficiency of anti-cancer drugs, and the mechanisms of the tumor-reducing activity of nanomaterials with cancer drug have been investigated. The task for drug to reach pathological areas has facilitated rapid advances in nanomedicine. Herein, we summarize promising findings with respect to cancer therapeutics based on nano-drug delivery vectors. Relatively high toxicity of uncoated nanoparticles restricts the use of these materials in humans. In order to reduce toxicity, many approaches have focused on the encapsulation of nanoparticles with biocompatible materials. Efficient delivery systems have been developed that utilized nanoparticles loaded with high dose of cancer drug in the presence of bilayer molecules. Well-established nanotechnologies have been designed for drug delivery with specific bonding. Surface-modified nanoparticles as vehicles for drug delivery system that contains multiple nano-components, each specially designed to achieve aimed task for the emerging application delivery of therapeutics. Drug-coated polymer nanoparticles could efficiently increase the intracellular accumulation of anti-cancer drugs. This review also introduces the nanomaterials with drug on the induction of apoptosis in cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Direct interactions between the particles and cellular molecules to cause adverse biological responses are also discussed.

  14. Neuropeptide Y Y1 receptors meditate targeted delivery of anticancer drug with encapsulated nanoparticles to breast cancer cells with high selectivity and its potential for breast cancer therapy.

    PubMed

    Li, Juan; Shen, Zheyu; Ma, Xuehua; Ren, Wenzhi; Xiang, Lingchao; Gong, An; Xia, Tian; Guo, Junming; Wu, Aiguo

    2015-03-11

    By enabling nanoparticle-based drug delivery system to actively target cancer cells with high selectivity, active targeted molecules have attracted great attention in the application of nanoparticles for anticancer drug delivery. However, the clinical application of most active targeted molecules in breast cancer therapy is limited, due to the low expression of their receptors in breast tumors or coexpression in the normal and tumor breast tissues. Here, a neuropeptide Y Y1 receptors ligand PNBL-NPY, as a novel targeted molecule, is conjugated with anticancer drug doxorubicin encapsulating albumin nanoparticles to investigate the effect of Y1 receptors on the delivery of drug-loaded nanoparticles to breast cancer cells and its potential for breast cancer therapy. The PNBL-NPY can actively recognize and bind to the Y1 receptors that are significantly overexpressed on the surface of the breast cancer cells, and the drug-loaded nanoparticles are delivered directly into the cancer cells through internalization. This system is highly selective and able to distinguish the breast cancer cells from the normal cells, due to normal breast cells that express Y2 receptors only. It is anticipated that this study may provide a guidance in the development of Y1 receptor-based nanoparticulate drug delivery system for a safer and more efficient breast cancer therapy.

  15. Synthesis and characterization of novel amphiphilic copolymer stearic acid-coupled F127 nanoparticles for nano-technology based drug delivery system.

    PubMed

    Gao, Qihe; Liang, Qing; Yu, Fei; Xu, Jian; Zhao, Qihua; Sun, Baiwang

    2011-12-01

    Pluronic, F127, amphiphilic block copolymers, are used for several applications, including drug delivery systems. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of F127 is about 0.26-0.8 wt% so that the utility of F127 in nano-technology based drug delivery system is limited since the nano-sized micelles could dissociate upon dilution. Herein, stearic acid (SA) was simply coupled to F127 between the carboxyl group of SA and the hydroxyl group of F127, which formed a novel copolymer named as SA-coupled F127, with significantly lower CMC. Above the CMC 6.9 × 10(-5)wt%, SA-coupled F127 self-assembled stable nanoparticles with Zeta potential -36 mV. Doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded nanoparticles were made, with drug loading (DL) 5.7 wt% and Zeta potential -36 to -39 mV, and the nanoparticles exhibited distinct shape with the size distribution from 20 to 50 nm. DOX-loaded nanoparticles were relatively stable and exhibited DOX dependant cytotoxicity toward MCF-7 cells in vitro. These results suggest that SA-coupled F127 potentially could be applied as a nano-technology based drug delivery method. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Label-Free Raman Microspectral Analysis for Comparison of Cellular Uptake and Distribution between Non-Targeted and EGFR-Targeted Biodegradable Polymeric Nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Chernenko, Tatyana; Buyukozturk, Fulden; Miljkovic, Milos; Carrier, Rebecca; Diem, Max; Amiji, Mansoor

    2013-01-01

    Active targeted delivery of nanoparticle-encapsulated agents to tumor cells in vivo is expected to enhance therapeutic effect with significantly less non-specific toxicity. Active targeting is based on surface modification of nanoparticles with ligands that bind with extracellular targets and enhance payload delivery in the cells. In this study, we have used label-free Raman micro-spectral analysis and kinetic modeling to study cellular interactions and intracellular delivery of C6-ceramide using a non-targeted and an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) targeted biodegradable polymeric nano-delivery systems, in EGFR-expressing human ovarian adenocarcinoma (SKOV3) cells. The results show that EGFR peptide-modified nanoparticles were rapidly internalized in SKOV3 cells leading to significant intracellular accumulation as compared to non-specific uptake by the non-targeted nanoparticles. Raman micro-spectral analysis enables visualization and quantification of the carrier system, drug-load, and responses of the biological systems interrogated, without exogenous staining and labeling procedures. PMID:24298430

  17. Nanoparticles Engineered from Lecithin-in-Water Emulsions As A Potential Delivery System for Docetaxel

    PubMed Central

    Yanasarn, Nijaporn; Sloat, Brian R.; Cui, Zhengrong

    2009-01-01

    Docetaxel is a potent anti-cancer drug. However, there continues to be a need for alternative docetaxel delivery systems to improve its efficacy. We reported the engineering of a novel spherical nanoparticle formulation (~270 nm) from lecithin-in-water emulsions. Docetaxel can be incorporated into the nanoparticles, and the resultant docetaxel-nanoparticles were stable when stored as an aqueous suspension. The release of the docetaxel from the nanoparticles was likely caused by a combination of diffusion and Case II transport. The docetaxel-in-nanoparticles were more effective in killing tumor cells in culture than free docetaxel. Moreover, the docetaxel-nanoparticles did not cause any significant red blood cell lysis or platelet aggregation in vitro, nor did they induce detectable acute liver damage when injected intravenously into mice. Finally, compared to free docetaxel, the intravenously injected docetaxel-nanoparticles increased the accumulation of the docetaxel in a model tumor in mice by 4.5-fold. These lecithin-based nanoparticles have the potential to be a novel biocompatible and efficacious delivery system for docetaxel. PMID:19524029

  18. Effect of amino groups of mesoporous silica nanoparticles on CpG oligodexynucleotide delivery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Yi; Claiden, Peter; Zhu, Yufang; Morita, Hiromi; Hanagata, Nobutaka

    2015-08-01

    In this study, we proposed to modify mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (NH2-TES), aminoethylaminopropyltriethoxysilane (2NH2-TES) and 3-[2-(2-aminoethylamino)ethylamino] propyl-trimethoxysilane (3NH2-TES) for binding of cytosine-phosphate-guanosine oligodexynucleotides (CpG ODN), and investigated the effect of different amino groups of MSNs on the CpG ODN delivery. Serum stability, in vitro cytotoxicity, and cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) induction by MSN-NH2/CpG, MSN-2NH2/CpG and MSN-3NH2/CpG complexes were investigated in detail. The results showed that three kinds of aminated-MSN-based CpG ODN delivery systems had no cytotoxicity to RAW264.7 cells, and binding of CpG ODN to MSN-NH2, MSN-2NH2 and MSN-3NH2 nanoparticles enhanced the serum stability of CpG ODN due to protection by the nanoparticles. However, three aminated MSN-based CpG ODN delivery systems exhibited different CpG ODN delivery efficiency, and MSN-NH2/CpG complexes had the highest ability to induce IL-6 secretion.

  19. Targeted delivery of 5-fluorouracil to HT-29 cells using high efficient folic acid-conjugated nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yichao; Li, Puwang; Chen, Lijue; Gao, Weimin; Zeng, Fanbo; Kong, Ling Xue

    2015-02-01

    The incorporation of a high percentage of targeting molecules into drug delivery system is one of the important methods for improving efficacy of targeting therapeutic drugs to cancer cells. PLGA-based drug delivery carriers with folic acid (FA) as targeting molecule have a low targeting efficiency due to a low FA conjugation ratio. In this work, we fabricated a FA-conjugated PLGA system using a crosslinker 1, 3-diaminopropane and have achieved a high conjugation ratio of 46.7% (mol/mol). The as-prepared PLGA-based biomaterial was used to encapsulate therapeutic drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) into nanoparticles. In the in vitro experiments, an IC₅₀ of 5.69 µg/mL has been achieved for 5-FU loaded PLGA-1, 3-diaminopropane-folic acid nanoparticles on HT-29 cancer cells and is significantly lower than that of 5-FU and 5-FU loaded PLGA nanoparticles which only have an IC₅₀ of 22.9 and 14.17 µg/mL, respectively. The fluorescent microscopy images showed that nanoparticles with FA are largely taken up by HT-29 cancer cells and the targeting nanoparticles have more affinity to cancer cells than the pure drugs and untreated nanoparticles. Therefore, the 1, 3-diaminopropane can facilitate the conjugation of FA to PLGA to form a novel polymer and 5-FU loaded PLGA-1, 3-diaminopropane-folic acid nanoparticles can be a highly efficient system for specific delivery of drugs to cancer cells.

  20. Gene therapy progress and prospects: magnetic nanoparticle-based gene delivery.

    PubMed

    Dobson, J

    2006-02-01

    The recent emphasis on the development of non-viral transfection agents for gene delivery has led to new physics and chemistry-based techniques, which take advantage of charge interactions and energetic processes. One of these techniques which shows much promise for both in vitro and in vivo transfection involves the use of biocompatible magnetic nanoparticles for gene delivery. In these systems, therapeutic or reporter genes are attached to magnetic nanoparticles, which are then focused to the target site/cells via high-field/high-gradient magnets. The technique promotes rapid transfection and, as more recent work indicates, excellent overall transfection levels as well. The advantages and difficulties associated with magnetic nanoparticle-based transfection will be discussed as will the underlying physical principles, recent studies and potential future applications.

  1. Polymeric Nanoparticles as a Metolachlor Carrier: Water-Based Formulation for Hydrophobic Pesticides and Absorption by Plants.

    PubMed

    Tong, Yujia; Wu, Yan; Zhao, Caiyan; Xu, Yong; Lu, Jianqing; Xiang, Sheng; Zong, Fulin; Wu, Xuemin

    2017-08-30

    Pesticide formulation is highly desirable for effective utilization of pesticide and environmental pollution reduction. Studies of pesticide delivery system such as microcapsules are developing prosperously. In this work, we chose polymeric nanoparticles as a pesticide delivery system and metolachlor was used as a hydrophobic pesticide model to study water-based mPEG-PLGA nanoparticle formulation. Preparation, characterization results showed that the resulting nanoparticles enhanced "water solubility" of hydrophobic metolachlor and contained no organic solvent or surfactant, which represent one of the most important sources of pesticide pollution. After the release study, absorption of Cy5-labeled nanoparticles into rice roots suggested a possible transmitting pathway of this metolachlor formulation and increased utilization of metolachlor. Furthermore, the bioassay test demonstrated that this nanoparticle showed higher effect than non-nano forms under relatively low concentrations on Oryza sativa, Digitaria sanguinalis. In addition, a simple cytotoxicity test involving metolachlor and metolachlor-loaded nanoparticles was performed, indicating toxicity reduction of the latter to the preosteoblast cell line. All of these results showed that those polymeric nanoparticles could serve as a pesticide carrier with lower environmental impact, comparable effect, and effective delivery.

  2. Magnetic nanoparticle-based drug delivery for cancer therapy.

    PubMed

    Tietze, Rainer; Zaloga, Jan; Unterweger, Harald; Lyer, Stefan; Friedrich, Ralf P; Janko, Christina; Pöttler, Marina; Dürr, Stephan; Alexiou, Christoph

    2015-12-18

    Nanoparticles have belonged to various fields of biomedical research for quite some time. A promising site-directed application in the field of nanomedicine is drug targeting using magnetic nanoparticles which are directed at the target tissue by means of an external magnetic field. Materials most commonly used for magnetic drug delivery contain metal or metal oxide nanoparticles, such as superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs). SPIONs consist of an iron oxide core, often coated with organic materials such as fatty acids, polysaccharides or polymers to improve colloidal stability and to prevent separation into particles and carrier medium [1]. In general, magnetite and maghemite particles are those most commonly used in medicine and are, as a rule, well-tolerated. The magnetic properties of SPIONs allow the remote control of their accumulation by means of an external magnetic field. Conjugation of SPIONs with drugs, in combination with an external magnetic field to target the nanoparticles (so-called "magnetic drug targeting", MDT), has additionally emerged as a promising strategy of drug delivery. Magnetic nanoparticle-based drug delivery is a sophisticated overall concept and a multitude of magnetic delivery vehicles have been developed. Targeting mechanism-exploiting, tumor-specific attributes are becoming more and more sophisticated. The same is true for controlled-release strategies for the diseased site. As it is nearly impossible to record every magnetic nanoparticle system developed so far, this review summarizes interesting approaches which have recently emerged in the field of targeted drug delivery for cancer therapy based on magnetic nanoparticles. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Lipid-Based Nanoparticles as a Potential Delivery Approach in the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis

    PubMed Central

    Chuang, Shih-Yi; Lin, Chih-Hung; Huang, Tse-Hung

    2018-01-01

    Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic and joint-related autoimmune disease, results in immune dysfunction and destruction of joints and cartilages. Small molecules and biological therapies have been applied in a wide variety of inflammatory disorders, but their utility as a therapeutic agent is limited by poor absorption, rapid metabolism, and serious side effects. To improve these limitations, nanoparticles, which are capable of encapsulating and protecting drugs from degradation before they reach the target site in vivo, may serve as drug delivery systems. The present research proposes a platform for different lipid nanoparticle approaches for RA therapy, taking advantage of the newly emerging field of lipid nanoparticles to develop a targeted theranostic system for application in the treatment of RA. This review aims to present the recent major application of lipid nanoparticles that provide a biocompatible and biodegradable delivery system to effectively improve RA targeting over free drugs via the presentation of tissue-specific targeting of ligand-controlled drug release by modulating nanoparticle composition. PMID:29342965

  4. Nanoparticle-Hydrogel: A Hybrid Biomaterial System for Localized Drug Delivery

    PubMed Central

    Gao, Weiwei; Zhang, Yue; Zhang, Qiangzhe; Zhang, Liangfang

    2016-01-01

    Nanoparticles have offered a unique set of properties for drug delivery including high drug loading capacity, combinatorial delivery, controlled and sustained drug release, prolonged stability and lifetime, and targeted delivery. To further enhance therapeutic index, especially for localized application, nanoparticles have been increasingly combined with hydrogels to form a hybrid biomaterial system for controlled drug delivery. Herein, we review recent progresses in engineering such nanoparticle-hydrogel hybrid system (namely ‘NP-gel’) with a particular focus on its application for localized drug delivery. Specifically, we highlight four research areas where NP-gel has shown great promises, including (1) passively controlled drug release, (2) stimuli-responsive drug delivery, (3) site-specific drug delivery, and (4) detoxification. Overall, integrating therapeutic nanoparticles with hydrogel technologies creates a unique and robust hybrid biomaterial system that enables effective localized drug delivery. PMID:26951462

  5. Strategies for transporting nanoparticles across the blood-brain barrier.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Tian-Tian; Li, Wen; Meng, Guanmin; Wang, Pei; Liao, Wenzhen

    2016-02-01

    The existence of blood-brain barrier (BBB) hampers the effective treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Almost all macromolecular drugs and more than 98% of small molecule drugs cannot pass the BBB. Therefore, the BBB remains a big challenge for delivery of therapeutics to the central nervous system. With the structural and mechanistic elucidation of the BBB under both physiological and pathological conditions, it is now possible to design delivery systems that could cross the BBB effectively. Because of their advantageous properties, nanoparticles have been widely deployed for brain-targeted delivery. This review paper presents the current understanding of the BBB under physiological and pathological conditions, and summarizes strategies and systems for BBB crossing with a focus on nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems. In summary, with wider applications and broader prospection the treatment of brain targeted therapy, nano-medicines have proved to be more potent, more specific and less toxic than traditional drug therapy.

  6. Catalase coupled gold nanoparticles: Comparison between carbodiimide and biotin-streptavidin methods

    PubMed Central

    Chirra, Hariharasudhan D.; Sexton, Travis; Biswal, Dipti; Hersh, Louis B.; Hilt, J. Zach

    2011-01-01

    The use of proteins for therapeutic applications requires the protein to maintain sufficient activity for the period of in vivo treatment. Many proteins exhibit a short half-life in vivo and, thus, require delivery systems for them to be applied as therapeutics. The relative biocompatibility and the ability to form functionalized bioconjugates via simple chemistry make gold nanoparticles excellent candidates as protein delivery systems. Herein, two protocols for coupling proteins to gold nanoparticles were compared. In the first, the strong biomolecular binding between biotin and streptavidin was used to couple catalase to the surface of gold nanoparticles. In the second protocol, the formation of an amide bond between carboxylic acid coated gold nanoparticles and free surface amines of catalase using carbodiimide chemistry was performed. The stability and kinetics of the different steps involved in these protocols were studied using UV-Visible spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and transmission electron microscopy. The addition of mercaptoundecanoic acid in conjugation with (N-(6-(biotinamido)hexyl)-3′-(2′-pyridyldithio)-propionamide increased the stability of biotinylated gold nanoparticles. Although the carbodiimide chemistry based bioconjugation approach exhibited a decrease in catalase activity, the carbodiimide chemistry based bioconjugation approach resulted in more active catalase per gold nanoparticle compared to that of mercaptoundecanoic acid stabilized biotinylated gold nanoparticles. Both coupling protocols resulted in gold nanoparticles loaded with active catalase. Thus, these gold nanoparticle systems and coupling protocols represent promising methods for the application of gold nanoparticles for protein delivery. PMID:21232642

  7. In vivo targeted gene delivery to peripheral neurons mediated by neurotropic poly(ethylene imine)-based nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Lopes, Cátia DF; Oliveira, Hugo; Estevão, Inês; Pires, Liliana Raquel; Pêgo, Ana Paula

    2016-01-01

    A major challenge in neuronal gene therapy is to achieve safe, efficient, and minimally invasive transgene delivery to neurons. In this study, we report the use of a nonviral neurotropic poly(ethylene imine)-based nanoparticle that is capable of mediating neuron-specific transfection upon a subcutaneous injection. Nanoparticles were targeted to peripheral neurons by using the nontoxic carboxylic fragment of tetanus toxin (HC), which, besides being neurotropic, is capable of being retrogradely transported from neuron terminals to the cell bodies. Nontargeted particles and naked plasmid DNA were used as control. Five days after treatment by subcutaneous injection in the footpad of Wistar rats, it was observed that 56% and 64% of L4 and L5 dorsal root ganglia neurons, respectively, were expressing the reporter protein. The delivery mediated by HC-functionalized nanoparticles spatially limited the transgene expression, in comparison with the controls. Histological examination revealed no significant adverse effects in the use of the proposed delivery system. These findings demonstrate the feasibility and safety of the developed neurotropic nanoparticles for the minimally invasive delivery of genes to the peripheral nervous system, opening new avenues for the application of gene therapy strategies in the treatment of peripheral neuropathies. PMID:27354797

  8. Adsorption of doxorubicin on citrate-capped gold nanoparticles: insights into engineering potent chemotherapeutic delivery systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Curry, Dennis; Cameron, Amanda; MacDonald, Bruce; Nganou, Collins; Scheller, Hope; Marsh, James; Beale, Stefanie; Lu, Mingsheng; Shan, Zhi; Kaliaperumal, Rajendran; Xu, Heping; Servos, Mark; Bennett, Craig; Macquarrie, Stephanie; Oakes, Ken D.; Mkandawire, Martin; Zhang, Xu

    2015-11-01

    Gold nanomaterials have received great interest for their use in cancer theranostic applications over the past two decades. Many gold nanoparticle-based drug delivery system designs rely on adsorbed ligands such as DNA or cleavable linkers to load therapeutic cargo. The heightened research interest was recently demonstrated in the simple design of nanoparticle-drug conjugates wherein drug molecules are directly adsorbed onto the as-synthesized nanoparticle surface. The potent chemotherapeutic, doxorubicin often serves as a model drug for gold nanoparticle-based delivery platforms; however, the specific interaction facilitating adsorption in this system remains understudied. Here, for the first time, we propose empirical and theoretical evidence suggestive of the main adsorption process where (1) hydrophobic forces drive doxorubicin towards the gold nanoparticle surface before (2) cation-π interactions and gold-carbonyl coordination between the drug molecule and the cations on AuNP surface facilitate DOX adsorption. In addition, biologically relevant compounds, such as serum albumin and glutathione, were shown to enhance desorption of loaded drug molecules from AuNP at physiologically relevant concentrations, providing insight into the drug release and in vivo stability of such drug conjugates.Gold nanomaterials have received great interest for their use in cancer theranostic applications over the past two decades. Many gold nanoparticle-based drug delivery system designs rely on adsorbed ligands such as DNA or cleavable linkers to load therapeutic cargo. The heightened research interest was recently demonstrated in the simple design of nanoparticle-drug conjugates wherein drug molecules are directly adsorbed onto the as-synthesized nanoparticle surface. The potent chemotherapeutic, doxorubicin often serves as a model drug for gold nanoparticle-based delivery platforms; however, the specific interaction facilitating adsorption in this system remains understudied. Here, for the first time, we propose empirical and theoretical evidence suggestive of the main adsorption process where (1) hydrophobic forces drive doxorubicin towards the gold nanoparticle surface before (2) cation-π interactions and gold-carbonyl coordination between the drug molecule and the cations on AuNP surface facilitate DOX adsorption. In addition, biologically relevant compounds, such as serum albumin and glutathione, were shown to enhance desorption of loaded drug molecules from AuNP at physiologically relevant concentrations, providing insight into the drug release and in vivo stability of such drug conjugates. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: DOX-AuNP absorption spectra and colored solution images, citrate displacement data, original DOX-AuNP loading isotherm, XPS data and TEM micrographs, modelling data. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr05826k

  9. Design of a nanoplatform for treating pancreatic cancer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Manawadu, Harshi Chathurangi

    Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the USA. Asymptomatic early cancer stages and late diagnosis leads to very low survival rates of pancreatic cancers, compared to other cancers. Treatment options for advanced pancreatic cancer are limited to chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy, as surgical removal of the cancerous tissue becomes impossible at later stages. Therefore, there's a critical need for innovative and improved chemotherapeutic treatment of (late) pancreatic cancers. It is mandatory for successful treatment strategies to overcome the drug resistance associated with pancreatic cancers. Nanotechnology based drug formulations have been providing promising alternatives in cancer treatment due to their selective targeting and accumulation in tumor vasculature, which can be used for efficient delivery of chemotherapeutic agents to tumors and metastases. The research of my thesis is following the principle approach to high therapeutic efficacy that has been first described by Dr. Helmut Ringsdorf in 1975. However, I have extended the use of the Ringsdorf model from polymeric to nanoparticle-based drug carriers by exploring an iron / iron oxide nanoparticle based drug delivery system. A series of drug delivery systems have been synthesized by varying the total numbers and the ratio of the tumor homing peptide sequence CGKRK and the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin at the surfaces of Fe/Fe3O 4-nanoparticles. The cytotoxicity of these nanoformulations was tested against murine pancreatic cancer cell lines (Pan02) to assess their therapeutic capabilities for effective treatments of pancreatic cancers. Healthy mouse fibroblast cells (STO) were also tested for comparison, because an effective chemotherapeutic drug has to be selective towards cancer cells. Optimal Experimental Design methodology was applied to identify the nanoformulation with the highest therapeutic activity. A statistical analysis method known as response surface methodology was carried out to evaluate the in-vitro cytotoxicity data, and to determine whether the chosen experimental parameters truly express the optimized conditions of the nanoparticle based drug delivery system. The overall goal was to optimize the therapeutic efficacy in nanoparticle-based pancreatic cancer treatment. Based on the statistical data, the most effective iron/iron oxide nanoparticle-based drug delivery system has been identified. Its Fe/Fe3O4 core has a diameter of 20 nm. The surface of this nanoparticle is loaded with the homing sequence CGKRK (139-142 peptide molecules per nanoparticle surface) and the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin (156-159 molecules per surface), This nanoplatform is a promising candidate for the nanoparticle-based chemotherapy of pancreatic cancer.

  10. Protein nanoparticles as drug delivery carriers for cancer therapy.

    PubMed

    Lohcharoenkal, Warangkana; Wang, Liying; Chen, Yi Charlie; Rojanasakul, Yon

    2014-01-01

    Nanoparticles have increasingly been used for a variety of applications, most notably for the delivery of therapeutic and diagnostic agents. A large number of nanoparticle drug delivery systems have been developed for cancer treatment and various materials have been explored as drug delivery agents to improve the therapeutic efficacy and safety of anticancer drugs. Natural biomolecules such as proteins are an attractive alternative to synthetic polymers which are commonly used in drug formulations because of their safety. In general, protein nanoparticles offer a number of advantages including biocompatibility and biodegradability. They can be prepared under mild conditions without the use of toxic chemicals or organic solvents. Moreover, due to their defined primary structure, protein-based nanoparticles offer various possibilities for surface modifications including covalent attachment of drugs and targeting ligands. In this paper, we review the most significant advancements in protein nanoparticle technology and their use in drug delivery arena. We then examine the various sources of protein materials that have been used successfully for the construction of protein nanoparticles as well as their methods of preparation. Finally, we discuss the applications of protein nanoparticles in cancer therapy.

  11. Paclitaxel Nano-Delivery Systems: A Comprehensive Review

    PubMed Central

    Ma, Ping; Mumper, Russell J.

    2013-01-01

    Paclitaxel is one of the most effective chemotherapeutic drugs ever developed and is active against a broad range of cancers, such as lung, ovarian, and breast cancers. Due to its low water solubility, paclitaxel is formulated in a mixture of Cremophor EL and dehydrated ethanol (50:50, v/v) a combination known as Taxol. However, Taxol has some severe side effects related to Cremophor EL and ethanol. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the development of alternative Taxol formulations. The encapsulation of paclitaxel in biodegradable and non-toxic nano-delivery systems can protect the drug from degradation during circulation and in-turn protect the body from toxic side effects of the drug thereby lowering its toxicity, increasing its circulation half-life, exhibiting improved pharmacokinetic profiles, and demonstrating better patient compliance. Also, nanoparticle-based delivery systems can take advantage of the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect for passive tumor targeting, therefore, they are promising carriers to improve the therapeutic index and decrease the side effects of paclitaxel. To date, paclitaxel albumin-bound nanoparticles (Abraxane®) have been approved by the FDA for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In addition, there are a number of novel paclitaxel nanoparticle formulations in clinical trials. In this comprehensive review, several types of developed paclitaxel nano-delivery systems will be covered and discussed, such as polymeric nanoparticles, lipid-based formulations, polymer conjugates, inorganic nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, nanocrystals, and cyclodextrin nanoparticles. PMID:24163786

  12. Synthesis and characterization of a multifunctional gold-doxorubicin nanoparticle system for pH triggered intracellular anticancer drug release.

    PubMed

    Khutale, Ganesh V; Casey, Alan

    2017-10-01

    A nanoparticle drug carrier system has been developed to alter the cellular uptake and chemotherapeutic performance of an available chemotherapeutic drug. The system comprises of a multifunctional gold nanoparticle based drug delivery system (Au-PEG-PAMAM-DOX) as a novel platform for intracellular delivery of doxorubicin (DOX). Spherical gold nanoparticles were synthesized by a gold chloride reduction, stabilized with thiolated polyethylene glycol (PEG) and then covalently coupled with a polyamidoamine (PAMAM) G4 dendrimer. Further, conjugation of an anti-cancer drug doxorubicin to the dendrimer via amide bond resulted in Au-PEG-PAMAM-DOX drug delivery system. Acellular drug release studies proved that DOX released from Au-PEG-PAMAM-DOX at physiological pH was negligible but it was significantly increased at a weak acidic milieu. The intracellular drug release was monitored with confocal laser scanning microscopy analysis. In vitro viability studies showed an increase in the associated doxorubicin cytotoxicity not attributed to carrier components indicating the efficiency of the doxorubicin was improved, upon conjugation to the nano system. As such it is postulated that the developed pH triggered multifunctional doxorubicin-gold nanoparticle system, could lead to a promising platform for intracellular delivery of variety of anticancer drugs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Engineering liposomal nanoparticles for targeted gene therapy.

    PubMed

    Zylberberg, C; Gaskill, K; Pasley, S; Matosevic, S

    2017-08-01

    Recent mechanistic studies have attempted to deepen our understanding of the process by which liposome-mediated delivery of genetic material occurs. Understanding the interactions between lipid nanoparticles and cells is still largely elusive. Liposome-mediated delivery of genetic material faces systemic obstacles alongside entry into the cell, endosomal escape, lysosomal degradation and nuclear uptake. Rational design approaches for targeted delivery have been developed to reduce off-target effects and enhance transfection. These strategies, which have included the modification of lipid nanoparticles with target-specific ligands to enhance intracellular uptake, have shown significant promise at the proof-of-concept stage. Control of physical and chemical specifications of liposome composition, which includes lipid-to-DNA charge, size, presence of ester bonds, chain length and nature of ligand complexation, is integral to the performance of targeted liposomes as genetic delivery agents. Clinical advances are expected to rely on such systems in the therapeutic application of liposome nanoparticle-based gene therapy. Here, we discuss the latest breakthroughs in the development of targeted liposome-based agents for the delivery of genetic material, paying particular attention to new ligand and cationic lipid design as well as recent in vivo advances.

  14. Biodegradable nanoparticles for gene therapy technology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hosseinkhani, Hossein; He, Wen-Jie; Chiang, Chiao-Hsi; Hong, Po-Da; Yu, Dah-Shyong; Domb, Abraham J.; Ou, Keng-Liang

    2013-07-01

    Rapid propagations in materials technology together with biology have initiated great hopes in the possibility of treating many diseases by gene therapy technology. Viral and non-viral gene carriers are currently applied for gene delivery. Non-viral technology is safe and effective for the delivery of genetic materials to cells and tissues. Non-viral systems are based on plasmid expression containing a gene encoding a therapeutic protein and synthetic biodegradable nanoparticles as a safe carrier of gene. Biodegradable nanoparticles have shown great interest in drug and gene delivery systems as they are easy to be synthesized and have no side effect in cells and tissues. This review provides a critical view of applications of biodegradable nanoparticles on gene therapy technology to enhance the localization of in vitro and in vivo and improve the function of administered genes.

  15. Nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease

    PubMed Central

    Fonseca-Santos, Bruno; Gremião, Maria Palmira Daflon; Chorilli, Marlus

    2015-01-01

    Alzheimer’s disease is a neurological disorder that results in cognitive and behavioral impairment. Conventional treatment strategies, such as acetylcholinesterase inhibitor drugs, often fail due to their poor solubility, lower bioavailability, and ineffective ability to cross the blood–brain barrier. Nanotechnological treatment methods, which involve the design, characterization, production, and application of nanoscale drug delivery systems, have been employed to optimize therapeutics. These nanotechnologies include polymeric nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, microemulsion, nanoemulsion, and liquid crystals. Each of these are promising tools for the delivery of therapeutic devices to the brain via various routes of administration, particularly the intranasal route. The objective of this study is to present a systematic review of nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. PMID:26345528

  16. Nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems for control of microbial biofilms: a review.

    PubMed

    Dos Santos Ramos, Matheus Aparecido; Da Silva, Patrícia Bento; Spósito, Larissa; De Toledo, Luciani Gaspar; Bonifácio, Bruna Vidal; Rodero, Camila Fernanda; Dos Santos, Karen Cristina; Chorilli, Marlus; Bauab, Taís Maria

    2018-01-01

    Since the dawn of civilization, it has been understood that pathogenic microorganisms cause infectious conditions in humans, which at times, may prove fatal. Among the different virulent properties of microorganisms is their ability to form biofilms, which has been directly related to the development of chronic infections with increased disease severity. A problem in the elimination of such complex structures (biofilms) is resistance to the drugs that are currently used in clinical practice, and therefore, it becomes imperative to search for new compounds that have anti-biofilm activity. In this context, nanotechnology provides secure platforms for targeted delivery of drugs to treat numerous microbial infections that are caused by biofilms. Among the many applications of such nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems is their ability to enhance the bioactive potential of therapeutic agents. The present study reports the use of important nanoparticles, such as liposomes, microemulsions, cyclodextrins, solid lipid nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles, and metallic nanoparticles, in controlling microbial biofilms by targeted drug delivery. Such utilization of these nanosystems has led to a better understanding of their applications and their role in combating biofilms.

  17. A palladium label to monitor nanoparticle-assisted drug delivery of a photosensitizer into tumor spheroids by elemental bioimaging.

    PubMed

    Niehoff, Ann-Christin; Moosmann, Aline; Söbbing, Judith; Wiehe, Arno; Mulac, Dennis; Wehe, Christoph A; Reifschneider, Olga; Blaske, Franziska; Wagner, Sylvia; Sperling, Michael; von Briesen, Hagen; Langer, Klaus; Karst, Uwe

    2014-01-01

    In this study, the cellular uptake of the second generation photosensitizer 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(3-hydroxyphenyl)porphyrin (mTHPP) was investigated using laser ablation coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) at a spatial resolution of 10 μm. To achieve high sensitivity, the photosensitizer was tagged with palladium. As a tumor model system, a 3D cell culture of the TKF-1 cell line was used. These tumor spheroids were incubated with the Pd-tagged photosensitizer embedded in poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles to investigate the efficiency of nanoparticle based drug delivery. An accumulation of the drug in the first cell layers of the tumor spheroid was observed. In the case of nanoparticle based drug delivery, a significantly more homogeneous distribution of the photosensitizer was achieved, compared to tumor spheroids incubated with the dissolved photosensitizer without the nanoparticular drug delivery system. The infiltration depth of the Pd-tagged photosensitizer could not be increased with rising incubation time, which can be attributed to the adsorption of the photosensitizer onto cellular components.

  18. Nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems for control of microbial biofilms: a review

    PubMed Central

    Dos Santos Ramos, Matheus Aparecido; Da Silva, Patrícia Bento; Spósito, Larissa; De Toledo, Luciani Gaspar; Bonifácio, Bruna Vidal; Rodero, Camila Fernanda; Dos Santos, Karen Cristina; Chorilli, Marlus; Bauab, Taís Maria

    2018-01-01

    Since the dawn of civilization, it has been understood that pathogenic microorganisms cause infectious conditions in humans, which at times, may prove fatal. Among the different virulent properties of microorganisms is their ability to form biofilms, which has been directly related to the development of chronic infections with increased disease severity. A problem in the elimination of such complex structures (biofilms) is resistance to the drugs that are currently used in clinical practice, and therefore, it becomes imperative to search for new compounds that have anti-biofilm activity. In this context, nanotechnology provides secure platforms for targeted delivery of drugs to treat numerous microbial infections that are caused by biofilms. Among the many applications of such nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems is their ability to enhance the bioactive potential of therapeutic agents. The present study reports the use of important nanoparticles, such as liposomes, microemulsions, cyclodextrins, solid lipid nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles, and metallic nanoparticles, in controlling microbial biofilms by targeted drug delivery. Such utilization of these nanosystems has led to a better understanding of their applications and their role in combating biofilms. PMID:29520143

  19. PLGA nanoparticles containing various anticancer agents and tumour delivery by EPR effect.

    PubMed

    Acharya, Sarbari; Sahoo, Sanjeeb K

    2011-03-18

    As mortality due to cancer continues to rise, advances in nanotechnology have significantly become an effective approach for achieving efficient drug targeting to tumour tissues by circumventing all the shortcomings of conventional chemotherapy. During the past decade, the importance of polymeric drug-delivery systems in oncology has grown exponentially. In this context, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is a widely used polymer for fabricating 'nanoparticles' because of biocompatibility, long-standing track record in biomedical applications and well-documented utility for sustained drug release, and hence has been the centre of focus for developing drug-loaded nanoparticles for cancer therapy. Such PLGA nanoparticles have also been used to develop proteins and peptides for nanomedicine, and nanovaccines, as well as a nanoparticle-based drug- and gene-delivery system for cancer therapy, and nanoantigens and growth factors. These drug-loaded nanoparticles extravasate through the tumour vasculature, delivering their payload into the cells by the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, thereby increasing their therapeutic effect. Ongoing research about drug-loaded nanoparticles and their delivery by the EPR effect to the tumour tissues has been elucidated in this review with clarity. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Novel aptamer-nanoparticle bioconjugates enhances delivery of anticancer drug to MUC1-positive cancer cells in vitro.

    PubMed

    Yu, Chenchen; Hu, Yan; Duan, Jinhong; Yuan, Wei; Wang, Chen; Xu, Haiyan; Yang, Xian-Da

    2011-01-01

    MUC1 protein is an attractive target for anticancer drug delivery owing to its overexpression in most adenocarcinomas. In this study, a reported MUC1 protein aptamer is exploited as the targeting agent of a nanoparticle-based drug delivery system. Paclitaxel (PTX) loaded poly (lactic-co-glycolic-acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles were formulated by an emulsion/evaporation method, and MUC1 aptamers (Apt) were conjugated to the particle surface through a DNA spacer. The aptamer conjugated nanoparticles (Apt-NPs) are about 225.3 nm in size with a stable in vitro drug release profile. Using MCF-7 breast cancer cell as a MUC1-overexpressing model, the MUC1 aptamer increased the uptake of nanoparticles into the target cells as measured by flow cytometry. Moreover, the PTX loaded Apt-NPs enhanced in vitro drug delivery and cytotoxicity to MUC1(+) cancer cells, as compared with non-targeted nanoparticles that lack the MUC1 aptamer (P<0.01). The behavior of this novel aptamer-nanoparticle bioconjugates suggests that MUC1 aptamers may have application potential in targeted drug delivery towards MUC1-overexpressing tumors.

  1. Cationic lipid-based nanoparticles mediate functional delivery of acetate to tumor cells in vivo leading to significant anticancer effects

    PubMed Central

    Parkinson, James R; Parkes, Harry G; So, Po Wah; Hajji, Nabil; Thomas, E Louise; Frost, Gary S

    2017-01-01

    Metabolic reengineering using nanoparticle delivery represents an innovative therapeutic approach to normalizing the deregulation of cellular metabolism underlying many diseases, including cancer. Here, we demonstrated a unique and novel application to the treatment of malignancy using a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-encapsulated lipid-based delivery system – liposome-encapsulated acetate nanoparticles for cancer applications (LITA-CAN). We assessed chronic in vivo administration of our nanoparticle in three separate murine models of colorectal cancer. We demonstrated a substantial reduction in tumor growth in the xenograft model of colorectal cancer cell lines HT-29, HCT-116 p53+/+ and HCT-116 p53−/−. Nanoparticle-induced reductions in histone deacetylase gene expression indicated a potential mechanism for these anti-proliferative effects. Together, these results indicated that LITA-CAN could be used as an effective direct or adjunct therapy to treat malignant transformation in vivo. PMID:28932113

  2. Manufacturing Techniques and Surface Engineering of Polymer Based Nanoparticles for Targeted Drug Delivery to Cancer

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Yichao; Li, Puwang; Truong-Dinh Tran, Thao; Zhang, Juan; Kong, Lingxue

    2016-01-01

    The evolution of polymer based nanoparticles as a drug delivery carrier via pharmaceutical nano/microencapsulation has greatly promoted the development of nano- and micro-medicine in the past few decades. Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and chitosan, which are biodegradable and biocompatible polymers, have been approved by both the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicine Agency (EMA), making them ideal biomaterials that can be advanced from laboratory development to clinical oral and parental administrations. PLGA and chitosan encapsulated nanoparticles (NPs) have successfully been developed as new oral drug delivery systems with demonstrated high efficacy. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the fabrication of PLGA and chitosan particulate systems using nano/microencapsulation methods, the current progress and the future outlooks of the nanoparticulate drug delivery systems. Especially, we focus on the formulations and nano/micro-encapsulation techniques using top-down techniques. It also addresses how the different phases including the organic and aqueous ones in the emulsion system interact with each other and subsequently influence the properties of the drug delivery system. Besides, surface modification strategies which can effectively engineer intrinsic physicochemical properties are summarised. Finally, future perspectives and potential directions of PLGA and chitosan nano/microencapsulated drug systems are outlined. PMID:28344283

  3. Multifunctional hydroxyapatite and poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles for the local delivery of cholecalciferol.

    PubMed

    Ignjatović, Nenad; Uskoković, Vuk; Ajduković, Zorica; Uskoković, Dragan

    2013-03-01

    Cholecalciferol, vitamin D3, plays an important role in bonemetabolism by regulating extracellular levels of calcium. Presented here is a study on the effects of the local delivery of cholecalciferol (D3) using nanoparticulate carriers composed of hydroxyapatite (HAp) and poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA). Multifunctional nanoparticulate HAp-based powders were prepared for the purpose of: (a) either fast or sustained, local delivery of cholecalciferol, and (b) the secondary, osteoconductive and defect-filling effect of the carrier itself. Two types of HAp-based powders with particles of narrowly dispersed sizes in the nano range were prepared and tested in this study: HAp nanoparticles as direct cholecalciferol delivery agents and HAp nanoparticles coated with cholecalciferol-loaded poly(D,L)-lactide-co-glycolide (HAp/D3/PLGA). Satisfying biocompatibility of particulate systems, when incubated in contact with MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells in vitro, was observed for HAp/D3/PLGA and pure HAp. In contrast, an extensively fast release of cholecalciferol from the system comprising HAp nanoparticles coated with cholecalciferol (HAp/D3) triggered necrosis of the osteoblastic cells in vitro. Artificial defects induced in the osteoporotic bone of the rat mandible were successfully reconstructed following implantation of cholecalciferol-coated HAp nanoparticles as well as those comprising HAp nanoparticles coated with cholecalciferol-loaded PLGA (HAp/D3/PLGA). The greatest levels of enhanced angiogenesis, vascularization, osteogenesis and bone structure differentiation were achieved upon the implementation of HAp/D3/PLGA systems.

  4. A New Carbon Nanotube-Based Breast Cancer Drug Delivery System: Preparation and In Vitro Analysis Using Paclitaxel.

    PubMed

    Shao, Wei; Paul, Arghya; Rodes, Laetitia; Prakash, Satya

    2015-04-01

    Paclitaxel (PTX) is one of the most important drugs for breast cancer; however, the drug effects are limited by its systematic toxicity and poor water solubility. Nanoparticles have been applied for delivery of cancer drugs to overcome their limitations. Toward this goal, a novel single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT)-based drug delivery system was developed by conjugation of human serum albumin (HSA) nanoparticles for loading of antitumor agent PTX. The nanosized macromolecular SWNT-drug carrier (SWNT-HSA) was characterized by TEM, UV-Vis-NIR spectrometry, and TGA. The SWNT-based drug carrier displayed high intracellular delivery efficiency (cell uptake rate of 80%) in breast cancer MCF-7 cells, as examined by fluorescence-labeled drug carriers, suggesting the needle-shaped SWNT-HSA drug carrier was able to transport drugs across cell membrane despite its macromolecular structure. The drug loading on SWNT-based drug carrier was through high binding affinity of PTX to HSA proteins. The PTX formulated with SWNT-HSA showed greater growth inhibition activity in MCF-7 breast cancer cells than PTX formulated with HSA nanoparticle only (cell viability of 63 vs 70% in 48 h and 53 vs 62% in 72 h). The increased drug efficacy could be driven by SWNT-mediated cell internalization. These data suggest that the developed SWNT-based antitumor agent is functional and effective. However, more studies for in vivo drug delivery efficacy and other properties are needed before this delivery system can be fully realized.

  5. A multifunctional lipid nanoparticle for co-delivery of paclitaxel and curcumin for targeted delivery and enhanced cytotoxicity in multidrug resistant breast cancer cells

    PubMed Central

    Baek, Jong-Suep; Cho, Cheong-Weon

    2017-01-01

    The objective of the work was to develop a multifunctional nanomedicine based on a folate-conjugated lipid nanoparticles loaded with paclitaxel and curcumin. The novel system combines therapeutic advantageous of efficient targeted delivery via folate and timed-release of curcumin and paclitaxel via 2-hydroxypropyl-ß-cyclodextrin, thereby overcoming multidrug resistance in breast cancer cells (MCF-7/ADR). The faster release of curcumin from the folate-conjugated curcumin and paclitaxel-loaded lipid nanoparticles enables sufficient p-glycoprotein inhibition, which allows increased cellular uptake and cytotoxicity of paclitaxel. In western blot assay, curcumin can efficiently inhibit the expression of p-glycoprotein, conformed the enhancement of cytotoxicity by paclitaxel. Furthermore, folate-conjugated curcumin and paclitaxel-loaded lipid nanoparticles exhibited increased uptake of paclitaxel and curcumin into MCF-7/ADR cells through the folate receptor-mediated internalization. Taken together, these results indicate that folate-conjugated curcumin and paclitaxel-loaded lipid nanoparticles enables the enhanced, folate-targeted delivery of multiple anticancer drugs by inhibiting the multi-drug resistance efficiently, which may also serve as a useful nano-system for co-delivery of other anticancer drugs. PMID:28423731

  6. Recent insights in the use of nanocarriers for the oral delivery of bioactive proteins and peptides.

    PubMed

    Batista, Patrícia; Castro, Pedro M; Madureira, Ana Raquel; Sarmento, Bruno; Pintado, Manuela

    2018-03-01

    Bioactive proteins and peptides have been used with either prophylactic or therapeutic purposes, presenting inherent advantages as high specificity and biocompatibility. Nanocarriers play an important role in the stabilization of proteins and peptides, offering enhanced buccal permeation and protection while crossing the gastrointestinal tract. Moreover, preparation of nanoparticles as oral delivery systems for proteins/peptides may include tailored formulation along with functionalization aiming bioavailability enhancement of carried proteins or peptides. Oral delivery systems, namely buccal delivery systems, represent an interesting alternative route to parenteric delivery systems to carry proteins and peptides, resulting in higher comfort of administration and, therefore, compliance to treatment. This paper outlines an extensive overview of the existing publications on proteins/peptides oral nanocarriers delivery systems, with special focus on buccal route. Manufacturing aspects of most commonly used nanoparticles for oral delivery (e.g. polymeric nanoparticles using synthetic or natural polymers and lipid nanoparticles) advantages and limitations and potential applications of nanoparticles as proteins/peptides delivery systems will also be thoroughly addressed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Self-Assembled Cubic Liquid Crystalline Nanoparticles for Transdermal Delivery of Paeonol

    PubMed Central

    Li, Jian-Chun; Zhu, Na; Zhu, Jin-Xiu; Zhang, Wen-Jing; Zhang, Hong-Min; Wang, Qing-Qing; Wu, Xiao-Xiang; Wang, Xiu; Zhang, Jin; Hao, Ji-Fu

    2015-01-01

    Background The aim of this study was to optimize the preparation method for self-assembled glyceryl monoolein-based cubosomes containing paeonol and to characterize the properties of this transdermal delivery system to improve the drug penetration ability in the skin. Material/Methods In this study, the cubic liquid crystalline nanoparticles loaded with paeonol were prepared by fragmentation of glyceryl monoolein (GMO)/poloxamer 407 bulk cubic gel by high-pressure homogenization. We evaluated the Zeta potential of these promising skin-targeting drug-delivery systems using the Malvern Zeta sizer examination, and various microscopies and differential scanning calorimetry were also used for property investigation. Stimulating studies were evaluated based on the skin irritation reaction score standard and the skin stimulus intensity evaluation standard for paeonol cubosomes when compared with commercial paeonol ointment. In vitro tests were performed on excised rat skins in an improved Franz diffusion apparatus. The amount of paeonol over time in the in vitro penetration and retention experiments both was determined quantitatively by HPLC. Results Stimulating studies were compared with the commercial ointment which indicated that the paeonol cubic liquid crystalline nanoparticles could reduce the irritation in the skin stimulating test. Thus, based on the attractive characteristics of the cubic crystal system of paeonol, we will further exploit the cosmetic features in the future studies. Conclusions The transdermal delivery system of paeonol with low-irritation based on the self-assembled cubic liquid crystalline nanoparticles prepared in this study might be a promising system of good tropical preparation for skin application. PMID:26517086

  8. Multifunctional platinum-based nanoparticles for biomedical applications.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Qinqin; Liu, Yangzhong

    2017-03-01

    Platinum-based anticancer drugs play a central role in current cancer therapy. However, their applicability and efficacy are limited by drug resistance and adverse effects. Nanocarrier-based platinum drug delivery systems are promising alternatives to circumvent the disadvantages of bare platinum drugs. The various properties of nanoparticle chemistry allow for the trend toward multiple functionality. Nanoparticles preferentially accumulate at the tumor site through passive targeting, and the attachment of tumor targeting moieties further enhances their tumor-specific localization as well as tumor cell uptake. The introduction of stimuli-responsive groups into drug delivery systems can further achieve spatially and temporally controlled drug release in response to specific stimuli. Combination therapy strategies have been used to promote synergetic efficacy and overcome the resistance of platinum drugs. The tumor-localized drug delivery strategies exhibit benefits for preventing local tumor recurrence. In addition, the combination of platinum drugs and imaging agents in one unity allows the cancer diagnostics for real-time monitoring the distribution of drug-loaded nanoparticles inside the body and tumor. This review discusses recent scientific advances in multifunctional nanoparticle formulations of platinum drugs, and these designs exhibit new potential of multifunctional nanoparticles for delivering platinum-based anticancer drugs. WIREs Nanomed Nanobiotechnol 2017, 9:e1410. doi: 10.1002/wnan.1410 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. A supramolecular nanoparticle system based on β-cyclodextrin-conjugated poly-l-lysine and hyaluronic acid for co-delivery of gene and chemotherapy agent targeting hepatocellular carcinoma.

    PubMed

    Xiong, Qingqing; Cui, Mangmang; Bai, Yang; Liu, Yuanyuan; Liu, Di; Song, Tianqiang

    2017-07-01

    A novel supramolecular nanoparticle system with core-shell structure was designed based on β-cyclodextrin-conjugated poly-l-lysine (PLCD) and hyaluronic acid for co-delivery of gene and chemotherapy agent targeting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). PLCD was synthesized by the conjugation of monoaldehyde activated β-cyclodextrin with poly-l-lysine via Shiff's base reaction. Doxorubicin, as a model therapeutic drug, was included into the hydrophobic cavity of β-cyclodextrin in PLCD through host-guest interaction. OligoRNA, as a model gene, was further condensed into the inclusion complexes by electrostatic interaction to form oligoRNA and doxorubicin co-loaded supramolecular nanoparticle system. Hyaluronic acid, which is often over-expressed by HCC cells, was coated on the surface of the above nanoparticles to construct HCC-targeted nanoparticle system. These nanoparticles had regular spherical shape with classic "core-shell" structure, and their size and zeta potential were 195.8nm and -22.7mV, respectively. The nanoparticles could effectively deliver doxorubicin and oligoRNA into HCC cells via CD44 receptor-mediated endocytosis and significantly inhibit the cell proliferation. In the nude mice bearing MHCC-97H tumor, the nanoparticles could be efficiently accumulated in the tumor, suggesting their strong hepatoma-targeting capability. These findings demonstrated that this novel supramolecular nanoparticle system had a promising potential for combining gene therapy and chemotherapy to treat HCC. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Cell membrane-based nanoparticles: a new biomimetic platform for tumor diagnosis and treatment.

    PubMed

    Li, Ruixiang; He, Yuwei; Zhang, Shuya; Qin, Jing; Wang, Jianxin

    2018-01-01

    Taking inspiration from nature, the biomimetic concept has been integrated into drug delivery systems in cancer therapy. Disguised with cell membranes, the nanoparticles can acquire various functions of natural cells. The cell membrane-coating technology has pushed the limits of common nano-systems (fast elimination in circulation) to more effectively navigate within the body. Moreover, because of the various functional molecules on the surface, cell membrane-based nanoparticles (CMBNPs) are capable of interacting with the complex biological microenvironment of the tumor. Various sources of cell membranes have been explored to camouflage CMBNPs and different tumor-targeting strategies have been developed to enhance the anti-tumor drug delivery therapy. In this review article we highlight the most recent advances in CMBNP-based cancer targeting systems and address the challenges and opportunities in this field.

  11. Modelling the Transport of Nanoparticles under Blood Flow using an Agent-based Approach.

    PubMed

    Fullstone, Gavin; Wood, Jonathan; Holcombe, Mike; Battaglia, Giuseppe

    2015-06-10

    Blood-mediated nanoparticle delivery is a new and growing field in the development of therapeutics and diagnostics. Nanoparticle properties such as size, shape and surface chemistry can be controlled to improve their performance in biological systems. This enables modulation of immune system interactions, blood clearance profile and interaction with target cells, thereby aiding effective delivery of cargo within cells or tissues. Their ability to target and enter tissues from the blood is highly dependent on their behaviour under blood flow. Here we have produced an agent-based model of nanoparticle behaviour under blood flow in capillaries. We demonstrate that red blood cells are highly important for effective nanoparticle distribution within capillaries. Furthermore, we use this model to demonstrate how nanoparticle size can selectively target tumour tissue over normal tissue. We demonstrate that the polydispersity of nanoparticle populations is an important consideration in achieving optimal specificity and to avoid off-target effects. In future this model could be used for informing new nanoparticle design and to predict general and specific uptake properties under blood flow.

  12. PEGylated Silk Nanoparticles for Anticancer Drug Delivery.

    PubMed

    Wongpinyochit, Thidarat; Uhlmann, Petra; Urquhart, Andrew J; Seib, F Philipp

    2015-11-09

    Silk has a robust clinical track record and is emerging as a promising biopolymer for drug delivery, including its use as nanomedicine. However, silk-based nanomedicines still require further refinements for full exploitation of their potential; the application of "stealth" design principals is especially necessary to support their evolution. The aim of this study was to develop and examine the potential of PEGylated silk nanoparticles as an anticancer drug delivery system. We first generated B. mori derived silk nanoparticles by driving β-sheet assembly (size 104 ± 1.7 nm, zeta potential -56 ± 5.6 mV) using nanoprecipitation. We then surface grafted polyethylene glycol (PEG) to the fabricated silk nanoparticles and verified the aqueous stability and morphology of the resulting PEGylated silk nanoparticles. We assessed the drug loading and release behavior of these nanoparticles using clinically established and emerging anticancer drugs. Overall, PEGylated silk nanoparticles showed high encapsulation efficiency (>93%) and a pH-dependent release over 14 days. Finally, we demonstrated significant cytotoxicity of drug loaded silk nanoparticles applied as single and combination nanomedicines to human breast cancer cells. In conclusion, these results, taken together with prior silk nanoparticle data, support a viable future for silk-based nanomedicines.

  13. Current understanding of interactions between nanoparticles and the immune system

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dobrovolskaia, Marina A., E-mail: marina@mail.nih.

    2016-05-15

    The delivery of drugs, antigens, and imaging agents benefits from using nanotechnology-based carriers. The successful translation of nanoformulations to the clinic involves thorough assessment of their safety profiles, which, among other end-points, includes evaluation of immunotoxicity. The past decade of research focusing on nanoparticle interaction with the immune system has been fruitful in terms of understanding the basics of nanoparticle immunocompatibility, developing a bioanalytical infrastructure to screen for nanoparticle-mediated immune reactions, beginning to uncover the mechanisms of nanoparticle immunotoxicity, and utilizing current knowledge about the structure–activity relationship between nanoparticles' physicochemical properties and their effects on the immune system to guidemore » safe drug delivery. In the present review, we focus on the most prominent pieces of the nanoparticle–immune system puzzle and discuss the achievements, disappointments, and lessons learned over the past 15 years of research on the immunotoxicity of engineered nanomaterials. - Graphical abstract: API — active pharmaceutical ingredient; NP — nanoparticles; PCP — physicochemical properties, CARPA — complement activation-related pseudoallergy, ICH — International Conference on Harmonization. Display Omitted - Highlights: • Achievements, disappointments and lessons learned over past decade are reviewed. • Areas in focus include characterization, immunotoxicity and utility in drug delivery. • Future direction focusing on mechanistic immunotoxicity studies is proposed.« less

  14. Comparison of the uptake of methacrylate-based nanoparticles in static and dynamic in vitro systems as well as in vivo.

    PubMed

    Rinkenauer, Alexandra C; Press, Adrian T; Raasch, Martin; Pietsch, Christian; Schweizer, Simon; Schwörer, Simon; Rudolph, Karl L; Mosig, Alexander; Bauer, Michael; Traeger, Anja; Schubert, Ulrich S

    2015-10-28

    Polymer-based nanoparticles are promising drug delivery systems allowing the development of new drug and treatment strategies with reduced side effects. However, it remains a challenge to screen for new and effective nanoparticle-based systems in vitro. Important factors influencing the behavior of nanoparticles in vivo cannot be simulated in screening assays in vitro, which still represent the main tools in academic research and pharmaceutical industry. These systems have serious drawbacks in the development of nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems, since they do not consider the highly complex processes influencing nanoparticle clearance, distribution, and uptake in vivo. In particular, the transfer of in vitro nanoparticle performance to in vivo models often fails, demonstrating the urgent need for novel in vitro tools that can imitate aspects of the in vivo situation more accurate. Dynamic cell culture, where cells are cultured and incubated in the presence of shear stress has the potential to bridge this gap by mimicking key-features of organs and vessels. Our approach implements and compares a chip-based dynamic cell culture model to the common static cell culture and mouse model to assess its capability to predict the in vivo success more accurately, by using a well-defined poly((methyl methacrylate)-co-(methacrylic acid)) and poly((methyl methacrylate)-co-(2-dimethylamino ethylmethacrylate)) based nanoparticle library. After characterization in static and dynamic in vitro cell culture we were able to show that physiological conditions such as cell-cell communication of co-cultured endothelial cells and macrophages as well as mechanotransductive signaling through shear stress significantly alter cellular nanoparticle uptake. In addition, it could be demonstrated by using dynamic cell cultures that the in vivo situation is simulated more accurately and thereby can be applied as a novel system to investigate the performance of nanoparticle systems in vivo more reliable. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  15. Update on Nanotechnology-based Drug Delivery Systems in Cancer Treatment.

    PubMed

    Ho, Benjamin N; Pfeffer, Claire M; Singh, Amareshwar T K

    2017-11-01

    The emerging field of nanotechnology meets the demands for innovative approaches in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The nanoparticles are biocompatible and biodegradable and are made of a core, a particle that acts as a carrier, and one or more functional groups on the core which target specific sites. Nanotech in drug delivery includes nanodisks, High Density Lipoprotein nanostructures, liposomes, and gold nanoparticles. The fundamental advantages of nanoparticles are: improved delivery of water-insoluble drugs, targeted delivery, co-delivery of two or more drugs for combination therapy, and visualization of the drug delivery site by combining imaging system and a therapeutic drug. One of the potential applications of nanotechnology is in the treatment of cancer. Conventional methods for cancer treatments have included chemotherapy, surgery, or radiation. Early recognition and treatment of cancer with these approaches is still challenging. Innovative technologies are needed to overcome multidrug resistance, and increase drug localization and efficacy. Application of nanotechnology to cancer biology has brought in a new hope for developing treatment strategies on cancer. In this study, we present a review on the recent advances in nanotechnology-based approaches in cancer treatment. Copyright© 2017, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.

  16. The role of chitosan on oral delivery of peptide-loaded nanoparticle formulation.

    PubMed

    Wong, Chun Y; Al-Salami, Hani; Dass, Crispin R

    2017-12-01

    Therapeutic peptides are conventionally administered via subcutaneous injection. Chitosan-based nanoparticles are gaining increased attention for their ability to serve as a carrier for oral delivery of peptides and vaccination. They offered superior biocompatibiltiy, controlled drug release profile and facilitated gastrointestinal (GI) absorption. The encapsulated peptides can withstand enzymatic degradation and various pH. Chitosan-based nanoparticles can also be modified by ligand conjugation to the surface of nanoparticle for transcellular absorption and specific-targeted delivery of macromolecules to the tissue of interest. Current research suggests that chitosan-based nanoparticles can deliver therapeutic peptide for the treatment of several medical conditions such as diabetes, bacterial infection and cancer. This review summarises the role of chitosan in oral nanoparticle delivery and identifies the clinical application of peptide-loaded chitosan-based nanoparticles.

  17. Lipid nanoparticles as drug/gene delivery systems to the retina.

    PubMed

    del Pozo-Rodríguez, Ana; Delgado, Diego; Gascón, Alicia R; Solinís, Maria Ángeles

    2013-03-01

    This review highlights the application of lipid nanoparticles (Solid Lipid Nanoparticles, Nanostructured Lipid Carriers, or Lipid Drug Conjugates) as effective drug/gene delivery systems for retinal diseases. Most drug products for ocular disease treatment are marketed as eye drop formulations but, due to ocular barriers, the drug concentration in the retina hardly ever turns out to be effective. Up to this date, several delivery systems have been designed to deliver drugs to the retina. Drug delivery strategies may be classified into 3 groups: noninvasive techniques, implants, and colloidal carriers. The best known systems for drug delivery to the posterior eye are intravitreal implants; in fact, some of them are being clinically used. However, their long-term accumulation might impact the patient's vision. On the contrary, colloidal drug delivery systems (microparticles, liposomes, or nanoparticles) can be easily administered in a liquid form. Nanoparticular systems diffuse rapidly and are better internalized in ocular tissues than microparticles. In comparison with liposomes, nanoparticles have a higher loading capacity and are more stable in biological fluids and during storage. In addition, their capacity to adhere to the ocular surface and interact with the endothelium makes these drug delivery systems interesting as new therapeutic tools in ophthalmology. Within the group of nanoparticles, those composed of lipids (Solid Lipid Nanoparticles, Nanostructred Lipid Carriers, and Lipid Drug Conjugates) are more biocompatible, easy to produce at large scale, and they may be autoclaved or sterilized. The present review summarizes scientific results that evidence the potential application of lipid nanoparticles as drug delivery systems for the retina and also as nonviral vectors in gene therapy of retina disorders, although much more effort is still needed before these lipidic systems could be available in the market.

  18. Receptor Targeted Polymeric Nanostructures Capable of Navigating across the Blood-Brain Barrier for Effective Delivery of Neural Therapeutics.

    PubMed

    Dube, Taru; Chibh, Sonika; Mishra, Jibanananda; Panda, Jiban Jyoti

    2017-10-18

    The window of neurological maladies encompasses 600 known neurological disorders. In the past few years, an inordinate upsurge in the incidences of neuronal ailments with increased mortality rate has been witnessed globally. Despite noteworthy research in the discovery and development of neural therapeutics, brain drug delivery still encounters limited success due to meager perviousness of most of the drug molecules through the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a tight layer of endothelial cells that selectively impedes routing of the molecules across itself. In this Review, we have tried to present a comprehensive idea on the recent developments in nanoparticle based BBB delivery systems, with a focus on the advancements in receptor targeted polymeric nanoparticles pertaining to BBB delivery. We have also attempted to bridge the gap between conventional brain delivery strategies and nanoparticle based BBB delivery for in-depth understanding. Various strategies are being explored for simplifying delivery of molecules across the BBB; however, they have their own limitations such as invasiveness and need for hospitalization and surgery. Introduction of nanotechnology can impressively benefit brain drug delivery. Though many nanoparticles are being explored, there are still several issues that need to be analyzed scrupulously before a real and efficient BBB traversing nanoformulation is realized.

  19. Optical Imaging and Gene Therapy with Neuroblastoma-Targeting Polymeric Nanoparticles for Potential Theranostic Applications.

    PubMed

    Lee, Jangwook; Jeong, Eun Ju; Lee, Yeon Kyung; Kim, Kwangmeyung; Kwon, Ick Chan; Lee, Kuen Yong

    2016-03-02

    Recently, targeted delivery systems based on functionalized polymeric nanoparticles have attracted a great deal of attention in cancer diagnosis and therapy. Specifically, as neuroblastoma occurs in infancy and childhood, targeted delivery may be critical to reduce the side effects that can occur with conventional approaches, as well as to achieve precise diagnosis and efficient therapy. Thus, biocompatible poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLG) nanoparticles containing an imaging probe and therapeutic gene are prepared, followed by modification with rabies virus glycoprotein (RVG) peptide for neuroblastoma-targeting delivery. RVG peptide is a well-known neuronal targeting ligand and is chemically conjugated to PLG nanoparticles without changing their size or shape. RVG-modified nanoparticles are effective in specifically targeting neuroblastoma both in vitro and in vivo. RVG-modified nanoparticles loaded with a fluorescent probe are useful to detect the tumor site in a neuroblastoma-bearing mouse model, and those encapsulating a therapeutic gene cocktail (siMyc, siBcl-2, and siVEGF) significantly suppressed tumor growth in the mouse model. This approach to designing and tailoring of polymeric nanoparticles for targeted delivery may be useful in the development of multimodality systems for theranostic approaches. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  20. Drug delivery with topically applied nanoparticles: science fiction or reality.

    PubMed

    Lademann, J; Richter, H; Meinke, M C; Lange-Asschenfeldt, B; Antoniou, C; Mak, W C; Renneberg, R; Sterry, W; Patzelt, A

    2013-01-01

    The efficacy of topically applied drugs is determined by their action mechanism and their potential capacity of passing the skin barrier. Nanoparticles are assumed to be efficient carrier systems for drug delivery through the skin barrier. For flexible nanoparticles like liposomes, this effect has been well demonstrated. The penetration properties of solid nanoparticles are currently under intensive investigation. The crucial advantage of nanoparticles over non-particulate substances is their capability to penetrate deeply into the hair follicles where they can be stored for several days. There is no evidence, yet, that solid particles ≥40 nm are capable of passing through the healthy skin barrier. Therefore and in spite of the long-standing research efforts in this field, commercially available solid nanoparticle-based products for drug delivery through the healthy skin are still missing. Nevertheless, the prospects for the clinical use of nanoparticles in drug delivery are tremendous. They can be designed as transport systems delivering drugs efficiently into the hair follicles in the vicinity of specific target structures. Once deposited at these structures, specific signals might trigger the release of the drugs and exert their effects on the target cells. In this article, examples of such triggered drug release are presented. © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  1. Microemulsions containing lecithin and sugar-based surfactants: nanoparticle templates for delivery of proteins and peptides.

    PubMed

    Graf, Anja; Ablinger, Elisabeth; Peters, Silvia; Zimmer, Andreas; Hook, Sarah; Rades, Thomas

    2008-02-28

    Two pseudo-ternary systems comprising isopropyl myristate, soybean lecithin, water, ethanol and either decyl glucoside (DG) or capryl-caprylyl glucoside (CCG) as surfactant were investigated for their potential to form microemulsion templates to produce nanoparticles as drug delivery vehicles for proteins and peptides. All microemulsion and nanoparticle compounds used were pharmaceutically acceptable and biocompatible. Phase diagrams were established and characterized using polarizing light microscopy, viscosity, conductivity, electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and self-diffusion NMR. An area in the phase diagrams containing optically isotropic, monophasic systems was designated as the microemulsion region and systems therein identified as solution-type microemulsions. Poly(alkylcyanoacrylate) nanoparticles prepared by interfacial polymerisation from selected microemulsions ranged from 145 to 660nm in size with a unimodal size distribution depending on the type of monomer (ethyl (2) or butyl (2) cyanoacrylate) and microemulsion template. Generally larger nanoparticles were formed by butyl (2) cyanoacrylate. Insulin was added as a model protein and did not alter the physicochemical behaviour of the microemulsions or the morphology of the nanoparticles. However, insulin-loaded nanoparticles in the CCG containing system decreased in size when using butyl (2) cyanoacrylate. This study shows that microemulsions containing sugar-based surfactants are suitable formulation templates for the formation of nanoparticles to deliver peptides.

  2. Polymeric nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery system for cancer therapy.

    PubMed

    Masood, Farha

    2016-03-01

    A targeted delivery system based on the polymeric nanoparticles as a drug carrier represents a marvelous avenue for cancer therapy. The pivotal characteristics of this system include biodegradability, biocompatibility, non-toxicity, prolonged circulation and a wide payload spectrum of a therapeutic agent. Other outstanding features are their distinctive size and shape properties for tissue penetration via an active and passive targeting, specific cellular/subcellular trafficking pathways and facile control of cargo release by sophisticated material engineering. In this review, the current implications of encapsulation of anticancer agents within polyhydroxyalkanoates, poly-(lactic-co-glycolic acid) and cyclodextrin based nanoparticles to precisely target the tumor site, i.e., cell, tissue and organ are highlighted. Furthermore, the promising perspectives in this emerging field are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. A novel local anti-colorectal cancer drug delivery system: negative lipidoid nanoparticles with a passive target via a size-dependent pattern

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ding, Weifeng; Wang, Feng; Zhang, Jianfeng; Guo, Yibing; Ju, Shaoqing; Wang, Huimin

    2013-09-01

    The nontoxic, targeted and effective delivery of nucleic acid drugs remains an important challenge for clinical development. Here, we describe a novel negative lipidoid nanoparticle delivery system, providing entrapment-based transfection agents for local delivery of siRNA to the colorectal cancer focus. The delivery system was synthesized with lipidoid material 98N12-5(1), mPEG2000-C12/C14 glyceride and cholesterol at a desired molar ratio to realize the anionic surface charge of particles, which could alleviate to a larger degree the inflammatory response and immune stimulation of the organism, embodying dramatic biocompatibility. In particular, mPEG2000-C12/C14 glyceride was selected to ameliorate the stability of the delivery system and protection of nucleic acids by extending the tail length of the carbons, crucial also to neutralize the positive charge of 98N12-5(1) to form a resultant anionic particle. In vivo experiments revealed that a particle size of 90 nm perfectly realized a passive target in a size-dependent manner and did not affect the function of the liver and kidneys by a local delivery method, enema. We clarified that the uptake of negative lipidoid nanoparticles internalized through a lipid raft endocytotic pathway with low cytotoxicity, strong biocompatibility and high efficacy. This study suggests that negative lipidoid nanoparticles with enema delivery costitute, uniquely and appropriately, a local anti-colorectal cancer nucleic acid drug delivery platform, and the application of similar modes may be feasible in other therapeutic settings.

  4. A review of the efficacy and safety of nanoparticle-based oral insulin delivery systems.

    PubMed

    Card, Jeffrey W; Magnuson, Bernadene A

    2011-12-01

    Nanotechnology is providing new and innovative means to detect, diagnose, and treat disease. In this regard, numerous nanoparticle-based approaches have been taken in an effort to develop an effective oral insulin therapy for the treatment of diabetes. This review summarizes efficacy data from studies that have evaluated oral insulin therapies in experimental models. Also provided here is an overview of the limited safety data that have been reported in these studies. To date, the most promising approaches for nanoparticle-based oral insulin therapy appear to involve the incorporation of insulin into complex multilayered nanoparticles that are mucoadhesive, biodegradable, biocompatible, and acid protected and into nanoparticles that are designed to take advantage of the vitamin B(12) uptake pathway. It is anticipated that the continued investigation and optimization of nanoparticle-based formulations for oral delivery of insulin will lead to a much sought-after noninvasive treatment for diabetes. Such investigations also may provide insight into the use of nanoparticle-based formulations for peptide- and protein-based oral treatment of other diseases and for various food-related purposes.

  5. Cell Membrane-Cloaked Nanoparticles for Targeted Therapeutics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Luk, Brian Tsengchi

    The advent of nanoparticle-based delivery systems has made a significant impact on clinical patient outcomes. In recent decades, myriad nanoparticle-based therapeutic agents have been developed for the treatment and management of ailments such as cancer, diabetes, pain, bacterial infections, and asthma, among many others. Nanotherapeutics offer many distinct advantages over conventional free drug formulations. For example, nanoparticles are able to accumulate at tumor sites by extravasation through leaky vasculature at tumor sites via the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect; nanoparticles can also be tailored to have desirable characteristics, such as prolonged circulation in the blood stream, improved drug encapsulation, and sustained or triggered drug release. Currently, a growing number of nanoformulations with favorable pharmacological profiles and promising efficacy are being used in clinical trials for the treatment of various cancers. Building on the success of these encouraging clinical results, new engineering strategies have emerged that combine synthetic nanoparticles with natural biomaterials to create nature-inspired biomimetic delivery systems. The work presented in this dissertation focuses on the biointerfacing between synthetic and natural materials, namely in the manifestation of cell membrane-coated nanoparticles. By exploiting the natural functionalities of source cell membranes, cell membrane-cloaked nanoparticles have huge potential in the delivery of therapeutic agents for a variety of applications. The first portion of this thesis will focus on understanding the fundamentals underlying cell membrane coating on synthetic nanoparticles. First introduced in 2011, cell membrane-cloaked nanoparticles showed immediate promise in drug delivery applications, but further understanding was necessary to be able to harness the full potential of the membrane coating platform. The first section provides further insight into the interfacial interactions between membranes and synthetic nanoparticles, and how the membrane coating technique faithfully translates the complexities of natural cellular membranes to the nanoscale. The following three sections explore potential therapeutic applications of membrane-coated nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery, biodetoxification, and immunomodulation. Ultimately, cell membrane-cloaked nanoparticles have the potential to significantly change the landscape of nanomedicine. The novel applications presented in this thesis are just a few of many examples currently being researched, with countless more avenues waiting to be explored.

  6. Gold nanoparticle-DNA aptamer composites as a universal carrier for in vivo delivery of biologically functional proteins.

    PubMed

    Ryou, Sang-Mi; Yeom, Ji-Hyun; Kang, Hyo Jung; Won, Miae; Kim, Jin-Sik; Lee, Boeun; Seong, Maeng-Je; Ha, Nam-Chul; Bae, Jeehyeon; Lee, Kangseok

    2014-12-28

    Although the delivery of biologically functional protein(s) into mammalian cells could be of tremendous value to biomedical research, the development of such technology has been hindered by the lack of a safe and effective delivery method. Here, we present a simple, efficient, and versatile gold nanoparticle-DNA aptamer conjugate (AuNP-Apt)-based system, with nanoblock-like properties, that allows any recombinant protein to be loaded without additional modifications and delivered into mammalian living systems. AuNP-Apt-based protein delivery system was able to deliver various proteins into variety of cell types in vitro without showing cytotoxicity. This AuNP-Apt system was also effective for the local and systemic targeted delivery of proteins in vivo. A local injection of the AuNP-Apt loaded with the apoptosis-inducing BIM protein efficiently inhibited the growth of xenograft tumors in mice. Furthermore, an intravenous injection of AuNP-Apt loaded with both epidermal growth factor (EGF) and BIM resulted in the targeted delivery of BIM into a xenograft tumor derived from EGF receptor-overexpressing cancer cells with no detectable systemic toxicity. Our findings show that this system can serve as an innovative platform for the development of protein-based biomedical applications. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Cell Membrane-formed Nanovesicles for Disease-Targeted Delivery

    PubMed Central

    Gao, Jin; Chu, Dafeng; Wang, Zhenjia

    2016-01-01

    Vascular inflammation is underlying components of most diseases. To target inflamed vasculature, nanoparticles are commonly engineered by conjugating antibody to the nanoparticle surface, but this bottom-up approach could affect nanoparticle targeting and therapeutic efficacy in complex, physiologically related systems. During vascular inflammation endothelium via the NF-κB pathway instantly upregulates intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) which binds integrin β2 on neutrophil membrane. Inspired by this interaction, we created a nanovesicle-based drug delivery system using nitrogen cavitation which rapidly disrupts activated neutrophils to make cell membrane nanovesicles. Studies using intravital microscopy of live mouse cremaster venules showed that these vesicles can selectively bind inflamed vasculature because they possess intact targeting molecules of integrin β2. Administering of nanovesicles loaded with TPCA-1 (a NF-κB inhibitor) markedly mitigated mouse acute lung inflammation. Our studies reveal a new top-down strategy for directly employing a diseased tissue to produce biofunctional nanovesicle-based drug delivery systems potentially applied to treat various diseases. PMID:26778696

  8. Drug-Loaded Nanoparticle Systems And Adult Stem Cells: A Potential Marriage For The Treatment Of Malignant Glioma?

    PubMed Central

    Auffinger, Brenda; Morshed, Ramin; Tobias, Alex; Cheng, Yu; Ahmed, Atique U; Lesniak, Maciej S

    2013-01-01

    Despite all recent advances in malignant glioma research, only modest progress has been achieved in improving patient prognosis and quality of life. Such a clinical scenario underscores the importance of investing in new therapeutic approaches that, when combined with conventional therapies, are able to effectively eradicate glioma infiltration and target distant tumor foci. Nanoparticle-loaded delivery systems have recently arisen as an exciting alternative to improve targeted anti-glioma drug delivery. As drug carriers, they are able to efficiently protect the therapeutic agent and allow for sustained drug release. In addition, their surface can be easily manipulated with the addition of special ligands, which are responsible for enhancing tumor-specific nanoparticle permeability. However, their inefficient intratumoral distribution and failure to target disseminated tumor burden still pose a big challenge for their implementation as a therapeutic option in the clinical setting. Stem cell-based delivery of drug-loaded nanoparticles offers an interesting option to overcome such issues. Their ability to incorporate nanoparticles and migrate throughout interstitial barriers, together with their inherent tumor-tropic properties and synergistic anti-tumor effects make these stem cell carriers a good fit for such combined therapy. In this review, we will describe the main nanoparticle delivery systems that are presently available in preclinical and clinical studies. We will discuss their mechanisms of targeting, current delivery methods, attractive features and pitfalls. We will also debate the potential applications of stem cell carriers loaded with therapeutic nanoparticles in anticancer therapy and why such an attractive combined approach has not yet reached clinical trials. PMID:23594406

  9. Nanoparticle Delivery Enhancement With Acoustically Activated Microbubbles

    PubMed Central

    Mullin, Lee B; Phillips, Linsey C; Dayton, Paul A

    2013-01-01

    The application of microbubbles and ultrasound to deliver nanoparticle carriers for drug and gene delivery is an area that has expanded greatly in recent years. Under ultrasound exposure, microbubbles can enhance nanoparticle delivery by increasing cellular and vascular permeability. In this review, the underlying mechanisms of enhanced nanoparticle delivery with ultrasound and microbubbles and various proposed delivery techniques are discussed. Additionally, types of nanoparticles currently being investigated in preclinical studies, as well as the general limitations and benefits of a microbubble-based approach to nanoparticle delivery are reviewed. PMID:23287914

  10. Polysaccharide based nanogels in the drug delivery system: Application as the carrier of pharmaceutical agents.

    PubMed

    Debele, Tilahun Ayane; Mekuria, Shewaye Lakew; Tsai, Hsieh-Chih

    2016-11-01

    Polysaccharide-based nanoparticles have fascinated attention as a vesicle of different pharmaceutical agents due to their unique multi-functional groups in addition to their physicochemical properties, including biocompatibility and biodegradability. The existence of multi-functional groups on the polysaccharide backbone permits facile chemical or biochemical modification to synthesize polysaccharide based nanoparticles with miscellaneous structures. Polysaccharide-based nanogels have high water content, large surface area for multivalent bioconjugation, tunable size, and interior network for the incorporation of different pharmaceutical agents. These unique properties offer great potential for the utilization of polysaccharide-based nanogels in the drug delivery systems. Hence, this review describes chemistry of certain common polysaccharides, several methodologies used to synthesize polysaccharide nanoparticles and primarily focused on the polysaccharide (or polysaccharide derivative) based nanogels as the carrier of pharmaceutical agents. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Targeted Immunomodulation Using Antigen-Conjugated Nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    McCarthy, Derrick P.; Hunter, Zoe N.; Chackerian, Bryce; Shea, Lonnie D.; Miller, Stephen D.

    2014-01-01

    The growing prevalence of nanotechnology in the fields of biology, medicine and the pharmaceutical industry is confounded by the relatively small amount of data on the impact of these materials on the immune system. In addition to concerns surrounding the potential toxicity of nanoparticle (NP)-based delivery systems, there is also a demand for a better understanding of the mechanisms governing interactions of NPs with the immune system. Nanoparticles can be tailored to suppress, enhance, or subvert recognition by the immune system. This “targeted immunomodulation” can be achieved by delivery of unmodified particles, or by modifying particles to deliver drugs, proteins/peptides or genes to a specific site. In order to elicit the desired, beneficial immune response, considerations should be made at every step of the design process: the NP platform itself, ligands and other modifiers, the delivery route, and the immune cells that will encounter the conjugated NPs can all impact host immune responses. PMID:24616452

  12. Multifunctional hydroxyapatite and poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles for the local delivery of cholecalciferol

    PubMed Central

    Ignjatović, Nenad; Uskoković, Vuk; Ajduković, Zorica; Uskoković, Dragan

    2013-01-01

    Cholecalciferol, vitamin D3, plays an important role in bone metabolism by regulating extracellular levels of calcium. Presented here is a study on the effects of the local delivery of cholecalciferol (D3) using nanoparticulate carriers composed of hydroxyapatite (HAp) and poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA). Multifunctional nanoparticulate HAp-based powders were prepared for the purpose of: (a) either fast or sustained, local delivery of cholecalciferol, and (b) the secondary, osteoconductive and defect-filling effect of the carrier itself. Two types of HAp-based powders with particles of narrowly dispersed sizes in the nano range were prepared and tested in this study: HAp nanoparticles as direct cholecalciferol delivery agents and HAp nanoparticles coated with cholecalciferol-loaded poly(D,L)-lactide-co-glycolide (HAp/D3/PLGA). Satisfying biocompatibility of particulate systems, when incubated in contact with MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells in vitro, was observed for HAp/D3/PLGA and pure HAp. In contrast, an extensively fast release of cholecalciferol from the system comprising HAp nanoparticles coated with cholecalciferol (HAp/D3) triggered necrosis of the osteoblastic cells in vitro. Artificial defects induced in the osteoporotic bone of the rat mandible were successfully reconstructed following implantation of cholecalciferol-coated HAp nanoparticles as well as those comprising HAp nanoparticles coated with cholecalciferol-loaded PLGA (HAp/D3/PLGA). The greatest levels of enhanced angiogenesis, vascularization, osteogenesis and bone structure differentiation were achieved upon the implementation of HAp/D3/PLGA systems. PMID:25382938

  13. Diatomite silica nanoparticles for drug delivery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ruggiero, Immacolata; Terracciano, Monica; Martucci, Nicola M.; De Stefano, Luca; Migliaccio, Nunzia; Tatè, Rosarita; Rendina, Ivo; Arcari, Paolo; Lamberti, Annalisa; Rea, Ilaria

    2014-07-01

    Diatomite is a natural fossil material of sedimentary origin, constituted by fragments of diatom siliceous skeletons. In this preliminary work, the properties of diatomite nanoparticles as potential system for the delivery of drugs in cancer cells were exploited. A purification procedure, based on thermal treatments in strong acid solutions, was used to remove inorganic and organic impurities from diatomite and to make them a safe material for medical applications. The micrometric diatomite powder was reduced in nanoparticles by mechanical crushing, sonication, and filtering. Morphological analysis performed by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy reveals a particles size included between 100 and 300 nm. Diatomite nanoparticles were functionalized by 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane and labeled by tetramethylrhodamine isothiocyanate. Different concentrations of chemically modified nanoparticles were incubated with cancer cells and confocal microscopy was performed. Imaging analysis showed an efficient cellular uptake and homogeneous distribution of nanoparticles in cytoplasm and nucleus, thus suggesting their potentiality as nanocarriers for drug delivery.

  14. Current and emerging lipid-based systems for transdermal drug delivery.

    PubMed

    Singla, Sumeet K; Sachdeva, Vishal

    2015-01-01

    Developing a transdermal drug delivery system is a challenging task considering the selective permeability of the skin and the physicochemical properties the drug must possess to permeate through the skin. Lipid-based drug delivery systems have contributed a great deal in this direction in the last few decades, and thereby have helped to expand the range of therapeutic molecules that can be delivered through the skin in a safe and effective manner. Additionally, vesicular delivery systems such as nanoparticles and emulsions have also played important roles in providing alternative novel approaches for drug delivery. In this article, we will discuss some of the current and future lipid-based systems for transdermal drug delivery along with the associated challenges.

  15. Convection-Enhanced Delivery of Carboplatin PLGA Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Glioblastoma.

    PubMed

    Arshad, Azeem; Yang, Bin; Bienemann, Alison S; Barua, Neil U; Wyatt, Marcella J; Woolley, Max; Johnson, Dave E; Edler, Karen J; Gill, Steven S

    2015-01-01

    We currently use Convection-Enhanced Delivery (CED) of the platinum-based drug, carboplatin as a novel treatment strategy for high grade glioblastoma in adults and children. Although initial results show promise, carboplatin is not specifically toxic to tumour cells and has been associated with neurotoxicity at high infused concentrations in pre-clinical studies. Our treatment strategy requires intermittent infusions due to rapid clearance of carboplatin from the brain. In this study, carboplatin was encapsulated in lactic acid-glycolic acid copolymer (PLGA) to develop a novel drug delivery system. Neuronal and tumour cytotoxicity were assessed in primary neuronal and glioblastoma cell cultures. Distribution, tissue clearance and toxicity of carboplatin nanoparticles following CED was assessed in rat and porcine models. Carboplatin nanoparticles conferred greater tumour cytotoxicity, reduced neuronal toxicity and prolonged tissue half-life. In conclusion, this drug delivery system has the potential to improve the prognosis for patients with glioblastomas.

  16. Convection-Enhanced Delivery of Carboplatin PLGA Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Glioblastoma

    PubMed Central

    Arshad, Azeem; Yang, Bin; Bienemann, Alison S.; Barua, Neil U.; Wyatt, Marcella J.; Woolley, Max; Johnson, Dave E.; Edler, Karen J.; Gill, Steven S.

    2015-01-01

    We currently use Convection-Enhanced Delivery (CED) of the platinum-based drug, carboplatin as a novel treatment strategy for high grade glioblastoma in adults and children. Although initial results show promise, carboplatin is not specifically toxic to tumour cells and has been associated with neurotoxicity at high infused concentrations in pre-clinical studies. Our treatment strategy requires intermittent infusions due to rapid clearance of carboplatin from the brain. In this study, carboplatin was encapsulated in lactic acid-glycolic acid copolymer (PLGA) to develop a novel drug delivery system. Neuronal and tumour cytotoxicity were assessed in primary neuronal and glioblastoma cell cultures. Distribution, tissue clearance and toxicity of carboplatin nanoparticles following CED was assessed in rat and porcine models. Carboplatin nanoparticles conferred greater tumour cytotoxicity, reduced neuronal toxicity and prolonged tissue half-life. In conclusion, this drug delivery system has the potential to improve the prognosis for patients with glioblastomas. PMID:26186224

  17. Convection-enhanced delivery and in vivo imaging of polymeric nanoparticles for the treatment of malignant glioma.

    PubMed

    Bernal, Giovanna M; LaRiviere, Michael J; Mansour, Nassir; Pytel, Peter; Cahill, Kirk E; Voce, David J; Kang, Shijun; Spretz, Ruben; Welp, Ulrich; Noriega, Sandra E; Nunez, Luis; Larsen, Gustavo F; Weichselbaum, Ralph R; Yamini, Bakhtiar

    2014-01-01

    A major obstacle to the management of malignant glioma is the inability to effectively deliver therapeutic agent to the tumor. In this study, we describe a polymeric nanoparticle vector that not only delivers viable therapeutic, but can also be tracked in vivo using MRI. Nanoparticles, produced by a non-emulsion technique, were fabricated to carry iron oxide within the shell and the chemotherapeutic agent, temozolomide (TMZ), as the payload. Nanoparticle properties were characterized and subsequently their endocytosis-mediated uptake by glioma cells was demonstrated. Convection-enhanced delivery (CED) can disperse nanoparticles through the rodent brain and their distribution is accurately visualized by MRI. Infusion of nanoparticles does not result in observable animal toxicity relative to control. CED of TMZ-bearing nanoparticles prolongs the survival of animals with intracranial xenografts compared to control. In conclusion, the described nanoparticle vector represents a unique multifunctional platform that can be used for image-guided treatment of malignant glioma. GBM remains one of the most notoriously treatment-unresponsive cancer types. In this study, a multifunctional nanoparticle-based temozolomide delivery system was demonstrated to possess enhanced treatment efficacy in a rodent xenograft GBM model, with the added benefit of MRI-based tracking via the incorporation of iron oxide as a T2* contrast material in the nanoparticles. © 2014.

  18. Magnetic nanoparticles-based drug and gene delivery systems for the treatment of pulmonary diseases.

    PubMed

    El-Sherbiny, Ibrahim M; Elbaz, Nancy M; Sedki, Mohammed; Elgammal, Abdulaziz; Yacoub, Magdi H

    2017-02-01

    Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have gained much attention due to their unique properties such as biocompatibility and biodegradability as well as magnetic and heat-medicated characteristics. Due to these inherent properties, MNPs have been widely used in various biomedical applications including targeted drug delivery and hyperthermia-based therapy. Hyperthermia is a promising approach for the thermal activation therapy of several diseases, including pulmonary diseases. Additionally, due to their large loading capacity and controlled release ability, several MNP-based drug delivery systems have been emerged for treatment of cystic fibrosis and lung cancer. This review provides an overview on the unique properties of MNPs and magnetic-mediated hyperthermia with emphasis on the recent biomedical applications of MNPs in treatment of both lung cancer and cystic fibrosis.

  19. Nanocarriers for cancer-targeted drug delivery.

    PubMed

    Kumari, Preeti; Ghosh, Balaram; Biswas, Swati

    2016-01-01

    Nanoparticles as drug delivery system have received much attention in recent years, especially for cancer treatment. In addition to improving the pharmacokinetics of the loaded poorly soluble hydrophobic drugs by solubilizing them in the hydrophobic compartments, nanoparticles allowed cancer specific drug delivery by inherent passive targeting phenomena and adopted active targeting strategies. For this reason, nanoparticles-drug formulations are capable of enhancing the safety, pharmacokinetic profiles and bioavailability of the administered drugs leading to improved therapeutic efficacy compared to conventional therapy. The focus of this review is to provide an overview of various nanoparticle formulations in both research and clinical applications with a focus on various chemotherapeutic drug delivery systems for the treatment of cancer. The use of various nanoparticles, including liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, dendrimers, magnetic and other inorganic nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery in cancer is detailed.

  20. A RNA nanotechnology platform for a simultaneous two-in-one siRNA delivery and its application in synergistic RNAi therapy

    PubMed Central

    Jang, Mihue; Han, Hee Dong; Ahn, Hyung Jun

    2016-01-01

    Incorporating multiple copies of two RNAi molecules into a single nanostructure in a precisely controlled manner can provide an efficient delivery tool to regulate multiple gene pathways in the relation of mutual dependence. Here, we show a RNA nanotechnology platform for a two-in-one RNAi delivery system to contain polymeric two RNAi molecules within the same RNA nanoparticles, without the aid of polyelectrolyte condensation reagents. As our RNA nanoparticles lead to the simultaneous silencing of two targeted mRNAs, of which biological functions are highly interdependent, combination therapy for multi-drug resistance cancer cells, which was studied as a specific application of our two-in-one RNAi delivery system, demonstrates the efficient synergistic effects for cancer therapy. Therefore, this RNA nanoparticles approach has an efficient tool for a simultaneous co-delivery of RNAi molecules in the RNAi-based biomedical applications, and our current studies present an efficient strategy to overcome multi-drug resistance caused by malfunction of genes in chemotherapy. PMID:27562435

  1. A Promising Combo Gene Delivery System Developed from (3-Aminopropyl)triethoxysilane-Modified Iron Oxide Nanoparticles and Cationic Polymers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Zubin; Song, Lina; Dong, Jinlai; Guo, Dawei; Du, Xiaolin; Cao, Biyin; Zhang, Yu; Gu, Ning; Mao, Xinliang

    2013-05-01

    (3-Aminopropyl)triethoxysilane-modified iron oxide nanoparticles (APTES-IONPs) have been evaluated for various biomedical applications, including medical imaging and drug delivery. Cationic polymers (CPs) such as Lipofectamine and TurboFect are widely used for research in gene delivery, but their toxicity and low in vivo efficiency limited their further application. In the present study, we synthesized water-soluble APTES-IONPs and developed a combo gene delivery system based on APTES-IONPs and CPs. This system significantly increased gene-binding capacity, protected genes from degradation, and improved gene transfection efficiency for DNA and siRNA in both adherent and suspension cells. Because of its great biocompatibility, high gene-carrying ability, and very low cytotoxicity, this combo gene delivery system will be expected for a wide application, and it might provide a new method for gene therapy.

  2. Combination chemotherapy of doxorubicin, all-trans retinoic acid and low molecular weight heparin based on self-assembled multi-functional polymeric nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Ting; Xiong, Hui; Zohra Dahmani, Fatima; Sun, Li; Li, Yuanke; Yao, Li; Zhou, Jianping; Yao, Jing

    2015-04-01

    Based on the complementary effects of doxorubicin (DOX), all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), the combination therapy of DOX, ATRA and LMWH was expected to exert the enhanced anti-tumor effects and reduce the side effects. In this study, amphiphilic LMWH-ATRA conjugate was synthesized for encapsulating the DOX. In this way, DOX, ATRA and LMWH were assembled into a single nano-system by both chemical and physical modes to obtain a novel anti-tumor targeting drug delivery system that can realize the simultaneous delivery of multiple drugs with different properties to the tumor. LMWH-ATRA nanoparticles exhibited good loading capacities for DOX with excellent physico-chemical properties, good biocompatibility, and good differentiation-inducing activity and antiangiogenic activity. The drug-loading capacity was up to 18.7% with an entrapment efficiency of 78.8%. It was also found that DOX-loaded LMWH-ATRA nanoparticles (DHR nanoparticles) could be efficiently taken up by tumor cells via endocytic pathway, and mainly distributed in cytoplasm at first, then transferred into cell nucleus. Cell viability assays suggested that DHR nanoparticles maintained the cytotoxicity effect of DOX on MCF-7 cells. Moreover, the in vivo imaging analysis indicated that DiR-loaded LMWH-ATRA nanoparticles could target the tumor more effectively as compared to free DiR. Furthermore, DHR nanoparticles possessed much higher anticancer activity and reduced side effects compared to free drugs solution. These results suggested that DHR nanoparticles could be considered as a promising targeted delivery system for combination cancer chemotherapy with lower adverse effects.

  3. Chitosan-sodium lauryl sulfate nanoparticles as a carrier system for the in vivo delivery of oral insulin.

    PubMed

    Elsayed, Amani; Al-Remawi, Mayyas; Qinna, Nidal; Farouk, Asim; Al-Sou'od, Khaldoun A; Badwan, Adnan A

    2011-09-01

    The present work explores the possibility of formulating an oral insulin delivery system using nanoparticulate complexes made from the interaction between biodegradable, natural polymer called chitosan and anionic surfactant called sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). The interaction between chitosan and SLS was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The nanoparticles were prepared by simple gelation method under aqueous-based conditions. The nanoparticles were stable in simulated gastric fluids and could protect the encapsulated insulin from the GIT enzymes. Additionally, the in vivo results clearly indicated that the insulin-loaded nanoparticles could effectively reduce the blood glucose level in a diabetic rat model. However, additional formulation modifications are required to improve insulin oral bioavailability.

  4. Engineering nanoparticle strategies for effective cancer immunotherapy.

    PubMed

    Yoon, Hong Yeol; Selvan, Subramanian Tamil; Yang, Yoosoo; Kim, Min Ju; Yi, Dong Kee; Kwon, Ick Chan; Kim, Kwangmeyung

    2018-03-21

    Cancer immunotherapy has been emerging in recent years, due to the inherent nature of the immune system. Although recent successes of immunotherapeutics in clinical application have attracted development of a novel immunotherapeutics, the off-target side effect and low immunogenicity of them remain challenges for the effective cancer immunotherapy. Theranostic nanoparticle system may one of key technology to address these issues by offering targeted delivery of various types of immunotherapeutics, resulting in significant improvements in the tumor immunotherapy. However, appropriate design or engineering of nanoparticles will be needed to improve delivery efficiency of antigen, adjuvant and therapeutics, resulting in eliciting antitumor immunity. Here, we review the current state of the art of cancer immunotherapeutic strategies, mainly based on nanoparticles (NPs). This includes NP-based antigen/adjuvant delivery vehicles to draining lymph nodes, and tumor antigen-specific T-lymphocytes for cancer immunotherapy. Several NP-based examples are shown for immune checkpoint modulation and immunogenic cell death. These overall studies demonstrate the great potential of NPs in cancer immunotherapy. Finally, engineering NP strategies will provide great opportunities to improve therapeutic effects as well as optimization of treatment processes, allowing to meet the individual needs in the cancer immunotherapy. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Development of a dose-controlled multiculture cell exposure chamber for efficient delivery of airborne and engineered nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Asimakopoulou, Akrivi; Daskalos, Emmanouil; Lewinski, Nastassja; Riediker, Michael; Papaioannou, Eleni; Konstandopoulos, Athanasios G.

    2013-04-01

    In order to study the various health influencing parameters related to engineered nanoparticles as well as to soot emitted by Diesel engines, there is an urgent need for appropriate sampling devices and methods for cell exposure studies that simulate the respiratory system and facilitate associated biological and toxicological tests. The objective of the present work was the further advancement of a Multiculture Exposure Chamber (MEC) into a dose-controlled system for efficient delivery of nanoparticles to cells. It was validated with various types of nanoparticles (Diesel engine soot aggregates, engineered nanoparticles for various applications) and with state-of-the-art nanoparticle measurement instrumentation to assess the local deposition of nanoparticles on the cell cultures. The dose of nanoparticles to which cell cultures are being exposed was evaluated in the normal operation of the in vitro cell culture exposure chamber based on measurements of the size specific nanoparticle collection efficiency of a cell free device. The average efficiency in delivering nanoparticles in the MEC was approximately 82%. The nanoparticle deposition was demonstrated by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Analysis and design of the MEC employs Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and true to geometry representations of nanoparticles with the aim to assess the uniformity of nanoparticle deposition among the culture wells. Final testing of the dose-controlled cell exposure system was performed by exposing A549 lung cell cultures to fluorescently labeled nanoparticles. Delivery of aerosolized nanoparticles was demonstrated by visualization of the nanoparticle fluorescence in the cell cultures following exposure. Also monitored was the potential of the aerosolized nanoparticles to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) (e.g. free radicals and peroxides generation), thus expressing the oxidative stress of the cells which can cause extensive cellular damage or damage on DNA.

  6. Nanobiotechnology: Cell Membrane-Based Delivery Systems.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Pengfei; Liu, Gang; Chen, Xiaoyuan

    2017-04-01

    The increasingly rapid pace of research in the field of bioinspired drug delivery systems is revealing the promise of cell membrane-based nanovesicles for biomedical applications. Those cell membrane-based nanoparticles combine the natural functionalities of cell plasma membranes and the bioengineering flexibility of synthetic nanomaterials, and such versatility provides a means of designing exciting new drug formulations for personalized treatment in future nanomedicine.

  7. Biocompatible and biodegradable dual-drug release system based on silk hydrogel containing silk nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Numata, Keiji; Yamazaki, Shoya; Naga, Naofumi

    2012-05-14

    We developed a facile and quick ethanol-based method for preparing silk nanoparticles and then fabricated a biodegradable and biocompatible dual-drug release system based on silk nanoparticles and the molecular networks of silk hydrogels. Model drugs incorporated in the silk nanoparticles and silk hydrogels showed fast and constant release, respectively, indicating successful dual-drug release from silk hydrogel containing silk nanoparticles. The release behaviors achieved by this dual-drug release system suggest to be regulated by physical properties (e.g., β-sheet contents and size of the silk nanoparticles and network size of the silk hydrogels), which is an important advantage for biomedical applications. The present silk-based system for dual-drug release also demonstrated no significant cytotoxicity against human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), and thus, this silk-based dual-drug release system has potential as a versatile and useful new platform of polymeric materials for various types of dual delivery of bioactive molecules.

  8. Activation of caspase-dependent apoptosis by intracellular delivery of cytochrome c-based nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Cytochrome c is an essential mediator of apoptosis when it is released from the mitochondria to the cytoplasm. This process normally takes place in response to DNA damage, but in many cancer cells (i.e., cancer stem cells) it is disabled due to various mechanisms. However, it has been demonstrated that the targeted delivery of Cytochrome c directly to the cytoplasm of cancer cells selective initiates apoptosis in many cancer cells. In this work we designed a novel nano-sized smart Cytochrome c drug delivery system to induce apoptosis in cancer cells upon delivery. Results Cytochrome c was precipitated with a solvent-displacement method to obtain protein nanoparticles. The size of the Cytochrome c nanoparticles obtained was 100-300 nm in diameter depending on the conditions used, indicating good potential to passively target tumors by the Enhanced Permeability and Retention effect. The surface of Cytochrome c nanoparticles was decorated with poly (lactic-co-glycolic) acid-SH via the linker succinimidyl 3-(2-pyridyldithio) propionate to prevent premature dissolution during delivery. The linker connecting the polymer to the protein nanoparticle contained a disulfide bond thus allowing polymer shedding and subsequent Cytochrome c release under intracellular reducing conditions. A cell-free caspase-3 assay revealed more than 80% of relative caspase activation by Cytochrome c after nanoprecipitation and polymer modification when compared to native Cytochrome c. Incubation of HeLa cells with the Cytochrome c based-nanoparticles showed significant reduction in cell viability after 6 hours while native Cytochrome c showed none. Confocal microscopy confirmed the induction of apoptosis in HeLa cells when they were stained with 4’,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole and propidium iodide after incubation with the Cytochrome c-based nanoparticles. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that the coating with a hydrophobic polymer stabilizes Cytochrome c nanoparticles allowing for their delivery to the cytoplasm of target cells. After smart release of Cytochrome c into the cytoplasm, it induced programmed cell death. PMID:25179308

  9. Calcium carbonate nanoparticles as cancer drug delivery system.

    PubMed

    Maleki Dizaj, Solmaz; Barzegar-Jalali, Mohammad; Zarrintan, Mohammad Hossein; Adibkia, Khosro; Lotfipour, Farzaneh

    2015-01-01

    Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) has broad biomedical utilizations owing to its availability, low cost, safety, biocompatibility, pH-sensitivity and slow biodegradability. Recently, there has been widespread interest in their application as drug delivery systems for different groups of drugs. Among them, CaCO3 nanoparticles have exhibited promising potential as drug carriers targeting cancer tissues and cells. The pH-dependent properties, alongside the potential to be functionalized with targeting agents give them the unique property that can be used in targeted delivery systems for anticancer drugs. Also, due to the slow degradation of CaCO3 matrices, these nanoparticles can be used as sustained release systems to retain drugs in cancer tissues for longer times after administration. Development of drug delivery carriers using CaCO3 nanoparticles has been reviewed. The current state of CaCO3 nanoparticles as cancer drug delivery systems with focus on their special properties like pH-sensitivity and biodegradability has also been evaluated. According to our review, CaCO3 nanoparticles, owing to their special characteristics, will have a potential role in safe and efficient cancer treatment in future.

  10. Comparative studies on structural properties and antimicrobial potential of spinel ferrite nanoparticles synthesized using various methods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Baraliya, Jagdish D.; Rakhashiya, Purvi M.; Patel, Pooja P.; Thaker, Vrinda S.; Joshi, Hiren H.

    2017-05-01

    In this study, novel multifunctional magnetic iron-based nanoparticles (CoFe2O4) coated with silica, silica-DEG (diethylene glycol), PEG (polyethylene glycol) were synthesized using Auto Combustion Method (ACM), Co-precipitation Method (COPM), Citrate Precursor Method (CPM), Flash Combustion Method (FCM). These spinel ferrite nanoparticles also contain very high antibacterial properties to fulfill the requirements of a drug delivery system so that the antibiotic concentration could be minimized. A potential delivery system could be based on a ferromagnetic fluid. The effects of various preparation methods on the physical properties of the nanoparticles were examined. The nanoparticles were also tested against four human pathogenic bacteria (Gram negative E.coli, P. aeruginosa, Gram positive S. aureus, S. pyogenus) and two fungi (C. albicans, A.niger). It was revealed that a nanoparticle has strong antibacterial activity as compared to antifungal. Further, Gram positive bacteria are more affected than Gram negative bacteria. It was also clear that different methods of coating have great influence on the antimicrobial properties. It was observed that these nanoparticles have significantly different but potentially very high antimicrobial activities against the tested organisms than found elsewhere by other nanoparticles on the same organisms.

  11. Biodegradable DNA Nanoparticles that Provide Widespread Gene Delivery in the Brain

    PubMed Central

    Mastorakos, Panagiotis; Song, Eric; Zhang, Clark; Berry, Sneha; Park, Hee Won; Kim, Young Eun; Park, Jong Sung; Lee, Seulki; Suk, Jung Soo; Hanes, Justin

    2016-01-01

    Successful gene therapy of neurological disorders is predicated on achieving widespread and uniform transgene expression throughout the affected disease area in the brain. However, conventional gene vectors preferentially travel through low-resistance perivascular spaces and/or are confined to the administration site even with the aid of a pressure-driven flow provided by convection-enhanced delivery. Biodegradable DNA nanoparticles offer a safe gene delivery platform devoid of adverse effects associated with virus-based or synthetic non-biodegradable systems. Using a state-of-the-art biodegradable polymer, poly(β-amino ester), we engineered colloidally stable sub-100 nm DNA nanoparticles coated with a non-adhesive polyethylene glycol corona that are able to avoid the adhesive and steric hindrances imposed by the extracellular matrix. Following convection enhanced delivery, these brain-penetrating nanoparticles were able to homogeneously distribute throughout the rodent striatum and mediate widespread and high-level transgene expression. These nanoparticles provide a biodegradable DNA nanoparticle platform enabling uniform transgene expression patterns in vivo and hold promise for the treatment of neurological diseases. PMID:26680637

  12. Acid-activatable oxidative stress-inducing polysaccharide nanoparticles for anticancer therapy.

    PubMed

    Yoo, Wooyoung; Yoo, Donghyuck; Hong, Eunmi; Jung, Eunkyeong; Go, Yebin; Singh, S V Berwin; Khang, Gilson; Lee, Dongwon

    2018-01-10

    Drug delivery systems have been extensively developed to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of drugs by altering their pharmacokinetics and biodistribution. However, the use of high quantities of drug delivery systems can cause toxicity due to their poor metabolism and elimination. In this study, we developed polysaccharide-based drug delivery systems which exert potent therapeutic effects and could display synergistic therapeutic effects with drug payloads, leading to dose reduction. Cinnamaldehyde, a major component of cinnamon is known to induce anticancer activity by generating ROS (reactive oxygen species). We developed cinnamaldehyde-conjugated maltodextrin (CMD) as a polymeric prodrug of cinnamaldehyde and a drug carrier. Cinnamaldehyde was conjugated to the hydroxyl groups of maltodextrin via acid-cleavable acetal linkages, allowing facile formulation of nanoparticles and drug encapsulation. CMD nanoparticles induced acid-triggered ROS generation to induce apoptotic cell death. Camptothecin (CPT) was used as a model drug to investigate the potential of CMD nanoparticles as a drug carrier and also evaluate the synergistic anticancer effects with CMD nanoparticles. CPT-loaded CMD nanoparticles exhibited significantly higher anticancer activity than empty CMD nanoparticles and CPT alone in the study of mouse xenograft models, demonstrating the synergistic therapeutic effects of CMD with CPT. Taken together, we believe that CMD nanoparticles hold tremendous potential as a polymeric prodrug of cinnamaldehyde and a drug carrier in anticancer therapy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. miR-221 suppression through nanoparticle-based miRNA delivery system for hepatocellular carcinoma therapy and its diagnosis as a potential biomarker.

    PubMed

    Li, Feng; Wang, Feiran; Zhu, Changlai; Wei, Qun; Zhang, Tianyi; Zhou, You Lang

    2018-01-01

    MicroRNA-221(miR-221) is frequently dysregulated in cancer. The purpose of this study was to explore whether miR-221 can be used as a potential diagnostic marker or therapeutic target for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we investigated whether miR-221 expression was associated with clini-copathological characteristics and prognosis in HCC patients, and we developed a nanoparticle-based miRNA delivery system and detected its therapeutic efficacy in vitro and in vivo. We found that miR-221 was upregulated in HCC tissues, cell lines and blood of HCC patients. Upregulated miR-221 was associated with clinical TNM stage and tumor capsular infiltration, and showed poor prognosis, suggesting that its suppression could serve as an effective approach for hepatocellular carcinoma therapy. Treatment of HCC cells with nanoparticle/miR-221 inhibitor complexes suppressed their growth, colony formation ability, migration and invasion. In vivo, the growth of the tumors treated by the nanoparticle/miR-221 inhibitor complexes were significantly less than those treated by the nanoparticle/miRNA scramble complexes. In addition, circulating miR-221 may act as a potential tumor biomarker for early diagnosis of HCC, and combined serum miR-221 and AFP detection gave a better performance than individual detection in early diagnosis of HCC. These findings suggest that a nanoparticle-based miRNA delivery system could potentially serve as a safe and effective treatment and miR-221 could also be a potential diagnostic marker for HCC.

  14. EGFR targeted PLGA nanoparticles using gemcitabine for treatment of pancreatic cancer.

    PubMed

    Aggarwal, Sahil; Yadav, Sachin; Gupta, Swati

    2011-02-01

    The present study aimed to prepare and characterize anti EGFR monoclonal antibody (mab) conjugated Gemcitabine loaded PLGA nanoparticles for their selective delivery to pancreatic cells and evaluation of the systems in vitro. It was observed that direct covalent coupling of antibodies to glutaraldehyde activated nanoparticles is an appropriate method to achieve cell-type specific drug carrier systems based on polymeric nanoparticles that have potential to be applied for targeted chemotherapy in EGFR positive cancer.

  15. Tailoring magnetic PLGA nanoparticles suitable for doxorubicin delivery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tansık, Gülistan; Yakar, Arzu; Gündüz, Ufuk

    2014-01-01

    One of the main problems of current cancer chemotherapy is the lack of selectivity of anti-cancer drugs to tumor cells, which leads to systemic toxicity and adverse side effects. In order to overcome these limitations, researches on controlled drug delivery systems have gained much attention. Nanoscale-based drug delivery systems provide tumor targeting. Among many types of nanocarriers, superparamagnetic nanoparticles with their biocompatible polymer coatings can be targeted to an intented site by an external magnetic field. Thus, the drug can be carried to the targeted site safely. The aim of this study is to prepare poly( dl-lactic- co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)-coated magnetic nanoparticles and load anti-cancer drug, doxorubicin to them. For this purpose, magnetite (Fe3O4) iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized as a magnetic core material (MNP) and then coated with oleic acid. Oleic acid-coated MNP (OA-MNP) was encapsulated into PLGA. Effects of different OA-MNP/PLGA ratios on magnetite entrapment efficiency were investigated. Doxorubicin-loaded magnetic polymeric nanoparticles (DOX-PLGA-MNP) were prepared. After the characterization of prepared nanoparticles, their cytotoxic effects on MCF-7 cell line were studied. PLGA-coated magnetic nanoparticles (PLGA-MNP) had a proper size and superparamagnetic character. The highest magnetite entrapment efficiency of PLGA-MNP was estimated as 63 % at 1:8 ratio. Cytotoxicity studies of PLGA-MNP did not indicate any notable cell death between the concentration ranges of 2 and 125 μg/ml. Drug loading efficiency was estimated as 32 %, and it was observed that DOX-PLGA-MNP showed significant cytotoxicity on MCF-7 cells compared to PLGA-MNP. The results showed that prepared nanoparticles have desired size and superparamagnetic characteristics without serious toxic effects on cells. These nanoparticles may be suitable for targeted drug delivery applications.

  16. An in vitro and in vivo study of peptide-functionalized nanoparticles for brain targeting: The importance of selective blood-brain barrier uptake.

    PubMed

    Bode, Gerard H; Coué, Gregory; Freese, Christian; Pickl, Karin E; Sanchez-Purrà, Maria; Albaiges, Berta; Borrós, Salvador; van Winden, Ewoud C; Tziveleka, Leto-Aikaterini; Sideratou, Zili; Engbersen, Johan F J; Singh, Smriti; Albrecht, Krystyna; Groll, Jürgen; Möller, Martin; Pötgens, Andy J G; Schmitz, Christoph; Fröhlich, Eleonore; Grandfils, Christian; Sinner, Frank M; Kirkpatrick, C James; Steinbusch, Harry W M; Frank, Hans-Georg; Unger, Ronald E; Martinez-Martinez, Pilar

    2017-04-01

    Targeted delivery of drugs across endothelial barriers remains a formidable challenge, especially in the case of the brain, where the blood-brain barrier severely limits entry of drugs into the central nervous system. Nanoparticle-mediated transport of peptide/protein-based drugs across endothelial barriers shows great potential as a therapeutic strategy in a wide variety of diseases. Functionalizing nanoparticles with peptides allows for more efficient targeting to specific organs. We have evaluated the hemocompatibilty, cytotoxicity, endothelial uptake, efficacy of delivery and safety of liposome, hyperbranched polyester, poly(glycidol) and acrylamide-based nanoparticles functionalized with peptides targeting brain endothelial receptors, in vitro and in vivo. We used an ELISA-based method for the detection of nanoparticles in biological fluids, investigating the blood clearance rate and in vivo biodistribution of labeled nanoparticles in the brain after intravenous injection in Wistar rats. Herein, we provide a detailed report of in vitro and in vivo observations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. A Rapid Pathway Toward a Superb Gene Delivery System: Programming Structural and Functional Diversity into a Supramolecular Nanoparticle Library

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Hao; Liu, Kan; Chen, Kuan-Ju; Lu, Yujie; Wang, Shutao; Lin, Wei-Yu; Guo, Feng; Kamei, Ken-ichiro; Chen, Yi-Chun; Ohashi, Minori; Wang, Mingwei; Garcia, Mitch André; Zhao, Xing-Zhong; Shen, Clifton K.-F.; Tseng, Hsian-Rong

    2010-01-01

    Nanoparticles are regarded as promising transfection reagents for effective and safe delivery of nucleic acids into specific type of cells or tissues providing an alternative manipulation/therapy strategy to viral gene delivery. However, the current process of searching novel delivery materials is limited due to conventional low-throughput and time-consuming multistep synthetic approaches. Additionally, conventional approaches are frequently accompanied with unpredictability and continual optimization refinements, impeding flexible generation of material diversity creating a major obstacle to achieving high transfection performance. Here we have demonstrated a rapid developmental pathway toward highly efficient gene delivery systems by leveraging the powers of a supramolecular synthetic approach and a custom-designed digital microreactor. Using the digital microreactor, broad structural/functional diversity can be programmed into a library of DNA-encapsulated supramolecular nanoparticles (DNA⊂SNPs) by systematically altering the mixing ratios of molecular building blocks and a DNA plasmid. In vitro transfection studies with DNA⊂SNPs library identified the DNA⊂SNPs with the highest gene transfection efficiency, which can be attributed to cooperative effects of structures and surface chemistry of DNA⊂SNPs. We envision such a rapid developmental pathway can be adopted for generating nanoparticle-based vectors for delivery of a variety of loads. PMID:20925389

  18. Micelle-like Nanoparticles as Carriers for DNA and siRNA

    PubMed Central

    Navarro, Gemma; Pan, Jiayi; Torchilin, Vladimir P.

    2015-01-01

    Gene therapy represents a potential efficient approach of disease prevention and therapy. However, due to their poor in vivo stability, gene molecules need to be associated with delivery systems to overcome extracellular and intracellular barriers and allow access to the site of action. Cationic polymeric nanoparticles are popular carriers for small interfering RNA (siRNA) and DNA-based therapeutics for which efficient and safe delivery are important factors that need to be optimized. Micelle-like nanoparticles (MNP) (half micelles, half polymeric nanoparticles) can overcome some of the disadvantages of such cationic carriers by unifying in one single carrier the best of both delivery systems. In this review, we will discuss how the unique properties of MNP including self-assembly, condensation and protection of nucleic acids, improved cell association and gene transfection, and low toxicity may contribute to the successful application of siRNA- and DNA-based therapeutics into the clinic. Recent developments of MNP involving the addition of stimulus-sensitive functions to respond specifically to pathological or externally applied “triggers” (e.g., temperature, pH or enzymatic catalysis, light, or magnetic fields) will be discussed. Finally, we will overview the use of MNP as two-in-one carriers for the simultaneous delivery of different agents (small molecules, imaging agents) and nucleic acid combinations. PMID:25557580

  19. Mechanism-Based Enhanced Delivery of Drug-Loaded Targeted Nanoparticles for Breast Cancer Therapy

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-02-01

    Based Enhanced Delivery of Drug-Loaded Targeted Nanoparticles for Breast Cancer Therapy” 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER W81XWH-11-1-0167 5c... Nanotechnologies in Living Systems”, Moscow Region, Russia, September, 2011. 3. “Ionic nanogels for drug delivery in cancer ”. NanoDDS’12; Atlantic City, New...AD Award Number: W81XWH-11-1-0167 TITLE: Mechanism-Based Enhanced Delivery of Drug-Loaded Targeted Nanoparticles for Breast

  20. Encapsulation of antigen-loaded silica nanoparticles into microparticles for intradermal powder injection.

    PubMed

    Deng, Yibin; Mathaes, Roman; Winter, Gerhard; Engert, Julia

    2014-10-15

    Epidermal powder immunisation (EPI) is being investigated as a promising needle-free delivery methods for vaccination. The objective of this work was to prepare a nanoparticles-in-microparticles (nano-in-micro) system, integrating the advantages of nanoparticles and microparticles into one vaccine delivery system for epidermal powder immunisation. Cationic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNP-NH2) were prepared and loaded with ovalbumin as a model antigen. Loading was driven by electrostatic interactions. Ovalbumin-loaded silica nanoparticles were subsequently formulated into sugar-based microparticles by spray-freeze-drying. The obtained microparticles meet the size requirement for EPI. Confocal microscopy was used to demonstrate that the nanoparticles are homogeneously distributed in the microparticles. Furthermore, the silica nanoparticles in the dry microparticles can be re-dispersed in aqueous solution showing no aggregation. The recovered ovalbumin shows integrity compared to native ovalbumin. The present nano-in-micro system allows (1) nanoparticles to be immobilized and finely distributed in microparticles, (2) microparticle formation and (3) re-dispersion of nanoparticles without subsequent aggregation. The nanoparticles inside microparticles can (1) adsorb proteins to cationic shell/surface voids in spray-dried products without detriment to ovalbumin stability, (2) deliver antigens in nano-sized modes to allow recognition by the immune system. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Pharmacoinformatic approaches to understand complexation of dendrimeric nanoparticles with drugs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jain, Vaibhav; Bharatam, Prasad V.

    2014-02-01

    Nanoparticle based drug delivery systems are gaining popularity due to their wide spectrum advantages over traditional drug delivery systems; among them, dendrimeric nano-vectors are the most widely explored carriers for pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. The precise mechanism of encapsulation of drug molecules inside the dendritic matrix, delivery of drugs into specific cells, interactions of nano-formulation with biological targets and proteins, etc. present a substantial challenge to the scientific understanding of the subject. Computational methods complement experimental techniques in the design and optimization of drug delivery systems, thus minimizing the investment in drug design and development. Significant progress in computer simulations could facilitate an understanding of the precise mechanism of encapsulation of bioactive molecules and their delivery. This review summarizes the pharmacoinformatic studies spanning from quantum chemical calculations to coarse-grained simulations, aimed at providing better insight into dendrimer-drug interactions and the physicochemical parameters influencing the binding and release mechanism of drugs.

  2. Water soluble nanoporous nanoparticle for in vivo targeted drug delivery and controlled release in B cells tumor context

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de Angelis, F.; Pujia, A.; Falcone, C.; Iaccino, E.; Palmieri, C.; Liberale, C.; Mecarini, F.; Candeloro, P.; Luberto, L.; de Laurentiis, A.; Das, G.; Scala, G.; di Fabrizio, E.

    2010-10-01

    Multitasking nanoparticles are gaining great attention for smart drug delivery systems. The exploration of the nano-scale opens new concrete opportunities for revealing new properties and undiscovered cell-particle interactions. Here we present a biodegradable nanoporous silicon nanoparticle that can be successfully employed for in vivo targeted drug delivery and sustained release. The bare nanoporous nanocarriers can be accurately designed and fabricated with an effective control of porosity, surface chemistry and particle size, up to a few nm. The proposed nanoparticles exhibit several remarkable features including high payload, biodegradability, no toxicity, and multiple loading in water without the need of additional chemical reagents at room temperature. The targeting strategy is based on phage display technology that was successfully used to discover cell surface binding peptide for murine B lymphoma A20 cell line. The peptide used in combination with the nanoporous nanoparticles allows an efficient in vivo targeting, a sustained release and a sensible therapeutic effect.Multitasking nanoparticles are gaining great attention for smart drug delivery systems. The exploration of the nano-scale opens new concrete opportunities for revealing new properties and undiscovered cell-particle interactions. Here we present a biodegradable nanoporous silicon nanoparticle that can be successfully employed for in vivo targeted drug delivery and sustained release. The bare nanoporous nanocarriers can be accurately designed and fabricated with an effective control of porosity, surface chemistry and particle size, up to a few nm. The proposed nanoparticles exhibit several remarkable features including high payload, biodegradability, no toxicity, and multiple loading in water without the need of additional chemical reagents at room temperature. The targeting strategy is based on phage display technology that was successfully used to discover cell surface binding peptide for murine B lymphoma A20 cell line. The peptide used in combination with the nanoporous nanoparticles allows an efficient in vivo targeting, a sustained release and a sensible therapeutic effect. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Nanoparticles fabrication; payload evaluation; dissolution and release profiles; multivalent loading; targeting specifity on A20 Cells; cell cycle analysis; in vitro cytotoxicity assay; in vivo cytotoxicity assay. See DOI: 10.1039/c0nr00161a

  3. Recent developments in solid lipid nanoparticle and surface-modified solid lipid nanoparticle delivery systems for oral delivery of phyto-bioactive compounds in various chronic diseases

    PubMed Central

    Ko, Young Tag; Choi, Dong-Kug

    2018-01-01

    Solid lipid nanoparticle (SLN) delivery systems have a wide applicability in the delivery of phyto-bioactive compounds to treat various chronic diseases, including diabetes, cancer, obesity and neurodegenerative diseases. The multiple benefits of SLN delivery include improved stability, smaller particle size, leaching prevention and enhanced lymphatic uptake of the bioactive compounds through oral delivery. However, the burst release makes the SLN delivery systems inadequate for the oral delivery of various phyto-bioactive compounds that can treat such chronic diseases. Recently, the surface-modified SLN (SMSLN) was observed to overcome this limitation for oral delivery of phyto-bioactive compounds, and there is growing evidence of an enhanced uptake of curcumin delivered orally via SMSLNs in the brain. This review focuses on different SLN and SMSLN systems that are useful for oral delivery of phyto-bioactive compounds to treat various chronic diseases. PMID:29588585

  4. Natural material-decorated mesoporous silica nanoparticle container for multifunctional membrane-controlled targeted drug delivery

    PubMed Central

    Hu, Yan; Ke, Lei; Chen, Hao; Zhuo, Ma; Yang, Xinzhou; Zhao, Dan; Zeng, Suying; Xiao, Xincai

    2017-01-01

    To avoid the side effects caused by nonspecific targeting, premature release, weak selectivity, and poor therapeutic efficacy of current nanoparticle-based systems used for drug delivery, we fabricated natural material-decorated nanoparticles as a multifunctional, membrane-controlled targeted drug delivery system. The nanocomposite material coated with a membrane was biocompatible and integrated both specific tumor targeting and responsiveness to stimulation, which improved transmission efficacy and controlled drug release. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs), which are known for their biocompatibility and high drug-loading capacity, were selected as a model drug container and carrier. The membrane was established by the polyelectrolyte composite method from chitosan (CS) which was sensitive to the acidic tumor microenvironment, folic acid-modified CS which recognizes the folate receptor expressed on the tumor cell surface, and a CD44 receptor-targeted polysaccharide hyaluronic acid. We characterized the structure of the nanocomposite as well as the drug release behavior under the control of the pH-sensitive membrane switch and evaluated the antitumor efficacy of the system in vitro. Our results provide a basis for the design and fabrication of novel membrane-controlled nanoparticles with improved tumor-targeting therapy. PMID:29200852

  5. Advances in silica based nanoparticles for targeted cancer therapy.

    PubMed

    Yang, Yannan; Yu, Chengzhong

    2016-02-01

    Targeted delivery of anticancer drug specifically to tumor site without damaging normal tissues has been the dream of all scientists fighting against cancer for decades. Recent breakthrough on nanotechnology based medicines has provided a possible tool to solve this puzzle. Among diverse nanomaterials that are under development and extensive study, silica based nanoparticles with vast advantages have attracted great attention. In this review, we concentrate on the recent progress using silica based nanoparticles, particularly mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs), for targeted drug delivery applications. First, we discuss the passive targeting capability of silica based nanoparticles in relation to their physiochemical properties. Then, we focus on the recent advances of active targeting strategies involving tumor cell targeting, vascular targeting, nuclear targeting and multistage targeting, followed by an introduction to magnetic field directed targeting approach. We conclude with our personal perspectives on the remaining challenges and the possible future directions. Chemotherapy has been one of the mainstays of cancer treatment. The advances in nanotechnology has allowed the development of novel carrier systems for the delivery of anticancer drugs. Mesoporous silica has shown great promise in this respect. In this review article, the authors provided a comprehensive overview of the use of this nanoparticle in both passive, as well as active targeting in the field of oncology. The advantages of this particle were further discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Multifunctional Cationic Lipid-Based Nanoparticles Facilitate Endosomal Escape and Reduction-Triggered Cytosolic siRNA Release

    PubMed Central

    Gujrati, Maneesh; Malamas, Anthony; Shin, Tesia; Jin, Erlei; Sun, Lulu; Lu, Zheng-Rong

    2015-01-01

    Small interfering RNA (siRNA) has garnered much attention in recent years as a promising avenue for cancer gene therapy due to its ability to silence disease-related genes. Effective gene silencing is contingent upon the delivery of siRNA into the cytosol of target cells and requires the implementation of delivery systems possessing multiple functionalities to overcome delivery barriers. The present work explores the multifunctional properties and biological activity of a recently developed cationic lipid carrier, (1-aminoethyl)iminobis[N-(oleicylcysteinyl-1-amino-ethyl)propionamide]) (ECO). The physicochemical properties and biological activity of ECO/siRNA nanoparticles were assessed over a range of N/P ratios to optimize the formulation. Potent and sustained luciferase silencing in a U87 glioblastoma cell line was observed, even in the presence of serum proteins. ECO/siRNA nanoparticles exhibited pH-dependent membrane disruption at pH levels corresponding to various stages of the intracellular trafficking pathway. It was found that disulfide linkages created during nanoparticle formation enhanced the protection of siRNA from degradation and facilitated site-specific siRNA release in the cytosol by glutathione-mediated reduction. Confocal microscopy confirmed that ECO/siRNA nanoparticles readily escaped from late endosomes prior to cytosolic release of the siRNA cargo. These results demonstrate that the rationally designed multifunctionality of ECO/siRNA nanoparticles is critical for intracellular siRNA delivery and the continuing development of safe and effective delivery systems. PMID:25020033

  7. Delivery of RNA interference therapeutics using polycation-based nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Howard, Kenneth Alan

    2009-07-25

    RNAi-based therapies are dependent on extracellular and intracellular delivery of RNA molecules for enabling target interaction. Polycation-based nanoparticles (or polyplexes) formed by self-assembly with RNA can be used to modulate pharmacokinetics and intracellular trafficking to improve the therapeutic efficacy of RNAi-based therapeutics. This review describes the application of polyplexes for extracellular and intracellular delivery of synthetic RNA molecules. Focus is given to routes of administration and silencing effects in animal disease models. The inclusion of functional components into the nanoparticle for controlling cellular trafficking and RNA release is discussed. This work highlights the versatile nature of polycation-based nanoparticles to fulfil the delivery requirements for RNA molecules with flexibility in design to evolve alongside an expanding repertoire of RNAi-based drugs.

  8. Interactive models of communication at the nanoscale using nanoparticles that talk to one another

    PubMed Central

    Llopis-Lorente, Antoni; Díez, Paula; Sánchez, Alfredo; Marcos, María D.; Sancenón, Félix; Martínez-Ruiz, Paloma; Villalonga, Reynaldo; Martínez-Máñez, Ramón

    2017-01-01

    ‘Communication' between abiotic nanoscale chemical systems is an almost-unexplored field with enormous potential. Here we show the design and preparation of a chemical communication system based on enzyme-powered Janus nanoparticles, which mimics an interactive model of communication. Cargo delivery from one nanoparticle is governed by the biunivocal communication with another nanoparticle, which involves two enzymatic processes and the interchange of chemical messengers. The conceptual idea of establishing communication between nanodevices opens the opportunity to develop complex nanoscale systems capable of sharing information and cooperating. PMID:28556828

  9. Hybrid protein-synthetic polymer nanoparticles for drug delivery.

    PubMed

    Koseva, Neli S; Rydz, Joanna; Stoyanova, Ekaterina V; Mitova, Violeta A

    2015-01-01

    Among the most common nanoparticulate systems, the polymeric nanocarriers have a number of key benefits, which give a great choice of delivery platforms. Nevertheless, polymeric nanoparticles possess some limitations that include use of toxic solvents in the production process, polymer degradation, drug leakage outside the diseased tissue, and polymer cytotoxicity. The combination of polymers of biological and synthetic origin is an appealing modern strategy for the production of novel nanocarriers with unprecedented properties. Proteins' interface can play an important role in determining bioactivity and toxicity and gives perspective for future development of the polymer-based nanoparticles. The design of hybrid constructs composed of synthetic polymer and biological molecules such as proteins can be considered as a straightforward tool to integrate a broad spectrum of properties and biofunctions into a single device. This review discusses hybrid protein-synthetic polymer nanoparticles with different structures and levels in complexity and functionality, in view of their applications as drug delivery systems. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Nanoparticles in targeted cancer therapy: mesoporous silica nanoparticles entering preclinical development stage.

    PubMed

    Rosenholm, Jessica M; Mamaeva, Veronika; Sahlgren, Cecilia; Lindén, Mika

    2012-01-01

    Nanotechnology may help overcome persisting limitations of current cancer treatment and thus contribute to the creation of more effective, safer and more affordable therapies. While some nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems are already being marketed and others are in clinical trial, most still remain in the preclinical development stage. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles have been highlighted as an interesting drug delivery platform, due to their flexibility and high drug load potential. Although numerous reports demonstrate sophisticated drug delivery mechanisms in vitro, the therapeutic benefit of these systems for in vivo applications have been under continuous debate. This has been due to nontranslatable conditions used in the in vitro studies, as well as contradictory conclusions drawn from preclinical (in vivo) studies. However, recent studies have indicated that the encouraging cellular studies could in fact be repeated also in vivo. Here, we report on these recent advances regarding therapeutic efficacy, targeting and safety issues related to the application of mesoporous silica nanoparticles in cancer therapy.

  11. Candesartan cilexetil loaded nanodelivery systems for improved oral bioavailability.

    PubMed

    Dudhipala, Narendar; Veerabrahma, Kishan

    2017-02-01

    Candesartan cilexetil (CC), an antihypertensive drug, has low oral bioavailability due to poor solubility and hepatic first-pass metabolism. These are major limitations in oral delivery of CC. Several approaches are known to reduce the problems of solubility and improve the bioavailability of CC. Among various approaches, nanotechnology-based delivery of CC has potential to overcome the challenges associated with the oral administration. This review focuses on various nano-based delivery systems available and tried for improving the aqueous solubility, dissolution and consequently bioavailability of CC upon oral administration. Of all, solid lipid nanoparticles appear to be promising delivery system, based on current reported results, for delivery of CC, as this system improved the oral bioavailability and possessed prolonged pharmacodynamic effect.

  12. Diatomite silica nanoparticles for drug delivery

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Diatomite is a natural fossil material of sedimentary origin, constituted by fragments of diatom siliceous skeletons. In this preliminary work, the properties of diatomite nanoparticles as potential system for the delivery of drugs in cancer cells were exploited. A purification procedure, based on thermal treatments in strong acid solutions, was used to remove inorganic and organic impurities from diatomite and to make them a safe material for medical applications. The micrometric diatomite powder was reduced in nanoparticles by mechanical crushing, sonication, and filtering. Morphological analysis performed by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy reveals a particles size included between 100 and 300 nm. Diatomite nanoparticles were functionalized by 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane and labeled by tetramethylrhodamine isothiocyanate. Different concentrations of chemically modified nanoparticles were incubated with cancer cells and confocal microscopy was performed. Imaging analysis showed an efficient cellular uptake and homogeneous distribution of nanoparticles in cytoplasm and nucleus, thus suggesting their potentiality as nanocarriers for drug delivery. PACS 87.85.J81.05.Rm; 61.46. + w PMID:25024689

  13. Diatomite silica nanoparticles for drug delivery.

    PubMed

    Ruggiero, Immacolata; Terracciano, Monica; Martucci, Nicola M; De Stefano, Luca; Migliaccio, Nunzia; Tatè, Rosarita; Rendina, Ivo; Arcari, Paolo; Lamberti, Annalisa; Rea, Ilaria

    2014-01-01

    Diatomite is a natural fossil material of sedimentary origin, constituted by fragments of diatom siliceous skeletons. In this preliminary work, the properties of diatomite nanoparticles as potential system for the delivery of drugs in cancer cells were exploited. A purification procedure, based on thermal treatments in strong acid solutions, was used to remove inorganic and organic impurities from diatomite and to make them a safe material for medical applications. The micrometric diatomite powder was reduced in nanoparticles by mechanical crushing, sonication, and filtering. Morphological analysis performed by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy reveals a particles size included between 100 and 300 nm. Diatomite nanoparticles were functionalized by 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane and labeled by tetramethylrhodamine isothiocyanate. Different concentrations of chemically modified nanoparticles were incubated with cancer cells and confocal microscopy was performed. Imaging analysis showed an efficient cellular uptake and homogeneous distribution of nanoparticles in cytoplasm and nucleus, thus suggesting their potentiality as nanocarriers for drug delivery. 87.85.J81.05.Rm; 61.46. + w.

  14. Multifunctional pH-Sensitive Amino Lipids for siRNA Delivery.

    PubMed

    Gujrati, Maneesh; Vaidya, Amita; Lu, Zheng-Rong

    2016-01-20

    RNA interference (RNAi) represents a powerful modality for human disease therapy that can regulate gene expression signature using small interfering RNA (siRNA). Successful delivery of siRNA into the cytoplasm of target cells is imperative for efficient RNAi and also constitutes the primary stumbling block in the clinical applicability of RNAi. Significant progress has been made in the development of lipid-based siRNA delivery systems, which have practical advantages like simple chemistry and easy formulation of nanoparticles with siRNA. This review discusses the recent development of pH-sensitive amino lipids, with particular focus on multifunctional pH-sensitive amino lipids for siRNA delivery. The key components of these multifunctional lipids include a protonatable amino head group, distal lipid tails, and two cross-linkable thiol groups, which together facilitate the facile formation of stable siRNA-nanoparticles, easy surface modification for target-specific delivery, endosomal escape in response to the pH decrease during subcellular trafficking, and reductive dissociation of the siRNA-nanoparticles for cytoplasmic release of free siRNA. By virtue of these properties, multifunctional pH-sensitive lipids can mediate efficient cytosolic siRNA delivery and gene silencing. Targeted siRNA nanoparticles can be readily formulated with these lipids, without the need for other helper lipids, to promote systemic delivery of therapeutic siRNAs. Such targeted siRNA nanoparticles have been shown to effectively regulate the expression of cancer-related genes, resulting in significant efficacy in the treatment of aggressive tumors, including metastatic triple negative breast cancer. These multifunctional pH-sensitive lipids constitute a promising platform for the systemic and targeted delivery of therapeutic siRNA for the treatment of human diseases. This review summarizes the structure-property relationship of the multifunctional pH-sensitive lipids and their efficacy in in vitro and in vivo siRNA delivery and gene silencing.

  15. Magnetic nanoparticle drug delivery systems for targeting tumor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mody, Vicky V.; Cox, Arthur; Shah, Samit; Singh, Ajay; Bevins, Wesley; Parihar, Harish

    2014-04-01

    Tumor hypoxia, or low oxygen concentration, is a result of disordered vasculature that lead to distinctive hypoxic microenvironments not found in normal tissues. Many traditional anti-cancer agents are not able to penetrate into these hypoxic zones, whereas, conventional cancer therapies that work by blocking cell division are not effective to treat tumors within hypoxic zones. Under these circumstances the use of magnetic nanoparticles as a drug delivering agent system under the influence of external magnetic field has received much attention, based on their simplicity, ease of preparation, and ability to tailor their properties for specific biological applications. Hence in this review article we have reviewed current magnetic drug delivery systems, along with their application and clinical status in the field of magnetic drug delivery.

  16. Magnetite Nanoparticles Coated with Rifampicin and Chlortetracycline for Drug Delivery Applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nǎdejde, Claudia; Ciurlicǎ, Ecaterina Foca-nici; Creangǎ, Dorina; Cârlescu, Aurelian; Bǎdescu, Vasile

    2010-12-01

    Four types of biocompatible magnetic fluids based on superparamagnetic nanoparticles with Fe3O4 cores were functionalized with antibiotics (rifampicin or chlortetracycline) as potential candidates for in vivo biomedical applications, such as magnetically controlled drug delivery. The synthesis consisted in coprecipitation of iron oxide in basic, as well as in acid medium, followed by the dispersion of the resulted magnetite nanoparticles in aqueous solution containing the antibiotic. The chosen method to prepare the magnetite-core/drug-shell systems avoided intermediate organic coating of the magnetic nanoparticles. Comparative analysis of the rheological features of the aqueous magnetic fluid samples was performed. The structural features of the coated magnetic particles were investigated by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Vibrating Sample Magnetometry (VSM). Good crystallinity and adequate stability in time were evidenced. Drug delivery curves were spectrophotometrically provided.

  17. Recent Advances in Nanoparticle-Based Targeted Drug-Delivery Systems Against Cancer and Role of Tumor Microenvironment.

    PubMed

    Ashfaq, Usman Ali; Riaz, Muhammad; Yasmeen, Erum; Yousaf, Muhammad Zubair

    2017-01-01

    Cancer is one of the major causes of death worldwide. The silent activation of cellular factors responsible for deviation from normal regulatory pathways leads to the development of cancer. Nano-biotechnology is a novel drug-delivery system with high potential of efficacy and accuracy to target lethal cancers. Various biocompatible nanoparticle (NP)-based drug-delivery systems such as liposomes, dendrimers, micelles, silica, quantum dots, and magnetic, gold, and carbon nanotubes have already been reported for successful targeted cancer treatment. NPs are functionalized with different biological molecules, peptides, antibody, and protein ligands for targeted drug delivery. These systems include a hydrophilic central core, a target-oriented biocompatible outer layer, and a middle hydrophobic core where the drug destined to reach target site resides. Most of the NPs have the ability to maintain their structural shape and are constructed according to the cancer microenvironment. The self-assembling and colloidal properties of NPs have caused them to become the best vehicles for targeted drug delivery. The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a major role in cancer progression, detection, and treatment. Due to its continuous complex behavior, the TME can hinder delivery systems, thus halting cancer treatment. Nonetheless, a successful biophysiological interaction between the NPs and the TME results in targeted release of drugs. Currently, a number of drugs and NP-based delivery systems against cancer are in clinical and preclinical trials and a few have been approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA); for example: taxol, doxil, cerubidine, and adrucil. This review summarizes topical advances about the drugs being used for cancer treatment, their targeted delivery systems based on NPs, and the role of TME in this connection.

  18. Nanoparticle Approaches against Bacterial Infections

    PubMed Central

    Gao, Weiwei; Thamphiwatana, Soracha; Angsantikul, Pavimol; Zhang, Liangfang

    2014-01-01

    Despite the wide success of antibiotics, the treatment of bacterial infection still faces significant challenges, particularly the emergence of antibiotic resistance. As a result, nanoparticle drug delivery platforms including liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, dendrimers, and various inorganic nanoparticles have been increasingly exploited to enhance the therapeutic effectiveness of existing antibiotics. This review focuses on areas where nanoparticle approaches hold significant potential to advance the treatment of bacterial infection. These areas include targeted antibiotic delivery, environmentally responsive antibiotic delivery, combinatorial antibiotic delivery, nanoparticle-enabled antibacterial vaccination, and nanoparticle-based bacterial detection. In each area we highlight the innovative antimicrobial nanoparticle platforms and review their progress made against bacterial infections. PMID:25044325

  19. Enhanced mucosal immune responses against tetanus toxoid using novel delivery system comprised of chitosan-functionalized gold nanoparticles and botanical adjuvant: characterization, immunogenicity, and stability assessment.

    PubMed

    Barhate, Ganesh; Gautam, Manish; Gairola, Sunil; Jadhav, Suresh; Pokharkar, Varsha

    2014-11-01

    Approaches based on combined use of delivery systems and adjuvants are being favored to maximize efficient mucosal delivery of antigens. Here, we describe a novel delivery system comprised of chitosan-functionalized gold nanoparticles (CsAuNPs) and saponin-containing botanical adjuvant; Asparagus racemosus extract (ARE) for oral delivery of tetanus toxoid (TT). A significant increase in TT-specific IgG (34.53-fold) and IgA (43.75-fold) was observed when TT-CsAuNPs were formulated with ARE (TT-ARE-CsAuNPs). The local IgA immune responses for TT also showed a significant increase (106.5-fold in intestine washes and 99.74-fold in feces) with ARE-based formulations as compared with plain TT group. No effect of ARE was observed on size, charge, and loading properties of CsAuNPs. Additionally, no effect of ARE and CsAuNPs was observed on antigenicity and secondary structure of TT as determined by fluorescence, circular dichroism, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The stability studies demonstrated excellent stability profile of formulation at recommended storage conditions. The study establishes the possible role of immunomodulatory adjuvants in particulate delivery systems for mucosal delivery of vaccines. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.

  20. Application of Chitosan and its Derivatives in Nanocarrier Based Pulmonary Drug Delivery Systems.

    PubMed

    Dua, Kamal; Bebawy, Mary; Awasthi, Rajendra; Tekade, Rakesh K; Tekade, Muktika; Gupta, Gaurav; De Jesus Andreoli Pinto, Terezinha; Hansbro, Philip M

    2017-01-01

    The respiratory tract as a non-invasive route of drug administration is gaining increasing attention in the present time on achieving both local and the systemic therapeutic effects. Success in achieving pulmonary delivery, requires overcoming barriers including mucociliary clearance and uptake by macrophages. An effective drug delivery system delivers the therapeutically active moieties at the right time and rate to target sites. A major limitation associated with most of the currently available conventional and controlled release drug delivery devices is that not all the drug candidates are well absorbed uniformly locally or systemically. We searched and reviewed the literature focusing on chitosan and chitosan derivative based nanocarrier systems used in pulmonary drug delivery. We focused on the applications of chitosan in the development of nanoparticles for this purpose. Chitosan, a natural linear bio-polyaminosaccharide is central in the development of novel drug delivery systems (NDDS) including nanoparticles for use in the treatment of various respiratory diseases. It achieves this through its unique properties of biodegradability, biocompatibility, mucoadhesivity and its ability to enhance macromolecule permeation across membranes. It also achieves sustained and targeted effects, primary requirements for an effective pulmonary drug delivery system. This review highlights the applications and importance of chitosan with special emphasis on nanotechnology, employed in the management of respiratory diseases such as asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), lung cancer and pulmonary fibrosis. This review will be of interest to both the biological and formulation scientists as it provides a summary on the utility of chitosan in pulmonary drug delivery systems. At present, there are no patented chitosan based controlled release products available for pulmonary drug delivery and so this area has enormous potential in the field of respiratory science. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  1. Combined image guided monitoring the pharmacokinetics of rapamycin loaded human serum albumin nanoparticles with a split luciferase reporter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Fu; Yang, Kai; Wang, Zhe; Ma, Ying; Gutkind, J. Silvio; Hida, Naoki; Niu, Gang; Tian, Jie

    2016-02-01

    Imaging guided techniques have been increasingly employed to investigate the pharmacokinetics (PK) and biodistribution of nanoparticle based drug delivery systems. In most cases, however, the PK profiles of drugs could vary significantly from those of drug delivery carriers upon administration in the blood circulation, which complicates the interpretation of image findings. Herein we applied a genetically encoded luciferase reporter in conjunction with near infrared (NIR) fluorophores to investigate the respective PK profiles of a drug and its carrier in a biodegradable drug delivery system. In this system, a prototype hydrophobic agent, rapamycin (Rapa), was encapsulated into human serum albumin (HSA) to form HSA Rapa nanoparticles, which were then labeled with Cy5 fluorophore to facilitate the fluorescence imaging of HSA carrier. Meanwhile, we employed transgenetic HN12 cells that were modified with a split luciferase reporter, whose bioluminescence function is regulated by Rapa, to reflect the PK profile of the encapsulated agent. It was interesting to discover that there existed an obvious inconsistency of PK behaviors between HSA carrier and rapamycin in vitro and in vivo through near infrared fluorescence imaging (NIFRI) and bioluminescence imaging (BLI) after treatment with Cy5 labeled HSA Rapa. Nevertheless, HSA Rapa nanoparticles manifested favorable in vivo PK and tumor suppression efficacy in a follow-up therapeutic study. The developed strategy of combining a molecular reporter and a fluorophore in this study could be extended to other drug delivery systems to provide profound insights for non-invasive real-time evaluation of PK profiles of drug-loaded nanoparticles in pre-clinical studies.Imaging guided techniques have been increasingly employed to investigate the pharmacokinetics (PK) and biodistribution of nanoparticle based drug delivery systems. In most cases, however, the PK profiles of drugs could vary significantly from those of drug delivery carriers upon administration in the blood circulation, which complicates the interpretation of image findings. Herein we applied a genetically encoded luciferase reporter in conjunction with near infrared (NIR) fluorophores to investigate the respective PK profiles of a drug and its carrier in a biodegradable drug delivery system. In this system, a prototype hydrophobic agent, rapamycin (Rapa), was encapsulated into human serum albumin (HSA) to form HSA Rapa nanoparticles, which were then labeled with Cy5 fluorophore to facilitate the fluorescence imaging of HSA carrier. Meanwhile, we employed transgenetic HN12 cells that were modified with a split luciferase reporter, whose bioluminescence function is regulated by Rapa, to reflect the PK profile of the encapsulated agent. It was interesting to discover that there existed an obvious inconsistency of PK behaviors between HSA carrier and rapamycin in vitro and in vivo through near infrared fluorescence imaging (NIFRI) and bioluminescence imaging (BLI) after treatment with Cy5 labeled HSA Rapa. Nevertheless, HSA Rapa nanoparticles manifested favorable in vivo PK and tumor suppression efficacy in a follow-up therapeutic study. The developed strategy of combining a molecular reporter and a fluorophore in this study could be extended to other drug delivery systems to provide profound insights for non-invasive real-time evaluation of PK profiles of drug-loaded nanoparticles in pre-clinical studies. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr07308a

  2. Nanotechnology Applications for Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma.

    PubMed

    Bredlau, Amy Lee; Dixit, Suraj; Chen, Chao; Broome, Ann-Marie

    2017-01-01

    Diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPGs) are invariably fatal tumors found in the pons of elementary school aged children. These tumors are grade II-IV gliomas, with a median survival of less than 1 year from diagnosis when treated with standard of care (SOC) therapy. Nanotechnology may offer therapeutic options for the treatment of DIPGs. Multiple nanoparticle formulations are currently being investigated for the treatment of DIPGs. Nanoparticles based upon stable elements, polymer nanoparticles, and organic nanoparticles are under development for the treatment of brain tumors, including DIPGs. Targeting of nanoparticles is now possible as delivery techniques that address the difficulty in crossing the blood brain barrier (BBB) are developed. Theranostic nanoparticles, a combination of therapeutics and diagnostic nanoparticles, improve imaging of the cancerous tissue while delivering therapy to the local region. However, additional time and attention should be directed to developing a nanoparticle delivery system for treatment of the uniformly fatal pediatric disease of DIPG.

  3. Nanotechnology Applications for Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma

    PubMed Central

    Bredlau, Amy Lee; Dixit, Suraj; Chen, Chao; Broome, Ann-Marie

    2017-01-01

    Diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPGs) are invariably fatal tumors found in the pons of elementary school aged children. These tumors are grade II-IV gliomas, with a median survival of less than 1 year from diagnosis when treated with standard of care (SOC) therapy. Nanotechnology may offer therapeutic options for the treatment of DIPGs. Multiple nanoparticle formulations are currently being investigated for the treatment of DIPGs. Nanoparticles based upon stable elements, polymer nanoparticles, and organic nanoparticles are under development for the treatment of brain tumors, including DIPGs. Targeting of nanoparticles is now possible as delivery techniques that address the difficulty in crossing the blood brain barrier (BBB) are developed. Theranostic nanoparticles, a combination of therapeutics and diagnostic nanoparticles, improve imaging of the cancerous tissue while delivering therapy to the local region. However, additional time and attention should be directed to developing a nanoparticle delivery system for treatment of the uniformly fatal pediatric disease of DIPG. PMID:26903150

  4. Multifunctional Nucleus-targeting Nanoparticles with Ultra-high Gene Transfection Efficiency for In Vivo Gene Therapy

    PubMed Central

    Li, Ling; Li, Xia; Wu, Yuzhe; Song, Linjiang; Yang, Xi; He, Tao; Wang, Ning; Yang, Suleixin; Zeng, Yan; Wu, Qinjie; Qian, Zhiyong; Wei, Yuquan; Gong, Changyang

    2017-01-01

    Cancer stem cell-like cells (CSCL) are responsible for tumor recurrence associated with conventional therapy (e.g. surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy). Here, we developed a novel multifunctional nucleus-targeting nanoparticle-based gene delivery system which is capable of targeting and eradicating CSCL. These nanoparticles can facilitate efficient endosomal escape and spontaneously penetrate into nucleus without additional nuclear localization signal. They also induced extremely high gene transfection efficiency (>95%) even in culture medium containing 30% serum, which significantly surpassed that of some commercial transfection reagents, such as Lipofectamine 2000 and Lipofectamine 3000 etc. Especially, when loaded with the TRAIL gene, this system mediated remarkable depletion of CSCL. Upon systemic administration, the nanoparticles accumulated in tumor sites while sparing the non-cancer tissues and significantly inhibited the growth of tumors with no evident systemic toxicity. Taken together, our results suggest that these novel multifunctional, nucleus-targeting nanoparticles are a very promising in vivo gene delivery system capable of targeting CSCL and represent a new treatment candidate for improving the survival of cancer patients. PMID:28529641

  5. Nanoparticle-based drug delivery to the vagina: a review

    PubMed Central

    Ensign, Laura M.; Cone, Richard; Hanes, Justin

    2014-01-01

    Vaginal drug administration can improve prophylaxis and treatment of many conditions affecting the female reproductive tract, including sexually transmitted diseases, fungal and bacterial infections, and cancer. However, achieving sustained local drug concentrations in the vagina can be challenging, due to the high permeability of the vaginal epithelium and expulsion of conventional soluble drug dosage forms. Nanoparticle-based drug delivery platforms have received considerable attention for vaginal drug delivery, as nanoparticles can provide sustained release, cellular targeting, and even intrinsic antimicrobial or adjuvant properties that can improve the potency and/or efficacy of prophylactic and therapeutic modalities. Here, we review the use of polymeric nanoparticles, liposomes, dendrimers, and inorganic nanoparticles for vaginal drug delivery. Although most of the work toward nanoparticle-based drug delivery in the vagina has been focused on HIV prevention, strategies for treatment and prevention of other sexually transmitted infections, treatment for reproductive tract cancer, and treatment of fungal and bacterial infections are also highlighted. PMID:24830303

  6. Infusion of imaging and therapeutic molecules into the plant virus-based carrier cowpea mosaic virus: cargo-loading and delivery

    PubMed Central

    Yildiz, Ibrahim; Lee, Karin L.; Chen, Kevin; Shukla, Sourabh; Steinmetz, Nicole F.

    2013-01-01

    This work is focused on the development of a plant virus-based carrier system for cargo delivery, specifically 30 nm-sized cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV). Whereas previous reports described the engineering of CPMV through genetic or chemical modification, we report a non-covalent infusion technique that facilitates efficient cargo loading. Infusion and retention of 130–155 fluorescent dye molecules per CPMV using DAPI (4’,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride), propidium iodide (3,8-diamino-5-[3-(diethylmethylammonio)propyl]-6-phenylphenanthridinium diiodide), and acridine orange (3,6-bis(dimethylamino)acridinium chloride), as well as 140 copies of therapeutic payload proflavine (PF, acridine-3,6-diamine hydrochloride), is reported. Loading is achieved through interaction of the cargo with the CPMV’s encapsidated RNA molecules. The loading mechanism is specific; empty RNA-free eCPMV nanoparticles could not be loaded. Cargo-infused CPMV nanoparticles remain chemically active, and surface lysine residues were covalent modified with dyes leading to the development of dual-functional CPMV carrier systems. We demonstrate cargo-delivery to a panel of cancer cells (cervical, breast, and colon): CPMV nanoparticles enter cells via the surface marker vimentin, the nanoparticles target the endolysosome, where the carrier is degraded and the cargo released allowing imaging and/or cell killing. In conclusion, we demonstrate cargo-infusion and delivery to cells; the methods discussed provide a useful means for functionalization of CPMV toward its application as drug and/or contrast agent delivery vehicle. PMID:23665254

  7. New Avenues for Nanoparticle-Related Therapies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Michael; Liu, Mingyao

    2018-05-01

    Development of nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems has been attempted for the treatment of cancer over the past decade. The enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect is the major mechanism to passively deliver nanodrugs to tumor tissue. However, a recent systematic review demonstrated limited success of these studies, with the clearance of nanoparticles by the mononuclear phagocytic system (MPS) being a major hurdle. Herein, we propose that nanotechnologists should reconsider their research focuses, aiming for therapeutic targets other than cancer. Treatments for diseases that do not (or less) rely on EPR should be considered, such as active targeting or MPS evasion systems. For example, systemic delivery of drugs through intravenous injection can be used to treat sepsis, multi-organ failure, metabolic disorders, blood diseases, immune and autoimmune diseases, etc. Local delivery of nanodrugs to organs such as the lung, rectum, or bladder may enhance the local drug concentration with less clearance via MPS. In transplant settings, ex vivo organ perfusion provides a new route to repair injury of isolated organs in the absence of MPS. Based on a similar concept, chemotherapy with in vivo lung perfusion techniques and other isolated organ perfusion provides opportunities for cancer therapy.

  8. Targeted cancer drug delivery with aptamer-functionalized polymeric nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Zununi Vahed, Sepideh; Fathi, Nazanin; Samiei, Mohammad; Maleki Dizaj, Solmaz; Sharifi, Simin

    2018-06-21

    Based on exceptional advantages of aptamers, increasing attention has been presented in the utilize of them as targeted ligands for cancer drug delivery. Recently, the progress of aptamer- targeted nanoparticles has presented new therapeutic systems for several types of cancer with decreased toxicity and improved efficacy. We highlight some of the promising formulations of aptamer-conjugated polymeric nanoparticles for specific targeted drug delivery to cancer cells. This review paper focuses on the current progresses in the use of the novel strategies to aptamer-targeted drug delivery for chemotherapy. An extensive literature review was performed using internet database, mainly PubMed based on MeSH keywords. The searches included full-text publications written in English without any limitation in date. The abstracts, reviews, books as well as studies without obvious relating of aptamers as targeted ligands for cancer drug delivery were excluded from the study. The reviewed literature revealed that aptamers with ability to modify and conjugate to various molecules can be used as targeted cancer therapy agents. However, development of aptamers unique to each individual's tumor to the development of personalized medicine seems to be needed.

  9. Lipid-Based Drug Delivery Systems in Cancer Therapy: What Is Available and What Is Yet to Come

    PubMed Central

    Yingchoncharoen, Phatsapong; Kalinowski, Danuta S.

    2016-01-01

    Cancer is a leading cause of death in many countries around the world. However, the efficacy of current standard treatments for a variety of cancers is suboptimal. First, most cancer treatments lack specificity, meaning that these treatments affect both cancer cells and their normal counterparts. Second, many anticancer agents are highly toxic, and thus, limit their use in treatment. Third, a number of cytotoxic chemotherapeutics are highly hydrophobic, which limits their utility in cancer therapy. Finally, many chemotherapeutic agents exhibit short half-lives that curtail their efficacy. As a result of these deficiencies, many current treatments lead to side effects, noncompliance, and patient inconvenience due to difficulties in administration. However, the application of nanotechnology has led to the development of effective nanosized drug delivery systems known commonly as nanoparticles. Among these delivery systems, lipid-based nanoparticles, particularly liposomes, have shown to be quite effective at exhibiting the ability to: 1) improve the selectivity of cancer chemotherapeutic agents; 2) lower the cytotoxicity of anticancer drugs to normal tissues, and thus, reduce their toxic side effects; 3) increase the solubility of hydrophobic drugs; and 4) offer a prolonged and controlled release of agents. This review will discuss the current state of lipid-based nanoparticle research, including the development of liposomes for cancer therapy, different strategies for tumor targeting, liposomal formulation of various anticancer drugs that are commercially available, recent progress in liposome technology for the treatment of cancer, and the next generation of lipid-based nanoparticles. PMID:27363439

  10. Chick chorioallantoic membrane assay as an in vivo model to study the effect of nanoparticle-based anticancer drugs in ovarian cancer.

    PubMed

    Vu, Binh Thanh; Shahin, Sophia Allaf; Croissant, Jonas; Fatieiev, Yevhen; Matsumoto, Kotaro; Le-Hoang Doan, Tan; Yik, Tammy; Simargi, Shirleen; Conteras, Altagracia; Ratliff, Laura; Jimenez, Chiara Mauriello; Raehm, Laurence; Khashab, Niveen; Durand, Jean-Olivier; Glackin, Carlotta; Tamanoi, Fuyuhiko

    2018-06-04

    New therapy development is critically needed for ovarian cancer. We used the chicken egg CAM assay to evaluate efficacy of anticancer drug delivery using recently developed biodegradable PMO (periodic mesoporous organosilica) nanoparticles. Human ovarian cancer cells were transplanted onto the CAM membrane of fertilized eggs, resulting in rapid tumor formation. The tumor closely resembles cancer patient tumor and contains extracellular matrix as well as stromal cells and extensive vasculature. PMO nanoparticles loaded with doxorubicin were injected intravenously into the chicken egg resulting in elimination of the tumor. No significant damage to various organs in the chicken embryo occurred. In contrast, injection of free doxorubicin caused widespread organ damage, even when less amount was administered. The lack of toxic effect of nanoparticle loaded doxorubicin was associated with specific delivery of doxorubicin to the tumor. Furthermore, we observed excellent tumor accumulation of the nanoparticles. Lastly, a tumor could be established in the egg using tumor samples from ovarian cancer patients and that our nanoparticles were effective in eliminating the tumor. These results point to the remarkable efficacy of our nanoparticle based drug delivery system and suggests the value of the chicken egg tumor model for testing novel therapies for ovarian cancer.

  11. Folate receptor-specific, redox-responsive mesoporous silica nanoparticles for the simultaneous delivery of cisplatin and gemcitabine to treat cancer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fink, Eric Douglas

    Nanoparticles are an innovative platform for cancer treatment that reduces systemic toxicity and allows for active targeting of tumor sites to enhance the therapeutic efficacy. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have emerged as an attractive drug delivery system due to their high surface area, vast functionalization potential, and biocompatibility. The main goal of this project is to develop a target-specific stimuli-responsive MSN based drug delivery system for the simultaneous delivery of cisplatin and gemcitabine. Both drugs were chemically attached to the MSNs via stimuli-responsive linkers that respond to the high reducing environment and low pH characteristic of cancer cells. The MSN materials fabricated in this work were successfully synthesized and characterized with a wide variety of spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. The loading of cisplatin and gemcitabine and their release profile under high reducing conditions were determined using atomic absorption (AA) and UV-vis spectroscopy, respectively. In vitro toxicity studies were performed on human cervical cancer (HeLa) cells in the presence of different ratios of cisplatin/gemcitabine drugs to determine the best ratio to kill HeLa cells. Based on this data, MSN materials carrying individual drugs and the corresponding combinatorial nanoparticles were fabricated and their in vitro cytotoxicity evaluated in HeLa and pancreatic cancer cells (AsPC1 and BxPC-3). The next step in this project was to further modify with folic acid to enhance its targeting ability toward cancer cells overexpressing folate receptors.

  12. Gadolinium-Doped Gallic Acid-Zinc/Aluminium-Layered Double Hydroxide/Gold Theranostic Nanoparticles for a Bimodal Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Drug Delivery System.

    PubMed

    Sani Usman, Muhammad; Hussein, Mohd Zobir; Fakurazi, Sharida; Masarudin, Mas Jaffri; Ahmad Saad, Fathinul Fikri

    2017-08-31

    We have developed gadolinium-based theranostic nanoparticles for co-delivery of drug and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent using Zn/Al-layered double hydroxide as the nanocarrier platform, a naturally occurring phenolic compound, gallic acid (GA) as therapeutic agent, and Gd(NO₃)₃ as diagnostic agent. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were grown on the system to support the contrast for MRI imaging. The nanoparticles were characterized using techniques such as Hi-TEM, XRD, ICP-ES. Kinetic release study of the GA from the nanoparticles showed about 70% of GA was released over a period of 72 h. The in vitro cell viability test for the nanoparticles showed relatively low toxicity to human cell lines (3T3) and improved toxicity on cancerous cell lines (HepG2). A preliminary contrast property test of the nanoparticles, tested on a 3 Tesla MRI machine at various concentrations of GAGZAu and water (as a reference) indicates that the nanoparticles have a promising dual diagnostic and therapeutic features to further develop a better future for clinical remedy for cancer treatment.

  13. PLGA-Chitosan nanoparticle-mediated gene delivery for oral cancer treatment: A brief review

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bakar, L. M.; Abdullah, M. Z.; Doolaanea, A. A.; Ichwan, S. J. A.

    2017-08-01

    Cancer becomes a serious issue on society with increasing of their growth and proliferation, either in well economic developed countries or not. Recent years, oral cancer is one of the most threatening diseases impairing the quality of life of the patient. Scientists have emphasised on application of gene therapy for oral cancer by using nanoparticle as transportation vectors as a new alternative platform in order to overcome the limitations of conventional approaches. In modern medicine, nanotechnologies’ application, such as nanoparticles-mediated gene delivery, is one of promising tool for therapeutic devices. The objective of this article is to present a brief review summarizes on the current progress of nanotechnology-based gene delivery treatment system targeted for oral cancer.

  14. Nanobiotechnology-based drug delivery in brain targeting.

    PubMed

    Dinda, Subas C; Pattnaik, Gurudutta

    2013-01-01

    Blood brain barrier (BBB) found to act as rate limiting factor in drug delivery to brain in combating the central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Such limiting physiological factors include the reticuloendothelial system and protein opsonization, which present across BBB, play major role in reducing the passage of drug. Several approaches employed to improve the drug delivery across the BBB. Nanoparticles (NP) are the solid colloidal particle ranges from 1 to 1000 nm in size utilized as career for drug delivery. At present NPs are found to play a significant advantage over the other methods of available drug delivery systems to deliver the drug across the BBB. Nanoparticles may be because of its size and functionalization characteristics able to penetrate and facilitate the drug delivery through the barrier. There are number of mechanisms and strategies found to be involved in this process, which are based on the type of nanomaterials used and its combination with therapeutic agents, such materials include liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles and non-viral vectors of nano-sizes for CNS gene therapy, etc. Nanotechnology is expected to reduce the need for invasive procedures for delivery of therapeutics to the CNS. Some devices such as implanted catheters and reservoirs however will still be needed to overcome the problems in effective drug delivery to the CNS. Nanomaterials are found to improve the safety and efficacy level of drug delivery devices in brain targeting. Nanoegineered devices are found to be delivering the drugs at cellular levels through nono-fluidic channels. Different drug delivery systems such as liposomes, microspheres, nanoparticles, nonogels and nonobiocapsules have been used to improve the bioavailability of the drug in the brain, but microchips and biodegradable polymeric nanoparticulate careers are found to be more effective therapeutically in treating brain tumor. The physiological approaches also utilized to improve the transcytosis capacity of specific receptors expressed across the BBB. It is found that the low density lipoproteins related protein (LPR) with engineered peptide compound (EpiC) formed the platform incorporating the Angiopep peptide as a new effective therapeutics. The current challenges are to design and develop the drug delivery careers, which must be able to deliver the drug across the BBB at a safe and effective manner. Nanoparticles are found to be effective careers in delivery of conventional drugs, recombinant proteins, vaccines as well as nucleotides. Nanoparticlulate drug delivery systems are found to be improving in the pharmacokinetic strategies of the drug molecules such as biodistribution, bioavailability and drug release characteristics in a controlled and effective manner with site specific drug delivery targeting to tissue or cell with reduction in toxic manifestation. Therefore, the use of nanotechnology in the field of pharmaceutical biotechnology helps in improving the drug delivery strategy including the kinetics and therapeutic index to solve the delivery problems of some biotech drugs including the recombinant proteins and oligonucleotides. This review is made to provide an insight to the role of nanobiotechnology in drug delivery and drug targeting to brain and its recent advances in the field of drug delivery systems.

  15. Mechanism-Based Enhanced Delivery of Drug-Loaded Targeted Nanoparticles for Breast Cancer Therapy

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-02-01

    Enhanced Delivery of Drug-Loaded Targeted Nanoparticles for Breast Cancer Therapy” 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER W81XWH-11-1-0166 5c... Nanotechnologies in Living Systems”, Moscow Region, Russia, September, 2011. 3. “Ionic nanogels for drug delivery in cancer ”. NanoDDS’12; Atlantic City, New...AD Award Number: W81XWH-11-1-0166 TITLE: Mechanism-Based Enhanced Delivery of Drug-Loaded Targeted Nanoparticles for Breast

  16. Review: nanoparticles in delivery of cardiovascular drugs.

    PubMed

    Arayne, M Saeed; Sultana, Najma; Qureshi, Faiza

    2007-10-01

    Everything in nature is built upward from the atomic level to define limits and structures to everything. Nanomedicines marked the field of medicine from nanobiotechnology, biological micro-electromechanical systems, microfluidics, biosensors, drug delivery, microarrays to tissue microengineering. Since then nanoparticles has overcome many challenges from blood brain barrier to targeting tumors. Where solid biodegradable nanoparticles were a step up liposome, targeting nanoparticles opened a whole new field for drug delivery. In this article, we attempt to discuss how the pioneered technique is serving in the drug delivery to cardiovascular system and how with the manipulation of their properties, nanoparticles can be made to fulfill desired function. Also how nanocarriers are improving molecular imaging to help improve diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease is focused in this article.

  17. Novel galactosylated biodegradable nanoparticles for hepatocyte-delivery of oridonin.

    PubMed

    Wang, Ying; Liu, Xinquan; Liu, Guangpu; Guo, Hejian; Li, Caiyun; Zhang, Yongchun; Zhang, Fang; Zhao, Zhongxi; Cheng, Huiling

    2016-04-11

    Nanoparticles based on the newly synthesized copolymers of linear PLGA blocked with two TPGS ends and galactosylated TPGS were successfully constructed as carriers of oridonin for liver-targeting. The novel copolymers were characterized by (1)H-NMR and TGA. The drug-loaded nanoparticles were prepared by a nanoprecipitation technique and characterized in terms of physicochemical properties, such as particle size, zeta potential, morphology, encapsulation efficiency, in vitro drug release behavior and physical state of the entrapped drug. The ORI-Gal-PT NPs were found to have the highest antitumor efficacy in comparison with the oridonin solution and non-galactosylated nanoparticles and induced a higher apoptotic rate of tumor cells. The targeting nanoparticles could enhance the therapeutic effect of oridonin by increasing uptake of the nanoparticles through asialoglycoprotein receptor-mediated endocytosis. The ORI-Gal-PT NPs system could be a highly promising drug delivery system to be used in liver cancer therapy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. One-pot green synthesis of doxorubicin loaded-silica nanoparticles for in vivo cancer therapy.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Shan; Hua, Li; Guo, Zilong; Sun, Lin

    2018-09-01

    The present work reveals a new and simple one-pot green method to load doxorubicin (DOX) drugs in silica nanoparticles for efficient in vivo cancer therapy. The synthesis of DOX loaded silica nanoparticles (SiNPs/DOX) is based on the efficient encapsulation of DOX in surfactant Tween 80 micelles which act as a template for the formation of silica nanoparticles. The release profile, cellular uptake behavior, cytotoxicity and antitumor effect of SiNPs/DOX nanoparticles were investigated and compared to free DOX. The silica nanoparticles improved the cellular drug delivery efficiency and exhibited high cytotoxicity, successfully achieving the inhibition of tumor growth. Notably, the tumor size and weight of SiNPs/DOX group was 2-fold and 1.7-fold smaller than that of free DOX group, and 4-fold and 2-fold smaller than that of PBS group. The one-pot green synthesis system may have the potential to be developed as a promising drug delivery system. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. New Updates Pertaining to Drug Delivery of Local Anesthetics in Particular Bupivacaine Using Lipid Nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Beiranvand, Siavash; Eatemadi, Ali; Karimi, Arash

    2016-06-01

    Lipid nanoparticles (liposomes) were first described in 1965, and several work have led to development of important technical advances like triggered release liposomes and drug-loaded liposomes. These advances have led to numerous clinical trials in such diverse areas such as the delivery of anti-cancer, antifungal, and antibiotic drugs; the delivery of gene medicines; and most importantly the delivery of anesthesia drugs. Quite a number of liposomes are on the market, and many more are still in developmental stage. Lipid nanoparticles are the first nano-medicine delivery system to be advanced from laboratory concept to clinical application with high considerable clinical acceptance. Drug delivery systems for local anesthetics (LAs) have caught the interest of many researchers because there are many biomedical advantages connected to their application. There have been several formulation techniques to systemically deliver LA that include encapsulation in liposomes and complexation in cyclodextrins, nanoparticles, and to a little extent gold nanoparticles. The proposed formulations help to decrease the LA concentration utilized, increase its permeability, and most importantly increase the localization of the LA for a long period of time thereby leading to increase in the duration of the LA effect and finally to reduce any local and systemic toxicity. In this review, we will highlight on new updates pertaining to drug delivery of local anesthetics in particular bupivacaine using lipid nanoparticles.

  20. New Updates Pertaining to Drug Delivery of Local Anesthetics in Particular Bupivacaine Using Lipid Nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Beiranvand, Siavash; Eatemadi, Ali; Karimi, Arash

    2016-12-01

    Lipid nanoparticles (liposomes) were first described in 1965, and several work have led to development of important technical advances like triggered release liposomes and drug-loaded liposomes. These advances have led to numerous clinical trials in such diverse areas such as the delivery of anti-cancer, antifungal, and antibiotic drugs; the delivery of gene medicines; and most importantly the delivery of anesthesia drugs. Quite a number of liposomes are on the market, and many more are still in developmental stage. Lipid nanoparticles are the first nano-medicine delivery system to be advanced from laboratory concept to clinical application with high considerable clinical acceptance. Drug delivery systems for local anesthetics (LAs) have caught the interest of many researchers because there are many biomedical advantages connected to their application. There have been several formulation techniques to systemically deliver LA that include encapsulation in liposomes and complexation in cyclodextrins, nanoparticles, and to a little extent gold nanoparticles. The proposed formulations help to decrease the LA concentration utilized, increase its permeability, and most importantly increase the localization of the LA for a long period of time thereby leading to increase in the duration of the LA effect and finally to reduce any local and systemic toxicity. In this review, we will highlight on new updates pertaining to drug delivery of local anesthetics in particular bupivacaine using lipid nanoparticles.

  1. Composite nanoparticles for gene delivery.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yuhua; Huang, Leaf

    2014-01-01

    Nanoparticle-mediated gene and siRNA delivery has been an appealing area to gene therapists when they attempt to treat the diseases by manipulating the genetic information in the target cells. However, the advances in materials science could not keep up with the demand for multifunctional nanomaterials to achieve desired delivery efficiency. Researchers have thus taken an alternative approach to incorporate various materials into single composite nanoparticle using different fabrication methods. This approach allows nanoparticles to possess defined nanostructures as well as multiple functionalities to overcome the critical extracellular and intracellular barriers to successful gene delivery. This chapter will highlight the advances of fabrication methods that have the most potential to translate nanoparticles from bench to bedside. Furthermore, a major class of composite nanoparticle-lipid-based composite nanoparticles will be classified based on the components and reviewed in details.

  2. Nanogel-based natural polymers as smart carriers for the controlled delivery of Timolol Maleate through the cornea for glaucoma.

    PubMed

    Ilka, Roya; Mohseni, Mojdeh; Kianirad, Mehran; Naseripour, Masood; Ashtari, Khadijeh; Mehravi, Bita

    2018-04-01

    Despite frequent scientific efforts, efficient ocular drug delivery is a major challenge for pharmaceutical scientists. Poor bioavailability of ophthalmic solutions can be overcome by using smart ophthalmic drug-delivery systems. In this research, loading and delivery of Timolol Maleate (TM) through the cornea by synthesized nanoparticles based on biopolymers (chitosan-alginate) were studied. The physico-chemical properties of these nanoparticles were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Loading and release were evaluated by a UV-vis spectrometer and the ex vivo permeation study was carried out using the Franz Diffusion Cell and fluorescent microscopy studies. The results indicated that morphology and size of nanoparticles were spherical and in the range of 80-100nm. The loading capacity and encapsulation efficiency were about 42% and 94% respectively. They illustrated a burst release in the first hour followed by a slower and more sustained drug release during the next 24h. Also, the results indicated that the cornea penetration of TM loaded in nanoparticles was twice than that of TM. Hence, this nanocarrier can be considered as a suitable candidate for controlled TM delivery and release through the cornea. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Chitosan nanoparticle based delivery systems for sustainable agriculture.

    PubMed

    Kashyap, Prem Lal; Xiang, Xu; Heiden, Patricia

    2015-01-01

    Development of technologies that improve food productivity without any adverse impact on the ecosystem is the need of hour. In this context, development of controlled delivery systems for slow and sustained release of agrochemicals or genetic materials is crucial. Chitosan has emerged as a valuable carrier for controlled delivery of agrochemicals and genetic materials because of its proven biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and adsorption abilities. The major advantages of encapsulating agrochemicals and genetic material in a chitosan matrix include its ability to function as a protective reservoir for the active ingredients, protecting the ingredients from the surrounding environment while they are in the chitosan domain, and then controlling their release, allowing them to serve as efficient gene delivery systems for plant transformation or controlled release of pesticides. Despite the great progress in the use of chitosan in the area of medical and pharmaceutical sciences, there is still a wide knowledge gap regarding the potential application of chitosan for encapsulation of active ingredients in agriculture. Hence, the present article describes the current status of chitosan nanoparticle-based delivery systems in agriculture, and to highlight challenges that need to be overcome. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Cargo and Carrier Effects of Rapamycin-Loaded Perfluorocarbon Nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bibee, Kristin Page

    Nanoparticle-based drug delivery has been championed as a means to increase local delivery of therapeutics while decreasing systemic drug exposure. By targeting the particles, and therefore the drugs, to diseased cells of interest, healthy cells will be spared and side effects avoided. This delivery mechanism would be particularly useful for drugs that interfere with cell growth and proliferation pathways, as blocking proliferation in normal cells leads to significant patient morbidity. Rapamycin is a macrolide and a known inhibitor of mTORC1, a protein complex that plays a crucial role in protein translation and cell growth. This work demonstrates the effects of rapamycin complexed with a nanoparticle carrier on two distinct pathologies: a new triple negative breast cancer cell line and a conventional mouse model of muscular dystrophy (mdx). Rapamycin is able to alter mitochondrial function and thus metabolism in both free and nanoparticle-delivered form without killing the cells. Although nanoparticles are considered to be a benign carrier, this work shows that perfluorocarbon nanoparticles are able to induce autophagy in vitro. The benefits of autophagy induction in cancer cells is cell and stage specific, but has been reported to be useful for radiosensitization of triple negative breast cancers. Additionally, the particles are shown to induce autophagy in the mdx model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and, when loaded with rapamycin, dramatically improve strength even in older animals with muscular dystrophy. Overall, this work enhances our understanding of the cellular effects of perfluorocarbon nanoparticles in two different disease models and enhances prospects for clinical translation of nanoparticle-based drug delivery.

  5. Cyclodextrin-insulin complex encapsulated polymethacrylic acid based nanoparticles for oral insulin delivery.

    PubMed

    Sajeesh, S; Sharma, Chandra P

    2006-11-15

    Present investigation was aimed at developing an oral insulin delivery system based on hydroxypropyl beta cyclodextrin-insulin (HPbetaCD-I) complex encapsulated polymethacrylic acid-chitosan-polyether (polyethylene glycol-polypropylene glycol copolymer) (PMCP) nanoparticles. Nanoparticles were prepared by the free radical polymerization of methacrylic acid in presence of chitosan and polyether in a solvent/surfactant free medium. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) experiment was conducted with particles dispersed in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) and size distribution curve was observed in the range of 500-800 nm. HPbetaCD was used to prepare non-covalent inclusion complex with insulin and complex was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and fluorescence spectroscopic studies. HPbetaCD complexed insulin was encapsulated into PMCP nanoparticles by diffusion filling method and their in vitro release profile was evaluated at acidic/alkaline pH. PMCP nanoparticles displayed good insulin encapsulation efficiency and release profile was largely dependent on the pH of the medium. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) study demonstrated that insulin encapsulated inside the particles was biologically active. Trypsin inhibitory effect of PMCP nanoparticles was evaluated using N-alpha-benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester (BAEE) and casein as substrates. Mucoadhesive studies of PMCP nanoparticles were conducted using freshly excised rat intestinal mucosa and the particles were found fairly adhesive. From the preliminary studies, cyclodextrin complexed insulin encapsulated mucoadhesive nanoparticles appear to be a good candidate for oral insulin delivery.

  6. Nanoparticle drug-delivery systems for peritoneal cancers: a case study of the design, characterization and development of the expansile nanoparticle.

    PubMed

    Colby, Aaron H; Oberlies, Nicholas H; Pearce, Cedric J; Herrera, Victoria L M; Colson, Yolonda L; Grinstaff, Mark W

    2017-05-01

    Nanoparticle (NP)-based drug-delivery systems are frequently employed to improve the intravenous administration of chemotherapy; however, few reports explore their application as an intraperitoneal therapy. We developed a pH-responsive expansile nanoparticle (eNP) specifically designed to leverage the intraperitoneal route of administration to treat intraperitoneal malignancies, such as mesothelioma, ovarian, and pancreatic carcinomatoses. This review describes the design, evaluation, and evolution of the eNP technology and, specifically, a Materials-Based Targeting paradigm that is unique among the many active- and passive-targeting strategies currently employed by NP-delivery systems. pH-responsive eNP swelling is responsible for the extended residence at the target tumor site as well as the subsequent improvement in tumoral drug delivery and efficacy observed with paclitaxel-loaded eNPs (PTX-eNPs) compared to the standard clinical formulation of paclitaxel, Taxol®. Superior PTX-eNP efficacy is demonstrated in two different orthotopic models of peritoneal cancer-mesothelioma and ovarian cancer; in a third model-of pancreatic cancer-PTX-eNPs demonstrated comparable efficacy to Taxol with reduced toxicity. Furthermore, the unique structural and responsive characteristics of eNPs enable them to be used in three additional treatment paradigms, including: treatment of lymphatic metastases in breast cancer; use as a highly fluorescent probe to visually guide the resection of peritoneal implants; and, in a two-step delivery paradigm for concentrating separately administered NP and drug at a target site. This case study serves as an important example of using the targeted disease-state's pathophysiology to inform the NP design as well as the method of use of the delivery system. WIREs Nanomed Nanobiotechnol 2017, 9:e1451. doi: 10.1002/wnan.1451 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. Nanoparticles Suitable for BCAA Isolation Can Serve for Use in Magnetic Lipoplex-Based Delivery System for L, I, V, or R-rich Antimicrobial Peptides.

    PubMed

    Vesely, Radek; Jelinkova, Pavlina; Hegerova, Dagmar; Cernei, Natalia; Kopel, Pavel; Moulick, Amitava; Richtera, Lukas; Heger, Zbynek; Adam, Vojtech; Zitka, Ondrej

    2016-03-31

    This paper investigates the synthesis of paramagnetic nanoparticles, which are able to bind branched chain amino acids (BCAAs)-leucine, valine, and isoleucine and, thus, serve as a tool for their isolation. Further, by this, we present an approach for encapsulation of nanoparticles into a liposome cavity resulting in a delivery system. Analyses of valine and leucine in entire complex show that 31.3% and 32.6% recoveries are reached for those amino acids. Evaluation of results shows that the success rate of delivery in Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) is higher in the case of BCAAs on nanoparticles entrapped in liposomes (28.7% and 34.7% for valine and leucine, respectively) when compared to nanoparticles with no liposomal envelope (18.3% and 13.7% for valine and leucine, respectively). The nanoparticles with no liposomal envelope exhibit the negative zeta potential (-9.1 ± 0.3 mV); however, their encapsulation results in a shift into positive values (range of 28.9 ± 0.4 to 33.1 ± 0.5 mV). Thus, electrostatic interactions with negatively-charged cell membranes (approx. -50 mV in the case of E. coli ) leads to a better uptake of cargo. Our delivery system was finally tested with the leucine-rich antimicrobial peptide (FALALKALKKALKKLKKALKKAL) and it is shown that hemocompatibility (7.5%) and antimicrobial activity of the entire complex against E. coli , Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ), and methicilin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is comparable or better than conventional penicillin antibiotics.

  8. Targeted Drug Delivery Based on Gold Nanoparticle Derivatives.

    PubMed

    Gholipourmalekabadi, Mazaher; Mobaraki, Mohammadmahdi; Ghaffari, Maryam; Zarebkohan, Amir; Omrani, Vahid Fallah; Urbanska, Aleksandra M; Seifalian, Alexander

    2017-01-01

    Drug delivery systems are effective and attractive methods which allow therapeutic substances to be introduced into the body more effectively and safe by having tunable delivery rate and release target site. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have a myriad of favorable physical, chemical, optical, thermal and biological properties that make them highly suitable candidates as non-toxic carriers for drug and gene delivery. The surface modifications of AuNPs profoundly improve their circulation, minimize aggregation rates, enhance attachment to therapeutic molecules and target agents due to their nano range size which further increases their ability to cross cell membranes and reduce overall cytotoxicity. This comprehensive article reviews the applications of the AuNPs in drug delivery systems along with their corresponding surface modifications. The highlighting results obtained from the preclinical trial are promising and next five years have huge possibility move to the clinical setting. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  9. Cellular membrane trafficking of mesoporous silica nanoparticles

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Fang, I-Ju

    This dissertation mainly focuses on the investigation of the cellular membrane trafficking of mesoporous silica nanoparticles. We are interested in the study of endocytosis and exocytosis behaviors of mesoporous silica nanoparticles with desired surface functionality. The relationship between mesoporous silica nanoparticles and membrane trafficking of cells, either cancerous cells or normal cells was examined. Since mesoporous silica nanoparticles were applied in many drug delivery cases, the endocytotic efficiency of mesoporous silica nanoparticles needs to be investigated in more details in order to design the cellular drug delivery system in the controlled way. It is well known that cells can engulfmore » some molecules outside of the cells through a receptor-ligand associated endocytosis. We are interested to determine if those biomolecules binding to cell surface receptors can be utilized on mesoporous silica nanoparticle materials to improve the uptake efficiency or govern the mechanism of endocytosis of mesoporous silica nanoparticles. Arginine-glycine-aspartate (RGD) is a small peptide recognized by cell integrin receptors and it was reported that avidin internalization was highly promoted by tumor lectin. Both RGD and avidin were linked to the surface of mesoporous silica nanoparticle materials to investigate the effect of receptor-associated biomolecule on cellular endocytosis efficiency. The effect of ligand types, ligand conformation and ligand density were discussed in Chapter 2 and 3. Furthermore, the exocytosis of mesoporous silica nanoparticles is very attractive for biological applications. The cellular protein sequestration study of mesoporous silica nanoparticles was examined for further information of the intracellular pathway of endocytosed mesoporous silica nanoparticle materials. The surface functionality of mesoporous silica nanoparticle materials demonstrated selectivity among the materials and cancer and normal cell lines. We aimed to determine the specific organelle that mesoporous silica nanoparticles could approach via the identification of harvested proteins from exocytosis process. Based on the study of endo- and exocytosis behavior of mesoporous silica nanoparticle materials, we can design smarter drug delivery vehicles for cancer therapy that can be effectively controlled. The destination, uptake efficiency and the cellular distribution of mesoporous silica nanoparticle materials can be programmable. As a result, release mechanism and release rate of drug delivery systems can be a well-controlled process. The deep investigation of an endo- and exocytosis study of mesoporous silica nanoparticle materials promotes the development of drug delivery applications.« less

  10. The importance of microfluidics for the preparation of nanoparticles as advanced drug delivery systems.

    PubMed

    Martins, João Pedro; Torrieri, Giulia; Santos, Hélder A

    2018-05-01

    Nanoparticles are anticipated to overcome persistent challenges in efficient drug delivery, but the limitations associated with conventional methods of preparation are resulting in slow translation from research to clinical applications. Due to their enormous potential, microfluidic technologies have emerged as an advanced approach for the development of drug delivery systems with well-defined physicochemical characteristics and in a reproducible manner. Areas covered: This review provides an overview of microfluidic devices and materials used for their manufacturing, together with the flow patterns and regimes commonly used for nanoparticle preparation. Additionally, the different geometries used in droplet microfluidics are reviewed, with particular attention to the co-flow geometry used for the production of nanoparticles. Finally, this review summarizes the main and most recent nanoparticulate systems prepared using microfluidics, including drug nanosuspensions, polymeric, lipid, structured, and theranostic nanoparticles. Expert opinion: The production of nanoparticles at industrial scale is still a challenge, but the microfluidic technologies bring exciting opportunities to develop drug delivery systems that can be engineered in an easy, cost-effective and reproducible manner. As a highly interdisciplinary research field, more efforts and general acceptance are needed to allow for the translation of nanoparticulate drug delivery systems from academic research to the clinical practice.

  11. Development of drug delivery systems based on nanostructured porous silicon loaded with the anti-tumoral drug emodin adsorbed on silver nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hernández, Margarita; Recio, Gonzalo; Sevilla, Paz; Torres-Costa, Vicente; García-Ramos, José V.; Domingo, Concepción; Martín-Palma, Raúl J. J.

    2012-10-01

    A study of the fluorescence and Raman spectra of a new and complex drug delivery system formed by emodin adsorbed on silver nanoparticles embedded into a matrix of porous silicon is here reported. Several experimental methods of inclusion of the drug-silver set inside the pores, without previous functionalization of porous silicon, have been tested in order to optimize the conditions for the fluorescence detection of emodin. In this sense, we have also added bovine serum albumin to the system, finding that the presence of the protein enhances the fluores-cence signal from emodin.

  12. Recent advancement of gelatin nanoparticles in drug and vaccine delivery.

    PubMed

    Sahoo, Nityananda; Sahoo, Ranjan Ku; Biswas, Nikhil; Guha, Arijit; Kuotsu, Ketousetuo

    2015-11-01

    Novel drug delivery system using nanoscale materials with a broad spectrum of applications provides a new therapeutic foundation for technological integration and innovation. Nanoparticles are suitable drug carrier for various routes of administration as well as rapid recognition by the immune system. Gelatin, the biological macromolecule is a versatile drug/vaccine delivery carrier in pharmaceutical field due to its biodegradable, biocompatible, non-antigenicity and low cost with easy availability. The surface of gelatin nanoparticles can be modified with site-specific ligands, cationized with amine derivatives or, coated with polyethyl glycols to achieve targeted and sustained release drug delivery. Compared to other colloidal carriers, gelatin nanoparticles are better stable in biological fluids to provide the desired controlled and sustained release of entrapped drug molecules. The current review highlights the different formulation aspects of gelatin nanoparticles which affect the particle characteristics like zeta potential, polydispersity index, entrapment efficacy and drug release properties. It has also given emphasis on the major applications of gelatin nanoparticles in drug and vaccine delivery, gene delivery to target tissues and nutraceutical delivery for improving the poor bioavailabity of bioactive phytonutrients. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Mucoadhesive and thermogelling systems for vaginal drug delivery.

    PubMed

    Caramella, Carla M; Rossi, Silvia; Ferrari, Franca; Bonferoni, Maria Cristina; Sandri, Giuseppina

    2015-09-15

    This review focuses on two formulation approaches, mucoadhesion and thermogelling, intended for prolonging residence time on vaginal mucosa of medical devices or drug delivery systems, thus improving their efficacy. The review, after a brief description of the vaginal environment and, in particular, of the vaginal secretions that strongly affect in vivo performance of vaginal formulations, deals with the above delivery systems. As for mucoadhesive systems, conventional formulations (gels, tablets, suppositories and emulsions) and novel drug delivery systems (micro-, nano-particles) intended for vaginal administration to achieve either local or systemic effect are reviewed. As for thermogelling systems, poly(ethylene oxide-propylene oxide-ethylene oxide) copolymer-based and chitosan-based formulations are discussed as thermogelling systems. The methods employed for functional characterization of both mucoadhesive and thermogelling drug delivery systems are also briefly described. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Clinical experience with drug delivery systems as tools to decrease the toxicity of anticancer chemotherapeutic agents.

    PubMed

    Maranhão, Raul C; Vital, Carolina G; Tavoni, Thauany M; Graziani, Silvia R

    2017-10-01

    The toxicity of chemotherapeutic agents, resulting from their low pharmacological index, introduces considerable discomfort and risk to cancer patients. Among several strategies to reduce the toxicity of chemotherapeutic agents, targeted drug delivery is the most promising one. Areas covered: Liposomes, micelles, albumin-based, polymeric, dendritic and lipid core nanoparticles have been used as carriers to concentrate anticancer drugs in neoplastic tissues, and clinical studies of those preparations are reviewed. In most clinical studies, drug delivery systems reduced drug toxicity. Lipid core nanoparticles (LDE) that bind to cell lipoprotein receptors have the ability to concentrate in neoplastic tissues and were the first artificial non-liposomal system shown in in vivo studies to possess targeting properties. The toxicity reduction achieved by LDE as vehicle of carmustine, etoposide and paclitaxel was singularly strong. Expert opinion: The reduced toxicity offered by drug delivery systems has expanded treatment population that may benefit from chemotherapy including feeble, overtreated and elderly patients that would otherwise be offered palliative therapy. Drug delivery systems may either prolong the duration of treatments or allow increases in drug dose.

  15. Mucosal delivery of liposome-chitosan nanoparticle complexes.

    PubMed

    Carvalho, Edison L S; Grenha, Ana; Remuñán-López, Carmen; Alonso, Maria José; Seijo, Begoña

    2009-01-01

    Designing adequate drug carriers has long been a major challenge for those working in drug delivery. Since drug delivery strategies have evolved for mucosal delivery as the outstanding alternative to parenteral administration, many new drug delivery systems have been developed which evidence promising properties to address specific issues. Colloidal carriers, such as nanoparticles and liposomes, have been referred to as the most valuable approaches, but still have some limitations that can become more inconvenient as a function of the specific characteristics of administration routes. To overcome these limitations, we developed a new drug delivery system that results from the combination of chitosan nanoparticles and liposomes, in an approach of combining their advantages, while avoiding their individual limitations. These lipid/chitosan nanoparticle complexes are, thus, expected to protect the encapsulated drug from harsh environmental conditions, while concomitantly providing its controlled release. To prepare these assemblies, two different strategies have been applied: one focusing on the simple hydration of a previously formed dry lipid film with a suspension of chitosan nanoparticles, and the other relying on the lyophilization of both basic structures (nanoparticles and liposomes) with a subsequent step of hydration with water. The developed systems are able to provide a controlled release of the encapsulated model peptide, insulin, evidencing release profiles that are dependent on their lipid composition. Moreover, satisfactory in vivo results have been obtained, confirming the potential of these newly developed drug delivery systems as drug carriers through distinct mucosal routes.

  16. Lipid nanoparticles as novel delivery systems for cosmetics and dermal pharmaceuticals.

    PubMed

    Puglia, Carmelo; Bonina, Francesco

    2012-04-01

    Lipid nanoparticles are innovative carrier systems developed as an alternative to traditional vehicles such as emulsions, liposomes and polymeric nanoparticles. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and the newest nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) show important advantages for dermal application of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. This article focuses on the main features of lipid nanoparticles, in terms of their preparation and recent advancements. A detailed review of the literature is presented, introducing the importance of these systems in the topical delivery of drugs and active substances. Lipid nanoparticles are able to enhance drug penetration into the skin, allowing increased targeting to the epidermis and consequently increasing treatment efficiency and reducing the systemic absorption of drugs and cosmetic actives. The complete biodegradation of lipid nanoparticles and their biocompatible chemical nature have secured them the title of 'nanosafe carriers.' SLN and NLC represent a new technological era, which has been taken over by the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry, which will open new channels for effective topical delivery of substances.

  17. Natural product-based nanomedicine: recent advances and issues

    PubMed Central

    Watkins, Rebekah; Wu, Ling; Zhang, Chenming; Davis, Richey M; Xu, Bin

    2015-01-01

    Natural products have been used in medicine for many years. Many top-selling pharmaceuticals are natural compounds or their derivatives. These plant- or microorganism-derived compounds have shown potential as therapeutic agents against cancer, microbial infection, inflammation, and other disease conditions. However, their success in clinical trials has been less impressive, partly due to the compounds’ low bioavailability. The incorporation of nanoparticles into a delivery system for natural products would be a major advance in the efforts to increase their therapeutic effects. Recently, advances have been made showing that nanoparticles can significantly increase the bioavailability of natural products both in vitro and in vivo. Nanotechnology has demonstrated its capability to manipulate particles in order to target specific areas of the body and control the release of drugs. Although there are many benefits to applying nanotechnology for better delivery of natural products, it is not without issues. Drug targeting remains a challenge and potential nanoparticle toxicity needs to be further investigated, especially if these systems are to be used to treat chronic human diseases. This review aims to summarize recent progress in several key areas relevant to natural products in nanoparticle delivery systems for biomedical applications. PMID:26451111

  18. Recent advances in chitosan-based nanoparticulate pulmonary drug delivery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Islam, Nazrul; Ferro, Vito

    2016-07-01

    The advent of biodegradable polymer-encapsulated drug nanoparticles has made the pulmonary route of administration an exciting area of drug delivery research. Chitosan, a natural biodegradable and biocompatible polysaccharide has received enormous attention as a carrier for drug delivery. Recently, nanoparticles of chitosan (CS) and its synthetic derivatives have been investigated for the encapsulation and delivery of many drugs with improved targeting and controlled release. Herein, recent advances in the preparation and use of micro-/nanoparticles of chitosan and its derivatives for pulmonary delivery of various therapeutic agents (drugs, genes, vaccines) are reviewed. Although chitosan has wide applications in terms of formulations and routes of drug delivery, this review is focused on pulmonary delivery of drug-encapsulated nanoparticles of chitosan and its derivatives. In addition, the controversial toxicological effects of chitosan nanoparticles for lung delivery will also be discussed.

  19. Multifunctional (3-in-1) cancer theranostics applications of hydroxyquinoline-appended polyfluorene nanoparticles† †Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Synthesis, characterization, stability, optical properties, imaging, drug delivery, etc. See DOI: 10.1039/c7sc03321d

    PubMed Central

    Chowdhury, Sayan Roy; Mukherjee, Sudip; Das, Sourav

    2017-01-01

    The accumulation of fluorescent hydroxyquinoline-affixed polyfluorene (PF-HQ) nanoparticles and their utility for multi-color bio-imaging and drug delivery for cancer treatment are reported. The formation of nanoparticles (PF-HQ) containing hydrophobic pockets via three-dimensional growth of a polymeric backbone in a higher water fraction (THF : H2O = 1 : 9) was observed. The nanoparticles showed incredible dual-state optical and fluorescence properties, which were further explored in multi-color cell imaging in both cancer and normal cells. The cell viability assay in various normal cells confirmed the biocompatible nature of PF-HQ, which was further supported by an ex vivo (chick chorioallantoic membrane assay) model. This encouraged us to fabricate PF-HQ-based new drug delivery systems (DDS: PF-HQ–DOX) upon conjugation with the FDA-approved anti-cancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) by filling the hydrophobic pockets of the polymer nanoparticles. The enhanced anti-cancer activity of the DDS (PF-HQ–DOX) compared with that of free DOX was observed in mouse melanoma cancer cells (B16F10) and a subcutaneous mouse (C57BL6/J) melanoma tumor model upon administration of PF-HQ–DOX. Ex vivo biodistribution studies using a fluorescence quantification method demonstrated the enhanced accumulation of DOX in tumor tissues in the PF-HQ–DOX-treated group compared to that of the free drug, signifying the drug delivery efficacy of the delivery system by a passive targeting manner. Based on the above biological data (in vitro and in the pre-clinical model), these robust and versatile fluorescent hydroxyquinoline-affixed polyfluorene (PF-HQ) nanoparticles could be effectively utilized for multifunctional biomedical applications (as they are biocompatible and can be used for bio-imaging and as a drug delivery vehicle). PMID:29568419

  20. Infusion of imaging and therapeutic molecules into the plant virus-based carrier cowpea mosaic virus: cargo-loading and delivery.

    PubMed

    Yildiz, Ibrahim; Lee, Karin L; Chen, Kevin; Shukla, Sourabh; Steinmetz, Nicole F

    2013-12-10

    This work is focused on the development of a plant virus-based carrier system for cargo delivery, specifically 30nm-sized cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV). Whereas previous reports described the engineering of CPMV through genetic or chemical modification, we report a non-covalent infusion technique that facilitates efficient cargo loading. Infusion and retention of 130-155 fluorescent dye molecules per CPMV using DAPI (4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride), propidium iodide (3,8-diamino-5-[3-(diethylmethylammonio)propyl]-6-phenylphenanthridinium diiodide), and acridine orange (3,6-bis(dimethylamino)acridinium chloride), as well as 140 copies of therapeutic payload proflavine (PF, acridine-3,6-diamine hydrochloride), is reported. Loading is achieved through interaction of the cargo with the CPMV's encapsidated RNA molecules. The loading mechanism is specific; empty RNA-free eCPMV nanoparticles could not be loaded. Cargo-infused CPMV nanoparticles remain chemically active, and surface lysine residues were covalent modified with dyes leading to the development of dual-functional CPMV carrier systems. We demonstrate cargo-delivery to a panel of cancer cells (cervical, breast, and colon): CPMV nanoparticles enter cells via the surface marker vimentin, the nanoparticles target the endolysosome, where the carrier is degraded and the cargo is released allowing imaging and/or cell killing. In conclusion, we demonstrate cargo-infusion and delivery to cells; the methods discussed provide a useful means for functionalization of CPMV toward its application as drug and/or contrast agent delivery vehicle. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Lipid-Based Drug Delivery Systems in Cancer Therapy: What Is Available and What Is Yet to Come.

    PubMed

    Yingchoncharoen, Phatsapong; Kalinowski, Danuta S; Richardson, Des R

    2016-07-01

    Cancer is a leading cause of death in many countries around the world. However, the efficacy of current standard treatments for a variety of cancers is suboptimal. First, most cancer treatments lack specificity, meaning that these treatments affect both cancer cells and their normal counterparts. Second, many anticancer agents are highly toxic, and thus, limit their use in treatment. Third, a number of cytotoxic chemotherapeutics are highly hydrophobic, which limits their utility in cancer therapy. Finally, many chemotherapeutic agents exhibit short half-lives that curtail their efficacy. As a result of these deficiencies, many current treatments lead to side effects, noncompliance, and patient inconvenience due to difficulties in administration. However, the application of nanotechnology has led to the development of effective nanosized drug delivery systems known commonly as nanoparticles. Among these delivery systems, lipid-based nanoparticles, particularly liposomes, have shown to be quite effective at exhibiting the ability to: 1) improve the selectivity of cancer chemotherapeutic agents; 2) lower the cytotoxicity of anticancer drugs to normal tissues, and thus, reduce their toxic side effects; 3) increase the solubility of hydrophobic drugs; and 4) offer a prolonged and controlled release of agents. This review will discuss the current state of lipid-based nanoparticle research, including the development of liposomes for cancer therapy, different strategies for tumor targeting, liposomal formulation of various anticancer drugs that are commercially available, recent progress in liposome technology for the treatment of cancer, and the next generation of lipid-based nanoparticles. Copyright © 2016 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

  2. Bio-inspired engineering of cell- and virus-like nanoparticles for drug delivery.

    PubMed

    Parodi, Alessandro; Molinaro, Roberto; Sushnitha, Manuela; Evangelopoulos, Michael; Martinez, Jonathan O; Arrighetti, Noemi; Corbo, Claudia; Tasciotti, Ennio

    2017-12-01

    The engineering of future generations of nanodelivery systems aims at the creation of multifunctional vectors endowed with improved circulation, enhanced targeting and responsiveness to the biological environment. Moving past purely bio-inert systems, researchers have begun to create nanoparticles capable of proactively interacting with the biology of the body. Nature offers a wide-range of sources of inspiration for the synthesis of more effective drug delivery platforms. Because the nano-bio-interface is the key driver of nanoparticle behavior and function, the modification of nanoparticles' surfaces allows the transfer of biological properties to synthetic carriers by imparting them with a biological identity. Modulation of these surface characteristics governs nanoparticle interactions with the biological barriers they encounter. Building off these observations, we provide here an overview of virus- and cell-derived biomimetic delivery systems that combine the intrinsic hallmarks of biological membranes with the delivery capabilities of synthetic carriers. We describe the features and properties of biomimetic delivery systems, recapitulating the distinctive traits and functions of viruses, exosomes, platelets, red and white blood cells. By mimicking these biological entities, we will learn how to more efficiently interact with the human body and refine our ability to negotiate with the biological barriers that impair the therapeutic efficacy of nanoparticles. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  3. Nanoscale platforms for messenger RNA delivery.

    PubMed

    Li, Bin; Zhang, Xinfu; Dong, Yizhou

    2018-05-04

    Messenger RNA (mRNA) has become a promising class of drugs for diverse therapeutic applications in the past few years. A series of clinical trials are ongoing or will be initiated in the near future for the treatment of a variety of diseases. Currently, mRNA-based therapeutics mainly focuses on ex vivo transfection and local administration in clinical studies. Efficient and safe delivery of therapeutically relevant mRNAs remains one of the major challenges for their broad applications in humans. Thus, effective delivery systems are urgently needed to overcome this limitation. In recent years, numerous nanoscale biomaterials have been constructed for mRNA delivery in order to protect mRNA from extracellular degradation and facilitate endosomal escape after cellular uptake. Nanoscale platforms have expanded the feasibility of mRNA-based therapeutics, and enabled its potential applications to protein replacement therapy, cancer immunotherapy, therapeutic vaccines, regenerative medicine, and genome editing. This review focuses on recent advances, challenges, and future directions in nanoscale platforms designed for mRNA delivery, including lipid and lipid-derived nanoparticles, polymer-based nanoparticles, protein derivatives mRNA complexes, and other types of nanomaterials. This article is categorized under: Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in Biology Biology-Inspired Nanomaterials > Lipid-Based Structures Biology-Inspired Nanomaterials > Nucleic Acid-Based Structures. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. Delivery Systems for Birch-Bark Triterpenoids and Their Derivatives in Anticancer Research.

    PubMed

    Mierina, Inese; Vilskersts, Reinis; Turks, Maris

    2018-05-29

    Birch-bark triterpenoids and their semi-synthetic derivatives possess a wide range of biological activities including cytotoxic effects on various tumour cell lines. However, due to the low solubility and bioavailability, their medicinal applications are rather limited. The use of various nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems is rapidly developing approach to the solubilisation of insufficiently bioavailable pharmaceuticals. Herein, the drug delivery systems deemed to be applicable for birch-bark triterpenoid structures are reviewed. The aforementioned disadvantages of birch-bark triterpenoids and their semi-synthetic derivatives can be overcome through their incorporation into organic nanoparticles, which include various dendrimeric systems, as well as embedding the active compounds into polymer matrices or complexation with carbohydrate nanoparticles without covalent bonding. Some of the known triterpenoid delivery systems consist of nanoparticles featuring inorganic cores covered with carbohydrates or other polymers. Methods for delivering the title compounds through encapsulation and emulsification into lipophilic media are also suitable. Besides, the birch-bark triterpenoids can form self-assembling systems with increased bio-availability. Even more, the self-assembling systems are used as carriers for delivering other chemotherapeutic agents. Another advantage besides increased bioavailability and anticancer activity is the reduced overall systemic toxicity in most of the cases, when triterpenoids are delivered with any of the carriers. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  5. A method for evaluating nanoparticle transport through the blood-brain barrier in vitro.

    PubMed

    Guarnieri, Daniela; Muscetti, Ornella; Netti, Paolo A

    2014-01-01

    Blood-brain barrier (BBB) represents a formidable barrier for many therapeutic drugs to enter the brain tissue. The development of new strategies for enhancing drug delivery to the brain is of great importance in diagnostics and therapeutics of central nervous system (CNS) diseases. In this context, nanoparticles are an emerging class of drug delivery systems that can be easily tailored to deliver drugs to various compartments of the body, including the brain. To identify, characterize, and validate novel nanoparticles applicable to brain delivery, in vitro BBB model systems have been developed. In this work, we describe a method to screen nanoparticles with variable size and surface functionalization in order to define the physicochemical characteristics underlying the design of nanoparticles that are able to efficiently cross the BBB.

  6. Gadolinium-Doped Gallic Acid-Zinc/Aluminium-Layered Double Hydroxide/Gold Theranostic Nanoparticles for a Bimodal Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Drug Delivery System

    PubMed Central

    Sani Usman, Muhammad; Hussein, Mohd Zobir; Fakurazi, Sharida; Ahmad Saad, Fathinul Fikri

    2017-01-01

    We have developed gadolinium-based theranostic nanoparticles for co-delivery of drug and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent using Zn/Al-layered double hydroxide as the nanocarrier platform, a naturally occurring phenolic compound, gallic acid (GA) as therapeutic agent, and Gd(NO3)3 as diagnostic agent. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were grown on the system to support the contrast for MRI imaging. The nanoparticles were characterized using techniques such as Hi-TEM, XRD, ICP-ES. Kinetic release study of the GA from the nanoparticles showed about 70% of GA was released over a period of 72 h. The in vitro cell viability test for the nanoparticles showed relatively low toxicity to human cell lines (3T3) and improved toxicity on cancerous cell lines (HepG2). A preliminary contrast property test of the nanoparticles, tested on a 3 Tesla MRI machine at various concentrations of GAGZAu and water (as a reference) indicates that the nanoparticles have a promising dual diagnostic and therapeutic features to further develop a better future for clinical remedy for cancer treatment. PMID:28858229

  7. Rafts, Nanoparticles and Neural Disease

    PubMed Central

    Gulati, Vishal; Wallace, Ron

    2012-01-01

    This review examines the role of membrane rafts in neural disease as a rationale for drug targeting utilizing lipid-based nanoparticles. The article begins with an overview of methodological issues involving the existence, sizes, and lifetimes of rafts, and then examines raft function in the etiologies of three major neural diseases—epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease—selected as promising candidates for raft-based therapeutics. Raft-targeting drug delivery systems involving liposomes and solid lipid nanoparticles are then examined in detail. PMID:28348305

  8. Enzyme responsive drug delivery system based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles for tumor therapy in vivo

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Yun; Ding, Xingwei; Li, Jinghua; Luo, Zhong; Hu, Yan; Liu, Junjie; Dai, Liangliang; Zhou, Jun; Hou, Changjun; Cai, Kaiyong

    2015-04-01

    To reduce the toxic side effects of traditional chemotherapeutics in vivo, we designed and constructed a biocompatible, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) responsive drug delivery system based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs). MMPs substrate peptide containing PLGLAR (sensitive to MMPs) was immobilized onto the surfaces of amino-functionalized MSNs via an amidation reaction, serving as MMPs sensitive intermediate linker. Bovine serum albumin was then covalently coupled to linker as end-cap for sealing the mesopores of MSNs. Lactobionic acid was further conjugated to the system as targeting motif. Doxorubicin hydrochloride was used as the model anticancer drug in this study. A series of characterizations revealed that the system was successfully constructed. The peptide-functionalized MSNs system demonstrated relatively high sensitivity to MMPs for triggering drug delivery, which was potentially important for tumor therapy since the tumor’s microenvironment overexpressed MMPs in nature. The in vivo experiments proved that the system could efficiently inhibit the tumor growth with minimal side effects. This study provides an approach for the development of the next generation of nanotherapeutics toward efficient cancer treatment.

  9. The Impact of Nanoparticle Surface Chemistry on Biological Systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thorn, Angie Sue Morris

    The unique properties of nanomaterials, such as their small size and large surface area-to-volume ratios, have attracted tremendous interest in the scientific community over the last few decades. Thus, the synthesis and characterization of many different types of nanoparticles has been well defined and reported on in the literature. Current research efforts have redirected from the basic study of nanomaterial synthesis and their properties to more application-based studies where the development of functionally active materials is necessary. Today such nanoparticle-based systems exist for a range of biomedical applications including imaging, drug delivery and sensors. The inherent properties of the nanomaterial, although important, aren't always ideal for specific applications. In order to optimize nanoparticles for biomedical applications it is often desirable to tune their surface properties. Researchers have shown that these surface properties (such as charge, hydrophobicity, or reactivity) play a direct role in the interactions between nanoparticles and biological systems can be altered by attaching molecules to the surface of nanoparticles. In this work, the effects of physicochemical properties of a wide variety of nanoparticles was investigated using in vitro and in vivo models. For example, copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles were of interest due to their instability in biological media. These nanoparticles undergo dissolution when in an aqueous environment and tend to aggregate. Therefore, the cytotoxicity of two sizes of CuO NPs was evaluated in cultured cells to develop a better understanding of how these propertied effect toxicity outcomes in biological systems. From these studies, it was determined that CuO NPs are cytotoxic to lung cells in a size-dependent manner and that dissolved copper ions contribute to the cytotoxicity however it is not solely responsible for cell death. Moreover, silica nanoparticles are one of the most commonly used nanomaterials because they are easy to synthesize and their properties (such as size, porosity and surface chemistry) can be fine-tuned. Silica nanoparticles can be found in thousands of commercially available products such as toothpastes, cosmetics and detergents and are currently being developed for biomedical applications such as drug delivery and biomedical imaging. Our findings herein indicate that the surface chemistry of silica nanoparticles can have an effect on lung inflammation after exposure. Specifically, amine-modified silica NPs are considered to be less toxic compared to bare silica nanoparticles. Together, these studies provide insight into the role that material properties have on toxicity and allow for a better understanding of their impact on human and environmental health. The final aim of this thesis was to develop surface-modified nanoparticles for drug delivery applications. For this, biodegradable, polymeric NPs were used due to their inert nature and biocompatibility. Furthermore, polymeric NPs are excellent for loading drugs and using them as drug delivery vehicles. In this work, poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) NPs were loaded with a therapeutic peptide. These NPs were then coated with chitosan (a mucoadhesive polymer) for the treatment of allergic asthma or coated with a small cationic mitochondrial targeting agent for the treatment of ischemia/reperfusion injury. Taken as a whole, this thesis sheds light on the impact of NPs on human health. First by providing useful toxological data for CuO and silica NPs as well as highlighting the potential of surface-modified polymeric NPs to be used in drug delivery-based applications.

  10. Theranostic nanoparticles carrying doxorubicin attenuate targeting ligand specific antibody responses following systemic delivery.

    PubMed

    Yang, Emmy; Qian, Weiping; Cao, Zehong; Wang, Liya; Bozeman, Erica N; Ward, Christina; Yang, Bin; Selvaraj, Periasamy; Lipowska, Malgorzata; Wang, Y Andrew; Mao, Hui; Yang, Lily

    2015-01-01

    Understanding the effects of immune responses on targeted delivery of nanoparticles is important for clinical translations of new cancer imaging and therapeutic nanoparticles. In this study, we found that repeated administrations of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) conjugated with mouse or human derived targeting ligands induced high levels of ligand specific antibody responses in normal and tumor bearing mice while injections of unconjugated mouse ligands were weakly immunogenic and induced a very low level of antibody response in mice. Mice that received intravenous injections of targeted and polyethylene glycol (PEG)-coated IONPs further increased the ligand specific antibody production due to differential uptake of PEG-coated nanoparticles by macrophages and dendritic cells. However, the production of ligand specific antibodies was markedly inhibited following systemic delivery of theranostic nanoparticles carrying a chemotherapy drug, doxorubicin. Targeted imaging and histological analysis revealed that lack of the ligand specific antibodies led to an increase in intratumoral delivery of targeted nanoparticles. Results of this study support the potential of further development of targeted theranostic nanoparticles for the treatment of human cancers.

  11. Fluoride loaded polymeric nanoparticles for dental delivery.

    PubMed

    Nguyen, Sanko; Escudero, Carlos; Sediqi, Nadia; Smistad, Gro; Hiorth, Marianne

    2017-06-15

    The overall aim of the present paper was to develop fluoride loaded nanoparticles based on the biopolymers chitosan, pectin, and alginate, for use in dental delivery. First, the preparation of nanoparticles in the presence of sodium fluoride (NaF) as the active ingredient by ionic gelation was investigated followed by an evaluation of their drug entrapment and release properties. Chitosan formed stable, spherical, and monodisperse nanoparticles in the presence of NaF and tripolyphoshate as the crosslinker, whereas alginate and pectin were not able to form any definite nanostructures in similar conditions. The fluoride loading capacity was found to be 33-113ppm, and the entrapment efficiency 3.6-6.2% for chitosan nanoparticles prepared in 0.2-0.4% (w/w) NaF, respectively. A steady increase in the fluoride release was observed for chitosan nanoparticles prepared in 0.2% NaF both in pH5 and 7 until it reached a maximum at time point 4h and maintained at this level for at least 24h. Similar profiles were observed for formulations prepared in 0.4% NaF; however the fluoride was released at a higher level at pH5. The low concentration, but continuous delivery of fluoride from the chitosan nanoparticles, with possible expedited release in acidic environment, makes these formulations highly promising as dental delivery systems in the protection against caries development. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Sodium deoxycholate-decorated zein nanoparticles for a stable colloidal drug delivery system

    PubMed Central

    Gagliardi, Agnese; Paolino, Donatella; Iannone, Michelangelo; Palma, Ernesto

    2018-01-01

    Background The use of biopolymers is increasing in drug delivery, thanks to the peculiar properties of these compounds such as their biodegradability, availability, and the possibility of modulating their physico-chemical characteristics. In particular, protein-based systems such as albumin are able to interact with many active compounds, modulating their biopharmaceutical properties. Zein is a protein of 20–40 kDa made up of many hydrophobic amino acids, generally regarded as safe (GRAS) and used as a coating material. Methods In this investigation, zein was combined with various surfactants in order to obtain stable nanosystems by means of the nanoprecipitation technique. Specific parameters, eg, temperature, pH value, Turbiscan Stability Index, serum stability, in vitro cytotoxicity and entrapment efficiency of various model compounds were investigated, in order to identify the nanoformulation most useful for a systemic drug delivery application. Results The use of non-ionic and ionic surfactants such as Tween 80, poloxamer 188, and sodium deoxycholate allowed us to obtain nanoparticles characterized by a mean diameter of 100–200 nm when a protein concentration of 2 mg/mL was used. The surface charge was modulated by means of the protein concentration and the nature of the stabilizer. The most suitable nanoparticle formulation to be proposed as a colloidal drug delivery system was obtained using sodium deoxycholate (1.25% w/v) because it was characterized by a narrow size distribution, a good storage stability after freeze-drying and significant feature of retaining lipophilic and hydrophilic compounds. Conclusion The sodium deoxycholate-coated zein nanoparticles are stable biocompatible colloidal carriers to be used as useful drug delivery systems. PMID:29430179

  13. Emerging therapeutic delivery capabilities and challenges utilizing enzyme/protein packaged bacterial vesicles.

    PubMed

    Alves, Nathan J; Turner, Kendrick B; Medintz, Igor L; Walper, Scott A

    2015-07-01

    Nanoparticle-based therapeutics are poised to play a critical role in treating disease. These complex multifunctional drug delivery vehicles provide for the passive and active targeted delivery of numerous small molecule, peptide and protein-derived pharmaceuticals. This article will first discuss some of the current state of the art nanoparticle classes (dendrimers, lipid-based, polymeric and inorganic), highlighting benefits/drawbacks associated with their implementation. We will then discuss an emerging class of nanoparticle therapeutics, bacterial outer membrane vesicles, that can provide many of the nanoparticle benefits while simplifying assembly. Through molecular biology techniques; outer membrane vesicle hijacking potentially allows for stringent control over nanoparticle production allowing for targeted protein packaged nanoparticles to be fully synthesized by bacteria.

  14. Magnetic core-shell nanoparticles for drug delivery by nebulization.

    PubMed

    Verma, Navin Kumar; Crosbie-Staunton, Kieran; Satti, Amro; Gallagher, Shane; Ryan, Katie B; Doody, Timothy; McAtamney, Colm; MacLoughlin, Ronan; Galvin, Paul; Burke, Conor S; Volkov, Yuri; Gun'ko, Yurii K

    2013-01-23

    Aerosolized therapeutics hold great potential for effective treatment of various diseases including lung cancer. In this context, there is an urgent need to develop novel nanocarriers suitable for drug delivery by nebulization. To address this need, we synthesized and characterized a biocompatible drug delivery vehicle following surface coating of Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with a polymer poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA). The polymeric shell of these engineered nanoparticles was loaded with a potential anti-cancer drug quercetin and their suitability for targeting lung cancer cells via nebulization was evaluated. Average particle size of the developed MNPs and PLGA-MNPs as measured by electron microscopy was 9.6 and 53.2 nm, whereas their hydrodynamic swelling as determined using dynamic light scattering was 54.3 nm and 293.4 nm respectively. Utilizing a series of standardized biological tests incorporating a cell-based automated image acquisition and analysis procedure in combination with real-time impedance sensing, we confirmed that the developed MNP-based nanocarrier system was biocompatible, as no cytotoxicity was observed when up to 100 μg/ml PLGA-MNP was applied to the cultured human lung epithelial cells. Moreover, the PLGA-MNP preparation was well-tolerated in vivo in mice when applied intranasally as measured by glutathione and IL-6 secretion assays after 1, 4, or 7 days post-treatment. To imitate aerosol formation for drug delivery to the lungs, we applied quercitin loaded PLGA-MNPs to the human lung carcinoma cell line A549 following a single round of nebulization. The drug-loaded PLGA-MNPs significantly reduced the number of viable A549 cells, which was comparable when applied either by nebulization or by direct pipetting. We have developed a magnetic core-shell nanoparticle-based nanocarrier system and evaluated the feasibility of its drug delivery capability via aerosol administration. This study has implications for targeted delivery of therapeutics and poorly soluble medicinal compounds via inhalation route.

  15. Magnetic core-shell nanoparticles for drug delivery by nebulization

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Aerosolized therapeutics hold great potential for effective treatment of various diseases including lung cancer. In this context, there is an urgent need to develop novel nanocarriers suitable for drug delivery by nebulization. To address this need, we synthesized and characterized a biocompatible drug delivery vehicle following surface coating of Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with a polymer poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA). The polymeric shell of these engineered nanoparticles was loaded with a potential anti-cancer drug quercetin and their suitability for targeting lung cancer cells via nebulization was evaluated. Results Average particle size of the developed MNPs and PLGA-MNPs as measured by electron microscopy was 9.6 and 53.2 nm, whereas their hydrodynamic swelling as determined using dynamic light scattering was 54.3 nm and 293.4 nm respectively. Utilizing a series of standardized biological tests incorporating a cell-based automated image acquisition and analysis procedure in combination with real-time impedance sensing, we confirmed that the developed MNP-based nanocarrier system was biocompatible, as no cytotoxicity was observed when up to 100 μg/ml PLGA-MNP was applied to the cultured human lung epithelial cells. Moreover, the PLGA-MNP preparation was well-tolerated in vivo in mice when applied intranasally as measured by glutathione and IL-6 secretion assays after 1, 4, or 7 days post-treatment. To imitate aerosol formation for drug delivery to the lungs, we applied quercitin loaded PLGA-MNPs to the human lung carcinoma cell line A549 following a single round of nebulization. The drug-loaded PLGA-MNPs significantly reduced the number of viable A549 cells, which was comparable when applied either by nebulization or by direct pipetting. Conclusion We have developed a magnetic core-shell nanoparticle-based nanocarrier system and evaluated the feasibility of its drug delivery capability via aerosol administration. This study has implications for targeted delivery of therapeutics and poorly soluble medicinal compounds via inhalation route. PMID:23343139

  16. Curcumin as potential therapeutic natural product: a nanobiotechnological perspective.

    PubMed

    Shome, Soumitra; Talukdar, Anupam Das; Choudhury, Manabendra Dutta; Bhattacharya, Mrinal Kanti; Upadhyaya, Hrishikesh

    2016-12-01

    Nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems can resolve the poor bioavailability issue allied with curcumin. The therapeutic potential of curcumin can be enhanced by making nanocomposite preparation of curcumin with metal oxide nanoparticles, poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanoparticles and solid lipid nanoparticles that increases its bioavailability in the tissue. Curcumin has manifold therapeutic effects which include antidiabetic, antihypertensive, anticancer, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. Curcumin can inhibit diabetes, heavy metal and stress-induced hypertension with its antioxidant, chelating and inhibitory effects on the pathways that lead to hypertension. Curcumin is an anticancer agent that can prevent abnormal cell proliferation. Nanocurcumin is an improved form of curcumin with enhanced therapeutic properties due to improved delivery to the diseased tissue, better internalization and reduced systemic elimination. Curcumin has multiple pharmacologic effects, but its poor bioavailability reduces its therapeutic effects. By conjugating curcumin to metal oxide nanoparticles or encapsulation in lipid nanoparticles, dendrimers, nanogels and polymeric nanoparticles, the water solubility and bioavailability of curcumin can be improved and thus increase its pharmacological effectiveness. © 2016 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

  17. Solid Lipid Nanoparticles as Efficient Drug and Gene Delivery Systems: Recent Breakthroughs

    PubMed Central

    Ezzati Nazhad Dolatabadi, Jafar; Valizadeh, Hadi; Hamishehkar, Hamed

    2015-01-01

    In recent years, nanomaterials have been widely applied as advanced drug and gene delivery nanosystems. Among them, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) have attracted great attention as colloidal drug delivery systems for incorporating hydrophilic or lipophilic drugs and various macromolecules as well as proteins and nucleic acids. Therefore, SLNs offer great promise for controlled and site specific drug and gene delivery. This article includes general information about SLN structures and properties, production procedures, characterization. In addition, recent progress on development of drug and gene delivery systems using SLNs was reviewed. PMID:26236652

  18. MULTI-STAGE DELIVERY NANO-PARTICLE SYSTEMS FOR THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS

    PubMed Central

    Serda, Rita E.; Godin, Biana; Blanco, Elvin; Chiappini, Ciro; Ferrari, Mauro

    2010-01-01

    Background The daunting task for drug molecules to reach pathological lesions has fueled rapid advances in Nanomedicine. The progressive evolution of nanovectors has led to the development of multi-stage delivery systems aimed at overcoming the numerous obstacles encountered by nanovectors on their journey to the target site. Scope of Review This review summarizes major findings with respect to silicon-based drug delivery vectors for cancer therapeutics and imaging. Based on rational design, well established silicon technologies have been adapted for the fabrication of nanovectors with specific shapes, sizes, and porosities. These vectors are part of a multi-stage delivery system that contains multiple nano-components, each designed to achieve a specific task with the common goal of site-directed delivery of therapeutics. Major Conclusions Quasi-hemispherical and discoidal silicon microparticles are superior to spherical particles with respect to margination in the blood, with particles of different shapes and sizes having unique distributions in vivo. Cellular adhesion and internalization of silicon microparticles is influenced by microparticle shape and surface charge, with the latter dictating binding of serum opsonins. Based on in vitro cell studies, the internalization of porous silicon microparticles by endothelial cells and macrophages is compatible with cellular morphology, intracellular trafficking, mitosis, cell cycle progression, cytokine release, and cell viability. In vivo studies support superior therapeutic efficacy of liposomal encapsulated siRNA when delivered in multi-stage systems compared to free nanoparticles. PMID:20493927

  19. Light-sensitive Lipid-based Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery: Design Principles and Future Considerations for Biological Applications

    PubMed Central

    Yavlovich, Amichai; Smith, Brandon; Gupta, Kshitij; Blumenthal, Robert; Puri, Anu

    2011-01-01

    Radiation-based therapies aided by nanoparticles have been developed since decades, and can be primarily categorized into two main platforms. First, delivery of payload of photo-reactive drugs (photosensitizers) using the conventional nanoparticles, and second, design and development of photo-triggerable nanoparticles (primarily liposomes) to attain light-assisted on-demand drug delivery. The main focus of this review is to provide an update of the history, current status and future applications of photo-triggerable lipid-based nanoparticles (light-sensitive liposomes). We will begin with a brief overview on the applications of liposomes for delivery of photosensitizers, including the choice of photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy, as well as the currently available light sources (lasers) used for these applications. The main segment of this review will encompass the details on the strategies to develop photo-triggerable designer liposomes for their drug delivery function. The principles underlying the assembly of photoreactive lipids into nanoparticles (liposomes) and photo-triggering mechanisms will be presented. We will also discuss factors that limit the applications of these liposomes for in vivo triggered drug delivery and emerging concepts that may lead to the biologically viable photo-activation strategies. We will conclude with our view point on the future perspectives of light-sensitive liposomes in the clinic. PMID:20939770

  20. Hemocompatibility of folic-acid-conjugated amphiphilic PEG-PLGA copolymer nanoparticles for co-delivery of cisplatin and paclitaxel: treatment effects for non-small-cell lung cancer.

    PubMed

    He, Zelai; Shi, Zengfang; Sun, Wenjie; Ma, Jing; Xia, Junyong; Zhang, Xiangyu; Chen, Wenjun; Huang, Jingwen

    2016-06-01

    In this study, we used folic-acid-modified poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (FA-PEG-PLGA) to encapsulate cisplatin and paclitaxel (separately or together), and evaluated their antitumor effects against lung cancer; this study was conducted in order to investigate the antitumor effects of the co-delivery of cisplatin and paclitaxel by a targeted drug delivery system. Blood compatibility assays and complement activation tests revealed that FA-PEG-PLGA nanoparticles did not induce blood hemolysis, blood clotting, or complement activation. The results also indicated that FA-PEG-PLGA nanoparticles had no biotoxic effects, the drug delivery system allowed controlled release of the cargo molecules, and the co-delivery of cisplatin and paclitaxel efficiently induces cancer cell apoptosis and cell cycle retardation. In addition, co-delivery of cisplatin and paclitaxel showed the ability to suppress xenograft lung cancer growth and prolong the survival time of xenografted mice. These results implied that FA-PEG-PLGA nanoparticles can function as effective carriers of cisplatin and paclitaxel, and that co-delivery of cisplatin and paclitaxel by FA-PEG-PLGA nanoparticles results in more effective antitumor effects than the combination of free-drugs or single-drug-loaded nanoparticles.

  1. Neutrophil targeted nano-drug delivery system for chronic obstructive lung diseases.

    PubMed

    Vij, Neeraj; Min, Taehong; Bodas, Manish; Gorde, Aakruti; Roy, Indrajit

    2016-11-01

    The success of drug delivery to target airway cell(s) remains a significant challenge due to the limited ability of nanoparticle (NP) systems to circumvent protective airway-defense mechanisms. The size, density, surface and physical-chemical properties of nanoparticles are the key features that determine their ability to navigate across the airway-barrier. We evaluated here the efficacy of a PEGylated immuno-conjugated PLGA-nanoparticle (PINP) to overcome this challenge and selectively deliver drug to specific inflammatory cells (neutrophils). We first characterized the size, shape, surface-properties and neutrophil targeting using dynamic laser scattering, transmission electron microscopy and flow cytometry. Next, we assessed the efficacy of neutrophil-targeted PINPs in transporting through the airway followed by specific binding and release of drug to neutrophils. Finally, our results demonstrate the efficacy of PINP mediated non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug-(ibuprofen) delivery to neutrophils in murine models of obstructive lung diseases, based on its ability to control neutrophilic-inflammation and resulting lung disease. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Oleic acid-enhanced transdermal delivery pathways of fluorescent nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lo, Wen; Ghazaryan, Ara; Tso, Chien-Hsin; Hu, Po-Sheng; Chen, Wei-Liang; Kuo, Tsung-Rong; Lin, Sung-Jan; Chen, Shean-Jen; Chen, Chia-Chun; Dong, Chen-Yuan

    2012-05-01

    Transdermal delivery of nanocarriers provides an alternative pathway to transport therapeutic agents, alleviating pain, improving compliance of patients, and increasing overall effectiveness of delivery. In this work, enhancement of transdermal delivery of fluorescent nanoparticles and sulforhodamine B with assistance of oleic acid was visualized utilizing multiphoton microscopy (MPM) and analyzed quantitatively using multi-photon excitation-induced fluorescent signals. Results of MPM imaging and MPM intensity-based spatial depth-dependent analysis showed that oleic acid is effective in facilitating transdermal delivery of nanoparticles.

  3. Erythrocytes-based synthetic delivery systems: transition from conventional to novel engineering strategies.

    PubMed

    Bhateria, Manisha; Rachumallu, Ramakrishna; Singh, Rajbir; Bhatta, Rabi Sankar

    2014-08-01

    Erythrocytes (red blood cells [RBCs]) and artificial or synthetic delivery systems such as liposomes, nanoparticles (NPs) are the most investigated carrier systems. Herein, progress made from conventional approach of using RBC as delivery systems to novel approach of using synthetic delivery systems based on RBC properties will be reviewed. We aim to highlight both conventional and novel approaches of using RBCs as potential carrier system. Conventional approaches which include two main strategies are: i) directly loading therapeutic moieties in RBCs; and ii) coupling them with RBCs whereas novel approaches exploit structural, mechanical and biological properties of RBCs to design synthetic delivery systems through various engineering strategies. Initial attempts included coupling of antibodies to liposomes to specifically target RBCs. Knowledge obtained from several studies led to the development of RBC membrane derived liposomes (nanoerythrosomes), inspiring future application of RBC or its structural features in other attractive delivery systems (hydrogels, filomicelles, microcapsules, micro- and NPs) for even greater potential. In conclusion, this review dwells upon comparative analysis of various conventional and novel engineering strategies in developing RBC based drug delivery systems, diversifying their applications in arena of drug delivery. Regardless of the challenges in front of us, RBC based delivery systems offer an exciting approach of exploiting biological entities in a multitude of medical applications.

  4. Nanocomposite Hydrogels: 3D Polymer-Nanoparticle Synergies for On-Demand Drug Delivery.

    PubMed

    Merino, Sonia; Martín, Cristina; Kostarelos, Kostas; Prato, Maurizio; Vázquez, Ester

    2015-05-26

    Considerable progress in the synthesis and technology of hydrogels makes these materials attractive structures for designing controlled-release drug delivery systems. In particular, this review highlights the latest advances in nanocomposite hydrogels as drug delivery vehicles. The inclusion/incorporation of nanoparticles in three-dimensional polymeric structures is an innovative means for obtaining multicomponent systems with diverse functionality within a hybrid hydrogel network. Nanoparticle-hydrogel combinations add synergistic benefits to the new 3D structures. Nanogels as carriers for cancer therapy and injectable gels with improved self-healing properties have also been described as new nanocomposite systems.

  5. Assessing NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation by Nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Sharma, Bhawna; McLeland, Christopher B; Potter, Timothy M; Stern, Stephan T; Adiseshaiah, Pavan P

    2018-01-01

    NLRP3 inflammasome activation is one of the initial steps in an inflammatory cascade against pathogen/danger-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs/DAMPs), such as those arising from environmental toxins or nanoparticles, and is essential for innate immune response. NLRP3 inflammasome activation in cells can lead to the release of IL-1β cytokine via caspase-1, which is required for inflammatory-induced programmed cell death (pyroptosis). Nanoparticles are commonly used as vaccine adjuvants and drug delivery vehicles to improve the efficacy and reduce the toxicity of chemotherapeutic agents. Several studies indicate that different nanoparticles (e.g., liposomes, polymer-based nanoparticles) can induce NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Generation of a pro-inflammatory response is beneficial for vaccine delivery to provide adaptive immunity, a necessary step for successful vaccination. However, similar immune responses for intravenously injected, drug-containing nanoparticles can result in immunotoxicity (e.g., silica nanoparticles). Evaluation of NLRP3-mediated inflammasome activation by nanoparticles may predict pro-inflammatory responses in order to determine if these effects may be mitigated for drug delivery or optimized for vaccine development. In this protocol, we outline steps to monitor the release of IL-1β using PMA-primed THP-1 cells, a human monocytic leukemia cell line, as a model system. IL-1β release is used as a marker of NLRP3 inflammasome activation.

  6. Proximity-activated nanoparticles: in vitro performance of specific structural modification by enzymatic cleavage

    PubMed Central

    Adam Smith, R; Sewell, Sarah L; Giorgio, Todd D

    2008-01-01

    The development and in vitro performance of a modular nanoscale system capable of specific structural modification by enzymatic activity is described in this work. Due to its small physical size and adaptable characteristics, this system has the potential for utilization in targeted delivery systems and biosensing. Nanoparticle probes were synthesized containing two distinct fluorescent species including a quantum dot base particle and fluorescently labeled cleavable peptide substrate. Activity of these probes was monitored by gel electrophoresis with quantitative cleavage measurements made by fluorometric analysis. The model proximity-activated nanoparticles studied here exhibit significant susceptibility to cleavage by matrix metalloprotease-7 (MMP-7) at physiologically relevant concentrations, with nearly complete cleavage of available substrate molecules after 24 hours. This response is specific to MMP-7 enzyme activity, as cleavage is completely inhibited with the addition of EDTA. Utilization of enzyme-specific modification is a sensitive approach with broad applications for targeted therapeutics and biosensing. The versatility of this nanoparticle system is highlighted in its modular design, as it has the capability to integrate characteristics for detection, biosensing, targeting, and payload delivery into a single, multifunctional nanoparticle structure. PMID:18488420

  7. Novel ionically crosslinked casein nanoparticles for flutamide delivery: formulation, characterization, and in vivo pharmacokinetics

    PubMed Central

    Elzoghby, Ahmed O; Helmy, Maged W; Samy, Wael M; Elgindy, Nazik A

    2013-01-01

    A novel particulate delivery matrix based on ionically crosslinked casein (CAS) nanoparticles was developed for controlled release of the poorly soluble anticancer drug flutamide (FLT). Nanoparticles were fabricated via oil-in-water emulsification then stabilized by ionic crosslinking of the positively charged CAS molecules below their isoelectric point, with the polyanionic crosslinker sodium tripolyphosphate. With the optimal preparation conditions, the drug loading and incorporation efficiency achieved were 8.73% and 64.55%, respectively. The nanoparticles exhibited a spherical shape with a size below 100 nm and a positive zeta potential (+7.54 to +17.3 mV). FLT was molecularly dispersed inside the nanoparticle protein matrix, as revealed by thermal analysis. The biodegradability of CAS nanoparticles in trypsin solution could be easily modulated by varying the sodium tripolyphosphate crosslinking density. A sustained release of FLT from CAS nanoparticles for up to 4 days was observed, depending on the crosslinking density. After intravenous administration of FLT-CAS nanoparticles into rats, CAS nanoparticles exhibited a longer circulation time and a markedly delayed blood clearance of FLT, with the half-life of FLT extended from 0.88 hours to 14.64 hours, compared with drug cosolvent. The results offer a promising method for tailoring biodegradable, drug-loaded CAS nanoparticles as controlled, long-circulating drug delivery systems of hydrophobic anticancer drugs in aqueous vehicles. PMID:23658490

  8. T cells enhance gold nanoparticle delivery to tumors in vivo.

    PubMed

    Kennedy, Laura C; Bear, Adham S; Young, Joseph K; Lewinski, Nastassja A; Kim, Jean; Foster, Aaron E; Drezek, Rebekah A

    2011-04-04

    Gold nanoparticle-mediated photothermal therapy (PTT) has shown great potential for the treatment of cancer in mouse studies and is now being evaluated in clinical trials. For this therapy, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are injected intravenously and are allowed to accumulate within the tumor via the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. The tumor is then irradiated with a near infrared laser, whose energy is absorbed by the AuNPs and translated into heat. While reliance on the EPR effect for tumor targeting has proven adequate for vascularized tumors in small animal models, the efficiency and specificity of tumor delivery in vivo, particularly in tumors with poor blood supply, has proven challenging. In this study, we examine whether human T cells can be used as cellular delivery vehicles for AuNP transport into tumors. We first demonstrate that T cells can be efficiently loaded with 45 nm gold colloid nanoparticles without affecting viability or function (e.g. migration and cytokine production). Using a human tumor xenograft mouse model, we next demonstrate that AuNP-loaded T cells retain their capacity to migrate to tumor sites in vivo. In addition, the efficiency of AuNP delivery to tumors in vivo is increased by more than four-fold compared to injection of free PEGylated AuNPs and the use of the T cell delivery system also dramatically alters the overall nanoparticle biodistribution. Thus, the use of T cell chaperones for AuNP delivery could enhance the efficacy of nanoparticle-based therapies and imaging applications by increasing AuNP tumor accumulation.

  9. T cells enhance gold nanoparticle delivery to tumors in vivo

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kennedy, Laura C.; Bear, Adham S.; Young, Joseph K.; Lewinski, Nastassja A.; Kim, Jean; Foster, Aaron E.; Drezek, Rebekah A.

    2011-12-01

    Gold nanoparticle-mediated photothermal therapy (PTT) has shown great potential for the treatment of cancer in mouse studies and is now being evaluated in clinical trials. For this therapy, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are injected intravenously and are allowed to accumulate within the tumor via the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. The tumor is then irradiated with a near infrared laser, whose energy is absorbed by the AuNPs and translated into heat. While reliance on the EPR effect for tumor targeting has proven adequate for vascularized tumors in small animal models, the efficiency and specificity of tumor delivery in vivo, particularly in tumors with poor blood supply, has proven challenging. In this study, we examine whether human T cells can be used as cellular delivery vehicles for AuNP transport into tumors. We first demonstrate that T cells can be efficiently loaded with 45 nm gold colloid nanoparticles without affecting viability or function (e.g. migration and cytokine production). Using a human tumor xenograft mouse model, we next demonstrate that AuNP-loaded T cells retain their capacity to migrate to tumor sites in vivo. In addition, the efficiency of AuNP delivery to tumors in vivo is increased by more than four-fold compared to injection of free PEGylated AuNPs and the use of the T cell delivery system also dramatically alters the overall nanoparticle biodistribution. Thus, the use of T cell chaperones for AuNP delivery could enhance the efficacy of nanoparticle-based therapies and imaging applications by increasing AuNP tumor accumulation.

  10. Applications of lipid based formulation technologies in the delivery of biotechnology-based therapeutics.

    PubMed

    du Plessis, Lissinda H; Marais, Etienne B; Mohammed, Faruq; Kotzé, Awie F

    2014-01-01

    In the last decades several new biotechnologically-based therapeutics have been developed due to progress in genetic engineering. A growing challenge facing pharmaceutical scientists is formulating these compounds into oral dosage forms with adequate bioavailability. An increasingly popular approach to formulate biotechnology-based therapeutics is the use of lipid based formulation technologies. This review highlights the importance of lipid based drug delivery systems in the formulation of oral biotechnology based therapeutics including peptides, proteins, DNA, siRNA and vaccines. The different production procedures used to achieve high encapsulation efficiencies of the bioactives are discussed, as well as the factors influencing the choice of excipient. Lipid based colloidal drug delivery systems including liposomes and solid lipid nanoparticles are reviewed with a focus on recent advances and updates. We further describe microemulsions and self-emulsifying drug delivery systems and recent findings on bioactive delivery. We conclude the review with a few examples on novel lipid based formulation technologies.

  11. A dual-targeting strategy for enhanced drug delivery and synergistic therapy based on thermosensitive nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Wang, Mingxin; You, Chaoqun; Gao, Zhiguo; Wu, Hongshuai; Sun, Baiwang; Zhu, Xiaoli; Chen, Renjie

    2018-08-01

    The functionalized nanoparticles have been widely studied and reported as carriers of drug transport recently. Furthermore, many groups have focused more on developing novel and efficient treatment methods, such as photodynamic therapy and photothermal therapy, since both therapies have shown inspiring potential in the application of antitumor. The mentioned treatments exhibited the superiority of cooperative manner and showed the ability to compensate for the adverse effects caused by conventional monotherapy in proposed strategies. In view of the above descriptions, we formulated a thermosensitive drug delivery system, which achieved the enhanced delivery of cisplatin and two photosensitizers (ICG and Ce6) by dual-targeting traction. Drawing on the thin film hydration method, cisplatin and photosensitizers were encapsulated inside nanoparticles. Meanwhile, the targeting peptide cRGD and targeting molecule folate can be modified on the surface of nanoparticles to realize the active identification of tumor cells. The measurements of dynamic light scattering showed that the prepared nanoparticles had an ideal dispersibility and uniform particle size of 102.6 nm. On the basis of the results observed from confocal laser scanning microscope, the modified nanoparticles were more efficient endocytosed by MCF-7 cells as a contrast to SGC-7901 cells. Photothermal conversion-triggered drug release and photo-therapies produced a significant apoptosis rate of 85.9% on MCF-7 cells. The distinguished results made it believed that the formulated delivery system had conducted great efforts and innovations for the realization of concise collaboration and provided a promising strategy for the treatment of breast cancer.

  12. Drug transport mechanism of oral antidiabetic nanomedicines.

    PubMed

    Gundogdu, Evren; Yurdasiper, Aysu

    2014-01-01

    Over the last few decades, extensive efforts have been made worldwide to develop nanomedicine delivery systems, especially via oral route for antidiabetic drugs. Absorption of insulin is hindered by epithelial cells of gastrointestinal tract, acidic gastric pH and digestive enzymes. Recent reports have identified and explained the beneficial role of several structural molecules like mucoadhesive polymers (polyacrylic acid, sodium alginate, chitosan) and other copolymers for the efficient transport and release of insulin to its receptors. Insulin nanomedicines based on alginate-dextran sulfate core with a chitosan-polyethylene glycol-albumin shell reduced glycaemia in a dose dependent manner. Orally available exendin-4 formulations exerted their effects in a time dependent manner. Insulin nanoparticles formed by using alginate and dextran sulfate nucleating around calcium and binding to poloxamer, stabilized by chitosan, and subsequently coated with albumin showed a threefold increase of the hypoglycemic effect in comparison to free insulin in animal models. Solid lipid nanoparticles showed an enhancement of the bioavailability of repaglinide (RG) within optimized solid lipid nanoparticle formulations when compared with RG alone. Nanoparticles represent multiparticulate delivery systems designed to obtain prolonged or controlled drug delivery and to improve bioavailability as well as stability. Nanoparticles can also offer advantages like limiting fluctuations within therapeutic range, reducing side effects, protecting drugs from degradation, decreasing dosing frequency, and improving patient compliance and convenience.

  13. Galantamine-loaded PLGA nanoparticles, from nano-emulsion templating, as novel advanced drug delivery systems to treat neurodegenerative diseases

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fornaguera, C.; Feiner-Gracia, N.; Calderó, G.; García-Celma, M. J.; Solans, C.

    2015-07-01

    Polymeric nanoparticles could be promising drug delivery systems to treat neurodegenerative diseases. Among the various methods of nanoparticle preparation, nano-emulsion templating was used in the present study to prepare galantamine-loaded nano-emulsions by a low-energy emulsification method followed by solvent evaporation to obtain galantamine-loaded polymeric nanoparticles. This approach was found to be suitable because biocompatible, biodegradable and safe nanoparticles with appropriate features (hydrodynamic radii around 20 nm, negative surface charge and stability higher than 3 months) for their intravenous administration were obtained. Encapsulation efficiencies higher than 90 wt% were obtained with a sustained drug release profile as compared to that from aqueous and micellar solutions. The enzymatic activity of the drug was maintained at 80% after its encapsulation into nanoparticles that were non-cytotoxic at the required therapeutic concentration. Therefore, novel galantamine-loaded polymeric nanoparticles have been designed for the first time using the nano-emulsification approach and showed the appropriate features to become advanced drug delivery systems to treat neurodegenerative diseases.Polymeric nanoparticles could be promising drug delivery systems to treat neurodegenerative diseases. Among the various methods of nanoparticle preparation, nano-emulsion templating was used in the present study to prepare galantamine-loaded nano-emulsions by a low-energy emulsification method followed by solvent evaporation to obtain galantamine-loaded polymeric nanoparticles. This approach was found to be suitable because biocompatible, biodegradable and safe nanoparticles with appropriate features (hydrodynamic radii around 20 nm, negative surface charge and stability higher than 3 months) for their intravenous administration were obtained. Encapsulation efficiencies higher than 90 wt% were obtained with a sustained drug release profile as compared to that from aqueous and micellar solutions. The enzymatic activity of the drug was maintained at 80% after its encapsulation into nanoparticles that were non-cytotoxic at the required therapeutic concentration. Therefore, novel galantamine-loaded polymeric nanoparticles have been designed for the first time using the nano-emulsification approach and showed the appropriate features to become advanced drug delivery systems to treat neurodegenerative diseases. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr03474d

  14. Importance of integrating nanotechnology with pharmacology and physiology for innovative drug delivery and therapy - an illustration with firsthand examples.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Rui Xue; Li, Jason; Zhang, Tian; Amini, Mohammad A; He, Chunsheng; Lu, Brian; Ahmed, Taksim; Lip, HoYin; Rauth, Andrew M; Wu, Xiao Yu

    2018-05-01

    Nanotechnology has been applied extensively in drug delivery to improve the therapeutic outcomes of various diseases. Tremendous efforts have been focused on the development of novel nanoparticles and delineation of the physicochemical properties of nanoparticles in relation to their biological fate and functions. However, in the design and evaluation of these nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems, the pharmacology of delivered drugs and the (patho-)physiology of the host have received less attention. In this review, we discuss important pharmacological mechanisms, physiological characteristics, and pathological factors that have been integrated into the design of nanotechnology-enabled drug delivery systems and therapies. Firsthand examples are presented to illustrate the principles and advantages of such integrative design strategies for cancer treatment by exploiting 1) intracellular synergistic interactions of drug-drug and drug-nanomaterial combinations to overcome multidrug-resistant cancer, 2) the blood flow direction of the circulatory system to maximize drug delivery to the tumor neovasculature and cells overexpressing integrin receptors for lung metastases, 3) endogenous lipoproteins to decorate nanocarriers and transport them across the blood-brain barrier for brain metastases, and 4) distinct pathological factors in the tumor microenvironment to develop pH- and oxidative stress-responsive hybrid manganese dioxide nanoparticles for enhanced radiotherapy. Regarding the application in diabetes management, a nanotechnology-enabled closed-loop insulin delivery system was devised to provide dynamic insulin release at a physiologically relevant time scale and glucose levels. These examples, together with other research results, suggest that utilization of the interplay of pharmacology, (patho-)physiology and nanotechnology is a facile approach to develop innovative drug delivery systems and therapies with high efficiency and translational potential.

  15. Towards magnetic-enhanced cellular uptake, MRI and chemotherapeutics delivery by magnetic mesoporous silica nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Liu, Qian; Zhang, Jixi; Xia, Weiliang; Gu, Hongchen

    2012-10-01

    A type of nanoparticle with three functional modalities was prepared with the aim of providing a multifunctional drug delivery system. The nanoparticle was 50 nm in size, with 2.7 nm mesopores and a magnetic nanocrystal core, which was further doped with FITC to enable the tracking of cellular uptake. We demonstrated that the internalization of the nanoparticles in tumor cells could be enhanced by applying an external magnetic field and furthermore, this kind of nanoparticle could be used in magnetic targeted drug delivery. With high transverse relaxivity, the magnetic nanoparticles shortened proton relaxation time and induced high magnetic resonance imaging contrast in tumor cells. Studies on anticancer drug loading and delivery capacity of anticancer drugs also showed that this type of nanoparticles could load water-soluble doxorubicin, and produce a prominent inhibitive effect against tumor cells. Taken together, the presented nanoparticles could become a promising agent in cancer theranostics.

  16. Selective targeting of melanoma by PEG-masked protein-based multifunctional nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Vannucci, Luca; Falvo, Elisabetta; Fornara, Manuela; Di Micco, Patrizio; Benada, Oldrich; Krizan, Jiri; Svoboda, Jan; Hulikova-Capkova, Katarina; Morea, Veronica; Boffi, Alberto; Ceci, Pierpaolo

    2012-01-01

    Background Nanoparticle-based systems are promising for the development of imaging and therapeutic agents. The main advantage of nanoparticles over traditional systems lies in the possibility of loading multiple functionalities onto a single molecule, which are useful for therapeutic and/or diagnostic purposes. These functionalities include targeting moieties which are able to recognize receptors overexpressed by specific cells and tissues. However, targeted delivery of nanoparticles requires an accurate system design. We present here a rationally designed, genetically engineered, and chemically modified protein-based nanoplatform for cell/tissue-specific targeting. Methods Our nanoparticle constructs were based on the heavy chain of the human protein ferritin (HFt), a highly symmetrical assembly of 24 subunits enclosing a hollow cavity. HFt-based nanoparticles were produced using both genetic engineering and chemical functionalization methods to impart several functionalities, ie, the α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone peptide as a melanoma-targeting moiety, stabilizing and HFt-masking polyethylene glycol molecules, rhodamine fluorophores, and magnetic resonance imaging agents. The constructs produced were extensively characterized by a number of physicochemical techniques, and assayed for selective melanoma-targeting in vitro and in vivo. Results Our HFt-based nanoparticle constructs functionalized with the α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone peptide moiety and polyethylene glycol molecules were specifically taken up by melanoma cells but not by other cancer cell types in vitro. Moreover, experiments in melanoma-bearing mice indicate that these constructs have an excellent tumor-targeting profile and a long circulation time in vivo. Conclusion By masking human HFt with polyethylene glycol and targeting it with an α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone peptide, we developed an HFt-based melanoma-targeting nanoplatform for application in melanoma diagnosis and treatment. These results could be of general interest, because the same strategy can be exploited to develop ad hoc nanoplatforms for specific delivery towards any cell/tissue type for which a suitable targeting moiety is available. PMID:22619508

  17. D-Glucose as a modifying agent in gelatin/collagen matrix and reservoir nanoparticles for Calendula officinalis delivery.

    PubMed

    Lam, P-L; Kok, S H-L; Bian, Z-X; Lam, K-H; Tang, J C-O; Lee, K K-H; Gambari, R; Chui, C-H

    2014-05-01

    Gelatin/Collagen-based matrix and reservoir nanoparticles require crosslinkers to stabilize the formed nanosuspensions, considering that physical instability is the main challenge of nanoparticulate systems. The use of crosslinkers improves the physical integrity of nanoformulations under the-host environment. Aldehyde-based fixatives, such as formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde, have been widely applied to the crosslinking process of polymeric nanoparticles. However, their potential toxicity towards human beings has been demonstrated in many previous studies. In order to tackle this problem, D-glucose was used during nanoparticle formation to stabilize the gelatin/collagen-based matrix wall and reservoir wall for the deliveries of Calendula officinalis powder and oil, respectively. In addition, therapeutic selectivity between malignant and normal cells could be observed. The C. officinalis powder loaded nanoparticles significantly strengthened the anti-cancer effect towards human breast adenocarcinoma MCF7 cells and human hepatoma SKHep1 cells when compared with the free powder. On the contrary, the nanoparticles did not show significant cytotoxicity towards normal esophageal epithelial NE3 cells and human skin keratinocyte HaCaT cells. On the basis of these evidences, D-glucose modified gelatin/collagen matrix nanoparticles containing C. officinalis powder might be proposed as a safer alternative vehicle for anti-cancer treatments. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Secondary nuclear targeting of mesoporous silica nano-particles for cancer-specific drug delivery based on charge inversion

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Xiyong; Fan, Xiaobo; Wu, Guoqiu

    2016-01-01

    A novel multifunctional nano-drug delivery system based on reversal of peptide charge was successfully developed for anticancer drug delivery and imaging. Mesoporous silica nano-particles (MSN) ~50 nm in diameter were chosen as the drug reservoirs, and their surfaces were modified with HIV-1 transactivator peptide-fluorescein isothiocyanate (TAT-FITC) and YSA-BHQ1. The short TAT peptide labeled with FITC was used to facilitate intranuclear delivery, while the YSA peptide tagged with the BHQ1 quencher group was used to specifically bind to the tumor EphA2 membrane receptor. Citraconic anhydride (Cit) was used to invert the charge of the TAT peptide in neutral or weak alkaline conditions so that the positively charged YSA peptide could combine with the TAT peptide through electrostatic attraction. The FITC fluorescence was quenched by the spatial approach of BHQ1 after the two peptides bound to each other. However, the Cit-amino bond was unstable in the acidic atmosphere, so the positive charge of the TAT peptide was restored and the positively charged YSA moiety was repelled. The FITC fluorescence was recovered after the YSA-BHQ1 moiety was removed, and the TAT peptide led the nano-particles into the nucleolus. This nano-drug delivery system was stable at physiological pH, rapidly released the drug in acidic buffer, and was easily taken up by MCF-7 cells. Compared with free doxorubicin hydrochloride at an equal concentration, this modified MSN loaded with doxorubicin molecules had an equivalent inhibitory effect on MCF-7 cells. This nano-drug delivery system is thus a promising method for simultaneous cancer diagnosis and therapy. PMID:27661121

  19. Secondary nuclear targeting of mesoporous silica nano-particles for cancer-specific drug delivery based on charge inversion.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Jianwen; Zhao, Fengfeng; Wang, Xiyong; Fan, Xiaobo; Wu, Guoqiu

    2016-10-25

    A novel multifunctional nano-drug delivery system based on reversal of peptide charge was successfully developed for anticancer drug delivery and imaging. Mesoporous silica nano-particles (MSN) ~50 nm in diameter were chosen as the drug reservoirs, and their surfaces were modified with HIV-1 transactivator peptide-fluorescein isothiocyanate (TAT-FITC) and YSA-BHQ1. The short TAT peptide labeled with FITC was used to facilitate intranuclear delivery, while the YSA peptide tagged with the BHQ1 quencher group was used to specifically bind to the tumor EphA2 membrane receptor. Citraconic anhydride (Cit) was used to invert the charge of the TAT peptide in neutral or weak alkaline conditions so that the positively charged YSA peptide could combine with the TAT peptide through electrostatic attraction. The FITC fluorescence was quenched by the spatial approach of BHQ1 after the two peptides bound to each other. However, the Cit-amino bond was unstable in the acidic atmosphere, so the positive charge of the TAT peptide was restored and the positively charged YSA moiety was repelled. The FITC fluorescence was recovered after the YSA-BHQ1 moiety was removed, and the TAT peptide led the nano-particles into the nucleolus. This nano-drug delivery system was stable at physiological pH, rapidly released the drug in acidic buffer, and was easily taken up by MCF-7 cells. Compared with free doxorubicin hydrochloride at an equal concentration, this modified MSN loaded with doxorubicin molecules had an equivalent inhibitory effect on MCF-7 cells. This nano-drug delivery system is thus a promising method for simultaneous cancer diagnosis and therapy.

  20. A facile construction strategy of stable lipid nanoparticles for drug delivery using a hydrogel-thickened microemulsion system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Huabing; Xiao, Ling; Du, Danrong; Mou, Dongsheng; Xu, Huibi; Yang, Xiangliang

    2010-01-01

    We report a novel facile method for preparing stable nanoparticles with inner spherical solid spheres and an outer hydrogel matrix using a hot O/W hydrogel-thickened microemulsion with spontaneous stability. The nanoparticles with average diameters of about 30.0 nm and 100.0 nm were constructed by cooling the hot hydrogel-thickened microemulsion at different temperatures, respectively. We explained the application of these nanoparticles by actualizing the cutaneous delivery of drug-loaded nanoparticles. The in vitro skin permeation studies showed that the nanoparticles could significantly reduce the penetration of model drugs through skin and resulted in their dermal uptakes in skin. The sol-gel process of TEOS was furthermore used in the template of HTM to regulate the particle size of nanoparticles. The coating of silica on the surface of nanoparticles could regulate the penetration of drug into skin from dermal delivery to transdermal delivery. This strategy provides a facile method to produce nanoparticles with long-term stability and ease of manufacture, which might have a promising application in drug delivery.

  1. Messenger RNA (mRNA) nanoparticle tumour vaccination

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Phua, Kyle K. L.; Nair, Smita K.; Leong, Kam W.

    2014-06-01

    Use of mRNA-based vaccines for tumour immunotherapy has gained increasing attention in recent years. A growing number of studies applying nanomedicine concepts to mRNA tumour vaccination show that the mRNA delivered in nanoparticle format can generate a more robust immune response. Advances in the past decade have deepened our understanding of gene delivery barriers, mRNA's biological stability and immunological properties, and support the notion for engineering innovations tailored towards a more efficient mRNA nanoparticle vaccine delivery system. In this review we will first examine the suitability of mRNA for engineering manipulations, followed by discussion of a model framework that highlights the barriers to a robust anti-tumour immunity mediated by mRNA encapsulated in nanoparticles. Finally, by consolidating existing literature on mRNA nanoparticle tumour vaccination within the context of this framework, we aim to identify bottlenecks that can be addressed by future nanoengineering research.

  2. Chitosan-coated doxorubicin nano-particles drug delivery system inhibits cell growth of liver cancer via p53/PRC1 pathway.

    PubMed

    Ye, Bai-Liang; Zheng, Ru; Ruan, Xiao-Jiao; Zheng, Zhi-Hai; Cai, Hua-Jie

    2018-01-01

    Nano-particles have been widely used in target-specific drug delivery system and showed advantages in cancers treatment. This study aims to evaluate the effect of chitosan coated doxorubicin nano-particles drug delivery system in liver cancer. The chitosan nano-particles were prepared by using the ionic gelation method. The characterizations of the nano-particles were determined by transmission electron microscopy. The cytotoxicity was detected by MTT assay, and the endocytosis, cell apoptosis and cell cycle were examined by flow cytometry. The protein level was analyzed with western blot. The dual luciferase reporter assay was performed to assess the interaction between p53 and the promoter of PRC1, and chromatin immune-precipitation was used to verify the binding between them. The FA-CS-DOX nano-particles were irregular and spherical particles around 30-40 nm, with uniform size and no adhesion. No significant difference was noted in doxorubicin release rate between CS-DOX and FA-CS-DOX. FA-CS-DOX nano-particles showed stronger cytotoxicity than CS-DOX. FA-CS-DOX nano-particles promoted the apoptosis and arrested cell cycle at G2/M phase, and they up-regulated p53. FA-CS-DOX nano-particles inhibited cell survival through p53/PRC1 pathway. Chitosan-coated doxorubicin nano-particles drug delivery system inhibits cell growth of liver cancer by promoting apoptosis and arresting cell cycle at G2/M phase through p53/PRC1 pathway. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Ultrasound mediated nanoparticle drug delivery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mullin, Lee B.

    Ultrasound is not only a powerful diagnostic tool, but also a promising therapeutic technology that can be used to improve localized drug delivery. Microbubble contrast agents are micron sized encapsulated gas filled bubbles that are administered intravenously. Originally developed to enhance ultrasound images, microbubbles are highly echogenic due to the gas core that provides a detectable impedance difference from the surrounding medium. The core also allows for controlled response of the microbubbles to ultrasound pulses. Microbubbles can be pushed using acoustic radiation force and ruptured using high pressures. Destruction of microbubbles can increase permeability at the cellular and vascular level, which can be advantageous for drug delivery. Advances in drug delivery methods have been seen with the introduction of nanoparticles, nanometer sized objects often carrying a drug payload. In chemotherapy, nanoparticles can deliver drugs to tumors while limiting systemic exposure due to abnormalities in tumor vasculature such large gaps between endothelial cells that allow nanoparticles to enter into the interstitial space; this is referred to as the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. However, this effect may be overestimated in many tumors. Additionally, only a small percentage of the injected dose accumulates in the tumor, which most the nanoparticles accumulating in the liver and spleen. It is hypothesized that combining the acoustic activity of an ultrasound contrast agent with the high payload and extravasation ability of a nanoparticle, localized delivery to the tumor with reduced systemic toxicity can be achieved. This method can be accomplished by either loading nanoparticles onto the shell of the microbubble or through a coadministration method of both nanoparticles and microbubbles. The work presented in this dissertation utilizes novel and commercial nanoparticle formulations, combined with microbubbles and a variety of ultrasound systems. Ultrasound parameters are optimized to achieve maximum cell internalization of molecules and increased nanoparticle delivery to a cell layer on a coverslip. In-vivo studies demonstrate the possibility of using a lower dose of paclitaxel to slow tumor growth rates, increase doxorubicin concentration in tumor tissue, and enhance tumor delivery of fluorescent molecules through treatments that combine nanoparticles with ultrasound and microbubbles.

  4. Selenium nanoparticles: potential in cancer gene and drug delivery.

    PubMed

    Maiyo, Fiona; Singh, Moganavelli

    2017-05-01

    In recent decades, colloidal selenium nanoparticles have emerged as exceptional selenium species with reported chemopreventative and therapeutic properties. This has sparked widespread interest in their use as a carrier of therapeutic agents with results displaying synergistic effects of selenium with its therapeutic cargo and improved anticancer activity. Functionalization remains a critical step in selenium nanoparticles' development for application in gene or drug delivery. In this review, we highlight recent developments in the synthesis and functionalization strategies of selenium nanoparticles used in cancer drug and gene delivery systems. We also provide an update of recent preclinical studies utilizing selenium nanoparticles in cancer therapeutics.

  5. Design of a peptide-based vector, PepFect6, for efficient delivery of siRNA in cell culture and systemically in vivo

    PubMed Central

    EL Andaloussi, Samir; Lehto, Taavi; Mäger, Imre; Rosenthal-Aizman, Katri; Oprea, Iulian I.; Simonson, Oscar E.; Sork, Helena; Ezzat, Kariem; Copolovici, Dana M.; Kurrikoff, Kaido; Viola, Joana R.; Zaghloul, Eman M.; Sillard, Rannar; Johansson, Henrik J.; Said Hassane, Fatouma; Guterstam, Peter; Suhorutšenko, Julia; Moreno, Pedro M. D.; Oskolkov, Nikita; Hälldin, Jonas; Tedebark, Ulf; Metspalu, Andres; Lebleu, Bernard; Lehtiö, Janne; Smith, C. I. Edvard; Langel, Ülo

    2011-01-01

    While small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) have been rapidly appreciated to silence genes, efficient and non-toxic vectors for primary cells and for systemic in vivo delivery are lacking. Several siRNA-delivery vehicles, including cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), have been developed but their utility is often restricted by entrapment following endocytosis. Hence, developing CPPs that promote endosomal escape is a prerequisite for successful siRNA implementation. We here present a novel CPP, PepFect 6 (PF6), comprising the previously reported stearyl-TP10 peptide, having pH titratable trifluoromethylquinoline moieties covalently incorporated to facilitate endosomal release. Stable PF6/siRNA nanoparticles enter entire cell populations and rapidly promote endosomal escape, resulting in robust RNAi responses in various cell types (including primary cells), with minimal associated transcriptomic or proteomic changes. Furthermore, PF6-mediated delivery is independent of cell confluence and, in most cases, not significantly hampered by serum proteins. Finally, these nanoparticles promote strong RNAi responses in different organs following systemic delivery in mice without any associated toxicity. Strikingly, similar knockdown in liver is achieved by PF6/siRNA nanoparticles and siRNA injected by hydrodynamic infusion, a golden standard technique for liver transfection. These results imply that the peptide, in addition to having utility for RNAi screens in vitro, displays therapeutic potential. PMID:21245043

  6. Co-delivery of doxorubicin and curcumin by pH-sensitive prodrug nanoparticle for combination therapy of cancer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Yumin; Yang, Cuihong; Wang, Weiwei; Liu, Jinjian; Liu, Qiang; Huang, Fan; Chu, Liping; Gao, Honglin; Li, Chen; Kong, Deling; Liu, Qian; Liu, Jianfeng

    2016-02-01

    Ample attention has focused on cancer drug delivery via prodrug nanoparticles due to their high drug loading property and comparatively lower side effects. In this study, we designed a PEG-DOX-Cur prodrug nanoparticle for simultaneous delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) and curcumin (Cur) as a combination therapy to treat cancer. DOX was conjugated to PEG by Schiff’s base reaction. The obtained prodrug conjugate could self-assemble in water at pH 7.4 into nanoparticles (PEG-DOX NPs) and encapsulate Cur into the core through hydrophobic interaction (PEG-DOX-Cur NPs). When the PEG-DOX-Cur NPs are internalized by tumor cells, the Schiff’s base linker between PEG and DOX would break in the acidic environment that is often observed in tumors, causing disassembling of the PEG-DOX-Cur NPs and releasing both DOX and Cur into the nuclei and cytoplasma of the tumor cells, respectively. Compared with free DOX, free Cur, free DOX-Cur combination, or PEG-DOX NPs, PEG-DOX-Cur NPs exhibited higher anti-tumor activity in vitro. In addition, the PEG-DOX-Cur NPs also showed prolonged blood circulation time, elevated local drug accumulation and increased tumor penetration. Enhanced anti-tumor activity was also observed from the PEG-DOX-Cur-treated animals, demonstrating better tumor inhibitory property of the NPs. Thus, the PEG-DOX-Cur prodrug nanoparticle system provides a simple yet efficient approach of drug delivery for chemotherapy.

  7. Anti-transferrin receptor-modified amphotericin B-loaded PLA-PEG nanoparticles cure Candidal meningitis and reduce drug toxicity.

    PubMed

    Tang, Xiaolong; Liang, Yong; Zhu, Yongqiang; Xie, Chunmei; Yao, Aixia; Chen, Li; Jiang, Qinglin; Liu, Tingting; Wang, Xiaoyu; Qian, Yunyun; Wei, Jia; Ni, Wenxuan; Dai, Jingjing; Jiang, Zhenyou; Hou, Wei

    2015-01-01

    Fatal fungal infections in central nervous system (CNS) can occur through hematogenous spread or direct extension. At present, hydrophobic amphotericin B (AMB) is the most effective antifungal drug in clinical trials. However, AMB is hydrophobic and therefore penetrates poorly into the CNS, and therapeutic levels of AMB are hard to achieve. The transferrin receptor (TfR/CD71) located at the blood-brain barrier mediates transferrin transcytosis. In order to enhance the receptor-mediated delivery of AMB into CNS with therapeutic level, an anti-TfR antibody (OX26)-modified AMB-loaded PLA (poly[lactic acid])-PEG (polyethylene glycol)-based micellar drug delivery system was constructed. The prepared OX26-modified AMB-loaded nanoparticles (OX26-AMB-NPs) showed significant reduction of CNS fungal burden and an increase of mouse survival time. In conclusion, OX26-AMB-NPs represent a promising novel drug delivery system for intracerebral fungal infection.

  8. Silk Fibroin-Based Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery

    PubMed Central

    Zhao, Zheng; Li, Yi; Xie, Mao-Bin

    2015-01-01

    Silk fibroin (SF) is a protein-based biomacromolecule with excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability and low immunogenicity. The development of SF-based nanoparticles for drug delivery have received considerable attention due to high binding capacity for various drugs, controlled drug release properties and mild preparation conditions. By adjusting the particle size, the chemical structure and properties, the modified or recombinant SF-based nanoparticles can be designed to improve the therapeutic efficiency of drugs encapsulated into these nanoparticles. Therefore, they can be used to deliver small molecule drugs (e.g., anti-cancer drugs), protein and growth factor drugs, gene drugs, etc. This paper reviews recent progress on SF-based nanoparticles, including chemical structure, properties, and preparation methods. In addition, the applications of SF-based nanoparticles as carriers for therapeutic drugs are also reviewed. PMID:25749470

  9. Synthesis of PLGA-Lipid Hybrid Nanoparticles for siRNA Delivery Using the Emulsion Method PLGA-PEG-Lipid Nanoparticles for siRNA Delivery.

    PubMed

    Wang, Lei; Griffel, Benjamin; Xu, Xiaoyang

    2017-01-01

    The effective delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) to tumor cells remains a challenge for applications in cancer therapy. The development of polymeric nanoparticles with high siRNA loading efficacy has shown great potential for cancer targets. Double emulsion solvent evaporation technique is a useful tool for encapsulation of hydrophilic molecules (e.g., siRNA). Here we describe a versatile platform for siRNA delivery based on PLGA-PEG-cationic lipid nanoparticles by using the double emulsion method. The resulting nanoparticles show high encapsulation efficiency for siRNA (up to 90%) and demonstrate effective downregulation of the target genes in vitro and vivo.

  10. Enhanced Gene and siRNA Delivery by Polycation-Modified Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Loaded with Chloroquine

    PubMed Central

    Bhattarai, Shanta Raj; Muthuswamy, Elayaraja; Wani, Amit; Brichacek, Michal; Castañeda, Antonio L.; Brock, Stephanie L.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose To prepare mesoporous silica-based delivery systems capable of simultaneous delivery of drugs and nucleic acids. Methods The surface of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) was modified with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethylmethacrylate) (PDMAEMA) or poly (2-(diethylamino)ethylmethacrylate) (PDEAEMA). The particles were then loaded with a lysosomotropic agent chloroquine (CQ) and complexed with plasmid DNA or siRNA. The ability of the synthesized particles to deliver combinations of CQ and nucleic acids was evaluated using luciferase plasmid DNA and siRNA targeting luciferase and GAPDH. Results The results show a slow partial MSN dissolution to form hollow silica nanoparticles in aqueous solution. The biological studies show that polycation-modified MSN are able to simultaneously deliver CQ with DNA and siRNA. The co-delivery of CQ and the nucleic acids leads to a significantly increased transfection and silencing activity of the complexes compared with MSN not loaded with CQ. Conclusion PEGylated MSN modified with polycations are promising delivery vectors for combination drug/nucleic acid therapies. PMID:20730557

  11. Drug delivery strategies for chemoprevention of UVB-induced skin cancer: A review.

    PubMed

    Bagde, Arvind; Mondal, Arindam; Singh, Mandip

    2018-01-01

    Annually, more skin cancer cases are diagnosed than the collective incidence of the colon, lung, breast, and prostate cancer. Persistent contact with sunlight is a primary cause for all the skin malignancies. UVB radiation induces reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in the skin which eventually leads to DNA damage and mutation. Various delivery approaches for the skin cancer treatment/prevention have been evolving and are directed toward improvements in terms of delivery modes, therapeutic agents, and site-specificity of therapeutics delivery. The effective chemoprevention activity achieved is based on the efficiency of the delivery system used and the amount of the therapeutic molecule deposited in the skin. In this article, we have discussed different studies performed specifically for the chemoprevention of UVB-induced skin cancer. Ultra-flexible nanocarriers, transethosomes nanocarriers, silica nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles, nanocapsule suspensions, microemulsion, nanoemulsion, and polymeric nanoparticles which have been used so far to deliver the desired drug molecule for preventing the UVB-induced skin cancer. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Potential of insulin nanoparticle formulations for oral delivery and diabetes treatment.

    PubMed

    Wong, Chun Y; Al-Salami, Hani; Dass, Crispin R

    2017-10-28

    Nanoparticles have demonstrated significant advancements in potential oral delivery of insulin. In this publication, we review the current status of polymeric, inorganic and solid-lipid nanoparticles designed for oral administration of insulin. Firstly, the structure and physiological function of insulin are examined. Then, the efficiency and shortcomings of insulin nanoparticle are discussed. These include the susceptibility to digestive enzyme degradation, instability in the acidic pH environment, poor mucus diffusion and inadequate permeation through the gastrointestinal epithelium. In order to optimise the nanocarriers, the following considerations, including polymer nature, surface charge, size, polydispersity index and morphology of nanoparticles, have to be taken into account. Some novel designs such as chitosan-based glucose-responsive nanoparticles, layer by layer technique-based nanoparticles and zwitterion nanoparticles are being adopted to overcome the physiological challenges. The review ends with some future directions and challenges to be addressed for the success of oral delivery of insulin-loaded nanoparticle formulation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Lipid Nanoparticles Enabling Gene Therapies: From Concepts to Clinical Utility.

    PubMed

    Kulkarni, Jayesh A; Cullis, Pieter R; van der Meel, Roy

    2018-04-23

    Genetic drugs based on RNA or DNA have remarkable therapeutic potential as virtually any disease can be treated by silencing a pathological gene, expressing a beneficial protein, or by editing defective genes. However, therapies based on nucleic acid polymers require sophisticated delivery systems to deliver these macromolecules to the interior of target cells. In this study, we review progress in developing nonviral lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery systems that have attractive properties, including ease of manufacture, reduced immune responses, multidosing capabilities, larger payloads, and flexibility of design. LNP systems represent the most advanced delivery systems for genetic drugs as it is expected that an LNP-short interfering RNA (siRNA) formulation will receive clinical approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2018 for treatment of the hereditary condition transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis, a fatal condition for which there is currently no treatment. This achievement is largely due to the development of optimized ionizable cationic lipids, arguably the most important factor in the clinical success of LNP-siRNA. In addition, we highlight potential LNP applications, including targeting tissues beyond the liver and therapeutic approaches based on messenger RNA or Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/Cas.

  14. Towards Optimal Design of Cancer Nanomedicines: Multi-stage Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Solid Tumors.

    PubMed

    Stylianopoulos, Triantafyllos; Economides, Eva-Athena; Baish, James W; Fukumura, Dai; Jain, Rakesh K

    2015-09-01

    Conventional drug delivery systems for solid tumors are composed of a nano-carrier that releases its therapeutic load. These two-stage nanoparticles utilize the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect to enable preferential delivery to tumor tissue. However, the size-dependency of the EPR, the limited penetration of nanoparticles into the tumor as well as the rapid binding of the particles or the released cytotoxic agents to cancer cells and stromal components inhibit the uniform distribution of the drug and the efficacy of the treatment. Here, we employ mathematical modeling to study the effect of particle size, drug release rate and binding affinity on the distribution and efficacy of nanoparticles to derive optimal design rules. Furthermore, we introduce a new multi-stage delivery system. The system consists of a 20-nm primary nanoparticle, which releases 5-nm secondary particles, which in turn release the chemotherapeutic drug. We found that tuning the drug release kinetics and binding affinities leads to improved delivery of the drug. Our results also indicate that multi-stage nanoparticles are superior over two-stage nano-carriers provided they have a faster drug release rate and for high binding affinity drugs. Furthermore, our results suggest that smaller nanoparticles achieve better treatment outcome.

  15. Thiolated chitosan nanoparticles as a delivery system for antisense therapy: evaluation against EGFR in T47D breast cancer cells

    PubMed Central

    Talaei, Fatemeh; Azizi, Ebrahim; Dinarvand, Rassoul; Atyabi, Fatemeh

    2011-01-01

    Thiolated chitosan has high transfection and mucoadhesive properties. We investigated the potential of two recently synthesized polymers: NAC-C (N-acetyl cysteine-chitosan) and NAP-C (N-acetyl penicillamine-chitosan) in anticancer drug delivery targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Doxorubicin (DOX) and antisense oligonucleotide (ASOND)-loaded polymer nanoparticles were prepared in water by a gelation process. Particle characterization, drug loading, and drug release were evaluated. To verify drug delivery efficiency in vitro experiments on a breast cancer cell line (T47D) were performed. EGFR gene and protein expression was analyzed by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting, respectively. A loading percentage of 63% ± 5% for ASOND and 70% ± 5% for DOX was achieved. Drug release data after 15 hours showed that ASOND and DOX were completely released from chitosan-based particles while a lower and more sustained release of only 22% ± 8% was measured for thiolated particles. In a cytosol simulated release medium/reducing environment, such as found intracellularly, polymer-based nanoparticles dissociated, liberating approximately 50% of both active substances within 7 hours. ASOND-loaded polymer nanoparticles had higher stability and high mucoadhesive properties. The ASOND-loaded thiolated particles significantly suppressed EGFR gene expression in T47D cells compared with ASOND-loaded chitosan particles and downregulated EGFR protein expression in cells. This study could facilitate future investigations into the functionality of NAP-C and NAC-C polymers as an efficient ASOND delivery system in vitro and in vivo. PMID:21976973

  16. Thiolated chitosan nanoparticles as a delivery system for antisense therapy: evaluation against EGFR in T47D breast cancer cells.

    PubMed

    Talaei, Fatemeh; Azizi, Ebrahim; Dinarvand, Rassoul; Atyabi, Fatemeh

    2011-01-01

    Thiolated chitosan has high transfection and mucoadhesive properties. We investigated the potential of two recently synthesized polymers: NAC-C (N-acetyl cysteine-chitosan) and NAP-C (N-acetyl penicillamine-chitosan) in anticancer drug delivery targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Doxorubicin (DOX) and antisense oligonucleotide (ASOND)-loaded polymer nanoparticles were prepared in water by a gelation process. Particle characterization, drug loading, and drug release were evaluated. To verify drug delivery efficiency in vitro experiments on a breast cancer cell line (T47D) were performed. EGFR gene and protein expression was analyzed by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting, respectively. A loading percentage of 63% ± 5% for ASOND and 70% ± 5% for DOX was achieved. Drug release data after 15 hours showed that ASOND and DOX were completely released from chitosan-based particles while a lower and more sustained release of only 22% ± 8% was measured for thiolated particles. In a cytosol simulated release medium/reducing environment, such as found intracellularly, polymer-based nanoparticles dissociated, liberating approximately 50% of both active substances within 7 hours. ASOND-loaded polymer nanoparticles had higher stability and high mucoadhesive properties. The ASOND-loaded thiolated particles significantly suppressed EGFR gene expression in T47D cells compared with ASOND-loaded chitosan particles and downregulated EGFR protein expression in cells. This study could facilitate future investigations into the functionality of NAP-C and NAC-C polymers as an efficient ASOND delivery system in vitro and in vivo.

  17. Nanoparticle-releasing nanofiber composites for enhanced in vivo vaginal retention.

    PubMed

    Krogstad, Emily A; Ramanathan, Renuka; Nhan, Christina; Kraft, John C; Blakney, Anna K; Cao, Shijie; Ho, Rodney J Y; Woodrow, Kim A

    2017-11-01

    Current approaches for topical vaginal administration of nanoparticles result in poor retention and extensive leakage. To overcome these challenges, we developed a nanoparticle-releasing nanofiber delivery platform and evaluated its ability to improve nanoparticle retention in a murine model. We individually tailored two components of this drug delivery system for optimal interaction with mucus, designing (1) mucoadhesive fibers for better retention in the vaginal tract, and (2) PEGylated nanoparticles that diffuse quickly through mucus. We hypothesized that this novel dual-functioning (mucoadhesive/mucus-penetrating) composite material would provide enhanced retention of nanoparticles in the vaginal mucosa. Equivalent doses of fluorescent nanoparticles were vaginally administered to mice in either water (aqueous suspension) or fiber composites, and fluorescent content was quantified in cervicovaginal mucus and vaginal tissue at time points from 24 h to 7d. We also fabricated composite fibers containing etravirine-loaded nanoparticles and evaluated the pharmacokinetics over 7d. We found that our composite materials provided approximately 30-fold greater retention of nanoparticles in the reproductive tract at 24 h compared to aqueous suspensions. Compared to nanoparticles in aqueous suspension, the nanoparticles in fiber composites exhibited sustained and higher etravirine concentrations after 24 h and up to 7d, demonstrating the capabilities of this new delivery platform to sustain nanoparticle release out to 3d and drug retention out to one week after a single administration. This is the first report of nanoparticle-releasing fibers for vaginal drug delivery, as well as the first study of a single delivery system that combines two components uniquely engineered for complementary interactions with mucus. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. In vitro and in vivo mRNA delivery using lipid-enveloped pH-responsive polymer nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Su, Xingfang; Fricke, Jennifer; Kavanagh, Daniel; Irvine, Darrell J.

    2012-01-01

    Biodegradable core-shell structured nanoparticles with a poly(β-amino-ester) (PBAE) core enveloped by a phospholipid bilayer shell were developed for in vivo mRNA delivery, with a view toward delivery of mRNA-based vaccines. The pH-responsive PBAE component was chosen to promote endosome disruption, while the lipid surface layer was selected to minimize toxicity of the polycation core. Messenger RNA was efficiently adsorbed via electrostatic interactions onto the surface of these net positively-charged nanoparticles. In vitro, mRNA-loaded particle uptake by dendritic cells (DCs) led to mRNA delivery into the cytosol with low cytotoxicity, followed by translation of the encoded protein in these difficult-to-transfect cells at a frequency of ~30%. Particles loaded with mRNA administered intranasally in mice led to the expression of the reporter protein luciferase in vivo as soon as 6 h after administration, a timepoint when naked mRNA given i.n. showed no expression. At later timepoints, luciferase expression was detected in naked mRNA-treated mice, but this group showed a wide variation in levels of transfection, compared to particle-treated mice. This system may thus be promising for non-invasive delivery of mRNA-based vaccines. PMID:21417235

  19. The effect of nanoparticle size on the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier: an in vivo study.

    PubMed

    Betzer, Oshra; Shilo, Malka; Opochinsky, Renana; Barnoy, Eran; Motiei, Menachem; Okun, Eitan; Yadid, Gal; Popovtzer, Rachela

    2017-07-01

    Our goal was to develop an efficient nanoparticle-based system that can overcome the restrictive mechanism of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) by targeting insulin receptors and would thus enable drug delivery to the brain. Insulin-coated gold nanoparticles (INS-GNPs) were synthesized to serve as a BBB transport system. The effect of nanoparticle size (20, 50 and 70 nm) on their ability to cross the BBB was quantitatively investigated in Balb/C mice. The most widespread biodistribution and highest accumulation within the brain were observed using 20 nm INS-GNPs, 2 h post injection. In vivo CT imaging revealed that particles migrated to specific brain regions, which are involved in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. These findings promote the optimization of nanovehicles for transport of drugs through the BBB. The insulin coating of the particles enabled targeting of specific brain regions, suggesting the potential use of INS-GNPs for delivery of various treatments for brain-related disorders.

  20. Enhancing regenerative approaches with nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Habibovic, Pamela

    2017-01-01

    In this review, we discuss recent developments in the field of nanoparticles and their use in tissue regeneration approaches. Owing to their unique chemical properties and flexibility in design, nanoparticles can be used as drug delivery systems, to create novel features within materials or as bioimaging agents, or indeed these properties can be combined to create smart multifunctional structures. This review aims to provide an overview of this research field where the focus will be on nanoparticle-based strategies to stimulate bone regeneration; however, the same principles can be applied for other tissue and organ regeneration strategies. In the first section, nanoparticle-based methods for the delivery of drugs, growth factors and genetic material to promote tissue regeneration are discussed. The second section deals with the addition of nanoparticles to materials to create nanocomposites. Such materials can improve several material properties, including mechanical stability, biocompatibility and biological activity. The third section will deal with the emergence of a relatively new field of research using nanoparticles in advanced cell imaging and stem cell tracking approaches. As the development of nanoparticles continues, incorporation of this technology in the field of regenerative medicine will ultimately lead to new tools that can diagnose, track and stimulate the growth of new tissues and organs. PMID:28404870

  1. Enhancing regenerative approaches with nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    van Rijt, Sabine; Habibovic, Pamela

    2017-04-01

    In this review, we discuss recent developments in the field of nanoparticles and their use in tissue regeneration approaches. Owing to their unique chemical properties and flexibility in design, nanoparticles can be used as drug delivery systems, to create novel features within materials or as bioimaging agents, or indeed these properties can be combined to create smart multifunctional structures. This review aims to provide an overview of this research field where the focus will be on nanoparticle-based strategies to stimulate bone regeneration; however, the same principles can be applied for other tissue and organ regeneration strategies. In the first section, nanoparticle-based methods for the delivery of drugs, growth factors and genetic material to promote tissue regeneration are discussed. The second section deals with the addition of nanoparticles to materials to create nanocomposites. Such materials can improve several material properties, including mechanical stability, biocompatibility and biological activity. The third section will deal with the emergence of a relatively new field of research using nanoparticles in advanced cell imaging and stem cell tracking approaches. As the development of nanoparticles continues, incorporation of this technology in the field of regenerative medicine will ultimately lead to new tools that can diagnose, track and stimulate the growth of new tissues and organs. © 2017 The Author(s).

  2. Depot formulation of vasoactive intestinal peptide by protamine-based biodegradable nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Wernig, Karin; Griesbacher, Martin; Andreae, Fritz; Hajos, Franz; Wagner, Julian; Mosgoeller, Wilhelm; Zimmer, Andreas

    2008-09-10

    Drug delivery of protein and peptide-based drugs, which represent a growing and important therapeutic class, is hampered by these drugs' very short half-lives. High susceptibility towards enzymatic degradation necessitates frequent drug administration followed by poor adherence to therapy. Among these drugs is vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a potent systemic and pulmonary vasodilator, which is a promising drug for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH). Encapsulation of VIP into the nanoparticle matrix of biodegradable protamine-oligonucleotide nanoparticles (proticles) protects the peptide against rapid enzymatic degradation. Additionally, the nanoparticle matrix will be able to sustain drug release. Proticles consist of 18mer non-sense oligonucleotides and protamine, a polycationic arginine-rich peptide. VIP encapsulation occurs during self-assembly of the components. Within the present study, we evaluate nanoparticle size (hydrodynamic diameter) and zeta potential of VIP-loaded proticles as well as encapsulation efficiency and VIP release. Further, the pharmacological VIP response of "encapsulated VIP" is investigated using an ex vivo lung arterial model system. We found satisfying encapsulation efficiency (up to 80%), VIP release (77-87%), and an appropriate nanoparticle size (177-251 nm). Investigations on rat pulmonary arteries showed a modified VIP response of proticle-associated VIP. We noted differences in the profile of artery relaxation where VIP proticles lead to a 20-30% lower relaxation maximum than aqueous VIP solutions followed by prolonged vasodilatation. Our data indicate that proticles could be a feasible drug delivery system for a pulmonary VIP depot formulation.

  3. Biocompatible and colloidally stabilized mPEG-PE/calcium phosphate hybrid nanoparticles loaded with siRNAs targeting tumors

    PubMed Central

    Gao, Pei; Zhang, Xiangyu; Wang, Hongzhi; Zhang, Qinghong

    2016-01-01

    Calcium phosphate nanoparticles are safe and effective delivery vehicles for small interfering RNA (siRNA), as a result of their excellent biocompatibility. In this work, mPEG-PE (polyethylene glycol-L-α-phosphatidylethanolamine) was synthesized and used to prepare nanoparticles composed of mPEG-PE and calcium phosphate for siRNA delivery. Calcium phosphate and mPEG-PE formed the stable hybrid nanoparticles through self-assembly resulting from electrostatic interaction in water. The average size of the hybrid nanoparticles was approximately 53.2 nm with a negative charge of approximately −16.7 mV, which was confirmed by dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements. The nanoparticles exhibited excellent stability in serum and could protect siRNA from ribonuclease (RNase) degradation. The cellular internalization of siRNA-loaded nanoparticles was evaluated in SMMC-7721 cells using a laser scanning confocal microscope (CLSM) and flow cytometry. The hybrid nanoparticles could efficiently deliver siRNA to cells compared with free siRNA. Moreover, the in vivo distribution of Cy5-siRNA-loaded hybrid nanoparticles was observed after being injected into tumor-bearing nude mice. The nanoparticles concentrated in the tumor regions through an enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect based on the fluorescence intensities of tissue distribution. A safety evaluation of the nanoparticles was performed both in vitro and in vivo demonstrating that the hybrid nanoparticle delivery system had almost no toxicity. These results indicated that the mPEG-PE/CaP hybrid nanoparticles could be a stable, safe and promising siRNA nanocarrier for anticancer therapy. PMID:26625203

  4. Biocompatible and colloidally stabilized mPEG-PE/calcium phosphate hybrid nanoparticles loaded with siRNAs targeting tumors.

    PubMed

    Gao, Pei; Zhang, Xiangyu; Wang, Hongzhi; Zhang, Qinghong; Li, He; Li, Yaogang; Duan, Yourong

    2016-01-19

    Calcium phosphate nanoparticles are safe and effective delivery vehicles for small interfering RNA (siRNA), as a result of their excellent biocompatibility. In this work, mPEG-PE (polyethylene glycol-L-α-phosphatidylethanolamine) was synthesized and used to prepare nanoparticles composed of mPEG-PE and calcium phosphate for siRNA delivery. Calcium phosphate and mPEG-PE formed the stable hybrid nanoparticles through self-assembly resulting from electrostatic interaction in water. The average size of the hybrid nanoparticles was approximately 53.2 nm with a negative charge of approximately -16.7 mV, which was confirmed by dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements. The nanoparticles exhibited excellent stability in serum and could protect siRNA from ribonuclease (RNase) degradation. The cellular internalization of siRNA-loaded nanoparticles was evaluated in SMMC-7721 cells using a laser scanning confocal microscope (CLSM) and flow cytometry. The hybrid nanoparticles could efficiently deliver siRNA to cells compared with free siRNA. Moreover, the in vivo distribution of Cy5-siRNA-loaded hybrid nanoparticles was observed after being injected into tumor-bearing nude mice. The nanoparticles concentrated in the tumor regions through an enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect based on the fluorescence intensities of tissue distribution. A safety evaluation of the nanoparticles was performed both in vitro and in vivo demonstrating that the hybrid nanoparticle delivery system had almost no toxicity. These results indicated that the mPEG-PE/CaP hybrid nanoparticles could be a stable, safe and promising siRNA nanocarrier for anticancer therapy.

  5. Development of polymeric-cationic peptide composite nanoparticles, a nanoparticle-in-nanoparticle system for controlled gene delivery.

    PubMed

    Jain, Arvind K; Massey, Ashley; Yusuf, Helmy; McDonald, Denise M; McCarthy, Helen O; Kett, Vicky L

    2015-01-01

    We report the formulation of novel composite nanoparticles that combine the high transfection efficiency of cationic peptide-DNA nanoparticles with the biocompatibility and prolonged delivery of polylactic acid-polyethylene glycol (PLA-PEG). The cationic cell-penetrating peptide RALA was used to condense DNA into nanoparticles that were encapsulated within a range of PLA-PEG copolymers. The composite nanoparticles produced exhibited excellent physicochemical properties including size <200 nm and encapsulation efficiency >80%. Images of the composite nanoparticles obtained with a new transmission electron microscopy staining method revealed the peptide-DNA nanoparticles within the PLA-PEG matrix. Varying the copolymers modulated the DNA release rate >6 weeks in vitro. The best formulation was selected and was able to transfect cells while maintaining viability. The effect of transferrin-appended composite nanoparticles was also studied. Thus, we have demonstrated the manufacture of composite nanoparticles for the controlled delivery of DNA.

  6. Development of polymeric–cationic peptide composite nanoparticles, a nanoparticle-in-nanoparticle system for controlled gene delivery

    PubMed Central

    Jain, Arvind K; Massey, Ashley; Yusuf, Helmy; McDonald, Denise M; McCarthy, Helen O; Kett, Vicky L

    2015-01-01

    We report the formulation of novel composite nanoparticles that combine the high transfection efficiency of cationic peptide-DNA nanoparticles with the biocompatibility and prolonged delivery of polylactic acid–polyethylene glycol (PLA-PEG). The cationic cell-penetrating peptide RALA was used to condense DNA into nanoparticles that were encapsulated within a range of PLA-PEG copolymers. The composite nanoparticles produced exhibited excellent physicochemical properties including size <200 nm and encapsulation efficiency >80%. Images of the composite nanoparticles obtained with a new transmission electron microscopy staining method revealed the peptide-DNA nanoparticles within the PLA-PEG matrix. Varying the copolymers modulated the DNA release rate >6 weeks in vitro. The best formulation was selected and was able to transfect cells while maintaining viability. The effect of transferrin-appended composite nanoparticles was also studied. Thus, we have demonstrated the manufacture of composite nanoparticles for the controlled delivery of DNA. PMID:26648722

  7. An amphiphilic graft copolymer-based nanoparticle platform for reduction-responsive anticancer and antimalarial drug delivery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Najer, Adrian; Wu, Dalin; Nussbaumer, Martin G.; Schwertz, Geoffrey; Schwab, Anatol; Witschel, Matthias C.; Schäfer, Anja; Diederich, François; Rottmann, Matthias; Palivan, Cornelia G.; Beck, Hans-Peter; Meier, Wolfgang

    2016-08-01

    Medical applications of anticancer and antimalarial drugs often suffer from low aqueous solubility, high systemic toxicity, and metabolic instability. Smart nanocarrier-based drug delivery systems provide means of solving these problems at once. Herein, we present such a smart nanoparticle platform based on self-assembled, reduction-responsive amphiphilic graft copolymers, which were successfully synthesized through thiol-disulfide exchange reaction between thiolated hydrophilic block and pyridyl disulfide functionalized hydrophobic block. These amphiphilic graft copolymers self-assembled into nanoparticles with mean diameters of about 30-50 nm and readily incorporated hydrophobic guest molecules. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) was used to study nanoparticle stability and triggered release of a model compound in detail. Long-term colloidal stability and model compound retention within the nanoparticles was found when analyzed in cell media at body temperature. In contrast, rapid, complete reduction-triggered disassembly and model compound release was achieved within a physiological reducing environment. The synthesized copolymers revealed no intrinsic cellular toxicity up to 1 mg mL-1. Drug-loaded reduction-sensitive nanoparticles delivered a hydrophobic model anticancer drug (doxorubicin, DOX) to cancer cells (HeLa cells) and an experimental, metabolically unstable antimalarial drug (the serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) inhibitor (+/-)-1) to Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells (iRBCs), with higher efficacy compared to similar, non-sensitive drug-loaded nanoparticles. These responsive copolymer-based nanoparticles represent a promising candidate as smart nanocarrier platform for various drugs to be applied to different diseases, due to the biocompatibility and biodegradability of the hydrophobic block, and the protein-repellent hydrophilic block.Medical applications of anticancer and antimalarial drugs often suffer from low aqueous solubility, high systemic toxicity, and metabolic instability. Smart nanocarrier-based drug delivery systems provide means of solving these problems at once. Herein, we present such a smart nanoparticle platform based on self-assembled, reduction-responsive amphiphilic graft copolymers, which were successfully synthesized through thiol-disulfide exchange reaction between thiolated hydrophilic block and pyridyl disulfide functionalized hydrophobic block. These amphiphilic graft copolymers self-assembled into nanoparticles with mean diameters of about 30-50 nm and readily incorporated hydrophobic guest molecules. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) was used to study nanoparticle stability and triggered release of a model compound in detail. Long-term colloidal stability and model compound retention within the nanoparticles was found when analyzed in cell media at body temperature. In contrast, rapid, complete reduction-triggered disassembly and model compound release was achieved within a physiological reducing environment. The synthesized copolymers revealed no intrinsic cellular toxicity up to 1 mg mL-1. Drug-loaded reduction-sensitive nanoparticles delivered a hydrophobic model anticancer drug (doxorubicin, DOX) to cancer cells (HeLa cells) and an experimental, metabolically unstable antimalarial drug (the serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) inhibitor (+/-)-1) to Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells (iRBCs), with higher efficacy compared to similar, non-sensitive drug-loaded nanoparticles. These responsive copolymer-based nanoparticles represent a promising candidate as smart nanocarrier platform for various drugs to be applied to different diseases, due to the biocompatibility and biodegradability of the hydrophobic block, and the protein-repellent hydrophilic block. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Detailed experimental procedures, additional schemes and supplementary data including NMR, FTIR, TEM, DLS, UV-Vis, FCS, and fluorescence microscopy images. See DOI: 10.1039/c6nr04290b

  8. Induction of mucosal immune responses and protection of cattle against direct-contact challenge by intranasal delivery with foot-and-mouth disease virus antigen mediated by nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Pan, Li; Zhang, Zhongwang; Lv, Jianliang; Zhou, Peng; Hu, Wenfa; Fang, Yuzhen; Chen, Haotai; Liu, Xinsheng; Shao, Junjun; Zhao, Furong; Ding, Yaozhong; Lin, Tong; Chang, Huiyun; Zhang, Jie; Zhang, Yongguang; Wang, Yonglu

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study was to enhance specific mucosal, systemic, and cell-mediated immunity and to induce earlier onset of protection against direct-contact challenge in cattle by intranasal delivery of a nanoparticle-based nasal vaccine against type A foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). In this study, two kinds of nanoparticle-based nasal vaccines against type A FMD were designed: (1) chitosan-coated poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) loaded with plasmid DNA (Chi-PLGA-DNA) and (2) chitosan-trehalose and inactivated foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) (Chi-Tre-Inactivated). Cattle were immunized by an intranasal route with nanoparticles and then challenged for 48 hours by direct contact with two infected donor cattle per pen. Donors were inoculated intradermally in the tongue 48 hours before challenge, with 0.2 mL cattle-passaged FMDV. Serological and mucosal antibody responses were evaluated, and virus excretion and the number of contact infections were quantified. FMDV-specific secretory immunoglobulin (Ig)A (sIgA) antibodies in nasal washes were initially detected at 4 days postvaccination (dpv) with two kinds of nanoparticles. The highest levels of sIgA expression were observed in nasal washes, at 10 dpv, from animals with Chi-PLGA-DNA nanoparticles, followed by animals immunized once by intranasal route with a double dose of Chi-Tre-Inactivated nanoparticles and animals immunized by intranasal route three times with Chi-Tre-Inactivated nanoparticles (P<0.05). FMDV-specific IgA antibodies in serum showed a similar pattern. All animals immunized by intranasal route developed low levels of detectable IgG in serum at 10 dpv. Following stimulation with FMDV, the highest levels of proliferation were observed in splenocytes harvested from Chi-PLGA-DNA-immunized animals, followed by proliferation of cells harvested from Chi-Tre-Inactivated nanoparticle-immunized animals (P<0.05). Higher protection rates were associated with the highest sIgA antibody responses induced in the Chi-PLGA-DNA nanoparticle-immunized group. Only one animal was clinically affected with mild signs after 7 days of contact challenge, after a delay of 2–3 days compared with the clinically affected negative-control group. Of the five animals directly challenged that were vaccinated by intranasal route with a double dose of Chi-Tre-Inactivated, four were clinically infected; however, the degree of severity of disease in this group was lower than in control cattle. The number of viral RNA copies in nasal swabs from the vaccinated, severely infected group was significantly higher than in swabs from the vaccinated, clinically protected group. These data suggested that intranasal delivery of Chi-PLGA-DNA nanoparticles resulted in higher levels of mucosal, systemic, and cell-mediated immunity than did of Chi-Tre-Inactivated nanoparticles. In conclusion, although intranasal delivery with FMDV antigen mediated by nanoparticles did not provide complete clinical protection, it reduced disease severity and virus excretion and delayed clinical symptoms. Chi-PLGA-DNA nanoparticle vaccines have potential as a nasal delivery system for vaccines. PMID:25506214

  9. Nanoparticles for Imaging: Top or Flop?

    PubMed Central

    Mertens, Marianne E.; Grimm, Jan; Lammers, Twan

    2014-01-01

    Nanoparticles are frequently suggested as diagnostic agents. However, except for iron oxide nanoparticles, diagnostic nanoparticles have been barely incorporated into clinical use so far. This is predominantly due to difficulties in achieving acceptable pharmacokinetic properties and reproducible particle uniformity as well as to concerns about toxicity, biodegradation, and elimination. Reasonable indications for the clinical utilization of nanoparticles should consider their biologic behavior. For example, many nanoparticles are taken up by macrophages and accumulate in macrophage-rich tissues. Thus, they can be used to provide contrast in liver, spleen, lymph nodes, and inflammatory lesions (eg, atherosclerotic plaques). Furthermore, cells can be efficiently labeled with nanoparticles, enabling the localization of implanted (stem) cells and tissue-engineered grafts as well as in vivo migration studies of cells. The potential of using nanoparticles for molecular imaging is compromised because their pharmacokinetic properties are difficult to control. Ideal targets for nanoparticles are localized on the endothelial luminal surface, whereas targeted nanoparticle delivery to extravascular structures is often limited and difficult to separate from an underlying enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. The majority of clinically used nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems are based on the EPR effect, and, for their more personalized use, imaging markers can be incorporated to monitor biodistribution, target site accumulation, drug release, and treatment efficacy. In conclusion, although nanoparticles are not always the right choice for molecular imaging (because smaller or larger molecules might provide more specific information), there are other diagnostic and theranostic applications for which nanoparticles hold substantial clinical potential. PMID:25247562

  10. Nanoparticles in wound healing; from hope to promise, from promise to routine.

    PubMed

    Naderi, Naghmeh; Karponis, Dimitrios; Mosahebi, Afshin; Seifalian, Alexander M

    2018-01-01

    Chronic non-healing wounds represent a growing problem due to their high morbidity and cost. Despite recent advances in wound healing, several systemic and local factors can disrupt the weighed physiologic healing process. This paper critically reviews and discusses the role of nanotechnology in promoting the wound healing process. Nanotechnology-based materials have physicochemical, optical and biological properties unique from their bulk equivalent. These nanoparticles can be incorporated into scaffolds to create nanocomposite smart materials, which promote wound healing through their antimicrobial, as well as selective anti- and pro-inflammatory, and pro-angiogenic properties. Owed to their high surface area, nanoparticles have also been used for drug delivery as well as gene delivery vectors. In addition, nanoparticles affect wound healing by influencing collagen deposition and realignment and provide approaches for skin regeneration and wound healing.

  11. A small molecule nanodrug consisting of amphiphilic targeting ligand-chemotherapy drug conjugate for targeted cancer therapy.

    PubMed

    Mou, Quanbing; Ma, Yuan; Zhu, Xinyuan; Yan, Deyue

    2016-05-28

    Targeted drug delivery is a broadly applicable approach for cancer therapy. However, the nanocarrier-based targeted delivery system suffers from batch-to-batch variation, quality concerns and carrier-related toxicity issues. Thus, to develop a carrier-free targeted delivery system with nanoscale characteristics is very attractive. Here, a novel targeting small molecule nanodrug self-delivery system consisting of targeting ligand and chemotherapy drug was constructed, which combined the advantages of small molecules and nano-assemblies together and showed excellent targeting ability and long blood circulation time with well-defined structure, high drug loading ratio and on-demand drug release behavior. As a proof-of-concept, lactose (Lac) and doxorubicin (DOX) were chosen as the targeting ligand and chemotherapy drug, respectively. Lac and DOX were conjugated through a pH-responsive hydrazone group. For its intrinsic amphiphilic property, Lac-DOX conjugate could self-assemble into nanoparticles in water. Both in vitro and in vivo assays indicated that Lac-DOX nanoparticles exhibited enhanced anticancer activity and weak side effects. This novel active targeting nanodrug delivery system shows great potential in cancer therapy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Placenta-specific drug delivery by trophoblast-targeted nanoparticles in mice

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Baozhen; Tan, Lunbo; Yu, Yan; Wang, Baobei; Chen, Zhilong; Han, Jinyu; Li, Mengxia; Chen, Jie; Xiao, Tianxia; Ambati, Balamurali K; Cai, Lintao; Yang, Qing; Nayak, Nihar R; Zhang, Jian; Fan, Xiujun

    2018-01-01

    Rationale: The availability of therapeutics to treat pregnancy complications is severely lacking, mainly due to the risk of harm to the fetus. In placental malaria, Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes (IEs) accumulate in the placenta by adhering to chondroitin sulfate A (CSA) on the surfaces of trophoblasts. Based on this principle, we have developed a method for targeted delivery of payloads to the placenta using a synthetic placental CSA-binding peptide (plCSA-BP) derived from VAR2CSA, a CSA-binding protein expressed on IEs. Methods: A biotinylated plCSA-BP was used to examine the specificity of plCSA-BP binding to mouse and human placental tissue in tissue sections in vitro. Different nanoparticles, including plCSA-BP-conjugated nanoparticles loaded with indocyanine green (plCSA-INPs) or methotrexate (plCSA-MNPs), were administered intravenously to pregnant mice to test their efficiency at drug delivery to the placenta in vivo. The tissue distribution and localization of the plCSA-INPs were monitored in live animals using an IVIS imaging system. The effect of plCSA-MNPs on fetal and placental development and pregnancy outcome were examined using a small-animal high-frequency ultrasound (HFUS) imaging system, and the concentrations of methotrexate in fetal and placental tissues were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results: plCSA-BP binds specifically to trophoblasts and not to other cell types in the placenta or to CSA-expressing cells in other tissues. Moreover, we found that intravenously administered plCSA-INPs accumulate in the mouse placenta, and ex vivo analysis of the fetuses and placentas confirmed placenta-specific delivery of these nanoparticles. We also demonstrate successful delivery of methotrexate specifically to placental cells by plCSA-BP-conjugated nanoparticles, resulting in dramatic impairment of placental and fetal development. Importantly, plCSA-MNPs treatment had no apparent adverse effects on maternal tissues. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that plCSA-BP-guided nanoparticles could be used for the targeted delivery of payloads to the placenta and serve as a novel placenta-specific drug delivery option. PMID:29774074

  13. Fe₃O₄ Nanoparticles in Targeted Drug/Gene Delivery Systems.

    PubMed

    Shen, Lazhen; Li, Bei; Qiao, Yongsheng

    2018-02-23

    Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (NPs), the most traditional magnetic nanoparticles, have received a great deal of attention in the biomedical field, especially for targeted drug/gene delivery systems, due to their outstanding magnetism, biocompatibility, lower toxicity, biodegradability, and other features. Naked Fe₃O₄ NPs are easy to aggregate and oxidize, and thus are often made with various coatings to realize superior properties for targeted drug/gene delivery. In this review, we first list the three commonly utilized synthesis methods of Fe₃O₄ NPs, and their advantages and disadvantages. In the second part, we describe coating materials that exhibit noticeable features that allow functionalization of Fe₃O₄ NPs and summarize their methods of drug targeting/gene delivery. Then our efforts will be devoted to the research status and progress of several different functionalized Fe₃O₄ NP delivery systems loaded with chemotherapeutic agents, and we present targeted gene transitive carriers in detail. In the following section, we illuminate the most effective treatment systems of the combined drug and gene therapy. Finally, we propose opportunities and challenges of the clinical transformation of Fe₃O₄ NPs targeting drug/gene delivery systems.

  14. Systemic delivery of siRNA with cationic lipid assisted PEG-PLA nanoparticles for cancer therapy.

    PubMed

    Yang, Xian-Zhu; Dou, Shuang; Sun, Tian-Meng; Mao, Cheng-Qiong; Wang, Hong-Xia; Wang, Jun

    2011-12-10

    Delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) has been one of the major hurdles for the application of RNA interference in therapeutics. Here, we describe a cationic lipid assisted polymeric nanoparticle system with stealthy property for efficient siRNA encapsulation and delivery, which was fabricated with poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(d,l-lactide), siRNA and a cationic lipid, using a double emulsion-solvent evaporation technique. By incorporation of the cationic lipid, the encapsulation efficiency of siRNA into the nanoparticles could be above 90% and the siRNA loading weight ratio was up to 4.47%, while the diameter of the nanoparticles was around 170 to 200nm. The siRNA retained its integrity within the nanoparticles, which were effectively internalized by cancer cells and escaped from the endosome, resulting in significant gene knockdown. This effect was demonstrated by significant down-regulation of luciferase expression in HepG2-luciferase cells which stably express luciferase, and suppression of polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) expression in HepG2 cells, following delivery of specific siRNAs by the nanoparticles. Furthermore, the nanoparticles carrying siRNA targeting the Plk1 gene were found to induce remarkable apoptosis in both HepG2 and MDA-MB-435s cancer cells. Systemic delivery of specific siRNA by nanoparticles significantly inhibited luciferase expression in an orthotopic murine liver cancer model and suppressed tumor growth in a MDA-MB-435s murine xenograft model, suggesting its therapeutic promise in disease treatment. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Membrane-targeting liquid crystal nanoparticles (LCNPs) for drug delivery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nag, Okhil K.; Naciri, Jawad; Spillmann, Christopher M.; Delehanty, James B.

    2016-03-01

    In addition to maintaining the structural integrity of the cell, the plasma membrane regulates multiple important cellular processes, such as endocytosis and trafficking, apoptotic pathways and drug transport. The modulation or tracking of such cellular processes by means of controlled delivery of drugs or imaging agents via nanoscale delivery systems is very attractive. Nanoparticle-mediated delivery systems that mediate long-term residence (e.g., days) and controlled release of the cargoes in the plasma membrane while simultaneously not interfering with regular cellular physiology would be ideal for this purpose. Our laboratory has developed a plasma membrane-targeted liquid crystal nanoparticle (LCNP) formulation that can be loaded with dyes or drugs which can be slowly released from the particle over time. Here we highlight the utility of these nanopreparations for membrane delivery and imaging.

  16. Advancements in ocular drug delivery.

    PubMed

    Weiner, Alan L; Gilger, Brian C

    2010-11-01

    This review covers both noninvasive and invasive ophthalmic drug delivery systems that can have application to therapy of veterinary ophthalmic diseases. Noninvasive approaches include gel technologies, permeation enhancement via pro-drug development, solubilization agents and nanoparticle technologies, iontophoresis, microneedles, drug-eluting contact lenses and eye misters, and microdroplets. More invasive systems include both eroding implants and noneroding technologies that encompass diffusion based systems, active pumps, intraocular lenses, suprachoroidal drug delivery, and episcleral reservoirs. In addition to addressing the physiologic challenges of achieving the necessary duration of delivery, tissue targeting and patient compliance, the commercial development factors of biocompatibility, sterilization, manufacturability and long-term stability will be discussed. © 2010 American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists.

  17. Paclitaxel-loaded redox-sensitive nanoparticles based on hyaluronic acid-vitamin E succinate conjugates for improved lung cancer treatment.

    PubMed

    Song, Yu; Cai, Han; Yin, Tingjie; Huo, Meirong; Ma, Ping; Zhou, Jianping; Lai, Wenfang

    2018-01-01

    Lung cancer is the primary cause of cancer-related death worldwide. A redox-sensitive nanocarrier system was developed for tumor-targeted drug delivery and sufficient drug release of the chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel (PTX) for improved lung cancer treatment. The redox-sensitive nanocarrier system constructed from a hyaluronic acid-disulfide-vitamin E succinate (HA-SS-VES, HSV) conjugate was synthesized and PTX was loaded in the delivery system. The physicochemical properties of the HSV nanoparticles were characterized. The redox-sensitivity, tumor-targeting and intracellular drug release capability of the HSV nanoparticles were evaluated. Furthermore, in vitro and in vivo antitumor activity of the PTX-loaded HSV nanoparticles was investigated in a CD44 over-expressed A549 tumor model. This HSV conjugate was successfully synthesized and self-assembled to form nanoparticles in aqueous condition with a low critical micelle concentration of 36.3 μg mL -1 . Free PTX was successfully entrapped into the HSV nanoparticles with a high drug loading of 33.5% (w/w) and an entrapment efficiency of 90.6%. Moreover, the redox-sensitivity of the HSV nanoparticles was confirmed by particle size change of the nanoparticles along with in vitro release profiles in different reducing environment. In addition, the HA-receptor mediated endocytosis and the potency of redox-sensitivity for intracellular drug delivery were further verified by flow cytometry and confocal laser scanning microscopic analysis. The antitumor activity results showed that compared to redox-insensitive nanoparticles and Taxol ® , PTX-loaded redox-sensitive nanoparticles exhibited much greater in vitro cytotoxicity and apoptosis-inducing ability against CD44 over-expressed A549 tumor cells. In vivo, the PTX-loaded HSV nanoparticles possessed much higher antitumor efficacy in an A549 mouse xenograft model and demonstrated improved safety profile. In summary, our PTX-loaded redox-sensitive HSV nanoparticles demonstrated enhanced antitumor efficacy and improved safety of PTX. The results of our study indicated the redox-sensitive HSV nanoparticle was a promising nanocarrier for lung cancer therapy.

  18. Novel starch based nano scale enteric coatings from soybean meal for colon-specific delivery

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Soybean meal was used to isolate resistant starch and produce nanoparticles, which could be potential coating materials for colonic nutrient and drug deliveries. The nanoparticles were in 40 +/- 33.2 nm ranges. These nanoparticles were stable under simulated human physiological conditions. The deg...

  19. Food Protein Based Core-Shell Nanocarriers for Oral Drug Delivery: Effect of Shell Composition on in Vitro and in Vivo Functional Performance of Zein Nanocarriers.

    PubMed

    Alqahtani, Mohammed S; Islam, M Saiful; Podaralla, Satheesh; Kaushik, Radhey S; Reineke, Joshua; Woyengo, Tofuko; Perumal, Omathanu

    2017-03-06

    The study was aimed at systematically investigating the influence of shell composition on the particle size, stability, release, cell uptake, permeability, and in vivo gastrointestinal distribution of food protein based nanocarriers for oral delivery applications. Three different core-shell nanocarriers were prepared using food-grade biopolymers including zein-casein (ZC) nanoparticles, zein-lactoferrin (ZLF), nanoparticles and zein-PEG (ZPEG) micelles. Nile red was used as a model hydrophobic dye for in vitro studies. The nanocarriers had negative, positive, and neutral charge, respectively. All three nanocarriers had a particle size of less than 200 nm and a low polydispersity index. The nanoparticles were stable at gastrointestinal pH (2-9) and ionic strength (10-200 mM). The nanocarriers sustained the release of Nile red in simulated gastric and intestinal fluids. ZC nanoparticles showed the slowest release followed by ZLF nanoparticles and ZPEG micelles. The nanocarriers were taken up by endocytosis in Caco-2 cells. ZPEG micelles showed the highest cell uptake and transepithelial permeability followed by ZLF and ZC nanoparticles. ZPEG micelles also showed P-gp inhibitory activity. All three nanocarriers showed bioadhesive properties. Cy 5.5, a near IR dye, was used to study the in vivo biodistribution of the nanocarriers. The nanocarriers showed longer retention in the rat gastrointestinal tract compared to the free dye. Among the three formulations, ZC nanoparticles was retained the longest in the rat gastrointestinal tract (≥24 h). Overall, the outcomes from this study demonstrate the structure-function relationship of core-shell protein nanocarriers. The findings from this study can be used to develop food protein based oral drug delivery systems with specific functional attributes.

  20. Polysaccharide-based Noncovalent Assembly for Targeted Delivery of Taxol

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Yang; Zhang, Ying-Ming; Chen, Yong; Chen, Jia-Tong; Liu, Yu

    2016-01-01

    The construction of synthetic straightforward, biocompatible and biodegradable targeted drug delivery system with fluorescent tracking abilities, high anticancer activities and low side effects is still a challenge in the field of biochemistry and material chemistry. In this work, we constructed targeted paclitaxel (Taxol) delivery nanoparticles composed of permethyl-β-cyclodextrin modified hyaluronic acid (HApCD) and porphyrin modified paclitaxel prodrug (PorTaxol), through host-guest and amphiphilic interactions. The obtained nanoparticles (HATXP) were biocompatible and enzymatic biodegradable due to their hydrophilic hyaluronic acid (HA) shell and hydrophobic Taxol core, and exhibited specific targeting internalization into cancer cells via HA receptor mediated endocytosis effects. The cytotoxicity experiments showed that the HATXP exhibited similar anticancer activities to, but much lower side effects than commercial anticancer drug Taxol. The present work would provide a platform for targeted paclitaxel drug delivery and a general protocol for the design of advanced multifunctional nanoscale biomaterials for targeted drug/gene delivery.

  1. Nanoparticles in Porous Microparticles Prepared by Supercritical Infusion and Pressure Quench Technology for Sustained Delivery of Bevacizumab

    PubMed Central

    K.Yandrapu, Sarath; Upadhyay, Arun K.; Petrash, J. Mark; Kompella, Uday B.

    2014-01-01

    Nanoparticles in porous microparticles (NPinPMP), a novel delivery system for sustained delivery of protein drugs, was developed using supercritical infusion and pressure quench technology, which does not expose proteins to organic solvents or sonication. The delivery system design is based on the ability of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC CO2) to expand poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) matrix but not polylactic acid (PLA) matrix. The technology was applied to bevacizumab, a protein drug administered once a month intravitreally to treat wet age related macular degeneration. Bevacizumab coated PLA nanoparticles were encapsulated into porosifying PLGA microparticles by exposing the mixture to SC CO2. After SC CO2 exposure, the size of PLGA microparticles increased by 6.9 fold. Confocal and scanning electron microscopy studies demonstrated the expansion and porosification of PLGA microparticles and infusion of PLA nanoparticles inside PLGA microparticles. In vitro release of bevacizumab from NPinPMP was sustained for 4 months. Size exclusion chromatography, fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism spectroscopy, SDS-PAGE, and ELISA studies indicated that the released bevacizumab maintained its monomeric form, conformation, and activity. Further, in vivo delivery of bevacizumab from NPinPMP was evaluated using noninvasive fluorophotometry after intravitreal administration of Alexa Flour 488 conjugated bevacizumab in either solution or NPinPMP in a rat model. Unlike the vitreal signal from Alexa-bevacizumab solution, which reached baseline at 2 weeks, release of Alexa-bevacizumab from NPinPMP could be detected for 2 months. Thus, NPinPMP is a novel sustained release system for protein drugs to reduce frequency of protein injections in the therapy of back of the eye diseases. PMID:24131101

  2. Nanoparticles in porous microparticles prepared by supercritical infusion and pressure quench technology for sustained delivery of bevacizumab.

    PubMed

    Yandrapu, Sarath K; Upadhyay, Arun K; Petrash, J Mark; Kompella, Uday B

    2013-12-02

    Nanoparticles in porous microparticles (NPinPMP), a novel delivery system for sustained delivery of protein drugs, was developed using supercritical infusion and pressure quench technology, which does not expose proteins to organic solvents or sonication. The delivery system design is based on the ability of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC CO2) to expand poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) matrix but not polylactic acid (PLA) matrix. The technology was applied to bevacizumab, a protein drug administered once a month intravitreally to treat wet age related macular degeneration. Bevacizumab coated PLA nanoparticles were encapsulated into porosifying PLGA microparticles by exposing the mixture to SC CO2. After SC CO2 exposure, the size of PLGA microparticles increased by 6.9-fold. Confocal and scanning electron microscopy studies demonstrated the expansion and porosification of PLGA microparticles and infusion of PLA nanoparticles inside PLGA microparticles. In vitro release of bevacizumab from NPinPMP was sustained for 4 months. Size exclusion chromatography, fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism spectroscopy, SDS-PAGE, and ELISA studies indicated that the released bevacizumab maintained its monomeric form, conformation, and activity. Further, in vivo delivery of bevacizumab from NPinPMP was evaluated using noninvasive fluorophotometry after intravitreal administration of Alexa Fluor 488 conjugated bevacizumab in either solution or NPinPMP in a rat model. Unlike the vitreal signal from Alexa-bevacizumab solution, which reached baseline at 2 weeks, release of Alexa-bevacizumab from NPinPMP could be detected for 2 months. Thus, NPinPMP is a novel sustained release system for protein drugs to reduce frequency of protein injections in the therapy of back of the eye diseases.

  3. Lipid nanoparticles (SLN & NLC) for delivery of vitamin E: a comprehensive review.

    PubMed

    Saez, V; Souza, I D L; Mansur, C R E

    2018-04-01

    The antioxidative and photoprotective properties of vitamin E have caused it to be included as an active agent in various pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. However, its lipophilicity, chemical instability and poor skin penetration have limited the effectiveness of these formulations. For that reason, many attempts to include it in different drug delivery systems have been made. In recent decades, lipid nanoparticles have received special attention due to their advantages of compatibility with the skin, ability to enhance penetration of drugs in the stratum corneum, protection of the encapsulated substance against degradation induced by the external medium and control of drug release. This work reviews the current status of the encapsulation of vitamin E in lipid nanoparticles. We describe the most important methods for obtaining and characterizing lipid nanoparticles containing vitamin E (LNP-VE), various techniques for the evaluation of vitamin E's properties after encapsulation, the main in vitro and in vivo studies of the potential effectiveness or toxicity of LNP-VE, the formulations and stability studies of this delivery system, the commercial products based on LNP-VE and the regulatory aspects related to lipid nanoparticles. Finally, we discuss the most relevant advantages of encapsulating vitamin E in such particles and critical aspects that still demand attention to enhance the potential of solid lipid nanoparticles to deliver vitamin E. © 2018 Society of Cosmetic Scientists and the Société Française de Cosmétologie.

  4. Delivery of Cancer Therapeutics Using Nanotechnology

    PubMed Central

    Lim, Eun-Kyung; Jang, Eunji; Lee, Kwangyeol; Haam, Seungjoo; Huh, Yong-Min

    2013-01-01

    Nanoparticles have been investigated as drug carriers, because they provide a great opportunity due to their advantageous features: (i) various formulations using organic/inorganic materials, (ii) easy modification of targeting molecules, drugs or other molecules on them, (iii) effective delivery to target sites, resulting in high therapeutic efficacy and (iv) controlling drug release by external/internal stimuli. Because of these features, therapeutic efficacy can be improved and unwanted side effects can be reduced. Theranostic nanoparticles have been developed by incorporating imaging agents in drug carriers as all-in-one system, which makes it possible to diagnose and treat cancer by monitoring drug delivery behavior simultaneously. Recently, stimuli-responsive, activatable nanomaterials are being applied that are capable of producing chemical or physical changes by external stimuli. By using these nanoparticles, multiple tasks can be carried out simultaneously, e.g., early and accurate diagnosis, efficient cataloguing of patient groups of personalized therapy and real-time monitoring of disease progress. In this paper, we describe various types of nanoparticles for drug delivery systems, as well as theranostic systems. PMID:24300452

  5. Self-assembled magnetic theranostic nanoparticles for highly sensitive MRI of minicircle DNA delivery.

    PubMed

    Wan, Qian; Xie, Lisi; Gao, Lin; Wang, Zhiyong; Nan, Xiang; Lei, Hulong; Long, Xiaojing; Chen, Zhi-Ying; He, Cheng-Yi; Liu, Gang; Liu, Xin; Qiu, Bensheng

    2013-01-21

    As a versatile gene vector, minicircle DNA (mcDNA) has a great potential for gene therapy. However, some serious challenges remain, such as to effectively deliver mcDNA into targeted cells/tissues and to non-invasively monitor the delivery of the mcDNA. Superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles have been extensively used for both drug/gene delivery and diagnosis. In this study, an MRI visible gene delivery system was developed with a core of SPIO nanocrystals and a shell of biodegradable stearic acid-modified low molecular weight polyethyleneimine (Stearic-LWPEI) via self-assembly. The Stearic-LWPEI-SPIO nanoparticles possess a controlled clustering structure, narrow size distribution and ultrasensitive imaging capacity. Furthermore, the nanoparticle can effectively bind with mcDNA and protect it from enzymatic degradation. In conclusion, the nanoparticle shows synergistic advantages in the effective transfection of mcDNA and non-invasive MRI of gene delivery.

  6. Nanotechnology in respiratory medicine.

    PubMed

    Omlor, Albert Joachim; Nguyen, Juliane; Bals, Robert; Dinh, Quoc Thai

    2015-05-29

    Like two sides of the same coin, nanotechnology can be both boon and bane for respiratory medicine. Nanomaterials open new ways in diagnostics and treatment of lung diseases. Nanoparticle based drug delivery systems can help against diseases such as lung cancer, tuberculosis, and pulmonary fibrosis. Moreover, nanoparticles can be loaded with DNA and act as vectors for gene therapy in diseases like cystic fibrosis. Even lung diagnostics with computer tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) profits from new nanoparticle based contrast agents. However, the risks of nanotechnology also have to be taken into consideration as engineered nanomaterials resemble natural fine dusts and fibers, which are known to be harmful for the respiratory system in many cases. Recent studies have shown that nanoparticles in the respiratory tract can influence the immune system, can create oxidative stress and even cause genotoxicity. Another important aspect to assess the safety of nanotechnology based products is the absorption of nanoparticles. It was demonstrated that the amount of pulmonary nanoparticle uptake not only depends on physical and chemical nanoparticle characteristics but also on the health status of the organism. The huge diversity in nanotechnology could revolutionize medicine but makes safety assessment a challenging task.

  7. A nebulized gelatin nanoparticle-based CpG formulation is effective in immunotherapy of allergic horses.

    PubMed

    Klier, John; Fuchs, Sebastian; May, Anna; Schillinger, Ulrike; Plank, Christian; Winter, Gerhard; Coester, Conrad; Gehlen, Heidrun

    2012-06-01

    In the recent years, nanotechnology has boosted the development of potential drug delivery systems and material engineering on nanoscale basis in order to increase drug specificity and reduce side effects. A potential delivery system for immunostimulating agents such as cytosine-phosphate-guanine-oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODN) needs to be developed to maximize the efficacy of immunotherapy against hypersensitivity. In this study, an aerosol formulation of biodegradable, biocompatible and nontoxic gelatin nanoparticle-bound CpG-ODN 2216 was used to treat equine recurrent airway obstruction in a clinical study. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was obtained from healthy and allergic horses to quantify Th1/Th2 cytokine levels before and after inhalation regimen. Full clinical examinations were performed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of this nebulized gelatin nanoparticle-based CpG formulation. Most remarkable was that regulatory anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic cytokine IL-10 expression was significantly triggered by five consecutive inhalations. Thorough assessment of clinical parameters following nanoparticle treatment indicated a partial remission of the allergic condition. Thus this study, for the first time, showed effectiveness of colloidal nanocarrier-mediated immunotherapy in food-producing animals with potential future applicability to other species including humans.

  8. Recent Advances in Lipid-Based Vesicles and Particulate Carriers for Topical and Transdermal Application.

    PubMed

    Jain, Shashank; Patel, Niketkumar; Shah, Mansi K; Khatri, Pinak; Vora, Namrata

    2017-02-01

    In the recent decade, skin delivery (topical and transdermal) has gained an unprecedented popularity, especially due to increased incidences of chronic skin diseases, demand for targeted and patient compliant delivery, and interest in life cycle management strategies among pharmaceutical companies. Literature review of recent publications indicates that among various skin delivery systems, lipid-based delivery systems (vesicular carriers and lipid particulate systems) have been the most successful. Vesicular carriers consist of liposomes, ultradeformable liposomes, and ethosomes, while lipid particulate systems consist of lipospheres, solid lipid nanoparticles, and nanostructured lipid carriers. These systems can increase the skin drug transport by improving drug solubilization in the formulation, drug partitioning into the skin, and fluidizing skin lipids. Considering that lipid-based delivery systems are regarded as safe and efficient, they are proving to be an attractive delivery strategy for the pharmaceutical as well as cosmeceutical drug substances. However, development of these delivery systems requires comprehensive understanding of physicochemical characteristics of drug and delivery carriers, formulation and process variables, mechanism of skin delivery, recent technological advancements, specific limitations, and regulatory considerations. Therefore, this review article encompasses recent research advances addressing the aforementioned issues. Copyright © 2017 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Drug Transport Mechanism of Oral Antidiabetic Nanomedicines

    PubMed Central

    Gundogdu, Evren; Yurdasiper, Aysu

    2014-01-01

    Context: Over the last few decades, extensive efforts have been made worldwide to develop nanomedicine delivery systems, especially via oral route for antidiabetic drugs. Absorption of insulin is hindered by epithelial cells of gastrointestinal tract, acidic gastric pH and digestive enzymes. Evidence Acquisition: Recent reports have identified and explained the beneficial role of several structural molecules like mucoadhesive polymers (polyacrylic acid, sodium alginate, chitosan) and other copolymers for the efficient transport and release of insulin to its receptors. Results: Insulin nanomedicines based on alginate-dextran sulfate core with a chitosan-polyethylene glycol-albumin shell reduced glycaemia in a dose dependent manner. Orally available exendin-4 formulations exerted their effects in a time dependent manner. Insulin nanoparticles formed by using alginate and dextran sulfate nucleating around calcium and binding to poloxamer, stabilized by chitosan, and subsequently coated with albumin showed a threefold increase of the hypoglycemic effect in comparison to free insulin in animal models. Solid lipid nanoparticles showed an enhancement of the bioavailability of repaglinide (RG) within optimized solid lipid nanoparticle formulations when compared with RG alone. Conclusions: Nanoparticles represent multiparticulate delivery systems designed to obtain prolonged or controlled drug delivery and to improve bioavailability as well as stability. Nanoparticles can also offer advantages like limiting fluctuations within therapeutic range, reducing side effects, protecting drugs from degradation, decreasing dosing frequency, and improving patient compliance and convenience PMID:24696697

  10. Enhanced and Extended Anti-Hypertensive Effect of VP5 Nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Yu, Ting; Zhao, Shengnan; Li, Ziqiang; Wang, Yi; Xu, Bei; Fang, Dailong; Wang, Fazhan; Zhang, Zhi; He, Lili; Song, Xiangrong; Yang, Jian

    2016-01-01

    Hypertension has become a significant global public health concern and is also one of the most common risk factors of cardiovascular disease. Recent studies have shown the promising result of peptides inhibiting angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) in lowering the blood pressure in both animal models and humans. However, the oral bioavailability and continuous antihypertensive effectiveness require further optimization. Novel nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems are helpful to overcome these barriers. Therefore, a poly-(lactic-co-glycolic) acid nanoparticle (PLGANPs) oral delivery system, of the antihypertensive small peptides Val-Leu-Pro-Val-Pro (VLPVP, VP5) model, was developed in this study and its antihypertensive effect was investigated in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) for the first time. The obtained VP5 nanoparticles (VP5-NPs) showed a small particle size of 223.7 ± 2.3 nm and high entrapment efficiency (EE%) of 87.37% ± 0.92%. Transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) analysis showed that the nanoparticles were spherical and homogeneous. The optimal preparation of VP5-NPs exhibited sustained release of VP5 in vitro and a 96 h long-term antihypertensive effect with enhanced efficacy in vivo. This study illustrated that PLGANPs might be an optimal formulation for oral delivery of antihypertensive small peptides and VP5-NPs might be worthy of further development and use as a potential therapeutic strategy for hypertension in the future. PMID:27898022

  11. Delivery Systems for Biopharmaceuticals. Part I: Nanoparticles and Microparticles.

    PubMed

    Silva, Ana C; Lopes, Carla M; Lobo, José M S; Amaral, Maria H

    2015-01-01

    Pharmaceutical biotechnology has been showing therapeutic success never achieved with conventional drug molecules. Therefore, biopharmaceutical products are currently well-established in clinic and the development of new ones is expected. These products comprise mainly therapeutic proteins, although nucleic acids and cells are also included. However, according to their sensitive molecular structures, the efficient delivery of biopharmaceuticals is challenging. Several delivery systems (e.g. microparticles and nanoparticles) composed of different materials (e.g. polymers and lipids) have been explored and demonstrated excellent outcomes, such as: high cellular transfection efficiency for nucleic acids, cell targeting, increased proteins and peptides bioavailability, improved immune response in vaccination, and viability maintenance of microencapsulated cells. Nonetheless, important issues need to be addressed before they reach clinics. For example, more in vivo studies in animals, accessing the toxicity potential and predicting in vivo failure of these delivery systems are required. This is the Part I of two review articles, which presents the state of the art of delivery systems for biopharmaceuticals. Part I deals with microparticles and polymeric and lipid nanoparticles.

  12. Targeting receptor-mediated endocytotic pathways with nanoparticles: rationale and advances

    PubMed Central

    Xu, Shi; Olenyuk, Bogdan Z.; Okamoto, Curtis T.; Hamm-Alvarez, Sarah F.

    2012-01-01

    Targeting of drugs and their carrier systems by using receptor-mediated endocytotic pathways was in its nascent stages 25 years ago. In the intervening years, an explosion of knowledge focused on design and synthesis of nanoparticulate delivery systems as well as elucidation of the cellular complexity of what was previously-termed receptor-mediated endocytosis has now created a situation when it has become possible to design and test the feasibility of delivery of highly specific nanoparticle drug carriers to specific cells and tissue. This review outlines the mechanisms governing the major modes of receptor-mediated endocytosis used in drug delivery and highlights recent approaches using these as targets for in vivo drug delivery of nanoparticles. The review also discusses some of the inherent complexity associated with the simple shift from a ligand-drug conjugate versus a ligand-nanoparticle conjugate, in terms of ligand valency and its relationship to the mode of receptor-mediated internalization. PMID:23026636

  13. Superior anticancer efficacy of curcumin-loaded nanoparticles against lung cancer.

    PubMed

    Yin, Haitao; Zhang, Hao; Liu, Baorui

    2013-08-01

    Curcumin (CM) has anticancer potential for several cancers and blocks several steps in the carcinogenesis process. However, the clinical application of CM is greatly limited due to its low effects in vivo resulted from its poor solubility and pharmacokinetics. This raises the possibility of taking CM as a novel model drug in a new nanoparticle-based delivery system. In this study, CM-loaded nanoparticles were prepared from three kinds of amphilic methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (mPEG)-polycaprolactone (PCL) block copolymers. It was noted that CM-loaded nanoparticles prepared from mPEG10k-PCL30k showed not only the highest loading efficiency, but also the most sustained release pattern. In vitro studies showed that CM was effectively transported into A549 cells by nanoparticles and localized around the nuclei in the cytoplasm. In addition, the cytotoxicity of CM-loaded nanoparticles with mEPG10k-PCL30k as a drug carrier was in a dose- and time-dependent manner in A549 cells. Further apoptotic staining results demonstrated the superior pro-apoptotic effect of CM-loaded nanoparticles over free drug. Data in this study not only confirmed the potential of CM in treating lung cancer, but also offered an effective way to improve the anticancer efficiency of CM through the nano-drug delivery system.

  14. Chitosan-Based Multifunctional Platforms for Local Delivery of Therapeutics

    PubMed Central

    Hong, Seong-Chul; Yoo, Seung-Yup; Kim, Hyeongmin; Lee, Jaehwi

    2017-01-01

    Chitosan has been widely used as a key biomaterial for the development of drug delivery systems intended to be administered via oral and parenteral routes. In particular, chitosan-based microparticles are the most frequently employed delivery system, along with specialized systems such as hydrogels, nanoparticles and thin films. Based on the progress made in chitosan-based drug delivery systems, the usefulness of chitosan has further expanded to anti-cancer chemoembolization, tissue engineering, and stem cell research. For instance, chitosan has been used to develop embolic materials designed to efficiently occlude the blood vessels by which the oxygen and nutrients are supplied. Indeed, it has been reported to be a promising embolic material. For better anti-cancer effect, embolic materials that can locally release anti-cancer drugs were proposed. In addition, a complex of radioactive materials and chitosan to be locally injected into the liver has been investigated as an efficient therapeutic tool for hepatocellular carcinoma. In line with this, a number of attempts have been explored to use chitosan-based carriers for the delivery of various agents, especially to the site of interest. Thus, in this work, studies where chitosan-based drug delivery systems have successfully been used for local delivery will be presented along with future perspectives. PMID:28257059

  15. A novel delivery vector for targeted delivery of the antiangiogenic drug paclitaxel to angiogenic blood vessels: TLTYTWS-conjugated PEG-PLA nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tan, Fei; Mo, Xiao-hui; Zhao, Jian; Liang, Hui; Chen, Zhong-jian; Wang, Xiu-li

    2017-02-01

    Antiangiogenesis has been widely accepted as an attractive strategy to combat tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. An actively targeting nanoparticle-based drug delivery system (nano-DDS) would provide an alternative method to achieve antiangiogenic antitumor therapy. In the present study, our group fabricated novel nano-DDS, TLTYTWS (TS) peptide-modified poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(lactic acid) (PEG-PLA) nanoparticles (TS-NPs) encapsulating a drug with antiangiogenic potential, paclitaxel (Ptx) (TS-Ptx-NPs). The nanoparticles were uniformly spherical and had a unimodal particle size distribution and slightly negative zeta potential. TS-NPs accumulated significantly in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) via energy-dependent and caveolae- and lipid raft-mediated endocytosis and improved the antiproliferative, antimigratory, and antitube-forming abilities of paclitaxel in vitro. Following intravenous administration, TS-Ptx-NPs presented favorable pharmacokinetic profiles. Melanoma distribution assays confirmed that TS-NPs achieved higher accumulation and penetration at melanoma sites. These results collectively indicated that TLTYTWS-decorated nanoparticles can be considered to be a promising nano-DDS for chemotherapies targeting tumor angiogenesis and have great potential to improve the efficacy of antiangiogenic therapy in melanoma tumor-bearing nude mice.

  16. Modulating Gold Nanoparticle in vivo Delivery for Photothermal Therapy Applications Using a T Cell Delivery System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kennedy, Laura Carpin

    This thesis reports new gold nanoparticle-based methods to treat chemotherapy-resistant and metastatic tumors that frequently evade conventional cancer therapies. Gold nanoparticles represent an innovative generation of diagnostic and treatment agents due to the ease with which they can be tuned to scatter or absorb a chosen wavelength of light. One area of intensive investigation in recent years is gold nanoparticle photothermal therapy (PTT), in which gold nanoparticles are used to heat and destroy cancer. This work demonstrates the utility of gold nanoparticle PTT against two categories of cancer that are currently a clinical challenge: trastuzumab-resistant breast cancer and metastatic cancer. In addition, this thesis presents a new method of gold nanoparticle delivery using T cells that increases gold nanoparticle tumor accumulation efficiency, a current challenge in the field of PTT. I ablated trastuzumab-resistant breast cancer in vitro for the first time using anti-HER2 labeled silica-gold nanoshells, demonstrating the potential utility of PTT against chemotherapy-resistant cancers. I next established for the first time the use of T cells as gold nanoparticle vehicles in vivo. When incubated with gold nanoparticles in culture, T cells can internalize up to 15000 nanoparticles per cell with no detrimental effects to T cell viability or function (e.g. migration and cytokine secretion). These AuNP-T cells can be systemically administered to tumor-bearing mice and deliver gold nanoparticles four times more efficiently than by injecting free nanoparticles. In addition, the biodistribution of AuNP-T cells correlates with the normal biodistribution of T cell carrier, suggesting the gold nanoparticle biodistribution can be modulated through the choice of nanoparticle vehicle. Finally, I apply gold nanoparticle PTT as an adjuvant treatment for T cell adoptive transfer immunotherapy (Hyperthermia-Enhanced Immunotherapy or HIT) of distant tumors in a melanoma mouse model. The results presented in this thesis expand the potential of gold nanoparticle PTT from only chemotherapy-sensitive or localized cancers to chemotherapy-resistant non-localized cancers that currently defy conventional therapies.

  17. Recent Advances in Non-viral Vectors for Gene Delivery

    PubMed Central

    Guo, Xia; Huang, Leaf

    2011-01-01

    CONSPECTUS Non-viral vectors, typically based on cationic lipids or polymers, are preferred due to safety concerns with viral vectors. So far, non-viral vectors can proficiently transfect cells in culture, but obtaining efficient nanomedicines is far from evident. To overcome the hurdles associated with non-viral vectors is significant for improving delivery efficiency and therapeutic effect of nucleic acid. The drawbacks include the strong interaction of cationic delivery vehicles with blood components, uptake by the reticuloendothelial system (RES), toxicity, targeting ability of the carriers to the cells of interest, and so on. PEGylation is the predominant method used to reduce the binding of plasma proteins with non-viral vectors and minimize the clearance by RES after intravenous administration. The nanoparticles that are not rapidly cleared from the circulation accumulate in the tumors due to the enhanced permeability and retention effect, and the targeting ligands attached to the distal end of the PEGylated components allow binding to the receptors on the target cell surface. Neutral or anionic liposomes have been also developed for systemic delivery of nucleic acids in experimental animal model. Designing and synthesizing novel cationic lipids and polymers, and binding nucleic acid with peptides, targeting ligands, polymers, or environmentally sensitive moieties also attract many attentions for resolving the problems encountered by non-viral vectors. The application of inorganic nanoparticles in nucleic acid delivery is an emerging field, too. Recently, different classes of non-viral vectors appear to be converging and the features of different classes of non-viral vectors could be combined in one strategy. More hurdles associated with efficient nucleic acid delivery therefore might be expected to be overcome. In this account, we will focus on these novel non-viral vectors, which are classified into multifunctional hybrid nucleic acid vectors, novel membrane/core nanoparticles for nucleic acid delivery and ultrasound-responsive nucleic acid vectors. The systemic delivery studies are highlighted. Finally, we bring forward the prospect for nucleic acid delivery. We think a better understandings of the fate of the nanoparticles inside the cell and of the interactions between the parts of hybrid particles will lead to a delivery system suitable for clinical use. We also underscore the value of sustained release of nucleic acid and presume making vectors targeted to cells with sustained release in vivo should be an interesting research challenge. PMID:21870813

  18. Cationic lipid-assisted polymeric nanoparticle mediated GATA2 siRNA delivery for synthetic lethal therapy of KRAS mutant non-small-cell lung carcinoma.

    PubMed

    Shen, Song; Mao, Chong-Qiong; Yang, Xian-Zhu; Du, Xiao-Jiao; Liu, Yang; Zhu, Yan-Hua; Wang, Jun

    2014-08-04

    Synthetic lethal interaction provides a conceptual framework for the development of wiser cancer therapeutics. In this study, we exploited a therapeutic strategy based on the interaction between GATA binding protein 2 (GATA2) downregulation and the KRAS mutation status by delivering small interfering RNA targeting GATA2 (siGATA2) with cationic lipid-assisted polymeric nanoparticles for treatment of non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) harboring oncogenic KRAS mutations. Nanoparticles carrying siGATA2 (NPsiGATA2) were effectively taken up by NSCLC cells and resulted in targeted gene suppression. NPsiGATA2 selectively inhibited cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis in KRAS mutant NSCLC cells. However, this intervention was harmless to normal KRAS wild-type NSCLC cells and HL7702 hepatocytes, confirming the advantage of synthetic lethality-based therapy. Moreover, systemic delivery of NPsiGATA2 significantly inhibited tumor growth in the KRAS mutant A549 NSCLC xenograft murine model, suggesting the therapeutic promise of NPsiGATA2 delivery in KRAS mutant NSCLC therapy.

  19. “Click” Synthesis of Dextran Macrostructures for Combinatorial-Designed Self-Assembled Nanoparticles Encapsulating Diverse Anticancer Therapeutics

    PubMed Central

    Abeylath, Sampath C.; Amiji, Mansoor

    2011-01-01

    With the non-specific toxicity of anticancer drugs to healthy tissues upon systemic administration, formulations capable of enhanced selectivity in delivery to the tumor mass and cells are highly desirable. Based on the diversity of the drug payloads, we have investigated a combinatorial-designed strategy where the nano-sized formulations are tailored based on the physicochemical properties of the drug and the delivery needs. Individually functionalized C2 to C12 lipid-, thiol-, and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-modified dextran derivatives were synthesized via “click” chemistry from O-pentynyl dextran and relevant azides. These functionalized dextrans in combination with anticancer drugs form nanoparticles by self-assembling in aqueous medium having PEG surface functionalization and intermolecular disulfide bonds. Using anticancer drugs with logP values ranging from −0.5 to 3.0, the optimized nanoparticles formulations were evaluated for preliminary cellular delivery and cytotoxic effects in SKOV3 human ovarian adenocarcinoma cells. The results show that with the appropriate selection of lipid-modified dextran, one can effectively tailor the self-assembled nano-formulation for intended therapeutic payload. PMID:21978947

  20. Site-specific gene delivery to stented arteries using magnetically guided zinc oleate-based nanoparticles loaded with adenoviral vectors

    PubMed Central

    Chorny, Michael; Fishbein, Ilia; Tengood, Jillian E.; Adamo, Richard F.; Alferiev, Ivan S.; Levy, Robert J.

    2013-01-01

    Gene therapeutic strategies have shown promise in treating vascular disease. However, their translation into clinical use requires pharmaceutical carriers enabling effective, site-specific delivery as well as providing sustained transgene expression in blood vessels. While replication-deficient adenovirus (Ad) offers several important advantages as a vector for vascular gene therapy, its clinical applicability is limited by rapid inactivation, suboptimal transduction efficiency in vascular cells, and serious systemic adverse effects. We hypothesized that novel zinc oleate-based magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) loaded with Ad would enable effective arterial cell transduction by shifting vector processing to an alternative pathway, protect Ad from inactivation by neutralizing factors, and allow site-specific gene transfer to arteries treated with stent angioplasty using a 2-source magnetic guidance strategy. Ad-loaded MNPs effectively transduced cultured endothelial and smooth muscle cells under magnetic conditions compared to controls and retained capacity for gene transfer after exposure to neutralizing antibodies and lithium iodide, a lytic agent causing disruption of free Ad. Localized arterial gene expression significantly stronger than in control animal groups was demonstrated after magnetically guided MNP delivery in a rat stenting model 2 and 9 d post-treatment, confirming feasibility of using Ad-loaded MNPs to achieve site-specific transduction in stented blood vessels. In conclusion, Ad-loaded MNPs formed by controlled precipitation of zinc oleate represent a novel delivery system, well-suited for efficient, magnetically targeted vascular gene transfer.—Chorny, M., Fishbein, I., Tengood, J. E., Adamo, R. F., Alferiev, I. S., Levy, R. J. Site-specific gene delivery to stented arteries using magnetically guided zinc oleate-based nanoparticles loaded with adenoviral vectors. PMID:23407712

  1. Strategies for Preparing Albumin-based Nanoparticles for Multifunctional Bioimaging and Drug Delivery

    PubMed Central

    An, Fei-Fei; Zhang, Xiao-Hong

    2017-01-01

    Biosafety is the primary concern in clinical translation of nanomedicine. As an intrinsic ingredient of human blood without immunogenicity and encouraged by its successful clinical application in Abraxane, albumin has been regarded as a promising material to produce nanoparticles for bioimaging and drug delivery. The strategies for synthesizing albumin-based nanoparticles could be generally categorized into five classes: template, nanocarrier, scaffold, stabilizer and albumin-polymer conjugate. This review introduces approaches utilizing albumin in the preparation of nanoparticles and thereby provides scientists with knowledge of goal-driven design on albumin-based nanomedicine. PMID:29109768

  2. Laboratory formulated magnetic nanoparticles for enhancement of viral gene expression in suspension cell line.

    PubMed

    Bhattarai, Shanta Raj; Kim, Sun Young; Jang, Kyu Yun; Lee, Ki Chang; Yi, Ho Keun; Lee, Dae Yeol; Kim, Hak Yong; Hwang, Pyoung Han

    2008-02-01

    One factor critical to successful gene therapy is the development of efficient delivery systems. Although advances in gene transfer technology including viral and non-viral vectors have been made, an ideal vector system has not yet been constructed. Due to the growing concerns over the toxicity and immunogenicity of viral DNA delivery systems, DNA delivery via improve viral routes has become more desirable and advantageous. The ideal improve viral DNA delivery system should be a synthetic materials plus viral vectors. The materials should also be biocompatible, efficient, and modular so that it is tunable to various applications in both research and clinical settings. The successful steps towards this improve viral DNA delivery system is demonstrated: a magnetofection system mediated by modified cationic chitosan-coated iron oxide nanoparticles. Dense colloidal cationic iron oxide nanoparticles serve as an uptake-enhancing component by physical concentration at the cell surface in presence of external magnetic fields; enhanced viral gene expression (3-100-fold) due to the particles is seen as compared to virus vector alone with little virus dose.

  3. Role of Nanodiamonds in Drug Delivery and Stem Cell Therapy.

    PubMed

    Ansari, Shakeel Ahmed; Satar, Rukhsana; Jafri, Mohammad Alam; Rasool, Mahmood; Ahmad, Waseem; Kashif Zaidi, Syed

    2016-09-01

    The use of nanotechnology in medicine and more specifically drug delivery is set to spread rapidly. Currently many substances are under investigation for drug delivery and more specifically for cancer therapy. Nanodiamonds (NDs) have contributed significantly in the development of highly efficient and successful drug delivery systems, and in stem cell therapy. Drug delivery through NDs is an intricate and complex process that deserves special attention to unravel underlying molecular mechanisms in order to overcome certain bottlenecks associated with it. It has already been established that NDs based drug delivery systems have excellent biocompatibility, nontoxicity, photostability and facile surface functionalization properties. There is mounting evidence that suggests that such conjugated delivery systems well retain the properties of nanoparticles like small size, large surface area to volume ratio that provide greater biocatalytic activity to the attached drug in terms of selectivity, loading and stability. NDs based drug delivery systems may form the basis for the development of effective novel drug delivery vehicles with salient features that may facilitate their utility in fluorescence imaging, target specificity and sustainedrelease.

  4. Development of Inhalable Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles (SPIONs) in Microparticulate System for Antituberculosis Drug Delivery.

    PubMed

    Miranda, Margarida S; Rodrigues, Márcia T; Domingues, Rui M A; Costa, Rui R; Paz, Elvira; Rodríguez-Abreu, Carlos; Freitas, Paulo; Almeida, Bernardo G; Carvalho, Maria Alice; Gonçalves, Carine; Ferreira, Catarina M; Torrado, Egídio; Reis, Rui L; Pedrosa, Jorge; Gomes, Manuela E

    2018-05-23

    Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease which affects millions of people worldwide. Inhalable polymeric dry powders are promising alternatives as anti-TB drug carriers to the alveoli milieu and infected macrophages, with potential to significantly improve the therapeutics efficiency. Here, the development of a magnetically responsive microparticulate system for pulmonary delivery of an anti-TB drug candidate (P3) is reported. Microparticles (MPs) are developed based on a cast method using calcium carbonate sacrificial templates and incorporate superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles to concentrate MPs in alveoli and enable drug on demand release upon actuation of an external alternate magnetic field (AMF). The MPs are shown to be suitable for P3 delivery to the lower airways and for alveolar macrophage phagocytosis. The developed MPs reveal unique and promising features to be used as an inhalable dry powder allowing the AMF control over dosage and frequency of drug delivery anticipating improved TB treatments. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  5. Biopolymer-Based Nanoparticles for Drug/Gene Delivery and Tissue Engineering

    PubMed Central

    Nitta, Sachiko Kaihara; Numata, Keiji

    2013-01-01

    There has been a great interest in application of nanoparticles as biomaterials for delivery of therapeutic molecules such as drugs and genes, and for tissue engineering. In particular, biopolymers are suitable materials as nanoparticles for clinical application due to their versatile traits, including biocompatibility, biodegradability and low immunogenicity. Biopolymers are polymers that are produced from living organisms, which are classified in three groups: polysaccharides, proteins and nucleic acids. It is important to control particle size, charge, morphology of surface and release rate of loaded molecules to use biopolymer-based nanoparticles as drug/gene delivery carriers. To obtain a nano-carrier for therapeutic purposes, a variety of materials and preparation process has been attempted. This review focuses on fabrication of biocompatible nanoparticles consisting of biopolymers such as protein (silk, collagen, gelatin, β-casein, zein and albumin), protein-mimicked polypeptides and polysaccharides (chitosan, alginate, pullulan, starch and heparin). The effects of the nature of the materials and the fabrication process on the characteristics of the nanoparticles are described. In addition, their application as delivery carriers of therapeutic drugs and genes and biomaterials for tissue engineering are also reviewed. PMID:23344060

  6. Nanoparticles for targeted delivery of therapeutics and small interfering RNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma

    PubMed Central

    Varshosaz, Jaleh; Farzan, Maryam

    2015-01-01

    Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the 5th most common malignancy which is responsible for more than half million annual mortalities; also, it is the third leading cause of cancer related death. Unfavorable systemic side-effects of chemotherapeutic agents and susceptibility to the degradation of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which can knock down a specific gene involved in the disease, have hampered their clinical application. So, it could be beneficial to develop an efficient carrier for the stabilization and specific delivery of drugs and siRNA to cells. Targeted nanoparticles have gained considerable attention as an efficient drug and gene delivery system, which is due to their capability in achieving the highest accumulation of cytotoxic agents in tumor tissue, modifiable drug pharmacokinetic- and bio-distribution, improved effectiveness of treatment, and limited side-effects. Recent studies have shed more light on the advantages of novel drug loaded carrier systems vs free drugs. Most of the animal studies have reported improvement in treatment efficacy and survival rate using novel carrier systems. Targeted delivery may be achieved passively or actively. In passive targeting, no ligand as homing device is used, while targeting is achieved by incorporating the therapeutic agent into a macromolecule or nanoparticle that passively reaches the target organ. However, in active targeting, the therapeutic agent or carrier system is conjugated to a tissue or cell-specific receptor which is over-expressed in a special malignancy using a ligand called a homing device. This review covers a broad spectrum of targeted nanoparticles as therapeutic and non-viral siRNA delivery systems, which are developed for enhanced cellular uptake and targeted gene silencing in vitro and in vivo and their characteristics and opportunities for the clinical applications of drugs and therapeutic siRNA are discussed in this article. Asialoglycoprotein receptors, low-density lipoprotein, ganglioside GM1 cell surface ligand, epidermal growth factor receptor receptors, monoclonal antibodies, retinoic acid receptors, integrin receptors targeted by Arg-Gly-Asp peptide, folate, and transferrin receptors are the most widely studied cell surface receptors which are used for the site specific delivery of drugs and siRNA-based therapeutics in HCC and discussed in detail in this article. PMID:26576089

  7. Multifunctional polymer-capped mesoporous silica nanoparticles for pH-responsive targeted drug delivery.

    PubMed

    Niedermayer, Stefan; Weiss, Veronika; Herrmann, Annika; Schmidt, Alexandra; Datz, Stefan; Müller, Katharina; Wagner, Ernst; Bein, Thomas; Bräuchle, Christoph

    2015-05-07

    A highly stable modular platform, based on the sequential covalent attachment of different functionalities to the surface of core-shell mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) for targeted drug delivery is presented. A reversible pH-responsive cap system based on covalently attached poly(2-vinylpyridine) (PVP) was developed as drug release mechanism. Our platform offers (i) tuneable interactions and release kinetics with the cargo drug in the mesopores based on chemically orthogonal core-shell design, (ii) an extremely robust and reversible closure and release mechanism based on endosomal acidification of the covalently attached PVP polymer block, (iii) high colloidal stability due to a covalently coupled PEG shell, and (iv) the ability to covalently attach a wide variety of dyes, targeting ligands and other functionalities at the outer periphery of the PEG shell. The functionality of the system was demonstrated in several cell studies, showing pH-triggered release in the endosome, light-triggered endosomal escape with an on-board photosensitizer, and efficient folic acid-based cell targeting.

  8. The effect of conjugation to gold nanoparticles on the ability of low molecular weight chitosan to transfer DNA vaccine.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Xianfeng; Zhang, Xizhen; Yu, Xianghui; Zha, Xiao; Fu, Qiuan; Liu, Bin; Wang, Xueyun; Chen, Yan; Chen, Yue; Shan, Yaming; Jin, Yinghua; Wu, Yongge; Liu, Junqiu; Kong, Wei; Shen, Jiacong

    2008-01-01

    Nonviral gene delivery systems based on conventional high molecular weight chitosans are efficient as DNA vaccine delivery system, but have poor physical properties such as aggregated shapes, low solubility at neutral pH, high viscosity at concentrations used for in vivo delivery and a slow onset of action. Furthermore, Chitosan oligomers shorter than 14 monomers units were recently found to form only weak complexes with DNA, resulting in physically unstable polyplexes in vitro and in vivo. Here, low molecular weight chitosans with an average molecular mass of 6kDa (Chito6) have been covalently attached to gold nanoparticles (GNPs), and the potency of the resulting Chito6-GNPs conjugates as vectors for the delivery of plasmid DNA has been investigated in vitro and in vivo. After delivery by intramuscular immunization in BALB/c mice, the Chito6-GNPs conjugates induced an enhanced serum antibody response 10 times more potent than naked DNA vaccine. Additionally, in contrast to naked DNA, the Chito6-GNPs conjugates induced potent cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses at a low dose.

  9. AND logic-like pH- and light-dual controlled drug delivery by surface modified mesoporous silica nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Junwei; He, Zhaoshuai; Li, Biao; Cheng, Tanyu; Liu, Guohua

    2017-04-01

    Recently, the controlled drug delivery system has become a potential platform for biomedical application. Herein, we developed a pH and light-dual controlled cargo release system exhibiting AND logic based on MCM-41 mesoporous silica nanoparticles, which was surface modified using β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) with imine bond and azobenzene derivative. The complex of β-CD and azobenzene derivative effectively blocked the cargo delivery in pH=7.0 phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solution without 365nm UV light irradiation. The cargo was fully released when both factors of acidic environment (pH=5.0 PBS) and 365nm UV light irradiation were satisfied, meanwhile only very little cargo was delivered if one factor was satisfied. The result also demonstrates that the opening/closing of the gate and the release of the cargo in small portions can be controlled. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Surface-modified solid lipid nanoparticles for oral delivery of docetaxel: enhanced intestinal absorption and lymphatic uptake

    PubMed Central

    Cho, Hyun-Jong; Park, Jin Woo; Yoon, In-Soo; Kim, Dae-Duk

    2014-01-01

    Docetaxel is a potent anticancer drug, but development of an oral formulation has been hindered mainly due to its poor oral bioavailability. In this study, solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) surface-modified by Tween 80 or D-alpha-tocopheryl poly(ethylene glycol 1000) succinate (TPGS 1000) were prepared and evaluated in terms of their feasibility as oral delivery systems for docetaxel. Tween 80-emulsified and TPGS 1000-emulsified tristearin-based lipidic nanoparticles were prepared by a solvent-diffusion method, and their particle size distribution, zeta potential, drug loading, and particle morphology were characterized. An in vitro release study showed a sustained-release profile of docetaxel from the SLNs compared with an intravenous docetaxel formulation (Taxotere®). Tween 80-emulsified SLNs showed enhanced intestinal absorption, lymphatic uptake, and relative oral bioavailability of docetaxel compared with Taxotere in rats. These results may be attributable to the absorption-enhancing effects of the tristearin nanoparticle. Moreover, compared with Tween 80-emulsified SLNs, the intestinal absorption and relative oral bioavailability of docetaxel in rats were further improved in TPGS 1000-emulsified SLNs, probably due to better inhibition of drug efflux by TPGS 1000, along with intestinal lymphatic uptake. Taken together, it is worth noting that these surface-modified SLNs may serve as efficient oral delivery systems for docetaxel. PMID:24531717

  11. Preparation and evaluation of quercetin-loaded lecithin-chitosan nanoparticles for topical delivery.

    PubMed

    Tan, Qi; Liu, Weidong; Guo, Chenyu; Zhai, Guangxi

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate lecithin-chitosan nanoparticles as a topical delivery system for quercetin. Tocopheryl propylene glycol succinate was chosen to be the surfactant for the nanosystem. The mean particle size of the nanoparticles was 95.3 nm, and the entrapment efficiency and drug loading for quercetin were 48.5% and 2.45%, respectively. Topical delivery in vitro and in vivo of the quercetin-loaded nanoparticles was evaluated using quercetin propylene glycol solution as the control. Compared with quercetin solution, the quercetin-loaded nanoparticles showed higher permeation ability, and significantly increased accumulation of quercetin in the skin, especially in the epidermis. Microstructure observation of the skin surface after administration indicated that the interaction between ingredients of the nanoparticles and the skin surface markedly changed the morphology of the stratum corneum and disrupted the corneocyte layers, thus facilitating the permeation and accumulation of quercetin in skin. Lecithin-chitosan nanoparticles are a promising carrier for topical delivery of quercetin.

  12. Preparation and evaluation of quercetin-loaded lecithin-chitosan nanoparticles for topical delivery

    PubMed Central

    Tan, Qi; Liu, Weidong; Guo, Chenyu; Zhai, Guangxi

    2011-01-01

    Background The purpose of this study was to investigate lecithin-chitosan nanoparticles as a topical delivery system for quercetin. Methods Tocopheryl propylene glycol succinate was chosen to be the surfactant for the nanosystem. The mean particle size of the nanoparticles was 95.3 nm, and the entrapment efficiency and drug loading for quercetin were 48.5% and 2.45%, respectively. Topical delivery in vitro and in vivo of the quercetin-loaded nanoparticles was evaluated using quercetin propylene glycol solution as the control. Results Compared with quercetin solution, the quercetin-loaded nanoparticles showed higher permeation ability, and significantly increased accumulation of quercetin in the skin, especially in the epidermis. Microstructure observation of the skin surface after administration indicated that the interaction between ingredients of the nanoparticles and the skin surface markedly changed the morphology of the stratum corneum and disrupted the corneocyte layers, thus facilitating the permeation and accumulation of quercetin in skin. Conclusion Lecithin-chitosan nanoparticles are a promising carrier for topical delivery of quercetin. PMID:21904452

  13. Targeted Delivery of Small Interfering RNA Using Reconstituted High-Density Lipoprotein Nanoparticles12

    PubMed Central

    Shahzad, Mian MK; Mangala, Lingegowda S; Han, Hee Dong; Lu, Chunhua; Bottsford-Miller, Justin; Nishimura, Masato; Mora, Edna M; Lee, Jeong-Won; Stone, Rebecca L; Pecot, Chad V; Thanapprapasr, Duangmani; Roh, Ju-Won; Gaur, Puja; Nair, Maya P; Park, Yun-Yong; Sabnis, Nirupama; Deavers, Michael T; Lee, Ju-Seog; Ellis, Lee M; Lopez-Berestein, Gabriel; McConathy, Walter J; Prokai, Laszlo; Lacko, Andras G; Sood, Anil K

    2011-01-01

    RNA interference holds tremendous potential as a therapeutic approach, especially in the treatment of malignant tumors. However, efficient and biocompatible delivery methods are needed for systemic delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA). To maintain a high level of growth, tumor cells scavenge high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles by overexpressing its receptor: scavenger receptor type B1 (SR-B1). In this study, we exploited this cellular characteristic to achieve efficient siRNA delivery and established a novel formulation of siRNA by incorporating it into reconstituted HDL (rHDL) nanoparticles. Here, we demonstrate that rHDL nanoparticles facilitate highly efficient systemic delivery of siRNA in vivo, mediated by the SR-B1. Moreover, in therapeutic proof-of-concept studies, these nanoparticles were effective in silencing the expression of two proteins that are key to cancer growth and metastasis (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 and focal adhesion kinase) in orthotopic mouse models of ovarian and colorectal cancer. These data indicate that an rHDL nanoparticle is a novel and highly efficient siRNA carrier, and therefore, this novel technology could serve as the foundation for new cancer therapeutic approaches. PMID:21472135

  14. Integrated nanotechnology platform for tumor-targeted multimodal imaging and therapeutic cargo release

    PubMed Central

    Hosoya, Hitomi; Dobroff, Andrey S.; Driessen, Wouter H. P.; Cristini, Vittorio; Brinker, Lina M.; Staquicini, Fernanda I.; Cardó-Vila, Marina; D’Angelo, Sara; Ferrara, Fortunato; Proneth, Bettina; Lin, Yu-Shen; Dunphy, Darren R.; Dogra, Prashant; Melancon, Marites P.; Stafford, R. Jason; Miyazono, Kohei; Gelovani, Juri G.; Kataoka, Kazunori; Brinker, C. Jeffrey; Sidman, Richard L.; Arap, Wadih; Pasqualini, Renata

    2016-01-01

    A major challenge of targeted molecular imaging and drug delivery in cancer is establishing a functional combination of ligand-directed cargo with a triggered release system. Here we develop a hydrogel-based nanotechnology platform that integrates tumor targeting, photon-to-heat conversion, and triggered drug delivery within a single nanostructure to enable multimodal imaging and controlled release of therapeutic cargo. In proof-of-concept experiments, we show a broad range of ligand peptide-based applications with phage particles, heat-sensitive liposomes, or mesoporous silica nanoparticles that self-assemble into a hydrogel for tumor-targeted drug delivery. Because nanoparticles pack densely within the nanocarrier, their surface plasmon resonance shifts to near-infrared, thereby enabling a laser-mediated photothermal mechanism of cargo release. We demonstrate both noninvasive imaging and targeted drug delivery in preclinical mouse models of breast and prostate cancer. Finally, we applied mathematical modeling to predict and confirm tumor targeting and drug delivery. These results are meaningful steps toward the design and initial translation of an enabling nanotechnology platform with potential for broad clinical applications. PMID:26839407

  15. Integrated nanotechnology platform for tumor-targeted multimodal imaging and therapeutic cargo release.

    PubMed

    Hosoya, Hitomi; Dobroff, Andrey S; Driessen, Wouter H P; Cristini, Vittorio; Brinker, Lina M; Staquicini, Fernanda I; Cardó-Vila, Marina; D'Angelo, Sara; Ferrara, Fortunato; Proneth, Bettina; Lin, Yu-Shen; Dunphy, Darren R; Dogra, Prashant; Melancon, Marites P; Stafford, R Jason; Miyazono, Kohei; Gelovani, Juri G; Kataoka, Kazunori; Brinker, C Jeffrey; Sidman, Richard L; Arap, Wadih; Pasqualini, Renata

    2016-02-16

    A major challenge of targeted molecular imaging and drug delivery in cancer is establishing a functional combination of ligand-directed cargo with a triggered release system. Here we develop a hydrogel-based nanotechnology platform that integrates tumor targeting, photon-to-heat conversion, and triggered drug delivery within a single nanostructure to enable multimodal imaging and controlled release of therapeutic cargo. In proof-of-concept experiments, we show a broad range of ligand peptide-based applications with phage particles, heat-sensitive liposomes, or mesoporous silica nanoparticles that self-assemble into a hydrogel for tumor-targeted drug delivery. Because nanoparticles pack densely within the nanocarrier, their surface plasmon resonance shifts to near-infrared, thereby enabling a laser-mediated photothermal mechanism of cargo release. We demonstrate both noninvasive imaging and targeted drug delivery in preclinical mouse models of breast and prostate cancer. Finally, we applied mathematical modeling to predict and confirm tumor targeting and drug delivery. These results are meaningful steps toward the design and initial translation of an enabling nanotechnology platform with potential for broad clinical applications.

  16. Integrated nanotechnology platform for tumor-targeted multimodal imaging and therapeutic cargo release

    DOE PAGES

    Hosoya, Hitomi; Dobroff, Andrey S.; Driessen, Wouter H. P.; ...

    2016-02-02

    A major challenge of targeted molecular imaging and drug delivery in cancer is establishing a functional combination of ligand-directed cargo with a triggered release system. Here we develop a hydrogel-based nanotechnology platform that integrates tumor targeting, photon-to-heat conversion, and triggered drug delivery within a single nanostructure to enable multimodal imaging and controlled release of therapeutic cargo. In proof-of-concept experiments, we show a broad range of ligand peptide-based applications with phage particles, heat-sensitive liposomes, or mesoporous silica nanoparticles that self-assemble into a hydrogel for tumor-targeted drug delivery. Because nanoparticles pack densely within the nanocarrier, their surface plasmon resonance shifts to near-infrared,more » thereby enabling a laser-mediated photothermal mechanism of cargo release. We demonstrate both noninvasive imaging and targeted drug delivery in preclinical mouse models of breast and prostate cancer. Finally, we applied mathematical modeling to predict and confirm tumor targeting and drug delivery. We conclude that these results are meaningful steps toward the design and initial translation of an enabling nanotechnology platform with potential for broad clinical applications.« less

  17. Integrated nanotechnology platform for tumor-targeted multimodal imaging and therapeutic cargo release

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hosoya, Hitomi; Dobroff, Andrey S.; Driessen, Wouter H. P.

    A major challenge of targeted molecular imaging and drug delivery in cancer is establishing a functional combination of ligand-directed cargo with a triggered release system. Here we develop a hydrogel-based nanotechnology platform that integrates tumor targeting, photon-to-heat conversion, and triggered drug delivery within a single nanostructure to enable multimodal imaging and controlled release of therapeutic cargo. In proof-of-concept experiments, we show a broad range of ligand peptide-based applications with phage particles, heat-sensitive liposomes, or mesoporous silica nanoparticles that self-assemble into a hydrogel for tumor-targeted drug delivery. Because nanoparticles pack densely within the nanocarrier, their surface plasmon resonance shifts to near-infrared,more » thereby enabling a laser-mediated photothermal mechanism of cargo release. We demonstrate both noninvasive imaging and targeted drug delivery in preclinical mouse models of breast and prostate cancer. Finally, we applied mathematical modeling to predict and confirm tumor targeting and drug delivery. We conclude that these results are meaningful steps toward the design and initial translation of an enabling nanotechnology platform with potential for broad clinical applications.« less

  18. Protein-Based Nanomedicine Platforms for Drug Delivery

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ma Ham, Aihui; Tang, Zhiwen; Wu, Hong

    2009-08-03

    Drug delivery systems have been developed for many years, however some limitations still hurdle the pace of going to clinical phase, for example, poor biodistribution, drug molecule cytotoxicity, tissue damage, quick clearance from the circulation system, solubility and stability of drug molecules. To overcome the limitations of drug delivery, biomaterials have to be developed and applied to drug delivery to protect the drug molecules and to enhance the drug’s efficacy. Protein-based nanomedicine platforms for drug delivery are platforms comprised of naturally self-assembled protein subunits of the same protein or a combination of proteins making up a complete system. They aremore » ideal for drug delivery platforms due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability coupled with low toxicity. A variety of proteins have been used and characterized for drug delivery systems including the ferritin/apoferritin protein cage, plant derived viral capsids, the small Heat shock protein (sHsp) cage, albumin, soy and whey protein, collagen, and gelatin. There are many different types and shapes that have been prepared to deliver drug molecules using protein-based platforms including the various protein cages, microspheres, nanoparticles, hydrogels, films, minirods and minipellets. There are over 30 therapeutic compounds that have been investigated with protein-based drug delivery platforms for the potential treatment of various cancers, infectious diseases, chronic diseases, autoimmune diseases. In protein-based drug delivery platforms, protein cage is the most newly developed biomaterials for drug delivery and therapeutic applications. Their uniform sizes, multifunctions, and biodegradability push them to the frontier for drug delivery. In this review, the recent strategic development of drug delivery has been discussed with a special emphasis upon the polymer based, especially protein-based nanomedicine platforms for drug delivery. The advantages and disadvantages are also discussed for each type of protein based drug delivery system.« less

  19. Nanoparticles and direct immunosuppression

    PubMed Central

    Ngobili, Terrika A

    2016-01-01

    Targeting the immune system with nanomaterials is an intensely active area of research. Specifically, the capability to induce immunosuppression is a promising complement for drug delivery and regenerative medicine therapies. Many novel strategies for immunosuppression rely on nanoparticles as delivery vehicles for small-molecule immunosuppressive compounds. As a consequence, efforts in understanding the mechanisms in which nanoparticles directly interact with the immune system have been overshadowed. The immunological activity of nanoparticles is dependent on the physiochemical properties of the nanoparticles and its subsequent cellular internalization. As the underlying factors for these reactions are elucidated, more nanoparticles may be engineered and evaluated for inducing immunosuppression and complementing immunosuppressive drugs. This review will briefly summarize the state-of-the-art and developments in understanding how nanoparticles induce immunosuppressive responses, compare the inherent properties of nanomaterials which induce these immunological reactions, and comment on the potential for using nanomaterials to modulate and control the immune system. PMID:27229901

  20. Drug release from nanoparticles embedded in four different nanofibrillar cellulose aerogels.

    PubMed

    Valo, Hanna; Arola, Suvi; Laaksonen, Päivi; Torkkeli, Mika; Peltonen, Leena; Linder, Markus B; Serimaa, Ritva; Kuga, Shigenori; Hirvonen, Jouni; Laaksonen, Timo

    2013-09-27

    Highly porous nanocellulose aerogels prepared by freeze-drying from various nanofibrillar cellulose (NFC) hydrogels are introduced as nanoparticle reservoirs for oral drug delivery systems. Here we show that beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) nanoparticles coated with amphiphilic hydrophobin proteins can be well integrated into the NFC aerogels. NFCs from four different origins are introduced and compared to microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). The nanocellulose aerogel scaffolds made from red pepper (RC) and MCC release the drug immediately, while bacterial cellulose (BC), quince seed (QC) and TEMPO-oxidized birch cellulose-based (TC) aerogels show sustained drug release. Since the release of the drug is controlled by the structure and interactions between the nanoparticles and the cellulose matrix, modulation of the matrix formers enable a control of the drug release rate. These nanocomposite structures can be very useful in many pharmaceutical nanoparticle applications and open up new possibilities as carriers for controlled drug delivery. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Delivery of Fluorescent Nanoparticles to the Brain.

    PubMed

    Shimoni, Olga; Shi, Bingyang; Adlard, Paul A; Bush, Ashley I

    2016-11-01

    Nanotechnology applications in neuroscience promises to deliver significant scientific and technological breakthroughs, providing answers to unresolved questions regarding the processes occurring in the brain. In this perspective, we provide a short background on two distinct fluorescent nanoparticles and summarize several studies focussed on achieving delivery of these into the brain and their interaction with brain tissue. Furthermore, we discuss challenges and opportunities for further development of nanoparticle-based therapies for targeting delivery of drugs across the blood-brain barrier.

  2. Ketamine nano-delivery based on poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hirano, Sota; Bovi, Michele; Romeo, Alessandro; Guzzo, Flavia; Chiamulera, Cristiano; Perduca, Massimiliano

    2018-04-01

    This work describes a novel method for the generation of a ketamine nano-delivery, to improve brain blood barrier permeability and increase drug therapeutic window as anaesthetic, analgesic and potential antidepressant. The approach herein described is based on ketamine-loaded poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) nanoparticles coupled to an apolipoprotein E (ApoE) peptide for delivery to the central nervous system. PLGA particles were synthesized with amount of drug, coupled with the ApoE peptide on the surface, and validated by physical characterization. The produced nanodevice showed a good colloidal stability in water, confirmed by zeta potential measurements, with a diameter in the range of 185-205 nm. The ketamine encapsulation was verified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses obtaining an encapsulation efficiency up to 21.2 ± 3.54%. Once the occurrence of ApoE peptide functionalization was confirmed with fluorescence spectroscopy, the thermal stability and morphological information were obtained by differential scanning calorimetry and further dynamic light scattering measurements. The spherical shape and a rough nanoparticles surface were observed by atomic force microscopy. The reliability of this approach may be further developed as a protocol to be used to generate PLGA nanoparticles greater than 100 nm able to better penetrate blood brain barrier and release a neuroactive molecule at lower doses.

  3. Magnetic Nanomaterials for Hyperthermia-based Therapy and Controlled Drug Delivery

    PubMed Central

    Kumar, Challa S. S. R.; Mohammad, Faruq

    2011-01-01

    Previous attempts to review the literature on magnetic nanomaterials for hyperthermia-based therapy focused primarily on magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH) using mono metallic/metal oxide nanoparticles. The term “Hyperthermia” in the literature was also confined only to include use of heat for therapeutic applications. Recently, there have been a number of publications demonstrating magnetic nanoparticle-based hyperthermia to generate local heat resulting in the release of drugs either bound to the magnetic nanoparticle or encapsulated within polymeric matrices. In this review article, we present a case for broadening the meaning of the term “hyperthermia” by including thermotherapy as well as magnetically modulated controlled drug delivery. We provide a classification for controlled drug delivery using hyperthermia: Hyperthermia-based controlled Drug delivery through Bond Breaking (DBB) and Hyperthermia-based controlled Drug delivery through Enhanced Permeability (DEP). The review also covers, for the first time, core-shell type magnetic nanomaterials, especially nanoshells prepared using layer-by-layer self-assembly, for the application of hyperthermia-based therapy and controlled drug delivery. The highlight of the review article is to portray potential opportunities in the combination of hyperthermia-based therapy and controlled drug release paradigms for successful application in personalized medicine. PMID:21447363

  4. Fe3O4 Nanoparticles in Targeted Drug/Gene Delivery Systems

    PubMed Central

    Shen, Lazhen; Li, Bei; Qiao, Yongsheng

    2018-01-01

    Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs), the most traditional magnetic nanoparticles, have received a great deal of attention in the biomedical field, especially for targeted drug/gene delivery systems, due to their outstanding magnetism, biocompatibility, lower toxicity, biodegradability, and other features. Naked Fe3O4 NPs are easy to aggregate and oxidize, and thus are often made with various coatings to realize superior properties for targeted drug/gene delivery. In this review, we first list the three commonly utilized synthesis methods of Fe3O4 NPs, and their advantages and disadvantages. In the second part, we describe coating materials that exhibit noticeable features that allow functionalization of Fe3O4 NPs and summarize their methods of drug targeting/gene delivery. Then our efforts will be devoted to the research status and progress of several different functionalized Fe3O4 NP delivery systems loaded with chemotherapeutic agents, and we present targeted gene transitive carriers in detail. In the following section, we illuminate the most effective treatment systems of the combined drug and gene therapy. Finally, we propose opportunities and challenges of the clinical transformation of Fe3O4 NPs targeting drug/gene delivery systems. PMID:29473914

  5. Substantiating In Vivo Magnetic Brain Tumor Targeting of Cationic Iron Oxide Nanocarriers via Adsorptive Surface Masking

    PubMed Central

    Chertok, Beata; David, Allan E.; Moffat, Bradford A.; Yang, Victor C.

    2009-01-01

    Cationic magnetic nanoparticles are attractive as potential vehicles for tumor drug delivery due to their favorable interactions with both the tumor milieu and the therapeutic cargo. However, systemic delivery of these nanoparticles to the tumor site is compromised by their rapid plasma clearance. We developed a simple method for in vivo protection of cationic nanocarriers, using non-covalent surface masking with a conjugate of low molecular weight heparin and polyethylene glycol. Surface masking resulted in an 11-fold increase in plasma AUC and a 2-fold increase in the magnetic capture of systemically injected nanoparticles in orthotopic rodent brain tumors. Overall, the described methodology could expand the prospective applications for cationic magnetic nanoparticles in magnetically-mediated gene/drug delivery. PMID:19782394

  6. Magnetic Nanoparticles for Multi-Imaging and Drug Delivery

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Jae-Hyun; Kim, Ji-wook; Cheon, Jinwoo

    2013-01-01

    Various bio-medical applications of magnetic nanoparticles have been explored during the past few decades. As tools that hold great potential for advancing biological sciences, magnetic nanoparticles have been used as platform materials for enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) agents, biological separation and magnetic drug delivery systems, and magnetic hyperthermia treatment. Furthermore, approaches that integrate various imaging and bioactive moieties have been used in the design of multi-modality systems, which possess synergistically enhanced properties such as better imaging resolution and sensitivity, molecular recognition capabilities, stimulus responsive drug delivery with on-demand control, and spatio-temporally controlled cell signal activation. Below, recent studies that focus on the design and synthesis of multi-mode magnetic nanoparticles will be briefly reviewed and their potential applications in the imaging and therapy areas will be also discussed. PMID:23579479

  7. Development of chitosan-pullulan composite nanoparticles for nasal delivery of vaccines: in vivo studies.

    PubMed

    Cevher, Erdal; Salomon, Stefan K; Somavarapu, Satyanarayana; Brocchini, Steve; Alpar, H Oya

    2015-01-01

    Here, we aimed at developing chitosan/pullulan composite nanoparticles and testing their potential as novel systems for the nasal delivery of diphtheria toxoid (DT). All the chitosan derivatives [N-trimethyl (TMC), chloride and glutamate] and carboxymethyl pullulan (CMP) were synthesised and antigen-loaded composites were prepared by polyion complexation of chitosan and pullulan derivatives (particle size: 239-405 nm; surface charge: +18 and +27 mV). Their immunological effects after intranasal administration to mice were compared to intramuscular route. Composite nanoparticles induced higher levels of IgG responses than particles formed with chitosan derivative and antigen. Nasally administered TMC-pullulan composites showed higher DT serum IgG titre when compared with the other composites. Co-encapsulation of CpG ODN within TMC-CMP-DT nanoparticles resulted in a balanced Th1/Th2 response. TMC/pullulan composite nanoparticles also induced highest cytokine levels compared to those of chitosan salts. These findings demonstrated that TMC-CMP-DT composite nanoparticles are promising delivery system for nasal vaccination.

  8. Silica nanoparticles as vehicles for therapy delivery in neurological injury

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schenk, Desiree

    Acrolein, a very reactive aldehyde, is a culprit in the biochemical cascade after primary, mechanical spinal cord injury (SCI), which leads to the destruction of tissue initially unharmed, referred to as "secondary injury". Additionally, in models of multiple sclerosis (MS) and some clinical research, acrolein levels are significantly increased. This aldehyde overwhelms the natural anti-oxidant system, reacts freely with proteins, and releases during lipid peroxidation (LPO), effectively regenerating its self. Due to its ability to make more copies of itself in the presence of tissue via lipid peroxidation, researchers believe that acrolein plays a role in the increased destruction of the central nervous system in both SCI and MS. Hydralazine, an FDA-approved hypertension drug, has been shown to scavenge acrolein, but its side effects and short half life at the appropriate dose for acrolein scavenging must be improved for beneficial clinical translation. Due to the inefficient delivery of therapeutic drugs, nanoparticles have become a major field of exploration for medical applications. Based on their material properties, they can help treat disease by delivering drugs to specific tissues, enhancing detection methods, or a mixture of both. Nanoparticles made from silica provide distinct advantages. They form porous networks that can carry therapeutic molecules throughout the body. Therefore, a nanomedical approach has been designed using silica nanoparticles as a porous delivery vehicle hydralazine. The silica nanoparticles are formed in a one-step method that incorporates poly(ethylene) glycol (PEG), a stealth molecule, directly onto the nanoparticles. As an additional avenue for study, a natural product in green tea, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), has been explored for its ability to react with acrolein, disabling its reactive capabilities. Upon demonstration of attenuating acrolein, EGCG's delivery may also be improved using the nanomedical approach. The nanoparticles' physical characteristics were characterized and their interactions in vitro were studied for cytotoxicity and potential activity in attenuating neuronal damage.

  9. Current Multistage Drug Delivery Systems Based on the Tumor Microenvironment

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Binlong; Dai, Wenbing; He, Bing; Zhang, Hua; Wang, Xueqing; Wang, Yiguang; Zhang, Qiang

    2017-01-01

    The development of traditional tumor-targeted drug delivery systems based on EPR effect and receptor-mediated endocytosis is very challenging probably because of the biological complexity of tumors as well as the limitations in the design of the functional nano-sized delivery systems. Recently, multistage drug delivery systems (Ms-DDS) triggered by various specific tumor microenvironment stimuli have emerged for tumor therapy and imaging. In response to the differences in the physiological blood circulation, tumor microenvironment, and intracellular environment, Ms-DDS can change their physicochemical properties (such as size, hydrophobicity, or zeta potential) to achieve deeper tumor penetration, enhanced cellular uptake, timely drug release, as well as effective endosomal escape. Based on these mechanisms, Ms-DDS could deliver maximum quantity of drugs to the therapeutic targets including tumor tissues, cells, and subcellular organelles and eventually exhibit the highest therapeutic efficacy. In this review, we expatiate on various responsive modes triggered by the tumor microenvironment stimuli, introduce recent advances in multistage nanoparticle systems, especially the multi-stimuli responsive delivery systems, and discuss their functions, effects, and prospects. PMID:28255348

  10. Current Multistage Drug Delivery Systems Based on the Tumor Microenvironment.

    PubMed

    Chen, Binlong; Dai, Wenbing; He, Bing; Zhang, Hua; Wang, Xueqing; Wang, Yiguang; Zhang, Qiang

    2017-01-01

    The development of traditional tumor-targeted drug delivery systems based on EPR effect and receptor-mediated endocytosis is very challenging probably because of the biological complexity of tumors as well as the limitations in the design of the functional nano-sized delivery systems. Recently, multistage drug delivery systems (Ms-DDS) triggered by various specific tumor microenvironment stimuli have emerged for tumor therapy and imaging. In response to the differences in the physiological blood circulation, tumor microenvironment, and intracellular environment, Ms-DDS can change their physicochemical properties (such as size, hydrophobicity, or zeta potential) to achieve deeper tumor penetration, enhanced cellular uptake, timely drug release, as well as effective endosomal escape. Based on these mechanisms, Ms-DDS could deliver maximum quantity of drugs to the therapeutic targets including tumor tissues, cells, and subcellular organelles and eventually exhibit the highest therapeutic efficacy. In this review, we expatiate on various responsive modes triggered by the tumor microenvironment stimuli, introduce recent advances in multistage nanoparticle systems, especially the multi-stimuli responsive delivery systems, and discuss their functions, effects, and prospects.

  11. Drug loading and release on tumor cells using silk fibroin-albumin nanoparticles as carriers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Subia, B.; Kundu, S. C.

    2013-01-01

    Polymeric and biodegradable nanoparticles are frequently used in drug delivery systems. In this study silk fibroin-albumin blended nanoparticles were prepared using the desolvation method without any surfactant. These nanoparticles are easily internalized by the cells, reside within perinuclear spaces and act as carriers for delivery of the model drug methotrexate. Methotrexate loaded nanoparticles have better encapsulation efficiency, drug loading ability and less toxicity. The in vitro release behavior of methotrexate from the nanoparticles suggests that about 85% of the drug gets released after 12 days. The encapsulation and loading of a drug would depend on factors such as size, charge and hydrophobicity, which affect drug release. MTT assay and conjugation of particles with FITC demonstrate that the silk fibroin-albumin nanoparticles do not affect the viability and biocompatibility of cells. This blended nanoparticle, therefore, could be a promising nanocarrier for the delivery of drugs and other bioactive molecules.

  12. A novel vehicle for local protein delivery to the inner ear: injectable and biodegradable thermosensitive hydrogel loaded with PLGA nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Dai, Juan; Long, Wei; Liang, Zhongping; Wen, Lu; Yang, Fan; Chen, Gang

    2018-01-01

    Delivery of biomacromolecular drugs into the inner ear is challenging, mainly because of their inherent instability as well as physiological and anatomical barriers. Therefore, protein-friendly, hydrogel-based delivery systems following local administration are being developed for inner ear therapy. Herein, biodegradable poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) containing interferon α-2 b (IFN α-2 b) were loaded in chitosan/glycerophosphate (CS/GP)-based thermosensitive hydrogel for IFN delivery by intratympanic injection. The injectable hydrogel possessed a physiological pH and formed semi-solid gel at 37 °C, with good swelling and deswelling properties. The CS/GP hydrogel could slowly degrade as visualized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The presence of NPs in CS/GP gel largely influenced in vitro drug release. In the guinea pig cochlea, a 1.5- to 3-fold increase in the drug exposure time of NPs-CS/GP was found than those of the solution, NPs and IFN-loaded hydrogel. Most importantly, a prolonged residence time was attained without obvious histological changes in the inner ear. This biodegradable, injectable, and thermosensitive NPs-CS/GP system may allow longer delivery of protein drugs to the inner ear, thus may be a potential novel vehicle for inner ear therapy.

  13. Magnetic responsive of paclitaxel delivery system based on SPION and palmitoyl chitosan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mansouri, Mona; Nazarpak, Masoumeh Haghbin; Solouk, Atefeh; Akbari, Somaye; Hasani-Sadrabadi, Mohammad Mahdi

    2017-01-01

    Concerns over cancer treatment have largely focused on chemotherapy and its consequent side effects. Utilizing nanocarriers is thought to be a panacea for mitigating the limitations of chemotherapy, and increasing its safety and efficacy. Magnetically driven Paclitaxel delivery systems are among the commonly investigated types of nanocarriers over the last two decades. In this context, we tried to highlight the application of an AC magnetic field and validate its consequential effects on drug delivery pattern and cell death in such nanodevices. So the aim of this study is to develop an appropriate matrix (Palmitoyl chitosan) co-encapsulated with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) and anticancer drug, Paclitaxel (PTX) via the nanoprecipitation process. Synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and their magnetic properties were investigated by Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM). At initial loading of 10 wt% Paclitaxel, the maximum loading efficiency of nanoparticles with and without SPIONs was in the range of 69% and 72.3%, respectively. In addition, in vitro release data revealed that by the application of a magnetic field, release kinetic changed to the magnetic responsive pattern. Encapsulating anticancer drug in a synthesized nanosystem not only increased the amount of drug in cancer cells but also enhanced cell death (MCF-7) due to hyperthermic effects of SPIONs in the presence of an external magnetic field. In summary, these findings indicate that the resultant nanoparticles may serve as a biocompatible and biodegradable carrier for the precise delivery of powerful cytotoxic anticancer agents such as PTX.

  14. pH shift assembly of adenoviral serotype 5 capsid protein nanosystems for enhanced delivery of nanoparticles, proteins and nucleic acids.

    PubMed

    Rao, Vidhya R; Upadhyay, Arun K; Kompella, Uday B

    2013-11-28

    Empty adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5) capsids devoid of viral genome were developed as a novel delivery system for nanoparticles, proteins, and nucleic acids. Ad5 capsids of 110 nm diameter undergo an increase in particle size to 1637 nm in 1mM acetic acid at pH4.0 and then shrink to 60 nm, following pH reversal to 7.4. These pH shifts induced reversible changes in capsid zeta potential and secondary structure and irreversible changes in tertiary structure of capsid proteins. Using pH shift dependent changes in capsid size and structure, 20 nm fluorescent nanoparticles, FITC-BSA, and Alexa Fluor® 488 conjugated siRNA were encapsulated with high efficiency in Ad5 capsids, as confirmed by electron microscopy and/or flow cytometry. HEK cell uptake with capsid delivery system was 7.8-, 7.4-, and 2.9-fold greater for nanoparticles, FITC-BSA, and Alexa-siRNA, respectively, when compared to plain solutes. Physical mixtures of capsids and fluorescent solutes exhibited less capsid associated fluorescence intensity and cell uptake. Further, unlike physical mixture, pH shift assembled Ad5 capsids protected siRNA from RNase degradation. Ad5 capsids before and after pH shift exhibited endolysosomal escape. Thus, empty Ad5 capsids can encapsulate a variety of solutes based on pH shift assembly, resulting in enhanced cellular delivery. © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Targeted Intracellular Delivery of Antituberculosis Drugs to Mycobacterium tuberculosis-Infected Macrophages via Functionalized Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Bai-Yu; Xue, Min; Thomas, Courtney R.; Meng, Huan; Ferris, Daniel; Nel, Andre E.; Zink, Jeffrey I.

    2012-01-01

    Delivery of antituberculosis drugs by nanoparticles offers potential advantages over free drug, including the potential to target specifically the tissues and cells that are infected by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, thereby simultaneously increasing therapeutic efficacy and decreasing systemic toxicity, and the capacity for prolonged release of drug, thereby allowing less-frequent dosing. We have employed mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSNP) drug delivery systems either equipped with a polyethyleneimine (PEI) coating to release rifampin or equipped with cyclodextrin-based pH-operated valves that open only at acidic pH to release isoniazid (INH) into M. tuberculosis-infected macrophages. The MSNP are internalized efficiently by human macrophages, traffic to acidified endosomes, and release high concentrations of antituberculosis drugs intracellularly. PEI-coated MSNP show much greater loading of rifampin than uncoated MSNP and much greater efficacy against M. tuberculosis-infected macrophages. MSNP were devoid of cytotoxicity at the particle doses employed for drug delivery. Similarly, we have demonstrated that the isoniazid delivered by MSNP equipped with pH-operated nanovalves kill M. tuberculosis within macrophages significantly more effectively than an equivalent amount of free drug. These data demonstrate that MSNP provide a versatile platform that can be functionalized to optimize the loading and intracellular release of specific drugs for the treatment of tuberculosis. PMID:22354311

  16. Magnetically responsive nanoparticles for drug delivery applications using low magnetic field strengths.

    PubMed

    McGill, Shayna L; Cuylear, Carla L; Adolphi, Natalie L; Osiński, Marek; Smyth, Hugh D C

    2009-03-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential of magnetic nanoparticles for enhancing drug delivery using a low oscillating magnetic field (OMF) strength. We investigated the ability of magnetic nanoparticles to cause disruption of a viscous biopolymer barrier to drug delivery and the potential to induce triggered release of drug conjugated to the surfaces of these particles. Various magnetic nanoparticles were screened for thermal response under a 295-kHz OMF with an amplitude of 3.1 kA/m. Based on thermal activity of particles screened, we selected the nanoparticles that displayed desired characteristics for evaluation in a simplified model of an extracellular barrier to drug delivery, using lambda DNA/HindIII. Results indicate that nanoparticles could be used to induce DNA breakage to enhance local diffusion of drugs, despite low temperatures of heating. Additional studies showed increased diffusion of quantum dots in this model by single-particle tracking methods. Bimane was conjugated to the surface of magnetic nanoparticles. Fluorescence and transmission electron microscope images of the conjugated nanoparticles indicated little change in the overall appearance of the nanoparticles. A release study showed greater drug release using OMF, while maintaining low bulk heating of the samples (T = 30 degrees C). This study indicates that lower magnetic field strengths may be successfully utilized for drug delivery applications as a method for drug delivery transport enhancement and drug release switches.

  17. Light-switchable systems for remotely controlled drug delivery.

    PubMed

    Shim, Gayong; Ko, Seungbeom; Kim, Dongyoon; Le, Quoc-Viet; Park, Gyu Thae; Lee, Jaiwoo; Kwon, Taekhyun; Choi, Han-Gon; Kim, Young Bong; Oh, Yu-Kyoung

    2017-12-10

    Light-switchable systems have recently received attention as a new mode of remotely controlled drug delivery. In the past, a multitude of nanomedicine studies have sought to enhance the specificity of drug delivery to target sites by focusing on receptors overexpressed on malignant cells or environmental features of diseases sites. Despite these immense efforts, however, there are few clinically available nanomedicines. We need a paradigm shift in drug delivery. One strategy that may overcome the limitations of pathophysiology-based drug delivery is the use of remotely controlled delivery technology. Unlike pathophysiology-based active drug targeting strategies, light-switchable systems are not affected by the heterogeneity of cells, tissue types, and/or microenvironments. Instead, they are triggered by remote light (i.e., near-infrared) stimuli, which are absorbed by photoresponsive molecules or three-dimensional nanostructures. The sequential conversion of light to heat or reactive oxygen species can activate drug release and allow it to be spatio-temporally controlled. Light-switchable systems have been used to activate endosomal drug escape, modulate the release of chemical and biological drugs, and alter nanoparticle structures to control the release rates of drugs. This review will address the limitations of pathophysiology-based drug delivery systems, the current status of light-based remote-switch systems, and future directions in the application of light-switchable systems for remotely controlled drug delivery. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Lipid-Based Nanoparticles as Pharmaceutical Drug Carriers: From Concepts to Clinic

    PubMed Central

    Puri, Anu; Loomis, Kristin; Smith, Brandon; Lee, Jae-Ho; Yavlovich, Amichai; Heldman, Eli; Blumenthal, Robert

    2010-01-01

    In recent years, various nanotechnology platforms in the area of medical biology, including both diagnostics and therapy, have gained remarkable attention. Moreover, research and development of engineered multifunctional nanoparticles as pharmaceutical drug carriers have spurred exponential growth in applications to medicine in the last decade. Design principles of these nanoparticles, including nano-emulsions, dendrimers, nano-gold, liposomes, drug-carrier conjugates, antibody-drug complexes, and magnetic nanoparticles, are primarily based on unique assemblies of synthetic, natural, or biological components, including but not limited to synthetic polymers, metal ions, oils, and lipids as their building blocks. However, the potential success of these particles in the clinic relies on consideration of important parameters such as nanoparticle fabrication strategies, their physical properties, drug loading efficiencies, drug release potential, and, most importantly, minimum toxicity of the carrier itself. Among these, lipid-based nanoparticles bear the advantage of being the least toxic for in vivo applications, and significant progress has been made in the area of DNA/RNA and drug delivery using lipid-based nanoassemblies. In this review, we will primarily focus on the recent advances and updates on lipid-based nanoparticles for their projected applications in drug delivery. We begin with a review of current activities in the field of liposomes (the so-called honorary nanoparticles), and challenging issues of targeting and triggering will be discussed in detail. We will further describe nanoparticles derived from a novel class of amphipathic lipids called bolaamphiphiles with unique lipid assembly features that have been recently examined as drug/DNA delivery vehicles. Finally, an overview of an emerging novel class of particles (based on lipid components other than phospholipids), solid lipid nanoparticles and nanostructured lipid carriers will be presented. We conclude with a few examples of clinically successful formulations of currently available lipid-based nanoparticles. PMID:20402623

  19. Advances in nanotechnology-based carrier systems for targeted delivery of bioactive drug molecules with special emphasis on immunotherapy in drug resistant tuberculosis - a critical review.

    PubMed

    Singh, Jagdeep; Garg, Tarun; Rath, Goutam; Goyal, Amit K

    2016-06-01

    From the early sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to the present day of life, tuberculosis (TB) still is a global health threat with some new emergence of resistance. This type of emergence poses a vital challenge to control TB cases across the world. Mortality and morbidity rates are high due to this new face of TB. The newer nanotechnology-based drug-delivery approaches involving micro-metric and nano-metric carriers are much needed at this stage. These delivery systems would provide more advantages over conventional systems of treatment by producing enhanced therapeutic efficacy, uniform distribution of drug molecule to the target site, sustained and controlled release of drug molecules and lesser side effects. The main aim to develop these novel drug-delivery systems is to improve the patient compliance and reduce therapy time. This article reviews and elaborates the new concepts and drug-delivery approaches for the treatment of TB involving solid-lipid particulate drug-delivery systems (solid-lipid micro- and nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers), vesicular drug-delivery systems (liposomes, niosomes and liposphere), emulsion-based drug-delivery systems (micro and nanoemulsion) and some other novel drug-delivery systems for the effective treatment of tuberculosis and role of immunomodulators as an adjuvant therapy for management of MDR-TB and XDR-TB.

  20. Advances in nanotechnology-based carrier systems for targeted delivery of bioactive drug molecules with special emphasis on immunotherapy in drug resistant tuberculosis - a critical review.

    PubMed

    Singh, Jagdeep; Garg, Tarun; Rath, Goutam; Goyal, Amit K

    2015-08-11

    From the early sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to the present day of life, tuberculosis (TB) still is a global health threat with some new emergence of resistance. This type of emergence poses a vital challenge to control TB cases across the world. Mortality and morbidity rates are high due to this new face of TB. The newer nanotechnology-based drug-delivery approaches involving micro-metric and nano-metric carriers are much needed at this stage. These delivery systems would provide more advantages over conventional systems of treatment by producing enhanced therapeutic efficacy, uniform distribution of drug molecule to the target site, sustained and controlled release of drug molecules and lesser side effects. The main aim to develop these novel drug-delivery systems is to improve the patient compliance and reduce therapy time. This article reviews and elaborates the new concepts and drug-delivery approaches for the treatment of TB involving solid-lipid particulate drug-delivery systems (solid-lipid micro- and nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers), vesicular drug-delivery systems (liposomes, niosomes and liposphere), emulsion-based drug-delivery systems (micro and nanoemulsion) and some other novel drug-delivery systems for the effective treatment of tuberculosis and role of immunomodulators as an adjuvant therapy for management of MDR-TB and XDR-TB.

  1. Electroinduced Delivery of Hydrogel Nanoparticles in Colon 26 Cells, Visualized by Confocal Fluorescence System.

    PubMed

    Atanasova, Severina; Nikolova, Biliana; Murayama, Shuhei; Stoyanova, Elena; Tsoneva, Iana; Zhelev, Zhivko; Aoki, Ichio; Bakalova, Rumiana

    2016-09-01

    Nano-scale drug delivery systems (nano-DDS) are under intense investigation. Nano-platforms are developed for specific administration of small molecules, drugs, genes, contrast agents [quantum dots (QDs)] both in vivo and in vitro. Electroporation is a biophysical phenomenon which consists of the application of external electrical pulses across the cell membrane. The aim of this study was to research electro-assisted Colon 26 cell line internalization of QDs and QD-loaded nano-hydrogels (polymersomes) visualized by confocal microscopy and their influence on cell viability. The experiments were performed on the Colon 26 cancer cell line, using a confocal fluorescent imaging system and cell viability test. Electroporation facilitated the delivery of nanoparticles in vivo. We demonstrated increased voltage-dependent delivery of nanoparticles into cells after electrotreatment, without significant cell viability reduction. The delivery and retention of the polymersomes in vitro is a promising tool for future cancer treatment strategies and nanomedcine. Copyright© 2016 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved.

  2. Poly (DL-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles with entrapped trans-cinnamaldehyde and eugenol for antimicrobial delivery applications.

    PubMed

    Gomes, Carmen; Moreira, Rosana G; Castell-Perez, Elena

    2011-03-01

    Eugenol and trans-cinnamaldehyde are natural compounds known to be highly effective antimicrobials; however, both are hydrophobic molecules, a limitation to their use within the food industry. The goal of this study was to synthesize spherical poly (DL-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles with entrapped eugenol and trans-cinnamaldehyde for future antimicrobial delivery applications. The emulsion evaporation method was used to form the nanoparticles in the presence of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as a surfactant. The inclusion of antimicrobial compounds into the PLGA nanoparticles was accomplished in the organic phase. Synthesis was followed by ultrafiltration (performed to eliminate the excess of PVA and antimicrobial compound) and freeze-drying. The nanoparticles were characterized by their shape, size, entrapment efficiency, and antimicrobial efficiency. The entrapment efficiency for eugenol and trans-cinnamaldehyde was approximately 98% and 92%, respectively. Controlled release experiments conducted in vitro at 37 °C and 100 rpm for 72 h showed an initial burst followed by a slower rate of release of the antimicrobial entrapped inside the PLGA matrix. All loaded nanoparticles formulations proved to be efficient in inhibiting growth of Salmonella spp. (Gram-negative bacterium) and Listeria spp. (Gram-positive bacterium) with concentrations ranging from 20 to 10 mg/mL. Results suggest that the application of these antimicrobial nanoparticles in food systems may be effective at inhibiting specific pathogens. Nanoencapsulation of lipophilic antimicrobial compounds has great potential for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of delivery in food systems. This study consisted of synthesizing PLGA nanoparticles with entrapped eugenol and trans-cinnamaldehyde. By characterizing these new delivery systems, one can understand the controlled-release mechanism and antimicrobial efficiency that provides a foundation that will enable food manufacturers to design smart food systems for future delivery applications, including packaging and processing, capable of ensuring food safety to consumers.

  3. Fabrication of pRNA nanoparticles to deliver therapeutic RNAs and bioactive compounds into tumor cells

    PubMed Central

    Shu, Yi; Shu, Dan; Haque, Farzin; Guo, Peixuan

    2013-01-01

    RNA nanotechnology is a term that refers to the design, fabrication, and utilization of nanoparticles mainly composed of ribonucleic acids via bottom-up self-assembly. The packaging RNA (pRNA) of the bacteriophage phi29 DNA packaging motor has been developed into a nano-delivery platform. This protocol describes the synthesis, assembly, and functionalization of pRNA nanoparticles based on three ‘toolkits’ derived from pRNA structural features: interlocking loops for hand-in-hand interactions, palindrome sequences for foot-to-foot interactions, and an RNA three-way junction for branch-extension. siRNAs, ribozymes, aptamers, chemical ligands, fluorophores, and other functionalities can also be fused to the pRNA prior to the assembly of the nanoparticles, so as to ensure the production of homogeneous nanoparticles and the retention of appropriate folding and function of the incorporated modules. The resulting self-assembled multivalent pRNA nanoparticles are thermodynamically and chemically stable, and they remain intact at ultra-low concentrations. Gene silencing effects are progressively enhanced with increasing number of siRNA in each pRNA nanoparticle. Systemic injection of the pRNA nanoparticles into xenograft-bearing mice has revealed strong binding to tumors without accumulation in vital organs or tissues. The pRNA-based nano-delivery scaffold paves a new way towards nanotechnological application of pRNA-based nanoparticles for disease detection and treatment. The time required for completing one round of this protocol is 3–4 weeks, including in vitro functional assays, or 2–3 months including in vivo studies. PMID:23928498

  4. tLyP-1-conjugated mesoporous silica nanoparticles for tumor targeting and penetrating hydrophobic drug delivery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Baiyao; Ju, Yang; Song, Guanbin; Cui, Yanbin

    2013-12-01

    Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are among the most appealing candidates for targeted drug delivery, a process for which it is essential that nanoparticles be internalized into targeted cells with high speed and efficiency. Therefore, it is necessary to conjugate a targeting ligand to the surface of a nanocarrier in order to trigger rapid receptor-mediated endocytosis and effective cellular uptake, which occurs following recognition and selective binding to a target cell's membrane receptor. Here, a tumor targeting and penetrating drug delivery system (DDS) based on MSNs ( 100 nm in size) is described. The MSNs were functionalized by engrafting with the tumor-homing and penetrating peptide tLyP-1. The fabricated MSN-tLyP-1 loaded with camptothecin (CPT) showed a robust targeting and penetrating efficiency to HeLa cells and MCF-7 cells and induced the death of these cells. Moreover, the adverse side effect of CPT on human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) was minimized, because the nanoparticles were selectively targeted to the tumor cells, and little hydrophobic CPT was released into the culture medium or blood. The results indicate that the MSN-tLyP-1 DDS has great potential for the delivery of hydrophobic anticancer drugs to target tumors.

  5. Nanoparticle hardness controls the internalization pathway for drug delivery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Ye; Zhang, Xianren; Cao, Dapeng

    2015-01-01

    Nanoparticle (NP)-based drug delivery systems offer fundamental advantages over current therapeutic agents that commonly display a longer circulation time, lower toxicity, specific targeted release, and greater bioavailability. For successful NP-based drug delivery it is essential that the drug-carrying nanocarriers can be internalized by the target cells and transported to specific sites, and the inefficient internalization of nanocarriers is often one of the major sources for drug resistance. In this work, we use the dissipative particle dynamics simulation to investigate the effect of NP hardness on their internalization efficiency. Three simplified models of NP platforms for drug delivery, including polymeric NP, liposome and solid NP, are designed here to represent increasing nanocarrier hardness. Simulation results indicate that NP hardness controls the internalization pathway for drug delivery. Rigid NPs can enter the cell by a pathway of endocytosis, whereas for soft NPs the endocytosis process can be inhibited or frustrated due to wrapping-induced shape deformation and non-uniform ligand distribution. Instead, soft NPs tend to find one of three penetration pathways to enter the cell membrane via rearranging their hydrophobic and hydrophilic segments. Finally, we show that the interaction between nanocarriers and drug molecules is also essential for effective drug delivery.

  6. The in vivo fate of nanoparticles and nanoparticle-loaded microcapsules after oral administration in mice: Evaluation of their potential for colon-specific delivery.

    PubMed

    Ma, Yiming; Fuchs, Adrian V; Boase, Nathan R B; Rolfe, Barbara E; Coombes, Allan G A; Thurecht, Kristofer J

    2015-08-01

    Anti-cancer drug loaded-nanoparticles (NPs) or encapsulation of NPs in colon-targeted delivery systems shows potential for increasing the local drug concentration in the colon leading to improved treatment of colorectal cancer. To investigate the potential of the NP-based strategies for colon-specific delivery, two formulations, free Eudragit® NPs and enteric-coated NP-loaded chitosan-hypromellose microcapsules (MCs) were fluorescently-labelled and their tissue distribution in mice after oral administration was monitored by multispectral small animal imaging. The free NPs showed a shorter transit time throughout the mouse digestive tract than the MCs, with extensive excretion of NPs in faeces at 5h. Conversely, the MCs showed complete NP release in the lower region of the mouse small intestine at 8h post-administration. Overall, the encapsulation of NPs in MCs resulted in a higher colonic NP intensity from 8h to 24h post-administration compared to the free NPs, due to a NP 'guarding' effect of MCs during their transit along mouse gastrointestinal tract which decreased NP excretion in faeces. These imaging data revealed that this widely-utilised colon-targeting MC formulation lacked site-precision for releasing its NP load in the colon, but the increased residence time of the NPs in the lower gastrointestinal tract suggests that it is still useful for localised release of chemotherapeutics, compared to NP administration alone. In addition, both formulations resided in the stomach of mice at considerable concentrations over 24h. Thus, adhesion of NP- or MC-based oral delivery systems to gastric mucosa may be problematic for colon-specific delivery of the cargo to the colon and should be carefully investigated for a full evaluation of particulate delivery systems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. CREKA peptide-conjugated dendrimer nanoparticles for glioblastoma multiforme delivery.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Jingjing; Zhang, Bo; Shen, Shun; Chen, Jun; Zhang, Qizhi; Jiang, Xinguo; Pang, Zhiqing

    2015-07-15

    Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive central nervous system (CNS) tumor because of its fast development, poor prognosis, difficult control and terrible mortality. Poor penetration and retention in the glioblastoma parenchyma were crucial challenges in GBM nanomedicine therapy. Nanoparticle diameter can significantly influence the delivery efficiency in tumor tissue. Decreasing nanoparticle size can improve the nanoparticle penetration in tumor tissue but decrease the nanoparticle retention effect. Therefore, small nanoparticles with high retention effect in tumor are urgently needed for effective GBM drug delivery. In present study, a small nanoparticle drug delivery system was developed by conjugating fibrin-binding peptide CREKA to Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer, where PEGylated PAMAM is used as drug carrier due to its small size and good penetration in tumor and CREKA is used to target the abundant fibrin in GBM for enhanced retention in tumor. In vitro binding ability tests demonstrated that CREKA can significantly enhanced nanoparticle binding with fibrin. In vivo fluorescence imaging of GBM bearing nude mice, ex vivo brain imaging and frozen slices fluorescence imaging further revealed that the CREKA-modified PAMAM achieved higher accumulation and deeper penetration in GBM tissue than unmodified one. These results indicated that the CREKA-modified PAMAM could penetrate the GBM tissue deeply and enhance the retention effect, which was a promising strategy for brain tumor therapy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Hybrid Mesoporous Silica-Based Drug Carrier Nanostructures with Improved Degradability by Hydroxyapatite.

    PubMed

    Hao, Xiaohong; Hu, Xixue; Zhang, Cuimiao; Chen, Shizhu; Li, Zhenhua; Yang, Xinjian; Liu, Huifang; Jia, Guang; Liu, Dandan; Ge, Kun; Liang, Xing-Jie; Zhang, Jinchao

    2015-10-27

    Potential bioaccumulation is one of the biggest limitations for silica nanodrug delivery systems in cancer therapy. In this study, a mesoporous silica nanoparticles/hydroxyapatite (MSNs/HAP) hybrid drug carrier, which enhanced the biodegradability of silica, was developed by a one-step method. The morphology and structure of the nanoparticles were characterized by TEM, DLS, FT-IR, XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, and XPS, and the drug loading and release behaviors were tested. TEM and ICP-OES results indicate that the degradability of the nanoparticles has been significantly improved by Ca(2+) escape from the skeleton in an acid environment. The MSNs/HAP sample exhibits a higher drug loading content of about 5 times that of MSNs. The biological experiment results show that the MSNs/HAP not only exhibits good biocompatibility and antitumor effect but also greatly reduces the side effects of free DOX. The as-synthesized hybrid nanoparticles may act as a promising drug delivery system due to their good biocompatibility, high drug loading efficiency, pH sensitivity, and excellent biodegradability.

  9. Nano-Chitosan Particles in Anticancer Drug Delivery: An Up-to-Date Review.

    PubMed

    Kamath, Pooja R; Sunil, Dhanya

    2017-01-01

    Cancer is one of the most awful lethal diseases all over the world and the success of its current chemotherapeutic treatment strategies is limited due to several associated drawbacks. The exploration of cancer cell physiology and its microenvironment has exposed the potential of various classes of nanocarriers to deliver anticancer chemotherapeutic agents at the tumor target site. These nanocarriers must evade the immune surveillance system and achieve target selectivity. Besides, they must gain access into the interior of cancerous cells, evade endosomal entrapment and discharge the drugs in a sustained manner. Chitosan, the second naturally abundant polysaccharide is a biocompatible, biodegradable and mucoadhesive cationic polymer which has been exploited extensively in the last few years in the effective delivery of anticancer chemotherapeutics to the target tumor cells. Therapeutic agent-loaded surface modified chitosan nanoparticles are established to be more stable, permeable and bioactive. This review will provide an up-to-date evidence-based background on recent pharmaceutical advancements in the transformation of chitosan nanoparticles for smart anticancer therapeutic drug delivery. • Efforts to improve cancer chemotherapy by exploiting the intrinsic differences between normal and neoplastic cells to achieve maximum effective drug delivery to target cancer cells through bioengineered chitosan nano delivery vectors are discussed. • The easy manipulation of surface characteristics of chitosan based nanoparticles by various functionalization methods to achieve targeted drug delivery proves its potential to be an essential tool for the advancement of anticancer drug-delivery vectors. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  10. Stimuli-Responsive Nano-Carrier for Co-delivery of MiR-31 and Doxorubicin to Suppress High MtEF4 Cancer.

    PubMed

    Wang, Fang; Zhang, Lingyun; Bai, Xiufeng; Cao, Xintao; Jiao, Xiangyu; Huang, Yan; Li, Yansheng; Qin, Yan; Wen, Yongqiang

    2018-06-13

    Gene interference-based therapeutics represents a fascinating challenge and shows enormous potential for cancer treatment, in which microRNA is used to correct abnormal gene. Based on the above, we introduced microRNA-31 to bind to 3' untranslated region of mtEF4, resulting in the downregulation of its messenger RNA and protein to trigger cancer cells apoptosis through mitochondria-related pathway. To achieve better therapeutic effect, a mesoporous silica nanoparticles-based controlled nanoplatform had been developed. This system was fabricated by conjugation of microRNA-31 onto doxorubicin-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles with a PEI/HA coating, and drug release was triggered by acidic environment of tumors. By feat of surface functionalization and tumor-specific conjugation to nanoparticles, our drug delivery system could promote intracellular accumulation of drugs via the active transport at tumor site. More importantly, microRNA-31 not only directly targeted to mtEF4 to promote cells death, but had synergistic effects when used in combination with doxorubicin, and achieved excellent superadditive effects. As such, our research might provide new insights towards detecting high mtEF4 cancer and exploiting highly effective anticancer drugs.

  11. NIR-to-visible upconversion nanoparticles for fluorescent labeling and targeted delivery of siRNA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, Shan; Zhang, Yong; Lim, Kian Meng; Sim, Eugene K. W.; Ye, Lei

    2009-04-01

    Near-infrared (NIR)-to-visible upconversion fluorescent nanoparticles were synthesized and used for imaging and targeted delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) to cancer cells. Silica-coated NaYF4 upconversion nanoparticles (UCNs) co-doped with lanthanide ions (Yb/Er) were synthesized. Folic acid and anti-Her2 antibody conjugated UCNs were used to fluorescently label the folate receptors of HT-29 cells and Her2 receptors of SK-BR-3 cells, respectively. The intracellular uptake of the folic acid and antibody conjugated UCNs was visualized using a confocal fluorescence microscope equipped with an NIR laser. siRNA was attached to anti-Her2 antibody conjugated UCNs and the delivery of these nanoparticles to SK-BR-3 cells was studied. Meanwhile, a luciferase assay was established to confirm the gene silencing effect of siRNA. Upconversion nanoparticles can serve as a fluorescent probe and delivery system for simultaneous imaging and delivery of biological molecules.

  12. Mathematical modeling of coupled drug and drug-encapsulated nanoparticle transport in patient-specific coronary artery walls

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hossain, Shaolie S.; Hossainy, Syed F. A.; Bazilevs, Yuri; Calo, Victor M.; Hughes, Thomas J. R.

    2012-02-01

    The majority of heart attacks occur when there is a sudden rupture of atherosclerotic plaque, exposing prothrombotic emboli to coronary blood flow, forming clots that can cause blockages of the arterial lumen. Diseased arteries can be treated with drugs delivered locally to vulnerable plaques. The objective of this work was to develop a computational tool-set to support the design and analysis of a catheter-based nanoparticulate drug delivery system to treat vulnerable plaques and diffuse atherosclerosis. A three-dimensional mathematical model of coupled mass transport of drug and drug-encapsulated nanoparticles was developed and solved numerically utilizing isogeometric finite element analysis. Simulations were run on a patient-specific multilayered coronary artery wall segment with a vulnerable plaque and the effect of artery and plaque inhomogeneity was analyzed. The method captured trends observed in local drug delivery and demonstrated potential for optimizing drug design parameters, including delivery location, nanoparticle surface properties, and drug release rate.

  13. Conatumumab (AMG 655) coated nanoparticles for targeted pro-apoptotic drug delivery.

    PubMed

    Fay, Francois; McLaughlin, Kirsty M; Small, Donna M; Fennell, Dean A; Johnston, Patrick G; Longley, Daniel B; Scott, Christopher J

    2011-11-01

    Colloidal nanoparticle drug delivery systems have attracted much interest for their ability to enable effective formulation and delivery of therapeutic agents. The selective delivery of these nanoparticles to the disease site can be enhanced by coating the surface of the nanoparticles with targeting moieties, such as antibodies. In this current work, we demonstrate that antibodies on the surface of the particles can also elicit key biological effects. Specifically, we demonstrate the induction of apoptosis in colorectal HCT116 cancer cells using PLGA nanoparticles coated with Conatumumab (AMG 655) death receptor 5-specific antibodies (DR5-NP). We show that DR5-NP preferentially target DR5-expressing cells and present a sufficient density of antibody paratopes to induce apoptosis via DR5, unlike free AMG 655 or non-targeted control nanoparticles. We also demonstrate that DR5-targeted nanoparticles encapsulating the cytotoxic drug camptothecin are effectively targeted to the tumour cells, thereby producing enhanced cytotoxic effects through simultaneous drug delivery and apoptosis induction. These results demonstrate that antibodies on nanoparticulate surfaces can be exploited for dual modes of action to enhance the therapeutic utility of the modality. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Multifunctional combinatorial-designed nanoparticles for nucleic acid therapy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Amiji, Mansoor M.

    2016-05-01

    Recent advances in biomedical sciences, especially in the field of human genetics, is increasingly considered to facilitate a new frontier in development of novel disease-modifying therapeutics. One of major challenges in the development of nucleic acid therapeutics is efficient and specific delivery of the molecules to the target tissue and cell upon systemic administration. In this report, I discuss our strategy to develop combinatorial-designed multifunctional nanoparticle assemblies based on natural biocompatible and biodegradable polymers for nucleic acid delivery in: (1) overcoming tumor drug resistance and (2) genetic modulation of macrophage functional phenotype from M1 to M2 in treatment of inflammatory diseases.

  15. Peptides for Specific Intracellular Delivery and Targeting of Nanoparticles: Implications for Developing Nanoparticle-Mediated Drug Delivery

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2010-01-01

    for selective delivery of therapeutics and imaging agents to the tumour vasculature. Drug Resist. Update 8(6), 381–402 (2005). 89 Smith BR, Cheng Z...component can be realized. Select examples from the literature have already demonstrated the feasibility of generating hybrid NP–peptide constructs in...peptide-mediated delivery of NP-based imaging agents (fluorescence and magnetic resonance), drug-delivery vehicles, therapeutic proteins and nucleic

  16. Dual responsive PNIPAM-chitosan targeted magnetic nanopolymers for targeted drug delivery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yadavalli, Tejabhiram; Ramasamy, Shivaraman; Chandrasekaran, Gopalakrishnan; Michael, Isaac; Therese, Helen Annal; Chennakesavulu, Ramasamy

    2015-04-01

    A dual stimuli sensitive magnetic hyperthermia based drug delivery system has been developed for targeted cancer treatment. Thermosensitive amine terminated poly-N-isopropylacrylamide complexed with pH sensitive chitosan nanoparticles was prepared as the drug carrier. Folic acid and fluorescein were tagged to the nanopolymer complex via N-hydroxysuccinimide and ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide reaction to form a fluorescent and cancer targeting magnetic carrier system. The formation of the polymer complex was confirmed using infrared spectroscopy. Gadolinium doped nickel ferrite nanoparticles prepared by a hydrothermal method were encapsulated in the polymer complex to form a magnetic drug carrier system. The proton relaxation studies on the magnetic carrier system revealed a 200% increase in the T1 proton relaxation rate. These magnetic carriers were loaded with curcumin using solvent evaporation method with a drug loading efficiency of 86%. Drug loaded nanoparticles were tested for their targeting and anticancer properties on four cancer cell lines with the help of MTT assay. The results indicated apoptosis of cancer cell lines within 3 h of incubation.

  17. Preparation, characterization and in vivo evaluation of a combination delivery system based on hyaluronic acid/jeffamine hydrogel loaded with PHBV/PLGA blend nanoparticles for prolonged delivery of Teriparatide.

    PubMed

    Bahari Javan, Nika; Montazeri, Hamed; Rezaie Shirmard, Leila; Jafary Omid, Nersi; Barbari, Ghullam Reza; Amini, Mohsen; Ghahremani, Mohammad Hossein; Rafiee-Tehrani, Morteza; Abedin Dorkoosh, Farid

    2017-04-01

    In the current study, biodegradable PHBV/PLGA blend nanoparticles (NPs) containing Teriparatide were loaded in hyaluronic acid/jeffamine (HA-JEF ED-600) hydrogel to prepare a combination delivery system (CDS) for prolonged delivery of Teriparatide. The principal purpose of the present study was to formulate an effective and prolonged Teriparatide delivery system in order to reduce the frequency of injection and thus enhance patient's compliance. Morphological properties, swelling behaviour, crosslinking efficiency and rheological characterization of HA-JEF ED-600 hydrogel were evaluated. The CDS was acquired by adding PHBV/PLGA NPs to HA-JEF ED-600 hydrogel simultaneously with crosslinking reaction. The percentage of NPs incorporation within the hydrogel as well as the loading capacity and morphology of Teriparatide loaded CDS were examined. Intrinsic fluorescence and circular dichroism spectroscopy proved that Teriparatide remains stable after processing. The release profile represented 63% Teriparatide release from CDS within 50days with lower burst release compared to NPs and hydrogel. MTT assay was conducted by using NIH3T3 cell line and no sign of reduction in cell viability was observed. Based on Miller and Tainter method, LD 50 of Teriparatide loaded CDS was 131.8mg/kg. In vivo studies demonstrated that Teriparatide loaded CDS could effectively increase serum calcium level after subcutaneous injection in mice. Favourable results in the current study introduced CDS as a promising candidate for controlled delivery of Teriparatide and pave the way for future investigations in the field of designing prolonged delivery systems for other peptides and proteins. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Bacterial-Derived Polymer Poly-y-Glutamic Acid (y-PGA)-Based Micro/Nanoparticles as a Delivery System for Antimicrobials and Other Biomedical Applications.

    PubMed

    Khalil, Ibrahim R; Burns, Alan T H; Radecka, Iza; Kowalczuk, Marek; Khalaf, Tamara; Adamus, Grazyna; Johnston, Brian; Khechara, Martin P

    2017-02-02

    In the past decade, poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA)-based micro/nanoparticles have garnered remarkable attention as antimicrobial agents and for drug delivery, owing to their controlled and sustained-release properties, low toxicity, as well as biocompatibility with tissue and cells. γ-PGA is a naturally occurring biopolymer produced by several gram-positive bacteria that, due to its biodegradable, non-toxic and non-immunogenic properties, has been used successfully in the medical, food and wastewater industries. Moreover, its carboxylic group on the side chains can offer an attachment point to conjugate antimicrobial and various therapeutic agents, or to chemically modify the solubility of the biopolymer. The unique characteristics of γ-PGA have a promising future for medical and pharmaceutical applications. In the present review, the structure, properties and micro/nanoparticle preparation methods of γ-PGA and its derivatives are covered. Also, we have highlighted the impact of micro/nanoencapsulation or immobilisation of antimicrobial agents and various disease-related drugs on biodegradable γ-PGA micro/nanoparticles.

  19. Self-assemble nanoparticles based on polypeptides containing C-terminal luminescent Pt-cysteine complex

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vlakh, E. G.; Grachova, E. V.; Zhukovsky, D. D.; Hubina, A. V.; Mikhailova, A. S.; Shakirova, J. R.; Sharoyko, V. V.; Tunik, S. P.; Tennikova, T. B.

    2017-02-01

    The growing attention to the luminescent nanocarriers is strongly stimulated by their potential application as drug delivery systems and by the necessity to monitor their distribution in cells and tissues. In this communication we report on the synthesis of amphiphilic polypeptides bearing C-terminal phosphorescent label together with preparation of nanoparticles using the polypeptides obtained. The approach suggested is based on a unique and highly technological process where the new phosphorescent Pt-cysteine complex serves as initiator of the ring-opening polymerization of α-amino acid N-carboxyanhydrides to obtain the polypeptides bearing intact the platinum chromophore covalently bound to the polymer chain. It was established that the luminescent label retains unchanged its emission characteristics not only in the polypeptides but also in more complicated nanoaggregates such as the polymer derived amphiphilic block-copolymers and self-assembled nanoparticles. The phosphorescent nanoparticles display no cytotoxicity and hemolytic activity in the tested range of concentrations and easily internalize into living cells that makes possible in vivo cell visualization, including prospective application in time resolved imaging and drug delivery monitoring.

  20. Bacterial-Derived Polymer Poly-γ-Glutamic Acid (γ-PGA)-Based Micro/Nanoparticles as a Delivery System for Antimicrobials and Other Biomedical Applications

    PubMed Central

    Khalil, Ibrahim R.; Burns, Alan T. H.; Radecka, Iza; Kowalczuk, Marek; Khalaf, Tamara; Adamus, Grazyna; Johnston, Brian; Khechara, Martin P.

    2017-01-01

    In the past decade, poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA)-based micro/nanoparticles have garnered remarkable attention as antimicrobial agents and for drug delivery, owing to their controlled and sustained-release properties, low toxicity, as well as biocompatibility with tissue and cells. γ-PGA is a naturally occurring biopolymer produced by several gram-positive bacteria that, due to its biodegradable, non-toxic and non-immunogenic properties, has been used successfully in the medical, food and wastewater industries. Moreover, its carboxylic group on the side chains can offer an attachment point to conjugate antimicrobial and various therapeutic agents, or to chemically modify the solubility of the biopolymer. The unique characteristics of γ-PGA have a promising future for medical and pharmaceutical applications. In the present review, the structure, properties and micro/nanoparticle preparation methods of γ-PGA and its derivatives are covered. Also, we have highlighted the impact of micro/nanoencapsulation or immobilisation of antimicrobial agents and various disease-related drugs on biodegradable γ-PGA micro/nanoparticles. PMID:28157175

  1. Bacteriophage T4 as a Nanoparticle Platform to Display and Deliver Pathogen Antigens: Construction of an Effective Anthrax Vaccine.

    PubMed

    Tao, Pan; Li, Qin; Shivachandra, Sathish B; Rao, Venigalla B

    2017-01-01

    Protein-based subunit vaccines represent a safer alternative to the whole pathogen in vaccine development. However, limitations of physiological instability and low immunogenicity of such vaccines demand an efficient delivery system to stimulate robust immune responses. The bacteriophage T4 capsid-based antigen delivery system can robustly elicit both humoral and cellular immune responses without any adjuvant. Therefore, it offers a strong promise as a novel antigen delivery system. Currently Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, is a serious biothreat agent and no FDA-approved anthrax vaccine is available for mass vaccination. Here, we describe a potential anthrax vaccine using a T4 capsid platform to display and deliver the 83 kDa protective antigen, PA, a key component of the anthrax toxin. This T4 vaccine platform might serve as a universal antigen delivery system that can be adapted to develop vaccines against any infectious disease.

  2. HPMA-based block copolymers promote differential drug delivery kinetics for hydrophobic and amphiphilic molecules.

    PubMed

    Tomcin, Stephanie; Kelsch, Annette; Staff, Roland H; Landfester, Katharina; Zentel, Rudolf; Mailänder, Volker

    2016-04-15

    We describe a method how polymeric nanoparticles stabilized with (2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA)-based block copolymers are used as drug delivery systems for a fast release of hydrophobic and a controlled release of an amphiphilic molecule. The versatile method of the miniemulsion solvent-evaporation technique was used to prepare polystyrene (PS) as well as poly-d/l-lactide (PDLLA) nanoparticles. Covalently bound or physically adsorbed fluorescent dyes labeled the particles' core and their block copolymer corona. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) in combination with flow cytometry measurements were applied to demonstrate the burst release of a fluorescent hydrophobic drug model without the necessity of nanoparticle uptake. In addition, CLSM studies and quantitative calculations using the image processing program Volocity® show the intracellular detachment of the amphiphilic block copolymer from the particles' core after uptake. Our findings offer the possibility to combine the advantages of a fast release for hydrophobic and a controlled release for an amphiphilic molecule therefore pointing to the possibility to a 'multi-step and multi-site' targeting by one nanocarrier. We describe thoroughly how different components of a nanocarrier end up in cells. This enables different cargos of a nanocarrier having a consecutive release and delivery of distinct components. Most interestingly we demonstrate individual kinetics of distinct components of such a system: first the release of a fluorescent hydrophobic drug model at contact with the cell membrane without the necessity of nanoparticle uptake. Secondly, the intracellular detachment of the amphiphilic block copolymer from the particles' core after uptake occurs. This offers the possibility to combine the advantages of a fast release for a hydrophobic substance at the time of interaction of the nanoparticle with the cell surface and a controlled release for an amphiphilic molecule later on therefore pointing to the possibility to a 'multi-step and multisite' targeting by one nanocarrier. We therefore feel that this could be used for many cellular systems where the combined and orchestrated delivery of components is prerequisite in order to obtain the highest efficiency. Copyright © 2016 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Manufacture and Drug Delivery Applications of Silk Nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Wongpinyochit, Thidarat; Johnston, Blair F; Seib, F Philipp

    2016-10-08

    Silk is a promising biopolymer for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications due to its outstanding mechanical properties, biocompatibility and biodegradability, as well its ability to protect and subsequently release its payload in response to a trigger. While silk can be formulated into various material formats, silk nanoparticles are emerging as promising drug delivery systems. Therefore, this article covers the procedures for reverse engineering silk cocoons to yield a regenerated silk solution that can be used to generate stable silk nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are subsequently characterized, drug loaded and explored as a potential anticancer drug delivery system. Briefly, silk cocoons are reverse engineered first by degumming the cocoons, followed by silk dissolution and clean up, to yield an aqueous silk solution. Next, the regenerated silk solution is subjected to nanoprecipitation to yield silk nanoparticles - a simple but powerful method that generates uniform nanoparticles. The silk nanoparticles are characterized according to their size, zeta potential, morphology and stability in aqueous media, as well as their ability to entrap a chemotherapeutic payload and kill human breast cancer cells. Overall, the described methodology yields uniform silk nanoparticles that can be readily explored for a myriad of applications, including their use as a potential nanomedicine.

  4. Plasmon-Enhanced Photocleaving Dynamics in Colloidal MicroRNA-Functionalized Silver Nanoparticles Monitored with Second Harmonic Generation.

    PubMed

    Kumal, Raju R; Abu-Laban, Mohammad; Landry, Corey R; Kruger, Blake; Zhang, Zhenyu; Hayes, Daniel J; Haber, Louis H

    2016-10-11

    The photocleaving dynamics of colloidal microRNA-functionalized nanoparticles are studied using time-dependent second harmonic generation (SHG) measurements. Model drug-delivery systems composed of oligonucleotides attached to either silver nanoparticles or polystyrene nanoparticles using a nitrobenzyl photocleavable linker are prepared and characterized. The photoactivated controlled release is observed to be most efficient on resonance at 365 nm irradiation, with pseudo-first-order rate constants that are linearly proportional to irradiation powers. Additionally, silver nanoparticles show a 6-fold plasmon enhancement in photocleaving efficiency over corresponding polystyrene nanoparticle rates, while our previous measurements on gold nanoparticles show a 2-fold plasmon enhancement compared to polystyrene nanoparticles. Characterizations including extinction spectroscopy, electrophoretic mobility, and fluorimetry measurements confirm the analysis from the SHG results. The real-time SHG measurements are shown to be a highly sensitive method for investigating plasmon-enhanced photocleaving dynamics in model drug delivery systems.

  5. Analysis of nanoparticle delivery to tumours

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wilhelm, Stefan; Tavares, Anthony J.; Dai, Qin; Ohta, Seiichi; Audet, Julie; Dvorak, Harold F.; Chan, Warren C. W.

    2016-05-01

    Targeting nanoparticles to malignant tissues for improved diagnosis and therapy is a popular concept. However, after surveying the literature from the past 10 years, only 0.7% (median) of the administered nanoparticle dose is found to be delivered to a solid tumour. This has negative consequences on the translation of nanotechnology for human use with respect to manufacturing, cost, toxicity, and imaging and therapeutic efficacy. In this article, we conduct a multivariate analysis on the compiled data to reveal the contributions of nanoparticle physicochemical parameters, tumour models and cancer types on the low delivery efficiency. We explore the potential causes of the poor delivery efficiency from the perspectives of tumour biology (intercellular versus transcellular transport, enhanced permeability and retention effect, and physicochemical-dependent nanoparticle transport through the tumour stroma) as well as competing organs (mononuclear phagocytic and renal systems) and present a 30-year research strategy to overcome this fundamental limitation. Solving the nanoparticle delivery problem will accelerate the clinical translation of nanomedicine.

  6. Cyclodextrin-gated mesoporous silica nanoparticles as drug carriers for red light-induced drug release

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chai, Shiqiang; Guo, Yu; Zhang, Zhenyu; Chai, Zhen; Ma, Yurong; Qi, Limin

    2017-04-01

    Long wavelength light-responsive drug delivery systems based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have attracted much attention in the last few years. In this paper, a red light (660 nm)-responsive drug delivery system based on low-cost cyclodextrin (CD)-gated MSNs containing a photodynamic therapy (PDT) photosensitizer (Chlorin e6, Ce6) was developed for the first time. The drug release experiment in water demonstrated that with the irradiation of red light, Ce6 can be excited to generate singlet oxygen, which can further cleave the singlet oxygen sensitive linker to trigger the departure of CD and the release of cargo. Further in vitro release experiments confirmed that cargo can be released from MSNs with the irradiation of red light and spread into the entire cell. The relative low power density (0.5 W cm-2) of excitation light together with the short irradiation time (one-three min) result in a low light dose (30-90 J cm-2) for the drug delivery, contributing to their potential clinical applications.

  7. Human cytotoxic T-lymphocyte membrane-camouflaged nanoparticles combined with low-dose irradiation: a new approach to enhance drug targeting in gastric cancer.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Lianru; Li, Rutian; Chen, Hong; Wei, Jia; Qian, Hanqing; Su, Shu; Shao, Jie; Wang, Lifeng; Qian, Xiaoping; Liu, Baorui

    2017-01-01

    Cell membrane-derived nanoparticles are becoming more attractive because of their ability to mimic many features of their source cells. This study reports on a biomimetic delivery platform based on human cytotoxic T-lymphocyte membranes. In this system, the surface of poly-lactic- co -glycolic acid nanoparticles was camouflaged using T-lymphocyte membranes, and local low-dose irradiation (LDI) was used as a chemoattractant for nanoparticle targeting. The T-lymphocyte membrane coating was verified using dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, and confocal laser scanning microscopy. This new platform reduced nanoparticle phagocytosis by macrophages to 23.99% ( P =0.002). Systemic administration of paclitaxel-loaded T-lymphocyte membrane-coated nanoparticles inhibited the growth of human gastric cancer by 56.68% in Balb/c nude mice. Application of LDI at the tumor site significantly increased the tumor growth inhibition rate to 88.50%, and two mice achieved complete remission. Furthermore, LDI could upregulate the expression of adhesion molecules in tumor vessels, which is important in the process of leukocyte adhesion and might contribute to the localization of T-lymphocyte membrane-encapsulated nanoparticles in tumors. Therefore, this new drug-delivery platform retained both the long circulation time and tumor site accumulation ability of human cytotoxic T lymphocytes, while local LDI could significantly enhance tumor localization.

  8. Noninvasive Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer Imaging of in vivo Premature Drug Release from Polymeric Nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Zou, Peng; Chen, Hongwei; Paholak, Hayley J.; Sun, Duxin

    2013-01-01

    Understanding in vivo drug release kinetics is critical for the development of nanoparticle-based delivery systems. In this study, we developed a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) imaging approach to noninvasively monitor in vitro and in vivo cargo release from polymeric nanoparticles. The FRET donor dye (DiO or DiD) and acceptor dye (DiI or DiR) were individually encapsulated into poly(ethylene oxide)-b-polystyrene (PEO-PS) nanoparticles. When DiO (donor) nanoparticles and DiI (acceptor) nanoparticles were co-incubated with cancer cells for 2 h, increased FRET signals were observed from cell membranes, suggesting rapid release of DiO and DiI to cell membranes. Similarly, increased FRET ratios were detected in nude mice after intravenous co-administration of DiD (donor) nanoparticles and DiR (acceptor) nanoparticles. In contrast, another group of nude mice i.v. administrated with DiD/DiR co-loaded nanoparticles showed decreased FRET ratios. Based on the difference in FRET ratios between the two groups, in vivo DiD/DiR release half-life from PEO-PS nanoparticles was determined to be 9.2 min. In addition, it was observed that the presence of cell membranes facilitated burst release of lipophilic cargos while incorporation of oleic acid-coated iron oxide into PEO-PS nanoparticles slowed the release of DiD/DiR to cell membranes. The developed in vitro and in vivo FRET imaging techniques can be used to screening stable nano-formulations for lipophilic drug delivery. PMID:24033270

  9. Development of Cy5.5-Labeled Hydrophobically Modified Glycol Chitosan Nanoparticles for Protein Delivery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chin, Amanda

    Therapeutic proteins are often highly susceptible to enzymatic degradation, thus restricting their in vivo stability. To overcome this limitation, delivery systems designed to promote uptake and reduce degradation kinetics have undergone a rapid shift from macro-scale systems to nanomaterial based carriers. Many of these nanomaterials, however, elicit immune responses and may have cytotoxic effects both in vitro and in vivo. The naturally derived polysaccharide chitosan has emerged as a promising biodegradable material and has been utilized for many biomedical applications; nevertheless, its function is often constrained by poor solubility. Glycol chitosan, a derivative of chitosan, can be hydrophobically modified to impart amphiphilic properties that enable the self-assembly into nanoparticles in aqueous media at neutral pH. This nanoparticle system has shown initial success as a therapeutic agent in several model cell culture systems, but little is known about its stability against enzymatic degradation. Therefore, the goal of this research was to investigate the resistance of hydrophobically modified glycol chitosan against enzyme-catalyzed degradation using an in vivo simulated system containing lysozyme. To synthesize the nanoparticles, hydrophobic cholanic acid was first covalently conjugated to glycol chitosan using of N-(3-Dimethylaminopropyl)-N'-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS). Conjugates were purified by dialysis, lyophilized, and ultra-sonicated to form nanoparticles. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy confirmed the binding of 5beta-cholanic acid to the glycol chitosan. Particle size and stability over time were determined with dynamic light scattering (DLS), and particle morphology was evaluated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The average diameter of the nanoparticles was approximately 200 nm, which remained stable at 4°C for up to 10 days. Additionally, a near infrared fluorescent (NIRF) dye, Cy5.5, was used to label the glycol chitosan nanoparticles to enable the noninvasive imaging of living cells. A model protein (bovine serum albumin, BSA) was encapsulated within the glycol chitosan nanoparticles, and its loading efficiency was calculated to be 88%. Release profile of the BSA showed that only 4% (cumulative mass) was achieved by day 7. Minimal cytotoxicity was observed after delivery of the chitosan vehicle alone. To test degradation kinetics, the BSA-loaded nanoparticles were incubated with lysozyme for up to 3 hours and were applied in SDS-PAGE to determine if enzyme-catalyzed degradation triggered premature release of the encapsulated protein. Confocal laser scanning microscopy was used to visualize the spatiotemporal distribution of FITC-BSA-loaded glycol chitosan nanoparticles after delivery to the rat osteosarcoma (ROS17/2.8) and mouse calvaria-derived (MC3T3-E1) cells.

  10. Development and characterization of glutathione-conjugated albumin nanoparticles for improved brain delivery of hydrophilic fluorescent marker.

    PubMed

    Patel, Prerak J; Acharya, Niyati S; Acharya, Sanjeev R

    2013-01-01

    The glutathione-conjugated bovine serum albumin (BSA) nanoparticles were constructed in the present exploration as a novel biodegradable carrier for brain-specific drug delivery with evaluation of its in vitro and in vivo delivery properties. BSA nanocarriers were activated and conjugated to the distal amine functions of the glutathione via carbodiimide chemistry using EDAC as a mediator. These nanoparticles were characterized for particle shape, average size, SPAN value, drug entrapment and in vitro drug release. Further, presence of glutathione on the surface of BSA nanoparticles was confirmed by Ellman's assay, which has suggested that approximately 750 units of glutathione were conjugated per BSA nanoparticle. To evaluate the brain delivery properties of the glutathione-conjugated BSA nanoparticles fluorescein sodium was used as a model hydrophilic compound. Permeability and neuronal uptake properties of developed formulations were evaluated against the MDCK-MDR1 endothelial and neuro-glial cells, respectively. The permeability of glutathione-conjugated BSA nanoparticles across the monolayer of MDCK-MDR1 endothelial tight junction was shown significantly higher than that of unconjugated nanoparticles and fluorescein sodium solution. Similarly, glutathione-conjugated nanoparticles exhibited considerably higher uptake by neuro-glial cells which was inferred by high fluorescence intensity under microscope in comparison to unconjugated nanoparticles and fluorescein sodium solution. Following an intravenous administration, nearly three folds higher fluorescein sodium was carried to the rat brain by glutathione-conjugated nanoparticles as compared to unconjugated nanoparticles. The significant in vitro and in vivo results suggest that glutathione-conjugated BSA nanoparticles is a promising brain drug delivery system with low toxicity.

  11. Nucleoside-Lipid-Based Nanocarriers for Sorafenib Delivery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Benizri, Sebastien; Ferey, Ludivine; Alies, Bruno; Mebarek, Naila; Vacher, Gaelle; Appavoo, Ananda; Staedel, Cathy; Gaudin, Karen; Barthélémy, Philippe

    2018-01-01

    Although the application of sorafenib, a small inhibitor of tyrosine protein kinases, to cancer treatments remains a worldwide option in chemotherapy, novel strategies are needed to address the low water solubility (< 5 μM), toxicity, and side effects issues of this drug. In this context, the use of nanocarriers is currently investigated in order to overcome these drawbacks. In this contribution, we report a new type of sorafenib-based nanoparticles stabilized by hybrid nucleoside-lipids. The solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) showed negative or positive zeta potential values depending on the nucleoside-lipid charge. Transmission electron microscopy of sorafenib-loaded SLNs revealed parallelepiped nanoparticles of about 200 nm. Biological studies achieved on four different cell lines, including liver and breast cancers, revealed enhanced anticancer activities of Sorafenib-based SLNs compared to the free drug. Importantly, contrast phase microscopy images recorded after incubation of cancer cells in the presence of SLNs at high concentration in sorafenib (> 80 μM) revealed a total cancer cell death in all cases. These results highlight the potential of nucleoside-lipid-based SLNs as drug delivery systems.

  12. Light-activated endosomal escape using upconversion nanoparticles for enhanced delivery of drugs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gnanasammandhan, Muthu Kumara; Bansal, Akshaya; Zhang, Yong

    2013-02-01

    Nanoparticle-based delivery of drugs has gained a lot of prominence recently but the main problem hampering efficient delivery of payload is the clearing or degradation of nanoparticles by endosomes. Various strategies have been used to overcome this issue and one such effective solution is Photochemical Internalization (PCI). This technique involves the activation of certain photosensitizing compounds by light, which accumulate specifically in the membranes of endocytic vesicles. The activated photosensitizers induce the formation of reactive oxygen species which in turn induces localized disruption of endosomal membranes. But the drawback of this technique is that it needs blue light for activation and hence confined to be used only in in-vitro systems due to the poor tissue penetration of blue light. Here, we report the use of Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNs) as a transducer for activation of the photosensitizer, TPPS 2a. NIR light has good tissue penetrating ability and thus enables PCI in greater depths. Highly monodisperse, uniformly-sized, sub-100 nm, biocompatible upconversion nanoparticles were synthesized with a mesoporous silica coating. These UCNs activated TPPS 2a efficiently in solution and in cells. Paclitaxel, an anti-cancer drug was used as a model drug and was loaded into the mesoporous silica coating. B16F0 cells transfected with drug-loaded UCNs and irradiated with NIR showed significantly higher nanoparticle uptake and in turn higher cell death caused by the delivered drug. This technique can be used to enhance the delivery of any therapeutic molecule and thus increase the therapeutic efficiency considerably.

  13. Silica-based mesoporous nanoparticles for controlled drug delivery

    PubMed Central

    Kwon, Sooyeon; Singh, Rajendra K; Perez, Roman A; Abou Neel, Ensanya A

    2013-01-01

    Drug molecules with lack of specificity and solubility lead patients to take high doses of the drug to achieve sufficient therapeutic effects. This is a leading cause of adverse drug reactions, particularly for drugs with narrow therapeutic window or cytotoxic chemotherapeutics. To address these problems, there are various functional biocompatible drug carriers available in the market, which can deliver therapeutic agents to the target site in a controlled manner. Among the carriers developed thus far, mesoporous materials emerged as a promising candidate that can deliver a variety of drug molecules in a controllable and sustainable manner. In particular, mesoporous silica nanoparticles are widely used as a delivery reagent because silica possesses favourable chemical properties, thermal stability and biocompatibility. Currently, sol-gel-derived mesoporous silica nanoparticles in soft conditions are of main interest due to simplicity in production and modification and the capacity to maintain function of bioactive agents. The unique mesoporous structure of silica facilitates effective loading of drugs and their subsequent controlled release. The properties of mesopores, including pore size and porosity as well as the surface properties, can be altered depending on additives used to fabricate mesoporous silica nanoparticles. Active surface enables functionalisation to modify surface properties and link therapeutic molecules. The tuneable mesopore structure and modifiable surface of mesoporous silica nanoparticle allow incorporation of various classes of drug molecules and controlled delivery to the target sites. This review aims to present the state of knowledge of currently available drug delivery system and identify properties of an ideal drug carrier for specific application, focusing on mesoporous silica nanoparticles. PMID:24020012

  14. A nonviral transfection approach in vitro: the design of a gold nanoparticle vector joint with microelectromechanical systems.

    PubMed

    Jen, Chun-Ping; Chen, Yu-Hung; Fan, Chun-sheng; Yeh, Chen-Sheng; Lin, Yu-Cheng; Shieh, Dar-Bin; Wu, Chao-Ling; Chen, Dong-Hwang; Chou, Chen-Hsi

    2004-02-17

    Au nanoparticles modified with 21-base thiolated-oligonucleotides have been evaluated as delivery vehicles for the development of a nonviral transfection platform. The electromigration combined with electroporation for DNA delivery in an osteoblast like cell was employed to test on microchips. Electroporation introduces foreign materials into cells by applying impulses of electric field to induce multiple transient pores on the cell membrane through dielectric breakdown of the cell membrane. On the basis of the characteristic surface plasmon of the Au particles, UV-vis absorption was utilized to qualitatively judge the efficiency of delivery. Transmission electron microscopy images and atomic absorption measurements (quantitative analysis) provided evidence of the bare Au and Au/oligonucleotide nanoparticles before and after electroporation and electromigration function. The experiments demonstrated that electrophoretic migration followed by electroporation significantly enhanced the transportation efficiency of the nanoparticle-oligonucleotide complexes as compared with electroporation alone. Most interestingly, Au capped with oligonucleotides led to optimal performance. On the other hand, the bare Au colloidal suspensions resulted in aggregation, which might be an obstacle to the internalization process. In addition, analytical results demonstrated an increase in the local particle concentrations on the cell surface that provided additional support for the mechanism underlying the improved Au nanoparticle transportation into cells in the presence of electromigration function.

  15. Ceramic nanoparticles: Recompense, cellular uptake and toxicity concerns.

    PubMed

    Singh, Deependra; Singh, Satpal; Sahu, Jageshwari; Srivastava, Shikha; Singh, Manju Rawat

    2016-01-01

    Over the past few years, nanoparticles and their role in drug delivery have been the centre of attraction as new drug delivery systems. Various forms of nanosystems have been designed, such as nanoclays, scaffolds and nanotubes, having numerous applications in areas such as drug loading, target cell uptake, bioassay and imaging. The present study discusses various types of nanoparticles, with special emphasis on ceramic nanocarriers. Ceramic materials have high mechanical strength, good body response and low or non-existing biodegradability. In this article, the various aspects concerning ceramic nanoparticles, such as their advantages over other systems, their cellular uptake and toxicity concerns are discussed in detail.

  16. Multifunctional organic–inorganic hybrid nanoparticles and nanosheets based on chitosan derivative and layered double hydroxide: cellular uptake mechanism and application for topical ocular drug delivery

    PubMed Central

    Chi, Huibo; Gu, Yan; Xu, Tingting; Cao, Feng

    2017-01-01

    To study the cellular uptake mechanism of multifunctional organic–inorganic hybrid nanoparticles and nanosheets, new chitosan–glutathione–valine–valine-layered double hydroxide (CG-VV-LDH) nanosheets with active targeting to peptide transporter-1 (PepT-1) were prepared, characterized and further compared with CG-VV-LDH nanoparticles. Both organic–inorganic hybrid nanoparticles and nanosheets showed a sustained release in vitro and prolonged precorneal retention time in vivo, but CG-VV-LDH nanoparticles showed superior permeability in the isolated cornea of rabbits than CG-VV-LDH nanosheets. Furthermore, results of cellular uptake on human corneal epithelial primary cells (HCEpiC) and retinal pigment epithelial (ARPE-19) cells indicated that both clathrin-mediated endocytosis and active transport of PepT-1 are involved in the internalization of CG-VV-LDH nanoparticles and CG-VV-LDH nanosheets. In summary, the CG-VV-LDH nanoparticle may be a promising carrier as a topical ocular drug delivery system for the treatment of ocular diseases of mid-posterior segments, while the CG-VV-LDH nanosheet may be suitable for the treatment of ocular surface diseases. PMID:28280329

  17. Improved delivery of magnetic nanoparticles with chemotherapy cancer treatment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Petryk, Alicia A.; Giustini, Andrew J.; Gottesman, Rachel E.; Hoopes, P. Jack

    2013-02-01

    Most nanoparticle-based cancer therapeutic strategies seek to develop an effective individual cancer cell or metastatic tumor treatment. Critical to the success of these therapies is to direct as much of the agent as possible to the targeted tissue while avoiding unacceptable normal tissue complications. In this light, three different cisplatinum/magnetic nanoparticle (mNP) administration regimens were investigated. The most important finding suggests that clinically relevant doses of cisplatinum result in a significant increase in the tumor uptake of systemically delivered mNP. This enhancement of mNP tumor uptake creates the potential for an even greater therapeutic ratio through the addition of mNP based, intracellular hyperthermia.

  18. Gold nanoparticles based imaging technique and drug delivery for the detection and treatment of atherosclerotic vascular disease

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ankri, Rinat; Leshem-Lev, Dorit; Lev, Eli I.; Motiei, Menachem; Hochhauser, Edith; Fixler, Dror

    2016-03-01

    In our study we aim to develop a new, simple and non-invasive method to detect and to treat atherosclerosis. We use gold nanoparticles (GNPs) combined with the diffusion reflection (DR) method to demonstrate the detection of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques. Our method is based on the fact that macrophages are a major component in the vulnerable plaque and are able to uptake metal nanoparticles that can be discovered by the DR system. Moreover, it is well known that high density lipoprotein (HDL) reduces ASVD by inhibiting pro-inflammatory factors, enabling the specific treatment of atherosclerosis.

  19. Near-Infrared Imaging Method for the In Vivo Assessment of the Biodistribution of Nanoporous Silicon Particles

    PubMed Central

    Tasciotti, Ennio; Godin, Biana; Martinez, Jonathan O.; Chiappini, Ciro; Bhavane, Rohan; Liu, Xuewu; Ferrari, Mauro

    2011-01-01

    In the development of new nanoparticle-based technologies for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes, understanding the fate of nanoparticles in the body is crucial. We recently developed a multistage vector delivery system comprising biodegradable and biocompatible nanoporous silicon particles (first-stage microparticles [S1MPs]) able to host, protect, and deliver second-stage therapeutic and diagnostic nanoparticles (S2NPs) on intravenous injection. This delivery system aims at sequentially overcoming the biologic barriers en route to the target delivery site by separating and assigning tasks to the coordinated logic-embedded vectors constituting it. In this work, by conjugating a near-infrared dye on the surface of the S1MP without compromising the porous structure and potential loading of S2NPs, we were able to monitor the in vivo distribution of S1MPs in healthy mice using an optical imaging system. It was observed that particles predominantly accumulated in the liver and spleen at the end of 24 hours. Further quantification of S1MPs in the major organs of the animals by elemental analysis of silicon using inductively coupled plasma-atomic electron spectroscopy verified the accuracy of in vivo near-infrared imaging as a tool for evaluation of nanovector biodistribution. PMID:21303615

  20. Megalin-mediated specific uptake of chitosan/siRNA nanoparticles in mouse kidney proximal tubule epithelial cells enables AQP1 gene silencing.

    PubMed

    Gao, Shan; Hein, San; Dagnæs-Hansen, Frederik; Weyer, Kathrin; Yang, Chuanxu; Nielsen, Rikke; Christensen, Erik I; Fenton, Robert A; Kjems, Jørgen

    2014-01-01

    RNAi-based strategies provide a great therapeutic potential for treatment of various human diseases including kidney disorders, but face the challenge of in vivo delivery and specific targeting. The chitosan delivery system has previously been shown to target siRNA specifically to the kidneys in mice when administered intravenously. Here we confirm by 2D and 3D bioimaging that chitosan formulated siRNA is retained in the kidney for more than 48 hours where it accumulates in proximal tubule epithelial cells (PTECs), a process that was strongly dependent on the molecular weight of chitosan. Chitosan/siRNA nanoparticles, administered to chimeric mice with conditional knockout of the megalin gene, distributed almost exclusively in cells that expressed megalin, implying that the chitosan/siRNA particle uptake was mediated by a megalin-dependent endocytotic pathway. Knockdown of the water channel aquaporin 1 (AQP1) by up to 50% in PTECs was achieved utilizing the systemic i.v. delivery of chitosan/AQP1 siRNA in mice. In conclusion, specific targeting PTECs with the chitosan nanoparticle system may prove to be a useful strategy for knockdown of specific genes in PTECs, and provides a potential therapeutic strategy for treating various kidney diseases.

  1. Megalin-Mediated Specific Uptake of Chitosan/siRNA Nanoparticles in Mouse Kidney Proximal Tubule Epithelial Cells Enables AQP1 Gene Silencing

    PubMed Central

    Gao, Shan; Hein, San; Dagnæs-Hansen, Frederik; Weyer, Kathrin; Yang, Chuanxu; Nielsen, Rikke; Christensen, Erik I; Fenton, Robert A; Kjems, Jørgen

    2014-01-01

    RNAi-based strategies provide a great therapeutic potential for treatment of various human diseases including kidney disorders, but face the challenge of in vivo delivery and specific targeting. The chitosan delivery system has previously been shown to target siRNA specifically to the kidneys in mice when administered intravenously. Here we confirm by 2D and 3D bioimaging that chitosan formulated siRNA is retained in the kidney for more than 48 hours where it accumulates in proximal tubule epithelial cells (PTECs), a process that was strongly dependent on the molecular weight of chitosan. Chitosan/siRNA nanoparticles, administered to chimeric mice with conditional knockout of the megalin gene, distributed almost exclusively in cells that expressed megalin, implying that the chitosan/siRNA particle uptake was mediated by a megalin-dependent endocytotic pathway. Knockdown of the water channel aquaporin 1 (AQP1) by up to 50% in PTECs was achieved utilizing the systemic i.v. delivery of chitosan/AQP1 siRNA in mice. In conclusion, specific targeting PTECs with the chitosan nanoparticle system may prove to be a useful strategy for knockdown of specific genes in PTECs, and provides a potential therapeutic strategy for treating various kidney diseases. PMID:25157280

  2. Supramolecular Nanoparticles for Molecular Diagnostics and Therapeutics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Kuan-Ju

    Over the past decades, significant efforts have been devoted to explore the use of various nanoparticle-based systems in the field of nanomedicine, including molecular imaging and therapy. Supramolecular synthetic approaches have attracted lots of attention due to their flexibility, convenience, and modularity for producing nanoparticles. In this dissertation, the developmental story of our size-controllable supramolecular nanoparticles (SNPs) will be discussed, as well as their use in specific biomedical applications. To achieve the self-assembly of SNPs, the well-characterized molecular recognition system (i.e., cyclodextrin/adamantane recognition) was employed. The resulting SNPs, which were assembled from three molecular building blocks, possess incredible stability in various physiological conditions, reversible size-controllability and dynamic disassembly that were exploited for various in vitro and in vivo applications. An advantage of using the supramolecular approach is that it enables the convenient incorporation of functional ligands onto SNP surface that confers functionality ( e.g., targeting, cell penetration) to SNPs. We utilized SNPs for molecular imaging such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) by introducing reporter systems (i.e., radio-isotopes, MR contrast agents, and fluorophores) into SNPs. On the other hand, the incorporation of various payloads, including drugs, genes and proteins, into SNPs showed improved delivery performance and enhanced therapeutic efficacy for these therapeutic agents. Leveraging the powers of (i) a combinatorial synthetic approach based on supramolecular assembly and (ii) a digital microreactor, a rapid developmental pathway was developed that is capable of screening SNP candidates for the ideal structural and functional properties that deliver optimal performance. Moreover, SNP-based theranostic delivery systems that combine reporter systems and therapeutic payloads into a single SNP for both diagnosis and therapy were generated. The results show that this type of theranostic SNPs may have a great contribution in the optimization of therapeutic efficacy for individual patients in clinical translation in the near future. It is anticipated that our supramolecular synthetic approach could be adopted to assemble various SNP-based delivery agents for molecular diagnostics and therapeutics that pave the way toward personalized medicine.

  3. Advances in the Applications of Polyhydroxyalkanoate Nanoparticles for Novel Drug Delivery System

    PubMed Central

    Shrivastav, Anupama; Kim, Hae-Yeong; Kim, Young-Rok

    2013-01-01

    Drug delivery technology is emerging as an interdisciplinary science aimed at improving human health. The controlled delivery of pharmacologically active agents to the specific site of action at the therapeutically optimal rate and dose regimen has been a major goal in designing drug delivery systems. Over the past few decades, there has been considerable interest in developing biodegradable drug carriers as effective drug delivery systems. Polymeric materials from natural sources play an important role in controlled release of drug at a particular site. Polyhydroxyalkanoates, due to their origin from natural sources, are given attention as candidates for drug delivery materials. Biodegradable and biocompatible polyhydroxyalkanoates are linear polyesters produced by microorganisms under unbalanced growth conditions, which have emerged as potential polymers for use as biomedical materials for drug delivery due to their unique physiochemical and mechanical properties. This review summarizes many of the key findings in the applications of polyhydroxyalkanoates and polyhydroxyalkanoate nanoparticles for drug delivery system. PMID:23984383

  4. MYC RNAi-PT Combination Nanotherapy for Metastatic Prostate Cancer Treatment

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-10-01

    MYC silencing in BMPC cell line-based allograft tumors by the hybrid NPs. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Nanotechnology , nanoparticle, siRNA delivery, platinum...KEYWORDS Nanotechnology , lipid, polymer, hybrid nanoparticle, siRNA delivery, platinum, MYC, prostate cancer, drug resistance, mouse model, pathology

  5. Nanoparticles incorporating pH-responsive surfactants as a viable approach to improve the intracellular drug delivery.

    PubMed

    Nogueira, Daniele R; Scheeren, Laís E; Pilar Vinardell, M; Mitjans, Montserrat; Rosa Infante, M; Rolim, Clarice M B

    2015-12-01

    The pH-responsive delivery systems have brought new advances in the field of functional nanodevices and might allow more accurate and controllable delivery of specific cargoes, which is expected to result in promising applications in different clinical therapies. Here we describe a family of chitosan-TPP (tripolyphosphate) nanoparticles (NPs) for intracellular drug delivery, which were designed using two pH-sensitive amino acid-based surfactants from the family N(α),N(ε)-dioctanoyl lysine as bioactive compounds. Low and medium molecular weight chitosan (LMW-CS and MMW-CS, respectively) were used for NP preparation, and it was observed that the size distribution for NPs with LMW-CS were smaller (~168 nm) than that for NPs prepared with MMW-CS (~310 nm). Hemolysis assay demonstrated the pH-dependent biomembrane disruptional capability of the constructed NPs. The nanostructures incorporating the surfactants cause negligible membrane permeabilization at pH7.4. However, at acidic pH, prevailing in endosomes, membrane-destabilizing activity in an erythrocyte lysis assay became evident. When pH decreased to 6.6 and 5.4, hemolytic capability of chitosan NPs increased along with the raise of concentration. Furthermore, studies with cell culture showed that these pH-responsive NPs displayed low cytotoxic effects against 3T3 fibroblasts. The influence of chitosan molecular weight, chitosan to TPP weight ratio, nanoparticle size and nature of the surfactant counterion on the membrane-disruptive properties of nanoparticles was discussed in detail. Altogether, the results achieved here showed that by inserting the lysine-based amphiphiles into chitosan NPs, pH-sensitive membranolytic and potentially endosomolytic nanocarriers were developed, which, therefore, demonstrated ideal feasibility for intracellular drug delivery. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Production of nanoparticle drug delivery systems with microfluidics tools.

    PubMed

    Khan, Ikram Ullah; Serra, Christophe A; Anton, Nicolas; Vandamme, Thierry F

    2015-04-01

    Nowadays the development of composite nano- and microparticles is an extensively studied area of research. This interest is growing because of the potential use of such particles in drug delivery systems. Indeed they can be used in various medical disciplines depending upon their sizes and their size distribution, which determine their final biomedical applications. Amongst the different techniques to produce nanoparticles, microfluidic techniques allow preparing particles having a specific size, a narrow size distribution and high encapsulation efficiency with ease. This review covers the general description of microfluidics, its techniques, advantages and disadvantages with focus on the encapsulation of active principles in polymeric nanoparticles as well as on pure drug nanoparticles. Polymeric nanoparticles constitute the majority of the examples reported; however lipid nanoparticulate systems (DNA, SiRNA nanocarriers) are very comparable and their formulation processes are in most cases exactly similar. Accordingly this review focuses also on active ingredient nanoparticles formulated by nanoprecipitation processes in microfluidic devices in general. It also provides detailed description of the different geometries of most common microfluidic devices and the crucial parameters involved in techniques designed to obtain the desired properties. Although the classical fabrication of nanoparticles drug delivery systems in batch is extremely well-described and developed, their production with microfluidic tools arises today as an emerging field with much more potential. In this review we present and discuss these new possibilities for biomedical applications through the current emerging developments.

  7. Tumor Penetrating Theranostic Nanoparticles for Enhancement of Targeted and Image-guided Drug Delivery into Peritoneal Tumors following Intraperitoneal Delivery.

    PubMed

    Gao, Ning; Bozeman, Erica N; Qian, Weiping; Wang, Liya; Chen, Hongyu; Lipowska, Malgorzata; Staley, Charles A; Wang, Y Andrew; Mao, Hui; Yang, Lily

    2017-01-01

    The major obstacles in intraperitoneal (i.p.) chemotherapy of peritoneal tumors are fast absorption of drugs into the blood circulation, local and systemic toxicities, inadequate drug penetration into large tumors, and drug resistance. Targeted theranostic nanoparticles offer an opportunity to enhance the efficacy of i.p. therapy by increasing intratumoral drug delivery to overcome resistance, mediating image-guided drug delivery, and reducing systemic toxicity. Herein we report that i.p. delivery of urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) targeted magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) led to intratumoral accumulation of 17% of total injected nanoparticles in an orthotopic mouse pancreatic cancer model, which was three-fold higher compared with intravenous delivery. Targeted delivery of near infrared dye labeled IONPs into orthotopic tumors could be detected by non-invasive optical and magnetic resonance imaging. Histological analysis revealed that a high level of uPAR targeted, PEGylated IONPs efficiently penetrated into both the peripheral and central tumor areas in the primary tumor as well as peritoneal metastatic tumor. Improved theranostic IONP delivery into the tumor center was not mediated by nonspecific macrophage uptake and was independent from tumor blood vessel locations. Importantly, i.p. delivery of uPAR targeted theranostic IONPs carrying chemotherapeutics, cisplatin or doxorubicin, significantly inhibited the growth of pancreatic tumors without apparent systemic toxicity. The levels of proliferating tumor cells and tumor vessels in tumors treated with the above theranostic IONPs were also markedly decreased. The detection of strong optical signals in residual tumors following i.p. therapy suggested the feasibility of image-guided surgery to remove drug-resistant tumors. Therefore, our results support the translational development of i.p. delivery of uPAR-targeted theranostic IONPs for image-guided treatment of peritoneal tumors.

  8. Progress and perspective of inorganic nanoparticles based siRNA delivery system

    PubMed Central

    Jiang, Ying; Huo, Shuaidong; Hardie, Joseph; Liang, Xing-Jie; Rotello, Vincent M.

    2016-01-01

    Introduction Small interfering RNA (siRNA) is an effective method for regulating the expression of proteins, even “undruggable” ones that are nearly impossible to target through traditional small molecule therapeutics. Delivery to the cell and then to the cytosol is the primary requirement for realization of therapeutic potential of siRNA. Areas covered We summarize recent advances in the design of inorganic nanoparticle with surface functionality and physicochemical properties engineered for siRNA delivery. Specifically, we discuss the main approaches developed so far to load siRNA into/onto NPs, and NP surface chemistry engineered for enhanced intracellular siRNA delivery, endosomal escape, and targeted delivery of siRNA to disease cells and tissues. Expert Opinion Several challenges remain in developing inorganic NPs for efficient and effective siRNA delivery. Getting the material to the chosen site is important, however the greatest hurdle may well be delivery into the cytosol, either through efficient endosomal escape or by direct cytosolic siRNA delivery. Effective delivery at the organismic and cellular level coupled with biocompatible vehicles with low immunogenic response will facilitate the clinical translation of RNAi for the treatment of genetic diseases. PMID:26735861

  9. Stem cell-extracellular vesicles as drug delivery systems: New frontiers for silk/curcumin nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Perteghella, Sara; Crivelli, Barbara; Catenacci, Laura; Sorrenti, Milena; Bruni, Giovanna; Necchi, Vittorio; Vigani, Barbara; Sorlini, Marzio; Torre, Maria Luisa; Chlapanidas, Theodora

    2017-03-30

    The aim of this work was to develop a novel carrier-in-carrier system based on stem cell-extracellular vesicles loaded of silk/curcumin nanoparticles by endogenous technique. Silk nanoparticles were produced by desolvation method and curcumin has been selected as drug model because of its limited water solubility and poor bioavailability. Nanoparticles were stable, with spherical geometry, 100nm in average diameter and the drug content reached about 30%. Cellular uptake studies, performed on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), showed the accumulation of nanoparticles in the cytosol around the nuclear membrane, without cytotoxic effects. Finally, MSCs were able to release extracellular vesicles entrapping silk/curcumin nanoparticles. This combined biological-technological approach represents a novel class of nanosystems, combining beneficial effects of both regenerative cell therapies and pharmaceutical nanomedicine, avoiding the use of viable replicating stem cells. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Advanced imaging approaches for characterizing nanoparticle delivery and dispersion in skin (Conference Presentation)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Prow, Tarl W.; Yamada, Miko; Dang, Nhung; Evans, Conor L.

    2017-02-01

    The purpose of this research was to develop advanced imaging approaches to characterise the combination of elongated silica microparticles (EMP) and nanoparticles to control topical delivery of drugs and peptides. The microparticles penetrate through the epidermis and stop at the dermal-epidermal junction (DEJ). In this study we incorporated a fluorescent lipophilic dye, DiI, as a hydrophobic drug surrogate into the nanoparticle for visualization with microscopy. In another nanoparticle-based approach we utilized a chemically functionalized melanin nanoparticle for peptide delivery. These nanoparticles were imaged by coherent anti-Stoke Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy to characterize the delivery of these nanoparticles into freshly excised human skin. We compared four different coating approaches to combine EMP and nanoparticles. These data showed that a freeze-dried formulation with cross-linked alginate resulted in 100% of the detectable nanoparticle retained on the EMP. When this dry form of EMP-nanoparticle was applied to excised, living human abdominal skin, the EMP penetrated to the DEJ followed by controlled release of the nanoparticles. This formulation resulted in a sustained release profile, whereas a freeze-dried formulation without crosslinking showed an immediate burst-type release profile. These data show that advanced imaging techniques can give unique, label free data that shows promise for clinical investigations.

  11. Development of wheat glutenin nanoparticles and their biodistribution in mice.

    PubMed

    Reddy, Narendra; Shi, Zhen; Xu, Helan; Yang, Yiqi

    2015-05-01

    Wheat glutenin nanoparticles intended for targeted drug delivery were biocompatible and were detected in the kidney, liver, and spleen in mice. Protein-based nanoparticles are preferred for therapeutic drug and gene delivery owing to their biocompatibility and ability to load various types of drugs. However, proteins such as a collagen and albumin are unstable in aqueous environments and are not ideal for drug delivery applications. Wheat glutenin has been demonstrated to be biocompatible and have good stability under aqueous conditions. Films and fibers have been made from wheat glutenin for medical applications but there are no reports on developing micro- or nanoparticles. In this research, wheat glutenin nanoparticles (70-140 nm) were prepared and the stability of the nanoparticles under various physiological conditions was investigated. Nanoparticles were fluorescently labeled and later injected into mice and the ability of the nanoparticles to penetrate into the cells in various organs was studied. Strong acidic or alkaline conditions provided glutenin nanoparticles with low diameters and the particles were more stable under the pH 7 rather than pH of 4. Glutenin nanoparticles were predominantly found in the liver in mice. Our in vivo and in vitro studies suggest that glutenin nanoparticles are suitable for drug delivery applications. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  12. Programmed near-infrared light-responsive drug delivery system for combined magnetic tumor-targeting magnetic resonance imaging and chemo-phototherapy.

    PubMed

    Feng, Qianhua; Zhang, Yuanyuan; Zhang, Wanxia; Hao, Yongwei; Wang, Yongchao; Zhang, Hongling; Hou, Lin; Zhang, Zhenzhong

    2017-02-01

    In this study, an intelligent drug delivery system was developed by capping doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded hollow mesoporous CuS nanoparticles (HMCuS NPs) with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs). Under near infrared (NIR) light irradiation, the versatile HMCuS NPs could exploit the merits of both photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) simultaneously. Herein, the multifunctional IONPs as gatekeeper with the enhanced capping efficiency were supposed to realize "zero premature release" and minimize the adverse side effects during the drug delivery in vivo. More importantly, the hybrid metal nanoplatform (HMCuS/DOX@IONP-PEG) allowed several emerging exceptional characteristics. Our studies have substantiated the hybrid nanoparticles possessed an enhanced PTT effect due to coupled plasmonic resonances with an elevated heat-generating capacity. Notably, an effective removal of IONP-caps occurred after NIR-induced photo-hyperthermia via weakening of the coordination interactions between HMCuS-NH 2 and IONPs, which suggested the feasibility of sophisticated controlled on-demand drug release upon exposing to NIR stimulus with spatial/temporal resolution. Benefiting from the favorable magnetic tumor targeting efficacy, the in vitro and in vivo experiments indicated a remarkable anti-tumor therapeutic efficacy under NIR irradiation, resulting from the synergistic combination of chemo-phototherapy. In addition, T 2 -weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast performance of IONPs provided the identification of cancerous lesions. Based on these findings, the well-designed drug delivery system via integration of programmed functions will provide knowledge for advancing multimodality theranostic strategy. As we all know, a series of shortcomings of conventional chemotherapy such as limited stability, rapid clearing and non-specific tumor targeting ability remain a significant challenge to achieve successful clinical therapeutic efficiency in cancer treatments. Fortunately, developing drug delivery system under the assistance of multifunctional nanocarries might be a great idea. For the first time, we proposed an intelligent drug delivery system by capping DOX-loaded hollow mesoporous CuS nanoparticles (HMCuS NPs) with multifunctional IONPs to integrate programmed functions including enhanced PTT effect, sophisticated controlled drug release, magnetic targeting property and MR imaging. The results showed HMCuS/DOX@IONP-PEG could significantly enhance anti-tumor therapeutic efficacy due to the synergistic combination of chemo-phototherapy. By this delicate design, we believe such smart and extreme versatile all-in-one drug delivery platform could arouse broad interests in the fields of biomaterials, nanotechnology, and drug delivery system. Copyright © 2016 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Chitosan-based nanoparticles for improving immunization against hepatitis B infection.

    PubMed

    Prego, Cecilia; Paolicelli, Patrizia; Díaz, Belen; Vicente, Sara; Sánchez, Alejandro; González-Fernández, Africa; Alonso, María José

    2010-03-19

    The design of effective vaccine delivery vehicles is opening up new possibilities for making immunization more equitable, safe and efficient. In this work, we purpose polysaccharidic-based nanoparticles as delivery structures for virus-like particle antigens, using recombinant hepatitis B surface antigen (rHBsAg) as a model. Polysaccharidic-based nanoparticles were prepared using a very mild ionic gelation technique, by cross-linking the polysaccharide chitosan (CS) with a counter ion. The resulting nanoparticles could be easily isolated with a size in the nanometric range (160-200 nm) and positive surface charge (+6 to +10 mV). More importantly, CS-based nanoparticles allowed the efficient association of the antigen (>60%) while maintaining the antigenic epitope intact, as determined by ELISA and Western blot. The entrapped antigen was further released in vitro from the nanoparticles in a sustained manner without compromising its antigenicity. In addition, loaded CS-based nanoparticles were stable, and protected the associated antigen during storage, either as an aqueous suspension under different temperature conditions (+4 degrees C and -20 degrees C), or as a dried form after freeze-drying the nanoparticles. Finally, immunization studies showed the induction of important seroprotection rates after intramuscular administration of the nanoparticles, indicating their adjuvant capacity. In fact, CS-based nanoparticles were able to induce anti-HBsAg IgG levels up to 5500 mIU/ml, values 9-fold the conventional alum-adsorbed vaccine. In conclusion, we report here a polysaccharidic nanocarrier which exhibits a number of in vitro and in vivo features that make it a promising adjuvant for vaccine delivery of subunit antigens. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Controlled drug delivery systems: past forward and future back.

    PubMed

    Park, Kinam

    2014-09-28

    Controlled drug delivery technology has progressed over the last six decades. This progression began in 1952 with the introduction of the first sustained release formulation. The 1st generation of drug delivery (1950-1980) focused on developing oral and transdermal sustained release systems and establishing controlled drug release mechanisms. The 2nd generation (1980-2010) was dedicated to the development of zero-order release systems, self-regulated drug delivery systems, long-term depot formulations, and nanotechnology-based delivery systems. The latter part of the 2nd generation was largely focused on studying nanoparticle formulations. The Journal of Controlled Release (JCR) has played a pivotal role in the 2nd generation of drug delivery technologies, and it will continue playing a leading role in the next generation. The best path towards a productive 3rd generation of drug delivery technology requires an honest, open dialog without any preconceived ideas of the past. The drug delivery field needs to take a bold approach to designing future drug delivery formulations primarily based on today's necessities, to produce the necessary innovations. The JCR provides a forum for sharing the new ideas that will shape the 3rd generation of drug delivery technology. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Biodegradable lipids enabling rapidly eliminated lipid nanoparticles for systemic delivery of RNAi therapeutics.

    PubMed

    Maier, Martin A; Jayaraman, Muthusamy; Matsuda, Shigeo; Liu, Ju; Barros, Scott; Querbes, William; Tam, Ying K; Ansell, Steven M; Kumar, Varun; Qin, June; Zhang, Xuemei; Wang, Qianfan; Panesar, Sue; Hutabarat, Renta; Carioto, Mary; Hettinger, Julia; Kandasamy, Pachamuthu; Butler, David; Rajeev, Kallanthottathil G; Pang, Bo; Charisse, Klaus; Fitzgerald, Kevin; Mui, Barbara L; Du, Xinyao; Cullis, Pieter; Madden, Thomas D; Hope, Michael J; Manoharan, Muthiah; Akinc, Akin

    2013-08-01

    In recent years, RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, most notably with lipid nanoparticle-based delivery systems, have advanced into human clinical trials. The results from these early clinical trials suggest that lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), and the novel ionizable lipids that comprise them, will be important materials in this emerging field of medicine. A persistent theme in the use of materials for biomedical applications has been the incorporation of biodegradability as a means to improve biocompatibility and/or to facilitate elimination. Therefore, the aim of this work was to further advance the LNP platform through the development of novel, next-generation lipids that combine the excellent potency of the most advanced lipids currently available with biodegradable functionality. As a representative example of this novel class of biodegradable lipids, the lipid evaluated in this work displays rapid elimination from plasma and tissues, substantially improved tolerability in preclinical studies, while maintaining in vivo potency on par with that of the most advanced lipids currently available.

  16. Receptor-targeted liposome-peptide-siRNA nanoparticles represent an efficient delivery system for MRTF silencing in conjunctival fibrosis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu-Wai-Man, Cynthia; Tagalakis, Aristides D.; Manunta, Maria D.; Hart, Stephen L.; Khaw, Peng T.

    2016-02-01

    There is increasing evidence that the Myocardin-related transcription factor/Serum response factor (MRTF/SRF) pathway plays a key role in fibroblast activation and that knocking down MRTF can lead to reduced scarring and fibrosis. Here, we have developed a receptor-targeted liposome-peptide-siRNA nanoparticle as a non-viral delivery system for MRTF-B siRNA in conjunctival fibrosis. Using 50 nM siRNA, the MRTF-B gene was efficiently silenced by 76% and 72% with LYR and LER nanoparticles, respectively. The silencing efficiency was low when non-targeting peptides or siRNA alone or liposome-siRNA alone were used. LYR and LER nanoparticles also showed higher silencing efficiency than PEGylated LYR-P and LER-P nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were not cytotoxic using different liposomes, targeting peptides, and 50 nM siRNA. Three-dimensional fibroblast-populated collagen matrices were also used as a functional assay to measure contraction in vitro, and showed that MRTF-B LYR nanoparticles completely blocked matrix contraction after a single transfection treatment. In conclusion, this is the first study to develop and show that receptor-targeted liposome-peptide-siRNA nanoparticles represent an efficient and safe non-viral siRNA delivery system that could be used to prevent fibrosis after glaucoma filtration surgery and other contractile scarring conditions in the eye.

  17. Nanomedicines based drug delivery systems for anti-cancer targeting and treatment.

    PubMed

    Jain, Vikas; Jain, Shikha; Mahajan, S C

    2015-01-01

    Cancer is defined as an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells. Current treatment strategies for cancer include combination of radiation, chemotherapy and surgery. The long-term use of conventional drug delivery systems for cancer chemotherapy leads to fatal damage of normal proliferate cells and this is particularly used for the management of solid tumors, where utmost tumor cells are not invaded quickly. A targeted drug delivery system (TDDS) is a system, which releases the drug at a preselected biosite in a controlled manner. Nanotechnology based delivery systems are making a significant impact on cancer treatment and the polymers play key role in the development of nanopraticlulate carriers for cancer therapy. Some important technological advantages of nanotherapeutic drug delivery systems (NDDS) include prolonged half-life, improved bio-distribution, increased circulation time of the drug, controlled and sustained release of the drug, versatility of route of administration, increased intercellular concentration of drug and many more. This review covers the current research on polymer based anticancer agents, the rationale for development of these polymer therapeutical systems and discusses the benefits and challenges of cancer nanomedicines including polymer-drug conjugates, micelles, dendrimers, immunoconjugates, liposomes, nanoparticles.

  18. Advances in the field of nanooncology

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Nanooncology, the application of nanobiotechnology to the management of cancer, is currently the most important chapter of nanomedicine. Nanobiotechnology has refined and extended the limits of molecular diagnosis of cancer, for example, through the use of gold nanoparticles and quantum dots. Nanobiotechnology has also improved the discovery of cancer biomarkers, one such example being the sensitive detection of multiple protein biomarkers by nanobiosensors. Magnetic nanoparticles can capture circulating tumor cells in the bloodstream followed by rapid photoacoustic detection. Nanoparticles enable targeted drug delivery in cancer that increases efficacy and decreases adverse effects through reducing the dosage of anticancer drugs administered. Nanoparticulate anticancer drugs can cross some of the biological barriers and achieve therapeutic concentrations in tumor and spare the surrounding normal tissues from toxic effects. Nanoparticle constructs facilitate the delivery of various forms of energy for noninvasive thermal destruction of surgically inaccessible malignant tumors. Nanoparticle-based optical imaging of tumors as well as contrast agents to enhance detection of tumors by magnetic resonance imaging can be combined with delivery of therapeutic agents for cancer. Monoclonal antibody nanoparticle complexes are under investigation for diagnosis as well as targeted delivery of cancer therapy. Nanoparticle-based chemotherapeutic agents are already on the market, and several are in clinical trials. Personalization of cancer therapies is based on a better understanding of the disease at the molecular level, which is facilitated by nanobiotechnology. Nanobiotechnology will facilitate the combination of diagnostics with therapeutics, which is an important feature of a personalized medicine approach to cancer. PMID:21144040

  19. Exosomes as therapeutic drug carriers and delivery vehicles across biological membranes: current perspectives and future challenges.

    PubMed

    Ha, Dinh; Yang, Ningning; Nadithe, Venkatareddy

    2016-07-01

    Exosomes are small intracellular membrane-based vesicles with different compositions that are involved in several biological and pathological processes. The exploitation of exosomes as drug delivery vehicles offers important advantages compared to other nanoparticulate drug delivery systems such as liposomes and polymeric nanoparticles; exosomes are non-immunogenic in nature due to similar composition as body׳s own cells. In this article, the origin and structure of exosomes as well as their biological functions are outlined. We will then focus on specific applications of exosomes as drug delivery systems in pharmaceutical drug development. An overview of the advantages and challenges faced when using exosomes as a pharmaceutical drug delivery vehicles will also be discussed.

  20. Fabrication and characterization of sol-gel based nanoparticles for drug delivery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yadav, Reeta

    Nanogels are cross linked polymeric sol-gel based nanoparticles that offer an interior network for incorporation and protection of biomolecules, exhibiting unique advantages for polymer based delivery systems. We have successfully synthesized stable sol-gel nanoparticles by means of [a] silicification reactions using cationic peptides like polylysine as gelating agents, and [b] lyophilization of sol-gels. Macromolecules such as Hemoglobin and Glucose Oxidase and small molecules such as Sodium Nitroprusside (SNP) and antibiotics were encapsulated within the nanogels. We have used transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, zeta potential analysis, and spectroscopy to perform a physicochemical characterization of the nanogels resulting from the two approaches. Our studies have indicated that the nanogel encapsulated proteins and small molecules remain intact, stable and functional. A Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) and Nitric Oxide (NO) generating drug carrier was synthesized using these nanogels and the effect of generation of H2O2 from Glucose Oxidase encapsulated nanogels and NO from SNP encapsulated nanogels was tested on E.coli. The results show that the nanoparticles exert antimicrobial activity against E.Coli, in addition NO generating nanogels potentiated H2O2 generating nanogels induced killing. These data suggest that these NO and H2O2 releasing nanogels have the potential to serve as a novel class of antimicrobials for the treatment of multidrug resistant bacteria. The unique properties of these protein/drug incorporated nanogels raise the prospect of fine tailoring to specific applications such as drug delivery and bio imaging.

  1. Characterizing the Role of Nanoparticle Design on Tumor Transport and Stability in the Extracellular Environment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Albanese, Alexandre

    Nanotechnology has emerged as an exciting strategy for the delivery of diagnostic and therapeutic agents into established tumors. Advancements in nanomaterial synthesis have generated an extensive number of nanoparticle designs made from different materials. Unfortunately, it remains impossible to predict a design's effectiveness for in vivo tumor accumulation. Little is known about how a nanoparticle's morphology and surface chemistry affect its interactions with cells and proteins inside the tumor tissue. This thesis focuses on the development of in vitro experimental tools to evaluate how nanoparticle design affects transport in a three-dimensional tumor tissue and stability in the tumor microenvironment. Nanoparticle transport was evaluated using a novel 'tumor-on-a-chip' system where multicellular tumor spheroids were immobilized in a microfluidic channel. This setup created a three-dimensional tumor environment displaying physiological cell density, extracellular matrix organization, and interstitial flow rates. The tumor-on-a-chip demonstrated that accumulation of nanoparticles was limited to diameters below 110 nm and was improved by receptor targeting. Nanoparticle stability in the tumor microenvironment was evaluated using media isolated from different tumor cell lines. Nanoparticle diameter and surface chemistry were important determinants of stability in cancer cell-conditioned media. Small nanoparticles with unstable surface chemistries adsorbed cellular proteins on their surface and were prone to aggregation. Nanoparticle aggregation altered cellular interactions leading to changes in cell uptake. Using a novel technique to generate different aggregate sizes possessing a uniform surface composition, it was determined that aggregation can change receptor affinity, cell internalization mechanisms and sub-cellular sequestration patterns. Data from this thesis characterize the behavior of nanoparticles within modeled tumor environments and provide some preliminary design guidelines for maximizing nanoparticle tumor accumulation. This work highlights the importance of characterizing nano-bio interactions for engineering successful nanomaterial-based delivery systems.

  2. Nanoparticles and nanofibers for topical drug delivery

    PubMed Central

    Goyal, Ritu; Macri, Lauren K.; Kaplan, Hilton M.; Kohn, Joachim

    2016-01-01

    This review provides the first comprehensive overview of the use of both nanoparticles and nanofibers for topical drug delivery. Researchers have explored the use of nanotechnology, specifically nanoparticles and nanofibers, as drug delivery systems for topical and transdermal applications. This approach employs increased drug concentration in the carrier, in order to increase drug flux into and through the skin. Both nanoparticles and nanofibers can be used to deliver hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs and are capable of controlled release for a prolonged period of time. The examples presented provide significant evidence that this area of research has—and will continue to have — a profound impact on both clinical outcomes and the development of new products. PMID:26518723

  3. Preparation and in vitro antimicrobial activity of silver-bearing degradable polymeric nanoparticles of polyphosphoester-block-poly(L-lactide).

    PubMed

    Lim, Young H; Tiemann, Kristin M; Heo, Gyu Seong; Wagers, Patrick O; Rezenom, Yohannes H; Zhang, Shiyi; Zhang, Fuwu; Youngs, Wiley J; Hunstad, David A; Wooley, Karen L

    2015-02-24

    The development of well-defined polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) as delivery carriers for antimicrobials targeting human infectious diseases requires rational design of the polymer template, an efficient synthetic approach, and fundamental understanding of the developed NPs, e.g., drug loading/release, particle stability, and other characteristics. Herein, we developed and evaluated the in vitro antimicrobial activity of silver-bearing, fully biodegradable and functional polymeric NPs. A series of degradable polymeric nanoparticles (dNPs), composed of phosphoester and L-lactide and designed specifically for silver loading into the hydrophilic shell and/or the hydrophobic core, were prepared as potential delivery carriers for three different types of silver-based antimicrobials-silver acetate or one of two silver carbene complexes (SCCs). Silver-loading capacities of the dNPs were not influenced by the hydrophilic block chain length, loading site (i.e., core or shell), or type of silver compound, but optimization of the silver feed ratio was crucial to maximize the silver loading capacity of dNPs, up to ca. 12% (w/w). The release kinetics of silver-bearing dNPs revealed 50% release at ca. 2.5-5.5 h depending on the type of silver compound. In addition, we undertook a comprehensive evaluation of the rates of hydrolytic or enzymatic degradability and performed structural characterization of the degradation products. Interestingly, packaging of the SCCs in the dNP-based delivery system improved minimum inhibitory concentrations up to 70%, compared with the SCCs alone, as measured in vitro against 10 contemporary epidemic strains of Staphylococcus aureus and eight uropathogenic strains of Escherichia coli. We conclude that these dNP-based delivery systems may be beneficial for direct epithelial treatment and/or prevention of ubiquitous bacterial infections, including those of the skin and urinary tract.

  4. Efficient delivery of genome-editing proteins using bioreducible lipid nanoparticles

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    A central challenge to the development of protein-based therapeutics is the inefficiency of delivery of protein cargo across the mammalian cell membrane, including escape from endosomes. Here we report that combining bioreducible lipid nanoparticles with negatively supercharged Cre recombinase or an...

  5. Solubility enhancement and delivery systems of curcumin a herbal medicine: a review.

    PubMed

    Hani, Umme; Shivakumar, H G

    2014-01-01

    Curcumin diferuloylmethane is a main yellow bioactive component of turmeric, possess wide spectrum of biological actions. It was found to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, antimutagenic, anticoagulant, antifertility, antidiabetic, antibacterial, antifungal, antiprotozoal, antiviral, antifibrotic, antivenom, antiulcer, hypotensive and hypocholesteremic activities. However, the benefits are curtailed by its extremely poor aqueous solubility, which subsequently limits the bioavailability and therapeutic effects of curcumin. Nanotechnology is the available approach in solving these issues. Therapeutic efficacy of curcumin can be utilized effectively by doing improvement in formulation properties or delivery systems. Numerous attempts have been made to design a delivery system of curcumin. Currently, nanosuspensions, micelles, nanoparticles, nano-emulsions, etc. are used to improve the in vitro dissolution velocity and in vivo efficiency of curcumin. This review focuses on the methods to increase solubility of curcumin and various nanotechnologies based delivery systems and other delivery systems of curcumin.

  6. Pharmacological importance, characterization and applications of gold and silver nanoparticles synthesized by Panax ginseng fresh leaves.

    PubMed

    Singh, Priyanka; Singh, Hina; Ahn, Sungeun; Castro-Aceituno, Verónica; Jiménez, Zuly; Simu, Shakina Yesmin; Kim, Yeon Ju; Yang, Deok Chun

    2017-11-01

    Previously, we showed the rapid and eco-friendly synthesis of gold and silver nanoparticles within 3 and 45 min by fresh leaves extract of herbal medicinal plant Panax ginseng. In addition, we characterized the nanoparticles in terms of shape, size, morphology and stability by FE-TEM, EDX, elemental mapping, SEAD, XRD and particles size analysis. In addition of this, we showed their antimicrobial, anti-coagulant, and biofilm inhibition activity of nanoparticles. Continuing our previous study, here we highlight the further characterization and biomedical applications of P. ginseng leaf-mediated gold and silver nanoparticles. We characterized the nanoparticles further in terms of active functional group and capping layer, surface charge, and temperature stability. Based on these factors, we explored the nanoparticles for antioxidant efficacy, biocompatibility in HaCaT cells, 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes cells, for anticancer efficacy in A549 lung cancer and B16BL6 skin melenoma cancer cell lines and for anti-inflammation efficacy in RAW 264.7 cell lines. Based on our findings, we suggest that the P. ginseng-mediated gold nanoparticles have high antioxidant activity and highly biocompatibility in HaCaT cells, 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes cells, RAW 264.7 cells lines and could be considered for future drug delivery carriers. The silver nanoparticles also showed high potent antioxidant efficacy, additionally it showed high anticancer effect in A549 lung cancer and B16BL6 skin melenoma cancer cell lines as compared to precursor salts. Moreover, both gold and silver nanoparticles have anti-inflammatory efficacies in RAW 264.7 cells. Thus, the study may provide useful insights of P. ginseng leaves extract-mediated biocompatible gold and silver nanoparticles and improving their applicability in designing nanoparticles carrier systems for drug delivery applications.

  7. Preparation of an efficient and safe polymeric-magnetic nanoparticle delivery system for sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma.

    PubMed

    Tom, Greeshma; Philip, Sheena; Isaac, Rimal; Praseetha, P K; Jiji, S G; Asha, V V

    2018-08-01

    Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), as drug delivery vehicles, offer to eliminate the concerns associated with hydrophobic anti-cancer agents. The current study was intended to fabricate a SPION based delivery system for sorafenib that can simultaneously enable targeted delivery of sorafenib and expand its therapeutic index against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Co-precipitation and physical entrapment methods were employed for the synthesis of sorafenib loaded PVA coated SPIONs. Physicochemical characterizations were done using TEM, XRD, FTIR, Raman spectra and VSM measurements. The superior activity of nanoconjugate was demonstrated by AO/EB staining, FACS, immunofluorescence and Western blot. The safety of the sorafenib conjugated nanoparticles were verified in Wistar rats. The synthesized nanoparticles were in the size range of 5-15 nm. The adsorption of PVA to the SPIONs and the conjugation of sorafenib to the nanocarrier were confirmed by XRD, FTIR and Raman spectra analyses. VSM study ascertained the superparamagnetic nature of the nanoconjugate. Cellular uptake studies suggested its efficient entrapment in HepG2 cells. MTT assay showed that the cytotoxicity of sorafenib loaded PVA/SPIONs was comparable or higher than free sorafenib. The activation of apoptosis and autophagy pathways in HepG2 by the nanoconjugate was evidenced. Acute toxicity testing in Wistar rats supported the safe administration of the nanoconjugate and established its localization in animal tissues by Perl's Prussian Blue reaction. The novel combination of sorafenib with PVA/SPIONs showed better anticancer efficiency than free sorafenib demonstrative of its potential in cancer chemotherapy. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. The Stability and Oxidation Resistance of Iron- and Cobalt-Based Magnetic Nanoparticle Fluids Fabricated by Inert-Gas Condensation

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2005-01-01

    imaging, drug delivery, and hyperthermia treatment for cancer . Ideal magnetic nanoparticle fluids have well-separated, biocompatible nanoparticles with a...Based Magnetic Nanoparticle Fluids Fabricated by Inert-Gas Condensation DISTRIBUTION: Approved for public release, distribution unlimited This paper...Oxidation Resistance of Iron- and Cobalt-Based Magnetic Nanoparticle Fluids Fabricated by Inert-Gas Condensation Nguyen H. Hail, Raymond Lemoine’, Shaina

  9. Evaluation of Organogel Nanoparticles as Drug Delivery System for Lipophilic Compounds.

    PubMed

    Martin, Baptiste; Brouillet, Fabien; Franceschi, Sophie; Perez, Emile

    2017-05-01

    The purpose of the study was to evaluate organogel nanoparticles as a drug delivery system by investigating their stability, according to the formulation strategy, and their release profile. The gelled nanoparticles were prepared by hot emulsification (above the gelation temperature) of an organogel in water, and cooling at room temperature. In the first step, we used DLS and DSC to select the most suitable formulations by optimizing the proportion of ingredients (HSA, PVA, castor oil) to obtain particles of the smallest size and greatest stability. Then, two lipophilic drug models, indomethacin and ketoconazole were entrapped in the nanoparticles made of castor oil gelled by 12-hydroxystearic acid. Thermal studies (DSC) confirmed that there was no significant alteration of gelling due to the entrapped drugs, even at 3% w/w. Very stable dispersions were obtained (>3 months), with gelled oil nanoparticles presenting a mean diameter between 250 and 300 nm. High encapsulation efficiency (>98%) was measured for indomethacin and ketoconazole. The release profile determined by in vitro dialysis showed an immediate release of the drug from the organogel nanoparticles, due to rapid diffusion. The study demonstrates the interest of these gelled oil nanoparticles for the encapsulation and the delivery of lipophilic active compounds.

  10. Beyond liposomes: Recent advances on lipid based nanostructures for poorly soluble/poorly permeable drug delivery.

    PubMed

    Teixeira, M C; Carbone, C; Souto, E B

    2017-10-01

    Solid lipid nanoparticle (SLN), nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) and hybrid nanoparticles, have gained increasing interest as drug delivery systems because of their potential to load and release drugs from the Biopharmaceutical classification system (BCS) of class II (low solubility and high permeability) and of class IV (low solubility and low permeability). Lipid properties (e.g. high solubilizing potential, biocompatibility, biotolerability, biodegradability and distinct route of absorption) contribute for the improvement of the bioavailability of these drugs for a set of administration routes. Their interest continues to grow, as translated by the number of patents being field worldwide. This paper discusses the recent advances on the use of SLN, NLC and lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles for the loading of lipophilic, poorly water-soluble and poorly permeable drugs, being developed for oral, topical, parenteral and ocular administration, also discussing the industrial applications of these systems. A review of the patents filled between 2014 and 2017, concerning the original inventions of lipid nanocarriers, is also provided. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Lactoferrin modified graphene oxide iron oxide nanocomposite for glioma-targeted drug delivery.

    PubMed

    Song, Meng-Meng; Xu, Huai-Liang; Liang, Jun-Xing; Xiang, Hui-Hui; Liu, Rui; Shen, Yu-Xian

    2017-08-01

    Targeting delivery of drugs in a specific manner represents a potential powerful technology in gliomas. Herein, we prepared a multifunctional targeted delivery system based on graphene oxide (GO) that contains a molecular bio-targeting ligand and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles on the surface of GO for magnetic targeting. Superparamagnetic Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles was loaded on the surface of GO via chemical precipitation method to form GO@Fe 3 O 4 nanocomposites. Lactoferrin (Lf), an iron-transporting serum glycoprotein that binds to receptors overexpressed at the surface of glioma cells and vascular endothelial cell of the blood brain barrier, was chosen as the targeted ligand to construct the targeted delivery system Lf@GO@Fe 3 O 4 through EDC/NHS chemistry. With the confirmation of TEM, DLS and VSM, the resulting Lf@GO@Fe 3 O 4 had a size distribution of 200-1000nm and exhibited a superparamagnetic behavior. The nano delivery system had a high loading capacity and exhibited a pH-dependent release behavior. Compared with free DOX and DOX@GO@Fe 3 O 4 , Lf@GO@Fe 3 O 4 @DOX displayed greater intracellular delivery efficiency and stronger cytotoxicity against C6 glioma cells. The results demonstrated the potential utility of Lf conjugated GO@Fe 3 O 4 nanocomposites for therapeutic application in the treatment of gliomas. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  12. An Overview of Clinical and Commercial Impact of Drug Delivery Systems

    PubMed Central

    Anselmo, Aaron C.; Mitragotri, Samir

    2014-01-01

    Drug delivery systems are widely researched and developed to improve the delivery of pharmaceutical compounds and molecules. The last few decades have seen a marked growth of the field fueled by increased number of researchers, research funding, venture capital and the number of start-ups. Collectively, the growth has led to novel systems that make use of micro/nano-particles, transdermal patches, inhalers, drug reservoir implants and antibody-drug conjugates. While the increased research activity is clearly an indication of proliferation of the field, clinical and commercial translation of early-stage research ideas is critically important for future growth and interest in the field. Here, we will highlight some of the examples of novel drug delivery systems that have undergone such translation. Specifically, we will discuss the developments, advantages, limitations and lessons learned from: (i) microparticle-based depot formulations, (ii) nanoparticle-based cancer drugs, (iii) transdermal systems, (iv) oral drug delivery systems, (v) pulmonary drug delivery, (vi) implants and (vii) antibody-drug conjugates. These systems have impacted treatment of many prevalent diseases including diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases, among others. At the same time, these systems are integral and enabling components of products that collectively generate annual revenues exceeding US $100 billion. These examples provide strong evidence of the clinical and commercial impact of drug delivery systems. PMID:24747160

  13. A multiscale modeling study of particle size effects on the tissue penetration efficacy of drug-delivery nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Islam, Mohammad Aminul; Barua, Sutapa; Barua, Dipak

    2017-11-25

    Particle size is a key parameter for drug-delivery nanoparticle design. It is believed that the size of a nanoparticle may have important effects on its ability to overcome the transport barriers in biological tissues. Nonetheless, such effects remain poorly understood. Using a multiscale model, this work investigates particle size effects on the tissue distribution and penetration efficacy of drug-delivery nanoparticles. We have developed a multiscale spatiotemporal model of nanoparticle transport in biological tissues. The model implements a time-adaptive Brownian Dynamics algorithm that links microscale particle-cell interactions and adhesion dynamics to tissue-scale particle dispersion and penetration. The model accounts for the advection, diffusion, and cellular uptakes of particles. Using the model, we have analyzed how particle size affects the intra-tissue dispersion and penetration of drug delivery nanoparticles. We focused on two published experimental works that investigated particle size effects in in vitro and in vivo tissue conditions. By analyzing experimental data reported in these two studies, we show that particle size effects may appear pronounced in an in vitro cell-free tissue system, such as collagen matrix. In an in vivo tissue system, the effects of particle size could be relatively modest. We provide a detailed analysis on how particle-cell interactions may determine distribution and penetration of nanoparticles in a biological tissue. Our work suggests that the size of a nanoparticle may play a less significant role in its ability to overcome the intra-tissue transport barriers. We show that experiments involving cell-free tissue systems may yield misleading observations of particle size effects due to the absence of advective transport and particle-cell interactions.

  14. Enteric trimethyl chitosan nanoparticles containing hepatitis B surface antigen for oral delivery.

    PubMed

    Farhadian, Asma; Dounighi, Naser Mohammadpour; Avadi, Mohammadreza

    2015-01-01

    Oral vaccination is the preferred route of immunization. However, the degradative condition of the gastrointestinal tract and the higher molecular size of peptides pose major challenges in developing an effective oral vaccination system. One of the most excellent methods used in the development of oral vaccine delivery system relies on the entrapment of the antigen in polymeric nanoparticles. In this work, trimethyl chitosan (TMC) nanoparticles were fabricated using ionic gelation teqnique by interaction hydroxypropyl methylcellulose phthalate (HPMCP), a pH-sensitive polymer, with TMC and the utility of the particles in the oral delivery of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was evaluated employing solutions that simulated gastric and intestinal conditions. The particle size, morphology, zeta potential, loading capacity, loading efficiency, in vitro release behavior, structure, and morphology of nanoparticles were evaluated, and the activity of the loaded antigen was assessed. Size of the optimized TMC/HPMCP nanoparticles and that of the antigen-loaded nanoparticles were 85 nm and 158 nm, respectively. Optimum loading capacity (76.75%) and loading efficiency (86.29%) were achieved at 300 µg/mL concentration of the antigen. SEM images revealed a spherical shape as well as a smooth and near-homogenous surface of nanoparticles. Results of the in vitro release studies showed that formulation with HPMCP improved the acid stability of the TMC nanoparticles as well as their capability to preserve the loaded HBsAg from gastric destruction. The antigen showed good activity both before and after loading. The results suggest that TMC/HPMCP nanoparticles could be used in the oral delivery of HBsAg vaccine.

  15. Lipid Nanoparticles: A novel approach for brain targeting.

    PubMed

    Shankar, Ravi; Joshi, Monika; Pathak, Kamla

    2018-06-10

    Brain is a delicate organ, separated from general circulation and is characterized by the presence of relatively impermeable Blood Brain Barrier (BBB). The BBB maintains homeostasis in the brain thus restricting the entrance of foreign bodies and several molecules from reaching the brain. As a result several promising molecules do not reach the target site and fail to produce in vivo response. Nevertheless, lipid nanoparticles are taken up readily by the brain because of their lipophilic nature. The bioacceptable and biodegradable nature of lipid nanoparticles makes them less toxic and suited for brain targeting. In the present review the BBB, mechanism of transport across the BBB, strategies to bypass the blood-brain barrier have been presented. The aptness of lipid nanoparticles for brain targeting has been highlighted. The proposed mechanism of uptake of the lipid nanoparticles, methods of prolonging the plasma retention and various methods of preparation for formulation of effective delivery systems for brain targeting have been included and dealt in this review. Lipid based formulations can be designated as the current and future generation of drug delivery systems as these possess tremendous potential to bypass BBB and reach the target site due to their small size and ability to dodge the reticular endothelial system. However, these nanostructures need to be investigated intensively to successfully reach the clinical trials stage. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  16. Positively charged biopolymeric nanoparticles for the inhibition of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chronopoulou, Laura; Di Domenico, Enea Gino; Ascenzioni, Fiorentina; Palocci, Cleofe

    2016-10-01

    Currently, many microbial infections have the potential to become lethal owing to the development of antimicrobial resistance by means of different mechanisms and mainly on the basis of the fact that many drugs are unable to reach therapeutic levels in the target sites. This requires the use of high doses and frequent administrations, causing adverse side effects or in some cases toxicity. The use of nanoparticle systems could help overcome such problems and increase drug efficacy. In the present study, we developed a new drug delivery system based on the use of biopolymeric nanovectors loaded with tobramycin (Tb), which is the standard antibiotic for the treatment of Cystic Fibrosis-associated P. aeruginosa lung infections. Tb-loaded biopolymeric nanoparticles composed by dextran sulfate (DS) and chitosan (CS) were prepared by ionotropic gelation. We optimized drug entrapment in DS/CS nanoparticles, obtaining particles of 170 nm and with a drug loading of 400 µg Tb/mg of nanoparticles. In accord with in vitro release experiments, such preparations were able to release approximately 25 % of their cargo in 60 h. In vitro, the antimicrobial efficacy of the drug delivery system on P. aeruginosa biofilm was tested and compared to the effects of free drug revealing that this formulation can reduce the viability of P. aeruginosa biofilms for 48 h with a single-dose administration.

  17. Liposomes and nanotechnology in drug development: focus on ocular targets

    PubMed Central

    Honda, Miki; Asai, Tomohiro; Oku, Naoto; Araki, Yoshihiko; Tanaka, Minoru; Ebihara, Nobuyuki

    2013-01-01

    Poor drug delivery to lesions in patients’ eyes is a major obstacle to the treatment of ocular diseases. The accessibility of these areas to drugs is highly restricted by the presence of barriers, including the corneal barrier, aqueous barrier, and the inner and outer blood–retinal barriers. In particular, the posterior segment is difficult to reach for drugs because of its structural peculiarities. This review discusses various barriers to drug delivery and provides comprehensive information for designing nanoparticle-mediated drug delivery systems for the treatment of ocular diseases. Nanoparticles can be designed to improve penetration, controlled release, and drug targeting. As highlighted in this review, the therapeutic efficacy of drugs in ocular diseases has been reported to be enhanced by the use of nanoparticles such as liposomes, micro/nanospheres, microemulsions, and dendrimers. Our recent data show that intravitreal injection of targeted liposomes encapsulating an angiogenesis inhibitor caused significantly greater suppression of choroidal neovascularization than did the injection of free drug. Recent progress in ocular drug delivery systems research has provided new insights into drug development, and the use of nanoparticles for drug delivery is thus a promising approach for advanced therapy of ocular diseases. PMID:23439842

  18. PEG-PLA-PEG block copolymeric nanoparticles for oral immunization against hepatitis B.

    PubMed

    Jain, Arvind K; Goyal, Amit K; Mishra, Neeraj; Vaidya, Bhuvaneshwar; Mangal, Sharad; Vyas, Suresh P

    2010-03-15

    PLA/PLGA nanoparticles are well known as efficient vaccine delivery systems, but they have got limitation in oral vaccine delivery because of their sensitivity to harsh gastric environment. The aim of present study was to improve the stability of PLA nanoparticles in such environment by copolymerizing PLA with PEG. Nanoparticles were formulated using different block copolymers AB, ABA and BAB (where 'A' is PLA and 'B' is PEG) encapsulating hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) to evaluate their efficacy as oral vaccine delivery system. The results of in vitro studies engrave the efficiency of copolymeric nanoparticles to retain encapsulated antigen and average particle size even after 2 h incubation in simulated gastric fluid and simulated intestinal fluid. Fluorescence microscopic studies indicated efficient uptake of copolymeric nanoparticles by gut mucosa of immunized mice model as compared to control. Finally copolymeric and PLA nanoparticles, encapsulating HBsAg, were evaluated for their adjuvancity in generating immune response after oral administration. PLA nanoparticles could not generate an effective immune response due to stability issues. On the other hand, oral administration of copolymeric nanoparticles exhibited effective levels of humoral immunity along with the mucosal (sIgA) and cellular immune response (T(H)1). The results of in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrate that BAB nanoparticles depict enhanced mucosal uptake leading to effective immune response as compared to other copolymeric nanoparticles. Present study indicates the efficacy of BAB nanoparticles as a promising carrier for oral immunization. 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Fluxgate magnetorelaxometry: a new approach to study the release properties of hydrogel cylinders and microspheres.

    PubMed

    Wöhl-Bruhn, S; Heim, E; Schwoerer, A; Bertz, A; Harling, S; Menzel, H; Schilling, M; Ludwig, F; Bunjes, H

    2012-10-15

    Hydrogels are under investigation as long term delivery systems for biomacromolecules as active pharmaceutical ingredients. The release behavior of hydrogels can be tailored during the fabrication process. This study investigates the applicability of fluxgate magnetorelaxometry (MRX) as a tool to characterize the release properties of such long term drug delivery depots. MRX is based on the use of superparamagnetic core-shell nanoparticles as model substances. The feasibility of using superparamagnetic nanoparticles to study the degradation of and the associated release from hydrogel cylinders and hydrogel microspheres was a major point of interest. Gels prepared from two types of photo crosslinkable polymers based on modified hydroxyethylstarch, specifically hydroxyethyl starch-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HES-HEMA) and hydroxyethyl starch-polyethylene glycol methacrylate (HES-P(EG)(6)MA), were analyzed. MRX analysis of the incorporated nanoparticles allowed to evaluate the influence of different crosslinking conditions during hydrogel production as well as to follow the increase in nanoparticle mobility as a result of hydrogel degradation during release studies. Conventional release studies with fluorescent markers (half-change method) were performed for comparison. MRX with superparamagnetic nanoparticles as model substances is a promising method to analyze pharmaceutically relevant processes such as the degradation of hydrogel drug carrier systems. In contrast to conventional release experiments MRX allows measurements in closed vials (reducing loss of sample and sampling errors), in opaque media and at low magnetic nanoparticle concentrations. Magnetic markers possess a better long-term stability than fluorescent ones and are thus also promising for the use in in vivo studies. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. The magnetic graphene-based nanocomposite: An efficient anticancer delivery system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jafarizad, Abbas; Jaymand, Mehdi; Taghizadehghalehjougi, Ali; Mohammadi-Nasr, Saeed; Jabbari, Amir Mohammad

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this study is the development of an efficient anticancer drug delivery nanosystem using PEGylated graphene oxide/magnetite nanoparticles (PEG-GO/Fe3O4). The nanosystem was loaded with mitoxantrone (MTX) as a universal anticancer drug. The cytotoxicity effect of the MTX-loaded GO-PEG/Fe3O4 nanocomposite was studied against U87 MG cell line using MTT cell viablity assay. The mechanism of action, the genes contributed in apoptosis (Casp 9, and Casp 3) and survival (BcL-2, BAX) have been investigated using quantitative real time-PCR. As the results of biological assays, controlled drug release behavior of the developed nanosystem as well as the inherent physicochemical and biological characteristics of both magnetit nanoparticles and graphene nanomaterials, we envision that the GO-PEG/Fe3O4 nanocomposite may be applied as enhanced drug delivery system for various cancer therapies (e.g., brain cancer) using both chemo- and photothermal therapy methods.

  1. Drug Delivery Systems, CNS Protection, and the Blood Brain Barrier

    PubMed Central

    Upadhyay, Ravi Kant

    2014-01-01

    Present review highlights various drug delivery systems used for delivery of pharmaceutical agents mainly antibiotics, antineoplastic agents, neuropeptides, and other therapeutic substances through the endothelial capillaries (BBB) for CNS therapeutics. In addition, the use of ultrasound in delivery of therapeutic agents/biomolecules such as proline rich peptides, prodrugs, radiopharmaceuticals, proteins, immunoglobulins, and chimeric peptides to the target sites in deep tissue locations inside tumor sites of brain has been explained. In addition, therapeutic applications of various types of nanoparticles such as chitosan based nanomers, dendrimers, carbon nanotubes, niosomes, beta cyclodextrin carriers, cholesterol mediated cationic solid lipid nanoparticles, colloidal drug carriers, liposomes, and micelles have been discussed with their recent advancements. Emphasis has been given on the need of physiological and therapeutic optimization of existing drug delivery methods and their carriers to deliver therapeutic amount of drug into the brain for treatment of various neurological diseases and disorders. Further, strong recommendations are being made to develop nanosized drug carriers/vehicles and noninvasive therapeutic alternatives of conventional methods for better therapeutics of CNS related diseases. Hence, there is an urgent need to design nontoxic biocompatible drugs and develop noninvasive delivery methods to check posttreatment clinical fatalities in neuropatients which occur due to existing highly toxic invasive drugs and treatment methods. PMID:25136634

  2. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yan, Chen; Jie, Leng; Yongqi, Wang

    Nanoparticles are becoming promising carriers for gene delivery because of their high capacity in gene loading and low cell cytotoxicity. In this study, a chitosan-based nanoparticle encapsulated within a recombinant pcDNA3.1-dsNKG2D-IL-15 plasmid was generated. The fused dsNKG2D-IL-15 gene fragment consisted of double extracellular domains of NKG2D with IL-15 gene at downstream. The average diameter of the gene nanoparticles ranged from 200 nm to 400 nm, with mean zeta potential value of 53.8 ± 6.56 mV. The nanoparticles which were loaded with the dsNKG2D-IL-15 gene were uptaken by tumor cells with low cytotoxicity. Tumor cells pre-transfected by gene nanopartilces stimulated NK and T cells in vitro. Intramuscularmore » injection of gene nanoparticles suppressed tumor growth and prolonged survival of tumor-bearing mice through activation of NK and CD8{sup +} T cells. Thus, chitosan-based nanoparticle delivery of dsNKG2D-IL-15 gene vaccine can be potentially used for tumor therapy. - Highlights: • Generation of a nanoparticle for delivery of dsNKG2D-IL-15 gene. • Characterization of the gene nanoparticle. • Antitumor activity mediated by the gene nanoparticle.« less

  3. Enzyme-Controlled Nanodevice for Acetylcholine-Triggered Cargo Delivery Based on Janus Au-Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Llopis-Lorente, Antoni; Díez, Paula; de la Torre, Cristina; Sánchez, Alfredo; Sancenón, Félix; Aznar, Elena; Marcos, María D; Martínez-Ruíz, Paloma; Martínez-Máñez, Ramón; Villalonga, Reynaldo

    2017-03-28

    This work reports a new gated nanodevice for acetylcholine-triggered cargo delivery. We prepared and characterized Janus Au-mesoporous silica nanoparticles functionalized with acetylcholinesterase on the Au face and with supramolecular β-cyclodextrin:benzimidazole inclusion complexes as caps on the mesoporous silica face. The nanodevice is able to selectively deliver the cargo in the presence of acetylcholine via enzyme-mediated acetylcholine hydrolysis, locally lowering the pH and opening the supramolecular gate. Given the key role played by ACh and its relation with Parkinson's disease and other nervous system diseases, we believe that these findings could help design new therapeutic strategies. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  4. Hydrogels for central nervous system therapeutic strategies.

    PubMed

    Russo, Teresa; Tunesi, Marta; Giordano, Carmen; Gloria, Antonio; Ambrosio, Luigi

    2015-12-01

    The central nervous system shows a limited regenerative capacity, and injuries or diseases, such as those in the spinal, brain and retina, are a great problem since current therapies seem to be unable to achieve good results in terms of significant functional recovery. Different promising therapies have been suggested, the aim being to restore at least some of the lost functions. The current review deals with the use of hydrogels in developing advanced devices for central nervous system therapeutic strategies. Several approaches, involving cell-based therapy, delivery of bioactive molecules and nanoparticle-based drug delivery, will be first reviewed. Finally, some examples of injectable hydrogels for the delivery of bioactive molecules in central nervous system will be reported, and the key features as well as the basic principles in designing multifunctional devices will be described. © IMechE 2015.

  5. Application of modelling and nanotechnology-based approaches: The emergence of breakthroughs in theranostics of central nervous system disorders.

    PubMed

    Hassanzadeh, Parichehr; Atyabi, Fatemeh; Dinarvand, Rassoul

    2017-08-01

    The limited efficiency of the current treatment options against the central nervous system (CNS) disorders has created increasing demands towards the development of novel theranostic strategies. The enormous research efforts in nanotechnology have led to the production of highly-advanced nanodevices and biomaterials in a variety of geometries and configurations for targeted delivery of genes, drugs, or growth factors across the blood-brain barrier. Meanwhile, the richness or reliability of data, drug delivery methods, therapeutic effects or potential toxicity of nanoparticles, occurrence of the unexpected phenomena due to the polydisperse or polymorphic nature of nanomaterials, and personalized theranostics have remained as challenging issues. In this respect, computational modelling has emerged as a powerful tool for rational design of nanoparticles with optimized characteristics including the selectivity, improved bioactivity, and reduced toxicity that might lead to the effective delivery of therapeutic agents. High-performance simulation techniques by shedding more light on the dynamical behaviour of neural networks and pathomechanisms of CNS disorders may provide imminent breakthroughs in nanomedicine. In the present review, the importance of integration of nanotechnology-based approaches with computational techniques for targeted delivery of theranostics to the CNS has been highlighted. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  6. Carbohydrate Nanoparticles for Brain Delivery.

    PubMed

    Lalatsa, A; Barbu, E

    2016-01-01

    Many brain tumors and neurological diseases can greatly benefit from the use of emerging nanotechnologies based on targeted nanomedicines that are able to noninvasively transport highly potent and specific pharmaceuticals across the blood-brain barrier. Carbohydrates have received considerable interest as materials for drug carriers due to their natural origin and inherent biodegradability and biocompatibility, as well as due to their hydrophilic character and ease of chemical modification combined with low cost and the possibility for large-scale manufacturing. This chapter provides an overview of the latest research involving the use of carbohydrate-based nanoparticles for drug delivery to the central nervous system. After reviewing the challenges posed by delivering drugs into the brain, the current state-of-the-art approaches for delivery of actives across the blood-brain barrier, including invasive and noninvasive strategies, are presented. A particular focus has been placed on chitosan polymers as they are among the most promising carbohydrate nanocarriers for the preparation and testing of chitosan-based nanomedicines that led, in preclinical proof-of-concept studies, to enhanced brain drug levels and increased pharmacodynamics responses after intravenous, nasal, and oral administration. While chitosan nanoparticles are to date among the most studied and most promising carriers, approaches based on other polysaccharides such as dextran, pullulan, and cellulose warrant further research in the attempt to advance the existing technologies for overcoming the blood-brain barrier. © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Initial observations of cell-mediated drug delivery to the deep lung.

    PubMed

    Kumar, Arun; Glaum, Mark; El-Badri, Nagwa; Mohapatra, Shyam; Haller, Edward; Park, Seungjoo; Patrick, Leslie; Nattkemper, Leigh; Vo, Dawn; Cameron, Don F

    2011-01-01

    Using current methodologies, drug delivery to small airways, terminal bronchioles, and alveoli (deep lung) is inefficient, especially to the lower lungs. Urgent lung pathologies such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and post-lung transplantation complications are difficult to treat, in part due to the methodological limitations in targeting the deep lung with high efficiency drug distribution to the site of pathology. To overcome drug delivery limitations inhibiting the optimization of deep lung therapy, isolated rat Sertoli cells preloaded with chitosan nanoparticles were use to obtain a high-density distribution and concentration (92%) of the nanoparticles in the lungs of mice by way of the peripheral venous vasculature rather than the more commonly used pulmonary route. Additionally, Sertoli cells were preloaded with chitosan nanoparticles coupled with the anti-inflammatory compound curcumin and then injected intravenously into control or experimental mice with deep lung inflammation. By 24 h postinjection, most of the curcumin load (∼90%) delivered in the injected Sertoli cells was present and distributed throughout the lungs, including the perialveloar sac area in the lower lungs. This was based on the high-density, positive quantification of both nanoparticles and curcumin in the lungs. There was a marked positive therapeutic effect achieved 24 h following curcumin treatment delivered by this Sertoli cell nanoparticle protocol (SNAP). Results identify a novel and efficient protocol for targeted delivery of drugs to the deep lung mediated by extratesticular Sertoli cells. Utilization of SNAP delivery may optimize drug therapy for conditions such as ARDS, status asthmaticus, pulmonary hypertension, lung cancer, and complications following lung transplantation where the use of high concentrations of anti-inflammatory drugs is desirable, but often limited by risks of systemic drug toxicity.

  8. Tunable poly(methacrylic acid-co-acrylamide) nanoparticles through inverse emulsion polymerization.

    PubMed

    Zhong, Justin X; Clegg, John R; Ander, Eric W; Peppas, Nicholas A

    2018-06-01

    Environmentally responsive biomaterials have played key roles in the design of biosensors and drug delivery vehicles. Their physical response to external stimuli, such as temperature or pH, can transduce a signal or trigger the release of a drug. In this work, we designed a robust, highly tunable, pH-responsive nanoscale hydrogel system. We present the design and characterization of poly(methacrylic acid-co-acrylamide) hydrogel nanoparticles, crosslinked with methylenebisacrylamide, through inverse emulsion polymerization. The effects of polymerization parameters (i.e., identities and concentrations of monomer and surfactant) and polymer composition (i.e., weight fraction of ionic and crosslinking monomers) on the nanoparticles' bulk and environmentally responsive properties were determined. We generated uniform, spherical nanoparticles which, through modulation of crosslinking, exhibit a volume swelling of 1.77-4.07, relative to the collapsed state in an acidic environment. We believe our system has potential as a base platform for the targeted, injectable delivery of hydrophilic therapeutics. With equal importance, however, we hope that our systematic analysis of the individual impacts of polymerization and purification conditions on nanoparticle composition, morphology, and performance can be used to expedite the development of alternate hydrophilic nanomaterials for a range of biomedical applications. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 1677-1686, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. CD44-engineered mesoporous silica nanoparticles for overcoming multidrug resistance in breast cancer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Xin; Liu, Ying; Wang, Shouju; Shi, Donghong; Zhou, Xianguang; Wang, Chunyan; Wu, Jiang; Zeng, Zhiyong; Li, Yanjun; Sun, Jing; Wang, Jiandong; Zhang, Longjiang; Teng, Zhaogang; Lu, Guangming

    2015-03-01

    Multidrug resistance is a major impediment for the successful chemotherapy in breast cancer. CD44 is over-expressed in multidrug resistant human breast cancer cells. CD44 monoclonal antibody exhibits anticancer potential by inhibiting proliferation and regulating P-glycoprotein-mediated drug efflux activity in multidrug resistant cells. Thereby, CD44 monoclonal antibody in combination with chemotherapeutic drug might be result in enhancing chemosensitivity and overcoming multidrug resistance. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of the CD44 monoclonal antibody functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles containing doxorubicin on human breast resistant cancer MCF-7 cells. The data showed that CD44-modified mesoporous silica nanoparticles increased cytotoxicity and enhanced the downregulation of P-glycoprotein in comparison to CD44 antibody. Moreover, CD44-engineered mesoporous silica nanoparticles provided active target, which promoted more cellular uptake of DOX in the resistant cells and more retention of DOX in tumor tissues than unengineered counterpart. Animal studies of the resistant breast cancer xenografts demonstrated that CD44-engineered drug delivery system remarkably induced apoptosis and inhibited the tumor growth. Our results indicated that the CD44-engineered mesoporous silica nanoparticle-based drug delivery system offers an effective approach to overcome multidrug resistance in human breast cancer.

  10. Antioxidant Nanoplatforms for Dermal Delivery: Melatonin.

    PubMed

    Milan, Aroha Sanchez; Campmany, Ana Cristina Calpena; Naveros, Beatriz Clares

    2017-01-01

    Melatonin is emerging as a promising therapeutic agent, mainly due to its role as antioxidant. Substantial evidences show that melatonin is potentially effective in a variety of diseases as cancer, inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases. The excellent antioxidant capacity with pharmacokinetics characteristics and the emerging search for new pharmaceutical nanotechnology based systems, make it particularly attractive to elaborate nanoplatforms based on melatonin for biomedical or cosmetic dermal applications. Different nanosystems for dermal delivery have been investigated. This review focuses on nanocarrier production strategies, dermal melatonin application and delivery advances in vivo and in vitro. Equally, future perspectives of this assisted melatonin delivery have also been discussed. In the current review, we have revised relevant articles of the available literature using the major scientific databases. One hundred and thirteen papers were included in the review, the majority of which represent latest researches in nanosized platforms for the dermal delivery of melatonin including liposomes, ethosomes, niosomes, polymeric nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles and cyclodextrins. Furthermore, relevant papers reporting in vitro and in vivo application studies of these nano-based melatonin platforms were also discussed. The use of nanoplatforms for the dermal melatonin delivery as antioxidant agent could improve the efficacy of conventional melatonin administration due to the preservation of the drug from premature oxidation and the enhancement of drug permeation through the skin providing greater exposure times. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  11. State-of-the-art in design rules for drug delivery platforms: lessons learned from FDA-approved nanomedicines.

    PubMed

    Dawidczyk, Charlene M; Kim, Chloe; Park, Jea Ho; Russell, Luisa M; Lee, Kwan Hyi; Pomper, Martin G; Searson, Peter C

    2014-08-10

    The ability to efficiently deliver a drug to a tumor site is dependent on a wide range of physiologically imposed design constraints. Nanotechnology provides the possibility of creating delivery vehicles where these design constraints can be decoupled, allowing new approaches for reducing the unwanted side effects of systemic delivery, increasing targeting efficiency and efficacy. Here we review the design strategies of the two FDA-approved antibody-drug conjugates (Brentuximab vedotin and Trastuzumab emtansine) and the four FDA-approved nanoparticle-based drug delivery platforms (Doxil, DaunoXome, Marqibo, and Abraxane) in the context of the challenges associated with systemic targeted delivery of a drug to a solid tumor. The lessons learned from these nanomedicines provide an important insight into the key challenges associated with the development of new platforms for systemic delivery of anti-cancer drugs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Hydrogen peroxide-responsive copolyoxalate nanoparticles for detection and therapy of ischemia-reperfusion injury.

    PubMed

    Lee, Dongwon; Bae, Soochan; Ke, Qingen; Lee, Jiyoo; Song, Byungjoo; Karumanchi, S Ananth; Khang, Gilson; Choi, Hak Soo; Kang, Peter M

    2013-12-28

    The main culprit in the pathogenesis of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is the generation of high level of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). In this study, we report a novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategy for I/R injury based on H2O2-activatable copolyoxalate nanoparticles using a murine model of hind limb I/R injury. The nanoparticles are composed of hydroxybenzyl alcohol (HBA)-incorporating copolyoxalate (HPOX) that, in the presence of H2O2, degrades completely into three known and safe compounds, cyclohexanedimethanol, HBA and CO2. HPOX effectively scavenges H2O2 in a dose-dependent manner and hydrolyzes to release HBA which exerts intrinsic antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities both in vitro and in vivo models of hind limb I/R. HPOX nanoparticles loaded with fluorophore effectively and robustly image H2O2 generated in hind limb I/R injury, demonstrating their potential for bioimaging of H2O2-associated diseases. Furthermore, HPOX nanoparticles loaded with anti-apoptotic drug effectively release the drug payload after I/R injury, exhibiting their effectiveness for a targeted drug delivery system for I/R injury. We anticipate that multifunctional HPOX nanoparticles have great potential as H2O2 imaging agents, therapeutics and drug delivery systems for H2O2-associated diseases. © 2013.

  13. The delivery of poly(lactic acid)-poly(ethylene glycol) nanoparticles loaded with non-toxic drug to overcome drug resistance for the treatment of neuroblastoma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dhulekar, Jhilmil

    Neuroblastoma is a rare cancer of the sympathetic nervous system. A neuroblastoma tumor develops in the nerve tissue and is diagnosed in infants and children. Approximately 10.2 per million children under the age of 15 are affected in the United States and is slightly more common in boys. Neuroblastoma constitutes 6% of all childhood cancers and has a long-term survival rate of only 15%. There are approximately 700 new cases of neuroblastoma each year in the United States. With such a low rate of survival, the development of more effective treatment methods is necessary. A number of therapies are available for the treatment of these tumors; however, clinicians and their patients face the challenges of systemic side effects and drug resistance of the tumor cells. The application of nanoparticles has the potential to provide a safer and more effective method of delivery drugs to tumors. The advantage of using nanoparticles for drug delivery is the ability to specifically or passively target tumors while reducing the harmful side effects of chemotherapeutics. Drug delivery via nanoparticles can also allow for lower dosage requirements with controlled release of the drugs, which can further reduce systemic toxicity. The aim of this research was to develop a polymeric nanoparticle drug delivery system for the treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma. Nanoparticles composed of a poly(lactic acid)-poly(ethylene glycol) block copolymer were formulated to deliver a non-toxic drug in combination with Temozolomide, a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug for the treatment of neuroblastoma. The non-toxic drug acts as an inhibitor to the DNA-repair protein present in neuroblastoma cells that is responsible for inducing drug resistance in the cells, which would potentially allow for enhanced temozolomide activity. A variety of studies were completed to prove the nanoparticles' low toxicity, loading abilities, and uptake into cells. Additionally, studies were performed to determine the individual effect on cell toxicity of each drug and in combination. Finally, nanoparticles were loaded with the non-toxic drug and delivered with free temozolomide to determine the overall efficacy of the drugs in reducing neuroblastoma cell viability.

  14. Evaluating the potential of poly(beta-amino ester) nanoparticles for reprogramming human fibroblasts to become induced pluripotent stem cells.

    PubMed

    Bhise, Nupura S; Wahlin, Karl J; Zack, Donald J; Green, Jordan J

    2013-01-01

    Gene delivery can potentially be used as a therapeutic for treating genetic diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, as well as an enabling technology for regenerative medicine. A central challenge in many gene delivery applications is having a safe and effective delivery method. We evaluated the use of a biodegradable poly(beta-amino ester) nanoparticle-based nonviral protocol and compared this with an electroporation-based approach to deliver episomal plasmids encoding reprogramming factors for generation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) from human fibroblasts. A polymer library was screened to identify the polymers most promising for gene delivery to human fibroblasts. Feeder-independent culturing protocols were developed for nanoparticle-based and electroporation-based reprogramming. The cells reprogrammed by both polymeric nanoparticle-based and electroporation-based nonviral methods were characterized by analysis of pluripotency markers and karyotypic stability. The hiPSC-like cells were further differentiated toward the neural lineage to test their potential for neurodegenerative retinal disease modeling. 1-(3-aminopropyl)-4-methylpiperazine end-terminated poly(1,4-butanediol diacry-late-co-4-amino-1-butanol) polymer (B4S4E7) self-assembled with plasmid DNA to form nanoparticles that were more effective than leading commercially available reagents, including Lipofectamine® 2000, FuGENE® HD, and 25 kDa branched polyethylenimine, for nonviral gene transfer. B4S4E7 nanoparticles showed effective gene delivery to IMR-90 human primary fibroblasts and to dermal fibroblasts derived from a patient with retinitis pigmentosa, and enabled coexpression of exogenously delivered genes, as is needed for reprogramming. The karyotypically normal hiPSC-like cells generated by conventional electroporation, but not by poly(beta-amino ester) reprogramming, could be differentiated toward the neuronal lineage, specifically pseudostratified optic cups. This study shows that certain nonviral reprogramming methods may not necessarily be safer than viral approaches and that maximizing exogenous gene expression of reprogramming factors is not sufficient to ensure successful reprogramming.

  15. Elastin-Like Recombinamers As Smart Drug Delivery Systems.

    PubMed

    Arias, F Javier; Santos, Mercedes; Ibanez-Fonseca, Arturo; Pina, Maria Jesus; Serrano, Sofía

    2018-02-19

    Drug delivery systems that are able to control the release of bioactive molecules and designed to carry drugs to target sites are of particular interest for tissue therapy. Moreover, systems comprising materials that can respond to environmental stimuli and promote self-assembly and higher order supramolecular organization are especially useful in the biomedical field. Objetive: This review focuses on biomaterials suitable for this purpose and that include elastin-like recombinamers (ELRs), a class of proteinaceous polymers bioinspired by natural elastin, designed using recombinant technologies. The self-assembly and thermoresponsive behaviour of these systems, along with their biodegradability, biocompatibility and well-defined composition as a result of their tailormade design, make them particularly attractive for controlled drug delivery. ELR-based delivery systems that allow targeted delivery are reviewed, especially ELR-drug recombinant fusion constructs, ELR-drug systems chemically bioconjugated in their monomeric and soluble forms, and drug encapsulation by nanoparticle-forming ELRs. Subsequently, the review focuses on those drug carriers in which smart release is triggered by pH or temperature with a particular focus on cancer treatments. Systems for controlled drug release based on depots and hydrogels that act as both a support and reservoir in which drugs can be stored will be described, and their applications in drug delivery discussed. Finally, smart drug-delivery systems not based on ELRs, including those comprising proteins, synthetic polymers and non-polymeric systems, will also be briefly discussed. Several different constructions based on ELRs are potential candidates for controlled drug delivery to be applied in advanced biomedical treatments. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  16. Synthesis, characterization and liver targeting evaluation of self-assembled hyaluronic acid nanoparticles functionalized with glycyrrhetinic acid.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xiaodan; Gu, Xiangqin; Wang, Huimin; Sun, Yujiao; Wu, Haiyang; Mao, Shirui

    2017-01-01

    Recently, polymeric materials with multiple functions have drawn great attention as the carrier for drug delivery system design. In this study, a series of multifunctional drug delivery carriers, hyaluronic acid (HA)-glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) succinate (HSG) copolymers were synthesized via hydroxyl group modification of hyaluronic acid. It was shown that the HSG nanoparticles had sub-spherical shape, and the particle size was in the range of 152.6-260.7nm depending on GA graft ratio. HSG nanoparticles presented good short term and dilution stability. MTT assay demonstrated all the copolymers presented no significant cytotoxicity. In vivo imaging analysis suggested HSG nanoparticles had superior liver targeting efficiency and the liver targeting capacity was GA graft ratio dependent. The accumulation of DiR (a lipophilic, NIR fluorescent cyanine dye)-loaded HSG-6, HSG-12, and HSG-20 nanoparticles in liver was 1.8-, 2.1-, and 2.9-fold higher than that of free DiR. The binding site of GA on HA may influence liver targeting efficiency. These results indicated that HSG copolymers based nanoparticles are potential drug carrier for improved liver targeting. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Live cell imaging of the endocytosis and the intracellular trafficking of multifunctional lipid nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Tieqiao; Danthi, S. Narasimhan; Xie, Jianwu; Hu, Dehong; Lu, Peter; Li, King

    2006-02-01

    Artificial lipid nanoparticles have drawn great attention due to their potential in medicine. Linked with targeting ligands, they can be used as probes and/or gene delivery vectors for specific types of target cells. Therefore, they are very promising agents in early detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancers and other genetic diseases. However, there are several barriers blocking the applications. Controlling the cellular uptake of the lipid nanoparticles is an important technical challenge to overcome. Understanding the mechanism of the endocytosis and the following intracellular trafficking is very important for improving the design and therefore the efficiency as a drug delivery system. By using fluorescence microscopy methods, we studied the endocytosis of lipid nanoparticles by live M21 cells. The movements of the nanoparticles inside the cell were quantitatively characterized and classified based on the diffusion behavior. The trajectories of nanoparticles movement over the cell membrane revealed hop-diffusion behavior prior to the endocytosis. Fast movement in large steps is observed in intracellular trafficking and is attributed to active movement along microtubule. These observations help to understand the mechanism of the endocytosis and the pathway of the particles in cells.

  18. An Overview of Chitosan Nanoparticles and Its Application in Non-Parenteral Drug Delivery

    PubMed Central

    Mohammed, Munawar A.; Syeda, Jaweria T. M.; Wasan, Kishor M.; Wasan, Ellen K.

    2017-01-01

    The focus of this review is to provide an overview of the chitosan based nanoparticles for various non-parenteral applications and also to put a spotlight on current research including sustained release and mucoadhesive chitosan dosage forms. Chitosan is a biodegradable, biocompatible polymer regarded as safe for human dietary use and approved for wound dressing applications. Chitosan has been used as a carrier in polymeric nanoparticles for drug delivery through various routes of administration. Chitosan has chemical functional groups that can be modified to achieve specific goals, making it a polymer with a tremendous range of potential applications. Nanoparticles (NP) prepared with chitosan and chitosan derivatives typically possess a positive surface charge and mucoadhesive properties such that can adhere to mucus membranes and release the drug payload in a sustained release manner. Chitosan-based NP have various applications in non-parenteral drug delivery for the treatment of cancer, gastrointestinal diseases, pulmonary diseases, drug delivery to the brain and ocular infections which will be exemplified in this review. Chitosan shows low toxicity both in vitro and some in vivo models. This review explores recent research on chitosan based NP for non-parenteral drug delivery, chitosan properties, modification, toxicity, pharmacokinetics and preclinical studies. PMID:29156634

  19. Mitogenic Effects of Phosphatidylcholine Nanoparticles on MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells

    PubMed Central

    Gándola, Yamila B.; Pérez, Sebastián E.; Irene, Pablo E.; Sotelo, Ana I.; Miquet, Johanna G.; Corradi, Gerardo R.; Carlucci, Adriana M.; Gonzalez, Lorena

    2014-01-01

    Lecithins, mainly composed of the phospholipids phosphatidylcholines (PC), have many different uses in the pharmaceutical and clinical field. PC are involved in structural and biological functions as membrane trafficking processes and cellular signaling. Considering the increasing applications of lecithin-based nanosystems for the delivery of therapeutic agents, the aim of the present work was to determine the effects of phosphatidylcholine nanoparticles over breast cancer cellular proliferation and signaling. PC dispersions at 0.01 and 0.1% (w/v) prepared in buffer pH 7.0 and 5.0 were studied in the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. Neutral 0.1% PC-derived nanoparticles induced the activation of the MEK-ERK1/2 pathway, increased cell viability and induced a 1.2 fold raise in proliferation. These biological effects correlated with the increase of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) content and its altered cellular localization. Results suggest that nanoparticles derived from PC dispersion prepared in buffer pH 7.0 may induce physicochemical changes in the plasma membrane of cancer cells which may affect EGFR cellular localization and/or activity, increasing activation of the MEK-ERK1/2 pathway and inducing proliferation. Results from the present study suggest that possible biological effects of delivery systems based on lecithin nanoparticles should be taken into account in pharmaceutical formulation design. PMID:24772432

  20. PHEA-PLA biocompatible nanoparticles by technique of solvent evaporation from multiple emulsions.

    PubMed

    Cavallaro, Gennara; Craparo, Emanuela Fabiola; Sardo, Carla; Lamberti, Gaetano; Barba, Anna Angela; Dalmoro, Annalisa

    2015-11-30

    Nanocarriers of amphiphilic polymeric materials represent versatile delivery systems for poorly water soluble drugs. In this work the technique of solvent evaporation from multiple emulsions was applied to produce nanovectors based on new amphiphilic copolymer, the α,β-poly(N-2-hydroxyethyl)-DL-aspartamide-polylactic acid (PHEA-PLA), purposely synthesized to be used in the controlled release of active molecules poorly soluble in water. To this aim an amphiphilic derivative of PHEA, a hydrophilic polymer, was synthesized by derivatization of the polymeric backbone with hydrophobic grafts of polylactic acid (PLA). The achieved copolymer was thus used to produce nanoparticles loaded with α tocopherol (vitamin E) adopted as lipophilic model molecule. Applying a protocol based on solvent evaporation from multiple emulsions assisted by ultrasonic energy and optimizing the emulsification process (solvent selection/separation stages), PHEA-PLA nanostructured particles with total α tocopherol entrapment efficiency (100%), were obtained. The drug release is expected to take place in lower times with respect to PLA due to the presence of the hydrophilic PHEA, therefore the produced nanoparticles can be used for semi-long term release drug delivery systems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. In vitro evaluation of paclitaxel loaded amorphous chitin nanoparticles for colon cancer drug delivery.

    PubMed

    Smitha, K T; Anitha, A; Furuike, T; Tamura, H; Nair, Shantikumar V; Jayakumar, R

    2013-04-01

    Chitin and its derivatives have been widely used in drug delivery applications due to its biocompatible, biodegradable and non-toxic nature. In this study, we have developed amorphous chitin nanoparticles (150±50 nm) and evaluated its potential as a drug delivery system. Paclitaxel (PTX), a major chemotherapeutic agent was loaded into amorphous chitin nanoparticles (AC NPs) through ionic cross-linking reaction using TPP. The prepared PTX loaded AC NPs had an average diameter of 200±50 nm. Physico-chemical characterization of the prepared nanoparticles was carried out. These nanoparticles were proven to be hemocompatible and in vitro drug release studies showed a sustained release of PTX. Cellular internalization of the NPs was confirmed by fluorescent microscopy as well as by flow cytometry. Anticancer activity studies proved the toxicity of PTX-AC NPs toward colon cancer cells. These preliminary results indicate the potential of PTX-AC NPs in colon cancer drug delivery. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Nano-Science-Engineering-Technology Applications to Food and Nutrition.

    PubMed

    Nakajima, Mitsutoshi; Wang, Zheng; Chaudhry, Qasim; Park, Hyun Jin; Juneja, Lekh R

    2015-01-01

    Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology are applied to Food and Nutrition. Various delivery systems include nanoemulsions, microemulsions, solid lipid nanoparticles, micelles, and liposomes. The nanoscale systems have advantages, such as higher bioavailabitity, and other physicochemical properties. The symposium will provide an overview of the formulation, characterization, and utilization of nanotechnology-based food and nutrition.

  3. Thiolated chitosan nanoparticles for enhancing oral absorption of docetaxel: preparation, in vitro and ex vivo evaluation.

    PubMed

    Saremi, Shahrooz; Atyabi, Fatemeh; Akhlaghi, Seyedeh Parinaz; Ostad, Seyed Nasser; Dinarvand, Rassoul

    2011-01-12

    The aim of this study was to prepare and evaluate mucoadhesive core-shell nanoparticles based on copolymerization of thiolated chitosan coated on poly methyl methacrylate cores as a carrier for oral delivery of docetaxel. Docetaxel-loaded nanoparticles with various concentrations were prepared via a radical emulsion polymerization method using cerium ammonium nitrate as an initiator. The physicochemical properties of the obtained nanoparticles were characterized by: dynamic light-scattering analysis for their mean size, size distribution, and zeta potential; scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy for surface morphology; and differential scanning calorimetry analysis for confirmation of molecular dispersity of docetaxel in the nanoparticles. Nanoparticles were spherical with mean diameter below 200 nm, polydispersity of below 0.15, and positive zeta potential values. The entrapment efficiency of the nanoparticles was approximately 90%. In vitro release studies showed a sustained release characteristic for 10 days after a burst release at the beginning. Ex vivo studies showed a significant increase in the transportation of docetaxel from intestinal membrane of rat when formulated as nanoparticles. Cellular uptake of nanoparticles was investigated using fluoresceinamine-loaded nanoparticles. Docetaxel nanoparticles showed a high cytotoxicity effect in the Caco-2 and MCF-7 cell lines after 72 hours. It can be concluded that by combining the advantages of both thiolated polymers and colloidal particles, these nanoparticles can be proposed as a drug carrier system for mucosal delivery of hydrophobic drugs.

  4. Thiolated chitosan nanoparticles for enhancing oral absorption of docetaxel: preparation, in vitro and ex vivo evaluation

    PubMed Central

    Saremi, Shahrooz; Atyabi, Fatemeh; Akhlaghi, Seyedeh Parinaz; Ostad, Seyed Nasser; Dinarvand, Rassoul

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this study was to prepare and evaluate mucoadhesive core-shell nanoparticles based on copolymerization of thiolated chitosan coated on poly methyl methacrylate cores as a carrier for oral delivery of docetaxel. Docetaxel-loaded nanoparticles with various concentrations were prepared via a radical emulsion polymerization method using cerium ammonium nitrate as an initiator. The physicochemical properties of the obtained nanoparticles were characterized by: dynamic light-scattering analysis for their mean size, size distribution, and zeta potential; scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy for surface morphology; and differential scanning calorimetry analysis for confirmation of molecular dispersity of docetaxel in the nanoparticles. Nanoparticles were spherical with mean diameter below 200 nm, polydispersity of below 0.15, and positive zeta potential values. The entrapment efficiency of the nanoparticles was approximately 90%. In vitro release studies showed a sustained release characteristic for 10 days after a burst release at the beginning. Ex vivo studies showed a significant increase in the transportation of docetaxel from intestinal membrane of rat when formulated as nanoparticles. Cellular uptake of nanoparticles was investigated using fluoresceinamine-loaded nanoparticles. Docetaxel nanoparticles showed a high cytotoxicity effect in the Caco-2 and MCF-7 cell lines after 72 hours. It can be concluded that by combining the advantages of both thiolated polymers and colloidal particles, these nanoparticles can be proposed as a drug carrier system for mucosal delivery of hydrophobic drugs. PMID:21289989

  5. Non-viral gene delivery strategies for cancer therapy, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bhise, Nupura S.

    Gene therapy involves the delivery of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) into cells to override or replace a malfunctioning gene for treating debilitating genetic diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. In addition to its use as a therapeutic, it can also serve as a technology to enable regenerative medicine strategies. The central challenge of the gene therapy research arena is developing a safe and effective delivery agent. Since viral vectors have critical immunogenic and tumorogenic safety issues that limit their clinical use, recent efforts have focused on developing non-viral biomaterial based delivery vectors. Cationic polymers are an attractive class of gene delivery vectors due to their structural versatility, ease of synthesis, biodegradability, ability to self-complex into nanoparticles with negatively charged DNA, capacity to carry large cargo, cellular uptake and endosomal escape capacity. In this thesis, we hypothesized that developing a biomaterial library of poly(betaamino esters) (PBAE), a newer class of cationic polymers consisting of biodegradable ester groups, would allow investigating vector design parameters and formulating effective non-viral gene delivery strategies for cancer drug delivery, tissue engineering and stem cell engineering. Consequently, a high-throughput transfection assay was developed to screen the PBAE-based nanoparticles in hard to transfect fibroblast cell lines. To gain mechanistic insights into the nanoparticle formulation process, biophysical properties of the vectors were characterized in terms of molecular weight (MW), nanoparticle size, zeta potential and plasmid per particle count. We report a novel assay developed for quantifying the plasmid per nanoparticle count and studying its implications for co-delivery of multiple genes. The MW of the polymers ranged from 10 kDa to 100 kDa, nanoparticle size was about 150 run, zeta potential was about 30 mV in sodium acetate buffer (25 mM, pH 5) and 30 to 100 plasmids were associated with a single polymeric nanoparticle. To develop PBAE vectors for application in cancer drug delivery and 3-D tissue engineered cultures, the gene delivery efficacy of PBAE nanoparticles was evaluated in mammary epithelial cells used as a model for studying normal development of mammary gland as well as the events that lead to development of breast cancer. We investigated how small molecular changes to the end-capping terminal group of the polymer and changes to the polymer MW affect gene delivery in 2-D mammary cell culture compared to 3-D primary organotypic cultured mouse mammary tissue. We reported that the polymers synthesized here are more effective for gene delivery than FuGENERTM HD, one of the leading commercially available reagents for non-viral gene delivery. We also highlighted that transfection of the 3-D organotypic cultures is more difficult than transfection of 2-D cultures, but likely models some of the key challenges for in vivo gene therapy more closely than 2-D cultures. Finally, we evaluated the use of PBAE nanotechnology for genetic manipulation of stem cell fate for regenerative medicine applications. We developed a PBAE nanoparticle based non-viral protocol and compared it with an electroporation based approach to deliver episomal plasmids encoding reprogramming factors for derivation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC). The hiPSCs generated using these approaches can be differentiated into specific cell types for in vitro disease modeling and drug screening, specifically to study retinal degeneration.

  6. Enhanced Intratumoral Delivery of SN38 as a Tocopherol Oxyacetate Prodrug Using Nanoparticles in a Neuroblastoma Xenograft Model.

    PubMed

    Nguyen, Ferro; Alferiev, Ivan; Guan, Peng; Guerrero, David T; Kolla, Venkatadri; Moorthy, Ganesh S; Chorny, Michael; Brodeur, Garrett M

    2018-06-01

    Purpose: Currently, <50% of high-risk pediatric solid tumors like neuroblastoma can be cured, and many survivors experience serious or life-threatening toxicities, so more effective, less toxic therapy is needed. One approach is to target drugs to tumors using nanoparticles, which take advantage of the enhanced permeability of tumor vasculature. Experimental Design: SN38, the active metabolite of irinotecan (CPT-11), is a potent therapeutic agent that is readily encapsulated in polymeric nanoparticles. Tocopherol oxyacetate (TOA) is a hydrophobic mitocan that was linked to SN38 to significantly increase hydrophobicity and enhance nanoparticle retention. We treated neuroblastomas with SN38-TOA nanoparticles and compared the efficacy with the parent prodrug CPT-11 using a mouse xenograft model. Results: Nanoparticle treatment induced prolonged event-free survival (EFS) in most mice, compared with CPT-11. This was shown for both SH-SY5Y and IMR-32 neuroblastoma xenografts. Enhanced efficacy was likely due to increased and sustained drug levels of SN38 in the tumor compared with conventional CPT-11 delivery. Interestingly, when recurrent CPT-11-treated tumors were re-treated with SN38-TOA nanoparticles, the tumors transformed from undifferentiated neuroblastomas to maturing ganglioneuroblastomas. Furthermore, these tumors were infiltrated with Schwann cells of mouse origin, which may have contributed to the differentiated histology. Conclusions: Nanoparticle delivery of SN38-TOA produced increased drug delivery and prolonged EFS compared to conventional delivery of CPT-11. Also, lower total dose and drug entrapment in nanoparticles during circulation should decrease toxicity. We propose that nanoparticle-based delivery of a rationally designed prodrug is an attractive approach to enhance chemotherapeutic efficacy in pediatric and adult tumors. Clin Cancer Res; 24(11); 2585-93. ©2018 AACR . ©2018 American Association for Cancer Research.

  7. Analysis of the Cytotoxicity of Carbon-Based Nanoparticles, Diamond and Graphite, in Human Glioblastoma and Hepatoma Cell Lines

    PubMed Central

    Wierzbicki, Mateusz; Jaworski, Sławomir; Kutwin, Marta; Sawosz, Ewa; Chwalibog, André; Pijanowska, Dorota Genowefa; Pluta, Krzysztof Dariusz

    2015-01-01

    Nanoparticles have attracted a great deal of attention as carriers for drug delivery to cancer cells. However, reports on their potential cytotoxicity raise questions of their safety and this matter needs attentive consideration. In this paper, for the first time, the cytotoxic effects of two carbon based nanoparticles, diamond and graphite, on glioblastoma and hepatoma cells were compared. First, we confirmed previous results that diamond nanoparticles are practically nontoxic. Second, graphite nanoparticles exhibited a negative impact on glioblastoma, but not on hepatoma cells. The studied carbon nanoparticles could be a potentially useful tool for therapeutics delivery to the brain tissue with minimal side effects on the hepatocytes. Furthermore, we showed the influence of the nanoparticles on the stable, fluorescently labeled tumor cell lines and concluded that the labeled cells are suitable for drug cytotoxicity tests. PMID:25816103

  8. Analysis of the cytotoxicity of carbon-based nanoparticles, diamond and graphite, in human glioblastoma and hepatoma cell lines.

    PubMed

    Zakrzewska, Karolina Ewa; Samluk, Anna; Wierzbicki, Mateusz; Jaworski, Sławomir; Kutwin, Marta; Sawosz, Ewa; Chwalibog, André; Pijanowska, Dorota Genowefa; Pluta, Krzysztof Dariusz

    2015-01-01

    Nanoparticles have attracted a great deal of attention as carriers for drug delivery to cancer cells. However, reports on their potential cytotoxicity raise questions of their safety and this matter needs attentive consideration. In this paper, for the first time, the cytotoxic effects of two carbon based nanoparticles, diamond and graphite, on glioblastoma and hepatoma cells were compared. First, we confirmed previous results that diamond nanoparticles are practically nontoxic. Second, graphite nanoparticles exhibited a negative impact on glioblastoma, but not on hepatoma cells. The studied carbon nanoparticles could be a potentially useful tool for therapeutics delivery to the brain tissue with minimal side effects on the hepatocytes. Furthermore, we showed the influence of the nanoparticles on the stable, fluorescently labeled tumor cell lines and concluded that the labeled cells are suitable for drug cytotoxicity tests.

  9. Preparation of Porous γ-Fe2O3@mWO3 Multifunctional Nanoparticles for Drug Loading and Controlled Release.

    PubMed

    Peng, Hongxia; Huang, Qin; Wu, Tengyan; Wen, Jin; He, Hengping

    2018-02-14

    The use of chemotherapy drug is hindered by relatively low selectivity toward cancer cells and severe side effects from uptake by noncancerous cells and tissue. Thus, targeted drug delivery systems are preferred to increase the efficiency of drug delivery to specific tissues as well as to decrease its side effects. The aims of this paper are develop microwave-triggered controlled-release drug delivery systems using porous γ-Fe2O3@mWO3 multifunctional core-shell nanoparticles. We also studied its magnetic- microwave to heat responsive properties and large specific surface area. We chose ibuprofen (IBU) as a model drug to evaluate the loading and release function of the γ- Fe2O3@mWO3 nanoparticles. We used a direct precipitation method and thermal decomposition of CTAB template method to synthesize core-shell structured γ-Fe2O3@mWO3 nanoparticles. The specific surface areas were calculated by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method. The load drug and controlled release of the γ-Fe2O3@mWO3 triggered by microwave was determined with ultraviolet-visible spectroscopic analysis. The γ-Fe2O3@mWO3 nanoparticles possesses high surface area of 100.09 m2/g, provides large accessible pore diameter of 6.0 nm for adsorption of drug molecules, high magnetization saturation value of 43.6 emu/g for drug targeting under foreign magnetic fields, quickly convert electromagnetic energy into thermal energy for controlled release by microwave-triggered which was caused by mWO3 shell. The IBU release of over 78% under microwave discontinuous irradiation out classes the 0.15% within 20s only stirring release. This multifunctional material shows good performance for targeting delivery and mWO3 microwave controlled release of anticancer drugs based on all the properties they possess. The porous shell and the introduction of absorbing material not only increased the drug loading efficiency of the nanoparticles but also realized the microwave-stimulated anticancer drug controlled release. The nanoparticles would be very promising for microwave-induced controlled drug release, targeted drug delivery and hyperthermia therapy using microwave. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  10. Nanoparticle bioconjugate for controlled cellular delivery of doxorubicin

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sangtani, Ajmeeta; Petryayeva, Eleonora; Wu, Miao; Susumu, Kimihiro; Oh, Eunkeu; Huston, Alan L.; Lasarte-Aragones, Guillermo; Medintz, Igor L.; Algar, W. Russ; Delehanty, James B.

    2018-02-01

    Nanoparticle (NP)-mediated drug delivery offers the potential to overcome limitations of systemic delivery, including the ability to specifically target cargo and control release of NP-associated drug cargo. Doxorubicin (DOX) is a widely used FDA-approved cancer therapeutic; however, multiple side effects limit its utility. Thus, there is wide interest in modulating toxicity after cell delivery. Our goal here was to realize a NP-based DOX-delivery system that can modulate drug toxicity by controlling the release kinetics of DOX from the surface of a hard NP carrier. To achieve this, we employed a quantum dot (QD) as a central scaffold which DOX was appended via three different peptidyl linkages (ester, disulfide, hydrazone) that are cleavable in response to various intracellular conditions. Attachment of a cell penetrating peptide (CPP) containing a positively charged polyarginine sequence facilitates endocytosis of the ensemble. Polyhistidine-driven metal affinity coordination was used to self-assemble both peptides to the QD surface, allowing for fine control over both the ratio of peptides attached to the QD as well as DOX dose delivered to cells. Microplate-based Förster resonance energy transfer assays confirmed the successful ratiometric assembly of the conjugates and functionality of the linkages. Cell delivery experiments and cytotoxicity assays were performed to compare the various cleavable linkages to a control peptide where DOX is attached through an amide bond. The role played by various attachment chemistries used in QD-peptide-drug assemblies and their implications for the rationale in design of NPbased constructs for drug delivery is described here.

  11. Triple negative breast cancer therapy with CDK1 siRNA delivered by cationic lipid assisted PEG-PLA nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Liu, Yang; Zhu, Yan-Hua; Mao, Cheng-Qiong; Dou, Shuang; Shen, Song; Tan, Zi-Bin; Wang, Jun

    2014-10-28

    There is no effective clinical therapy yet for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) without particular human epidermal growth factor receptor-2, estrogen and progesterone receptor expression. In this study, we report a molecularly targeted and synthetic lethality-based siRNA therapy for TNBC treatment, using cationic lipid assisted poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(d,l-lactide) (PEG-PLA) nanoparticles as the siRNA carrier. It is demonstrated that only in c-Myc overexpressed TNBC cells, while not in normal mammary epithelial cells, delivery of siRNA targeting cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) with the nanoparticle carrier (NPsiCDK1) induces cell viability decreasing and cell apoptosis through RNAi-mediated CDK1 expression inhibition, indicating the synthetic lethality between c-Myc with CDK1 in TNBC cells. Moreover, systemic delivery of NPsiCDK1 is able to suppress tumor growth in mice bearing SUM149 and BT549 xenograft and cause no systemic toxicity or activate the innate immune response, suggesting the therapeutic promise with such nanoparticles carrying siCDK1 for c-Myc overexpressed triple negative breast cancer. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Delivery of human NKG2D-IL-15 fusion gene by chitosan nanoparticles to enhance antitumor immunity.

    PubMed

    Yan, Chen; Jie, Leng; Yongqi, Wang; Weiming, Xiao; Juqun, Xi; Yanbing, Ding; Li, Qian; Xingyuan, Pan; Mingchun, Ji; Weijuan, Gong

    2015-07-31

    Nanoparticles are becoming promising carriers for gene delivery because of their high capacity in gene loading and low cell cytotoxicity. In this study, a chitosan-based nanoparticle encapsulated within a recombinant pcDNA3.1-dsNKG2D-IL-15 plasmid was generated. The fused dsNKG2D-IL-15 gene fragment consisted of double extracellular domains of NKG2D with IL-15 gene at downstream. The average diameter of the gene nanoparticles ranged from 200 nm to 400 nm, with mean zeta potential value of 53.8 ± 6.56 mV. The nanoparticles which were loaded with the dsNKG2D-IL-15 gene were uptaken by tumor cells with low cytotoxicity. Tumor cells pre-transfected by gene nanopartilces stimulated NK and T cells in vitro. Intramuscular injection of gene nanoparticles suppressed tumor growth and prolonged survival of tumor-bearing mice through activation of NK and CD8(+) T cells. Thus, chitosan-based nanoparticle delivery of dsNKG2D-IL-15 gene vaccine can be potentially used for tumor therapy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Potential Use of Alginate-Based Carriers As Antifungal Delivery System

    PubMed Central

    Spadari, Cristina de Castro; Lopes, Luciana B.; Ishida, Kelly

    2017-01-01

    Fungal infections have become a major public health problem, growing in number and severity in recent decades due to an increase of immunocompromised patients. The use of therapeutic agents available to treat these fungal infections is limited by their toxicity, low bioavailability, antifungal resistance, and high cost of treatment. Thus, it becomes extremely important to search for new therapeutic options. The use of polymeric systems as drug carriers has emerged as a promising alternative to conventional formulations for antifungals. Alginate is a natural polymer that has been explored in the last decade for development of drug delivery systems due to its non-toxicity, biodegradability, biocompatibility, low cost, mucoadhesive, and non-immunogenic properties. Several antifungal agents have been incorporated in alginate-based delivery systems, including micro and nanoparticles, with great success, displaying promising in vitro and in vivo results for antifungal activities, reduction in the toxicity and the total drug dose used in the treatment, and improved bioavailability. This review aims at discussing the potential use and benefits of alginate-based nanocarriers and other delivery systems containing antifungal agents in the therapy of fungal infections. PMID:28194145

  14. Nanotechnological strategies for nerve growth factor delivery: Therapeutic implications in Alzheimer's disease.

    PubMed

    Faustino, Célia; Rijo, Patrícia; Reis, Catarina Pinto

    2017-06-01

    Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder associated with amyloid-β peptide misfolding and aggregation. Neurotrophic factors, such as nerve growth factor (NGF), can prevent neuronal damage and rescue the cholinergic neurons that undergo cell death in AD, reverse deposition of extracellular amyloid plaques and improve cognitive deficits. However, NGF administration is hampered by the poor pharmacokinetic profile of the therapeutic protein and its inability to cross the blood-brain barrier, which requires specialised drug delivery systems (DDS) for efficient NGF delivery to the brain. This review covers the main therapeutic approaches that have been developed for NGF delivery targeting the brain, from polymeric implants to gene and cell-based therapies, focusing on the role of nanoparticulate systems for the sustained release of NGF in the brain as a neuroprotective and disease-modifying approach toward AD. Lipid- and polymer-based delivery systems, magnetic nanoparticles and quantum dots are specifically addressed as promising nanotechnological strategies to overcome the current limitations of NGF-based therapies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Surfactant-based drug delivery systems for treating drug-resistant lung cancer.

    PubMed

    Kaur, Prabhjot; Garg, Tarun; Rath, Goutam; Murthy, R S R; Goyal, Amit K

    2016-01-01

    Among all cancers, lung cancer is the major cause of deaths. Lung cancer can be categorized into two classes for prognostic and treatment purposes: small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Both categories of cancer are resistant to certain drugs. Various mechanisms behind drug resistance are over-expression of superficial membrane proteins [glycoprotein (P-gp)], lung resistance-associated proteins, aberration of the intracellular enzyme system, enhancement of the cell repair system and deregulation of cell apoptosis. Structure-performance relationships and chemical compatibility are consequently major fundamentals in surfactant-based formulations, with the intention that a great deal investigation is committed to this region. With the purpose to understand the potential of P-gp in transportation of anti-tumor drugs to cancer cells with much effectiveness and specificity, several surfactant-based delivery systems have been developed which may include microspheres, nanosized drug carriers (nanoparticles, nanoemulsions, stealth liposomes, nanogels, polymer-drug conjugates), novel powders, hydrogels and mixed micellar systems intended for systemic and/or localized delivery.

  16. Multimodal doxorubicin loaded magnetic nanoparticles for VEGF targeted theranostics of breast cancer.

    PubMed

    Semkina, Alevtina S; Abakumov, Maxim A; Skorikov, Alexander S; Abakumova, Tatiana O; Melnikov, Pavel A; Grinenko, Nadejda F; Cherepanov, Sergey A; Vishnevskiy, Daniil A; Naumenko, Victor A; Ionova, Klavdiya P; Majouga, Alexander G; Chekhonin, Vladimir P

    2018-05-03

    In presented paper we have developed new system for cancer theranostics based on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) targeted magnetic nanoparticles. Conjugation of anti-VEGF antibodies with bovine serum albumin coated PEGylated magnetic nanoparticles allows for improved binding with murine breast adenocarcinoma 4T1 cell line and facilitates doxorubicin delivery to tumor cells. It was shown that intravenous injection of doxorubicin loaded VEGF targeted nanoparticles increases median survival rate of mice bearing 4T1 tumors up to 50%. On the other hand magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of 4T1 tumors 24 h after intravenous injection showed accumulation of nanoparticles in tumors, thus allowing simultaneous cancer therapy and diagnostics. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  17. Enhanced therapeutic efficacy of budesonide in experimental colitis with enzyme/pH dual-sensitive polymeric nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Naeem, Muhammad; Cao, Jiafu; Choi, Moonjeong; Kim, Woo Seong; Moon, Hyung Ryong; Lee, Bok Luel; Kim, Min-Soo; Jung, Yunjin; Yoo, Jin-Wook

    2015-01-01

    Current colon-targeted drug-delivery approaches for colitis therapy often utilize single pH-triggered systems, which are less reliable due to the variation of gut pH in individuals and in disease conditions. Herein, we prepared budesonide-loaded dual-sensitive nanoparticles using enzyme-sensitive azo-polyurethane and pH-sensitive methacrylate copolymer for the treatment of colitis. The therapeutic potential of the enzyme/pH dual-sensitive nanoparticles was evaluated using a rat colitis model and compared to single pH-triggered nanoparticles. Clinical activity scores, colon/body weight ratios, myeloperoxidase activity, and proinflammatory cytokine levels were markedly decreased by dual-sensitive nanoparticles compared to single pH-triggered nanoparticles and budesonide solution. Moreover, dual-sensitive nanoparticles accumulated selectively in inflamed segments of the colon. In addition, dual-sensitive nanoparticle plasma concentrations were lower than single pH-triggered nanoparticles, and no noticeable in vitro or in vivo toxicity was observed. Our results demonstrate that enzyme/pH dual-sensitive nanoparticles are an effective and safe colon-targeted delivery system for colitis therapy.

  18. Enhanced therapeutic efficacy of budesonide in experimental colitis with enzyme/pH dual-sensitive polymeric nanoparticles

    PubMed Central

    Naeem, Muhammad; Cao, Jiafu; Choi, Moonjeong; Kim, Woo Seong; Moon, Hyung Ryong; Lee, Bok Luel; Kim, Min-Soo; Jung, Yunjin; Yoo, Jin-Wook

    2015-01-01

    Current colon-targeted drug-delivery approaches for colitis therapy often utilize single pH-triggered systems, which are less reliable due to the variation of gut pH in individuals and in disease conditions. Herein, we prepared budesonide-loaded dual-sensitive nanoparticles using enzyme-sensitive azo-polyurethane and pH-sensitive methacrylate copolymer for the treatment of colitis. The therapeutic potential of the enzyme/pH dual-sensitive nanoparticles was evaluated using a rat colitis model and compared to single pH-triggered nanoparticles. Clinical activity scores, colon/body weight ratios, myeloperoxidase activity, and proinflammatory cytokine levels were markedly decreased by dual-sensitive nanoparticles compared to single pH-triggered nanoparticles and budesonide solution. Moreover, dual-sensitive nanoparticles accumulated selectively in inflamed segments of the colon. In addition, dual-sensitive nanoparticle plasma concentrations were lower than single pH-triggered nanoparticles, and no noticeable in vitro or in vivo toxicity was observed. Our results demonstrate that enzyme/pH dual-sensitive nanoparticles are an effective and safe colon-targeted delivery system for colitis therapy. PMID:26213469

  19. Target drug delivery system as a new scarring modulation after glaucoma filtration surgery

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Excessive wound healing following glaucoma filtration surgery is the main determinant of surgical failure, resulting from the activation of human Tenon's capsule fibroblasts (HTFs). To mitigate the excessive wound healing, the topicall use of antiproliferative agents, such as mitomycin C (MMC) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), has increased the surgery success rate, but the traditional administration of these agents can result in a variety of toxicities with nonspecific damage. However, modulation of the wound healing process to prevent excessive fibroblast proliferation and scar formation can play a major role in improving the outcome of surgery. Therefore, the search for alternative modes of drug delivery and new agents is needed to minimize the ocular complications and improve the success of surgery. We have shown that there is a postoperative overexpression of the LDL receptor (LDLr) in the activated HTFs may provide a novel target for drug delivery systems. Presentation of the Hypothesis We hypothesize that antifibrotic agents (MMC) encapsulated in LDLr targeting drug delivery system (LDL-MMC-chitosan nanoparticles) may be proposed in anti-scarring therapy to increase the safety and effectiveness and to reduce toxicity. Testing the Hypothesis A chitosan-based polymeric predrug of MMC was synthesized and its cytotoxicity was proved to be low. In addition, we propose hyaluronic acid film as a container to release LDL-MMC-chitosan nanoparticles gradually at subconjunctival filtering site after glaucoma filtration surgery to eliminate the LDL-MMC-chitosan nanoparticles. Implications of the Hypothesis and discussion This strategy can be applicable to anti-scarring therapy during excessive conjunctival wound healing. This hypothesis integrates advantages of the targeting drug delivery and antifibrotic agents, such as high efficiency, convenience, and lower the toxicity. PMID:21736763

  20. pH-Switch Nanoprecipitation of Polymeric Nanoparticles for Multimodal Cancer Targeting and Intracellular Triggered Delivery of Doxorubicin.

    PubMed

    Herranz-Blanco, Bárbara; Shahbazi, Mohammad-Ali; Correia, Alexandra R; Balasubramanian, Vimalkumar; Kohout, Tomáš; Hirvonen, Jouni; Santos, Hélder A

    2016-08-01

    Theranostic nanoparticles are emerging as potent tools for noninvasive diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of solid tumors. Herein, an advanced targeted and multistimuli responsive theranostic platform is presented for the intracellular triggered delivery of doxorubicin. The system consists of a polymeric-drug conjugate solid nanoparticle containing encapsulated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (IO@PNP) and decorated with a tumor homing peptide, iRGD. The production of this nanosystem is based on a pH-switch nanoprecipitation method in organic-free solvents, making it ideal for biomedical applications. The nanosystem shows sufficient magnetization saturation for magnetically guided therapy along with reduced cytotoxicity and hemolytic effects. IO@PNP are largely internalized by endothelial and metastatic cancer cells and iRGD decorated IO@PNP moderately enhance their internalization into endothelial cells, while no enhancement is found for the metastatic cancer cells. Poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(histidine) with pH-responsive and proton-sponge properties promotes prompt lysosomal escape once the nanoparticles are endocyted. In addition, the polymer-doxorubicin conjugate solid nanoparticles show both intracellular lysosomal escape and efficient translocation of doxorubicin to the nuclei of the cells via cleavage of the amide bond. Overall, IO@PNP-doxorubicin and the iRGD decorated counterpart demonstrate to enhance the toxicity of doxorubicin in cancer cells by improving the intracellular delivery of the drug carried in the IO@PNP. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. Carrier-Based Drug Delivery System for Treatment of Acne

    PubMed Central

    Vyas, Amber; Kumar Sonker, Avinesh

    2014-01-01

    Approximately 95% of the population suffers at some point in their lifetime from acne vulgaris. Acne is a multifactorial disease of the pilosebaceous unit. This inflammatory skin disorder is most common in adolescents but also affects neonates, prepubescent children, and adults. Topical conventional systems are associated with various side effects. Novel drug delivery systems have been used to reduce the side effect of drugs commonly used in the topical treatment of acne. Topical treatment of acne with active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) makes direct contact with the target site before entering the systemic circulation which reduces the systemic side effect of the parenteral or oral administration of drug. The objective of the present review is to discuss the conventional delivery systems available for acne, their drawbacks, and limitations. The advantages, disadvantages, and outcome of using various carrier-based delivery systems like liposomes, niosomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, and so forth, are explained. This paper emphasizes approaches to overcome the drawbacks and limitations associated with the conventional system and the advances and application that are poised to further enhance the efficacy of topical acne formulations, offering the possibility of simplified dosing regimen that may improve treatment outcomes using novel delivery system. PMID:24688376

  2. Non-viral nucleic acid containing nanoparticles as cancer therapeutics.

    PubMed

    Kozielski, Kristen L; Rui, Yuan; Green, Jordan J

    2016-10-01

    The delivery of nucleic acids such as DNA and short interfering RNA (siRNA) is promising for the treatment of many diseases, including cancer, by enabling novel biological mechanisms of action. Non-viral nanoparticles are a promising class of nucleic acid carriers that can be designed to be safer and more versatile than traditional viral vectors. In this review, recent advances in the intracellular delivery of DNA and siRNA are described with a focus on non-viral nanoparticle-based delivery methods. Material properties that have enabled successful delivery are discussed as well as applications that have directly been applied to cancer therapy. Strategies to co-deliver different nucleic acids are highlighted, as are novel targets for nucleic acid co-delivery. The treatment of complex genetically-based diseases such as cancer can be enabled by safe and effective intracellular delivery of multiple nucleic acids. Non-viral nanoparticles can be fabricated to deliver multiple nucleic acids to the same cell simultaneously to prevent tumor cells from easily compensating for the knockdown or overexpression of one genetic target. The continued innovation of new therapeutic modalities and non-viral nanotechnologies to provide target-specific and personalized forms of gene therapy hold promise for genetic medicine to treat diseases like cancer in the clinic.

  3. Non-viral nucleic acid containing nanoparticles as cancer therapeutics

    PubMed Central

    Kozielski, Kristen L.; Rui, Yuan

    2016-01-01

    Introduction The delivery of nucleic acids such as DNA and short interfering RNA (siRNA) is promising for the treatment of many diseases, including cancer, by enabling novel biological mechanisms of action. Non-viral nanoparticles are a promising class of nucleic acid carriers that can be designed to be safer and more versatile than traditional viral vectors. Areas covered In this review, recent advances in the intracellular delivery of DNA and siRNA are described with a focus on non-viral nanoparticle-based delivery methods. Material properties that have enabled successful delivery are discussed as well as applications that have directly been applied to cancer therapy. Strategies to co-deliver different nucleic acids are highlighted, as are novel targets for nucleic acid co-delivery. Expert opinion The treatment of complex genetically-based diseases such as cancer can be enabled by safe and effective intracellular delivery of multiple nucleic acids. Non-viral nanoparticles can be fabricated to deliver multiple nucleic acids to the same cell simultaneously to prevent tumor cells from easily compensating for the knockdown or overexpression of one genetic target. The continued innovation of new therapeutic modalities and non-viral nanotechnologies to provide target-specific and personalized forms of gene therapy hold promise for genetic medicine to treat diseases like cancer in the clinic. PMID:27248202

  4. Characterization of the cellular response triggered by gold nanoparticle-mediated laser manipulation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kalies, Stefan; Keil, Sebastian; Sender, Sina; Hammer, Susanne C.; Antonopoulos, Georgios C.; Schomaker, Markus; Ripken, Tammo; Escobar, Hugo Murua; Meyer, Heiko; Heinemann, Dag

    2015-11-01

    Laser-based transfection techniques have proven high applicability in several cell biologic applications. The delivery of different molecules using these techniques has been extensively investigated. In particular, new high-throughput approaches such as gold nanoparticle-mediated laser transfection allow efficient delivery of antisense molecules or proteins into cells preserving high cell viabilities. However, the cellular response to the perforation procedure is not well understood. We herein analyzed the perforation kinetics of single cells during resonant gold nanoparticle-mediated laser manipulation with an 850-ps laser system at a wavelength of 532 nm. Inflow velocity of propidium iodide into manipulated cells reached a maximum within a few seconds. Experiments based on the inflow of FM4-64 indicated that the membrane remains permeable for a few minutes for small molecules. To further characterize the cellular response postmanipulation, we analyzed levels of oxidative heat or general stress. Although we observed an increased formation of reactive oxygen species by an increase of dichlorofluorescein fluorescence, heat shock protein 70 was not upregulated in laser-treated cells. Additionally, no evidence of stress granule formation was visible by immunofluorescence staining. The data provided in this study help to identify the cellular reactions to gold nanoparticle-mediated laser manipulation.

  5. Enhancement of immunogenic response and protection in model rats by CSTM nanoparticles anticaries DNA vaccine.

    PubMed

    Li, Hongjiao; Lu, Yiming; Xiang, Jingjie; Jiang, Hailong; Zhong, Yanqiang; Lu, Ying

    2016-06-01

    To construct anticaries DNA vaccine and evaluate its ability to elicit mucosal and systemic immune responses in rats. wapA fragment was cloned into pVAX1 plasmid to generate pVAX1-wapA. The pVAX1-wapA/trimethyl chitosan nanoparticles were prepared by complex coacervation method. Significantly higher specific IgG antibody titers were observed in rats immunized with nanoparticles compared with rats immunized with naked pVAX1-wapA. Anti-WapA IgA and IgG antibody levels after intranasal immunization were significantly higher than those following intramuscular delivery of nanoparticles or naked pVAX1-wapA. Furthermore, fewer enamel, slight dentin and dentin moderate lesions were observed in rats immunized with nanoparticles. The results implicate WapA as an excellent candidate for anticaries vaccine development and nanoparticles as an effective delivery system.

  6. Improvement of pharmacokinetic and antitumor activity of layered double hydroxide nanoparticles by coating with PEGylated phospholipid membrane

    PubMed Central

    Yan, Mina; Zhang, Zhaoguo; Cui, Shengmiao; Lei, Ming; Zeng, Ke; Liao, Yunhui; Chu, Weijing; Deng, Yihui; Zhao, Chunshun

    2014-01-01

    Layered double hydroxide (LDH) has attracted considerable attention as a drug carrier. However, because of its poor in vivo behavior, polyethylene glycolylated (PEGylated) phospholipid must be used as a coformer to produce self-assembled core–shell nanoparticles. In the present study, we prepared a PEGylated phospholipid-coated LDH (PLDH) (PEG-PLDH) delivery system. The PEG-PLDH nanoparticles had an average size of 133.2 nm. Their core–shell structure was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In vitro liposome-cell-association and cytotoxicity experiments demonstrated its ability to be internalized by cells. In vivo studies showed that PEGylated phospholipid membranes greatly reduced the blood clearance rate of LDH nanoparticles. PEG-PLDH nanoparticles demonstrated a good control of tumor growth and increased the survival rate of mice. These results suggest that PEG-PLDH nanoparticles can be a useful drug delivery system for cancer therapy. PMID:25364245

  7. Cancer Theranostic Nanoparticles Self-Assembled from Amphiphilic Small Molecules with Equilibrium Shift-Induced Renal Clearance

    PubMed Central

    Ma, Yuan; Mou, Quanbing; Sun, Mo; Yu, Chunyang; Li, Jianqi; Huang, Xiaohua; Zhu, Xinyuan; Yan, Deyue; Shen, Jian

    2016-01-01

    Nano drug delivery systems have emerged as promising candidates for cancer therapy, whereas their uncertainly complete elimination from the body within specific timescales restricts their clinical translation. Compared with hepatic clearance of nanoparticles, renal excretion of small molecules is preferred to minimize the agent-induced toxicity. Herein, we construct in vivo renal-clearable nanoparticles, which are self-assembled from amphiphilic small molecules holding the capabilities of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and chemotherapy. The assembled nanoparticles can accumulate in tumor tissues for their nano-characteristics, while the small molecules dismantled from the nanoparticles can be efficiently cleared by kidneys. The renal-clearable nanoparticles exhibit excellent tumor-inhibition performance as well as low side effects and negligible chronic toxicity. These results demonstrate a potential strategy for small molecular nano drug delivery systems with obvious anticancer effect and low-toxic metabolism pathway for clinical applications. PMID:27446502

  8. Redox-sensitive nanoparticles based on 4-aminothiophenol-carboxymethyl inulin conjugate for budesonide delivery in inflammatory bowel diseases.

    PubMed

    Sun, Qijuan; Luan, Lin; Arif, Muhammad; Li, Jiaxin; Dong, Quan-Jiang; Gao, Yuanyuan; Chi, Zhe; Liu, Chen-Guang

    2018-06-01

    The purpose of this study was to develop an oral nanocarrier as budesonide delivery system and to evaluate its therapeutic potential for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The nanoparticles (NPs) based on an amphiphilic inulin polymer with 4-aminothiophenol (ATP) grafted onto carboxymethyl inulin (CMI) were prepared. The particle sizes were about 210.18 nm and had the obvious pH/redox sensitive swelling transitions. The drug-release study of NPs <-- >in vitro showed a low release rate (about 45 wt%) in GSH-free media, whereas high release rate (about 80 wt%) in the media containing 20 mM GSH, exhibiting a redox-responsive property. Further in vivo experiments found the NPs tended to accumulate in inflamed sites, and exerted excellent therapeutic efficacy in comparison to drug suspension in colitis mice model. All the results demonstrated that the redox-sensitive NPs, based on amphiphilic inulin, may be used as colon-targeted drug delivery for the treatment of IBD. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  9. Poly(lactic-co-glycolic) Acid/Solutol HS15-Based Nanoparticles for Docetaxel Delivery.

    PubMed

    Cho, Hyun-Jong; Park, Ju-Hwan; Kim, Dae-Duk; Yoon, In-Soo

    2016-02-01

    Docetaxel (DCT) is one of anti-mitotic chemotherapeutic agents and has been used for the treatment of gastric cancer as well as head and neck cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer. Poly(lactic- co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) is one of representative biocompatible and biodegradable polymers, and polyoxyl 15 hydroxystearate (Solutol HS15) is a nonionic solubilizer and emulsifying agent. In this investigation, PLGA/Solutol HS15-based nanoparticles (NPs) for DCT delivery were fabricated by a modified emulsification-solvent evaporation method. PLGA/Solutol HS15/DCT NPs with about 169 nm of mean diameter, narrow size distribution, negative zeta potential, and spherical morphology were prepared. The results of solid-state studies revealed the successful dispersion of DCT in PLGA matrix and its amorphization during the preparation process of NPs. According to the result of in vitro release test, emulsifying property of Solutol HS15 seemed to contribute to the enhanced drug release from NPs at physiological pH. All these findings imply that developed PLGA/Solutol HS15-based NP can be a promising local anticancer drug delivery system for cancer therapy.

  10. Transdermal delivery of biomacromolecules using lipid-like nanoparticles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bello, Evelyn A.

    The transdermal delivery of biomacromolecules, including proteins and nucleic acids, is challenging, owing to their large size and the penetration-resistant nature of the stratum corneum. Thus, an urgent need exists for the development of transdermal delivery methodologies. This research focuses on the use of cationic lipid-like nanoparticles (lipidoids) for the transdermal delivery of proteins, and establishes an in vitro model for the study. The lipidoids used were first combinatorially designed and synthesized; afterwards, they were employed for protein encapsulation in a vesicular system. A skin penetration study demonstrated that lipidoids enhance penetration depth in a pig skin model, overcoming the barrier that the stratum corneum presents. This research has successfully identified active lipidoids capable of efficiently penetrating the skin; therefore, loading proteins into lipidoid nanoparticles will facilitate the transdermal delivery of proteins. Membrane diffusion experiments were used to confirm the results. This research has confirmed that lipidoids are a suitable material for transdermal protein delivery enhancement.

  11. Design and Fabrication of N-Alkyl-Polyethylenimine-Stabilized Iron Oxide Nanoclusters for Gene Delivery

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Gang; Wang, Zhiyong; Lee, Seulki; Ai, Hua; Chen, Xiaoyuan

    2013-01-01

    With the rapid development of nanotechnology, inorganic magnetic nanoparticles, especially iron oxide nanoparticles (IOs), have emerged as great vehicles for biomedical diagnostic and therapeutic applications. In order to rationally design IO-based gene delivery nanovectors, surface modification is essential and determines the loading and release of the gene of interest. Here we highlight the basic concepts and applications of nonviral gene delivery vehicles based on low molecular weight N-alkyl polyethylenimine-stabilized IOs. The experimental protocols related to these topics are described in this chapter. PMID:22568910

  12. Nose-to-Brain Delivery: Investigation of the Transport of Nanoparticles with Different Surface Characteristics and Sizes in Excised Porcine Olfactory Epithelium.

    PubMed

    Mistry, Alpesh; Stolnik, Snjezana; Illum, Lisbeth

    2015-08-03

    The ability to deliver therapeutically relevant amounts of drugs directly from the nasal cavity to the central nervous system to treat neurological diseases is dependent on the availability of efficient drug delivery systems. Increased delivery and/or therapeutic effect has been shown for drugs encapsulated in nanoparticles; however, the factors governing the transport of the drugs and/or the nanoparticles from the nasal cavity to the brain are not clear. The present study evaluates the potential transport of nanoparticles across the olfactory epithelium in relation to nanoparticle characteristics. Model systems, 20, 100, and 200 nm fluorescent carboxylated polystyrene (PS) nanoparticles that were nonmodified or surface modified with polysorbate 80 (P80-PS) or chitosan (C-PS), were assessed for transport across excised porcine olfactory epithelium mounted in a vertical Franz diffusion cell. Assessment of the nanoparticle content in the donor chamber of the diffusion cell, accompanied by fluorescence microscopy of dismounted tissues, revealed a loss of nanoparticle content from the donor suspension and their association with the excised tissue, depending on the surface properties and particle size. Chitosan surface modification of PS nanoparticles resulted in the highest tissue association among the tested systems, with the associated nanoparticles primarily located in the mucus, whereas the polysorbate 80-modified nanoparticles showed some penetration into the epithelial cell layer. Assessment of the bioelectrical properties, metabolic activity, and histology of the excised olfactory epithelium showed that C-PS nanoparticles applied in pH 6.0 buffer produced a damaging effect on the epithelial cell layer in a size-dependent manner, with fine 20 nm sized nanoparticles causing substantial tissue damage relative to that with the 100 and 200 nm counterparts. Although histology showed that the olfactory tissue was affected by the application of citrate buffer that was augmented by addition of chitosan in solution, this was not reflected in the bioelectrical parameters and the metabolic activity of the tissue. Regarding transport across the excised olfactory tissue, none of the nanoparticle systems tested, irrespective of particle size or surface modification, was transported across the epithelium to appear in measurable amounts in the receiver chamber.

  13. Methotrexate-F127 conjugated mesoporous zinc hydroxyapatite as an efficient drug delivery system for overcoming chemotherapy resistance in osteosarcoma cells.

    PubMed

    Meshkini, Azadeh; Oveisi, Hamid

    2017-10-01

    The resistance of cancer cells to chemotherapeutic agents and the poor selectivity of drugs toward tumor cells are regarded as the main impediments in successful cancer therapy. Currently, the design and fabrication of stimulus-responsive drug delivery systems with high specificity toward cancer cells are gaining increasing attention and they show a promising potential for clinical applications. In this study, mesoporous zinc-substituted hydroxyapatite has been synthesized and served as a drug delivery vehicle owing to its biocompatibility and high drug loading capacity. The mesoporous nanoparticles were decorated with F127 and subsequently conjugated with methotrexate (MTX) through a stable amide linkage. Since folate receptors are overexpressed on many tumor cell surfaces, MTX on the nanocarrier system plays a dual role as a targeting molecule and a chemotherapeutic drug. The evaluation of the drug release profile revealed that MTX was cleaved from the nanoparticles by a certain type of enzyme under low pH conditions that are meant to simulate the intracellular conditions in the lysosome. Cell viability studies on primary osteosarcoma cells (Saos-2) and MTX-resistance cell lines (RSaos-2/MTX) revealed that the drug-loaded nanoparticles possess high antitumor efficacy on both of the cell lines relative to free MTX. It was also found that the inhibition of P-glycoproteins by F127 and the release of Zn 2+ ions from the nanoparticles in an acidic environment effectively potentiate the antitumor efficacy of the drug-loaded nanoparticles, leading to caspase-mediated cell death. Based on these data, MTX-F127@ZnHAP nanoparticles are pH-responsive nanocarriers with precise controlled drug release and targeting effect. Therefore, they are considered to be promising candidates capable of overcoming resistance in osteosarcoma cells. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Poly(NIPAm-AMPS) nanoparticles for targeted delivery of anti-inflammatory cell penetrating peptides

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bartlett, Rush Lloyd, II

    Inflammatory diseases such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis cause $127.8 billion in US healthcare expenditures each year and are the cause of disability for 27% of disabled persons in the United States. Current treatment options rarely halt disease progression and often result in significant unwanted and debilitating side effects. Our laboratory has previously developed a family of cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) which inhibit the activity of mitogen activated protein kinase activate protein kinase 2 (MK2). MK2 mediates the inflammatory response by activating Tristetraprline (TTP). Once activated, TTP rapidly stabilizes AU rich regions of pro-inflammatory cytokine mRNA which allows translation of pro-inflammatory cytokines to occur. Blocking MK2 with our labs CPPs yields a decrease in inflammatory activity but CPPs by are highly non specific and prone to rapid enzymatic degradation in vivo.. In order to increase the potency of MK2 inhibiting CPPs we have developed a novel nanoparticle drug carrier composed of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid). This drug carrier has been shown to have preliminary efficacy in vitro and ex vivo for suppressing pro-inflammatory cytokine production when releasing CPPs. This thesis will present progress made on three aims: Specific Aim 1) Create and validate a NIPAm based drug delivery system that mimics the binding and release previously observed between cell penetrating peptides and glycosaminoglycans. Specific Aim 2) Engineer degradability into poly(NIPAm-AMPS) nanoparticles to enable more drug to be released and qualify that system in vitro. Specific Aim 3) Validate poly(NIPAm-AMPS) nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery in an ex vivo inflammatory model. Overall we have developed a novel anionic nanoparticle system that is biocompatible and efficient at loading and releasing cell penetrating peptides to inflamed tissue. Once loaded with a CPP the nanoparticle drug complex is capable of targeting diseased tissue and preventing the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in both in vitro and ex vivo models.

  15. Argpyrimidine-tagged rutin-encapsulated biocompatible (ethylene glycol dimers) nanoparticles: Synthesis, characterization and evaluation for targeted drug delivery.

    PubMed

    Bhattacherjee, Abhishek; Dhara, Kaliprasanna; Chakraborti, Abhay Sankar

    2016-07-25

    Diabetes mellitus represents a major metabolic disorder affecting millions of people all over the world. Currently available therapeutic treatments are not good enough to control the long-term complications of diabetes. Active targeting via inclusion of a specific ligand on the nanoparticles provides effective therapeutic approach in different diseases. However, such specific drug delivery systems have not been explored much in diabetes due to lack of suitable biological targets in this disorder. Our objective is to synthesize a ligand-tagged drug-loaded nanoparticle for delivery of the drug at specific sites to enhance its therapeutic efficiency in diabetic condition. The nanoparticles have been prepared by using biocompatible ethylene glycol-bis (succinic acid N-hydroxysuccinimide ester) dimers. Although advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are the root causes of diabetic complications, argpyrimidine, an AGE, possesses antioxidant and reducing activities. AGE interacts selectively with its cell surface receptors (RAGE), which are significantly increased in diabetic condition. We have selected RAGE as the target of argpyrimidine, which is tagged on the nanoparticles as a ligand. Rutin, having anti-hyperglycemic and anti-glycating activities, has been used for nanoencapsulation. Rutin-loaded argpyrimidine-tagged nanoparticles have been synthesized and characterized. We have demonstrated the drug releasing capacity and target specificity of the synthesised drug delivery system under ex vivo and in vivo conditions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Theory and modeling of particles with DNA-mediated interactions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Licata, Nicholas A.

    2008-05-01

    In recent years significant attention has been attracted to proposals which utilize DNA for nanotechnological applications. Potential applications of these ideas range from the programmable self-assembly of colloidal crystals, to biosensors and nanoparticle based drug delivery platforms. In Chapter I we introduce the system, which generically consists of colloidal particles functionalized with specially designed DNA markers. The sequence of bases on the DNA markers determines the particle type. Due to the hybridization between complementary single-stranded DNA, specific, type-dependent interactions can be introduced between particles by choosing the appropriate DNA marker sequences. In Chapter II we develop a statistical mechanical description of the aggregation and melting behavior of particles with DNA-mediated interactions. In Chapter III a model is proposed to describe the dynamical departure and diffusion of particles which form reversible key-lock connections. In Chapter IV we propose a method to self-assemble nanoparticle clusters using DNA scaffolds. A natural extension is discussed in Chapter V, the programmable self-assembly of nanoparticle clusters where the desired cluster geometry is encoded using DNA-mediated interactions. In Chapter VI we consider a nanoparticle based drug delivery platform for targeted, cell specific chemotherapy. In Chapter VII we present prospects for future research: the connection between DNA-mediated colloidal crystallization and jamming, and the inverse problem in self-assembly.

  17. Hierarchical design of a polymeric nanovehicle for efficient tumor regression and imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    An, Jinxia; Guo, Qianqian; Zhang, Peng; Sinclair, Andrew; Zhao, Yu; Zhang, Xinge; Wu, Kan; Sun, Fang; Hung, Hsiang-Chieh; Li, Chaoxing; Jiang, Shaoyi

    2016-04-01

    Effective delivery of therapeutics to disease sites significantly contributes to drug efficacy, toxicity and clearance. Here we designed a hierarchical polymeric nanoparticle structure for anti-cancer chemotherapy delivery by utilizing state-of-the-art polymer chemistry and co-assembly techniques. This novel structural design combines the most desired merits for drug delivery in a single particle, including a long in vivo circulation time, inhibited non-specific cell uptake, enhanced tumor cell internalization, pH-controlled drug release and simultaneous imaging. This co-assembled nanoparticle showed exceptional stability in complex biological media. Benefiting from the synergistic effects of zwitterionic and multivalent galactose polymers, drug-loaded nanoparticles were selectively internalized by cancer cells rather than normal tissue cells. In addition, the pH-responsive core retained their cargo within their polymeric coating through hydrophobic interaction and released it under slightly acidic conditions. In vivo pharmacokinetic studies in mice showed minimal uptake of nanoparticles by the mononuclear phagocyte system and excellent blood circulation half-lives of 14.4 h. As a result, tumor growth was completely inhibited and no damage was observed for normal organ tissues. This newly developed drug nanovehicle has great potential in cancer therapy, and the hierarchical design principle should provide valuable information for the development of the next generation of drug delivery systems.Effective delivery of therapeutics to disease sites significantly contributes to drug efficacy, toxicity and clearance. Here we designed a hierarchical polymeric nanoparticle structure for anti-cancer chemotherapy delivery by utilizing state-of-the-art polymer chemistry and co-assembly techniques. This novel structural design combines the most desired merits for drug delivery in a single particle, including a long in vivo circulation time, inhibited non-specific cell uptake, enhanced tumor cell internalization, pH-controlled drug release and simultaneous imaging. This co-assembled nanoparticle showed exceptional stability in complex biological media. Benefiting from the synergistic effects of zwitterionic and multivalent galactose polymers, drug-loaded nanoparticles were selectively internalized by cancer cells rather than normal tissue cells. In addition, the pH-responsive core retained their cargo within their polymeric coating through hydrophobic interaction and released it under slightly acidic conditions. In vivo pharmacokinetic studies in mice showed minimal uptake of nanoparticles by the mononuclear phagocyte system and excellent blood circulation half-lives of 14.4 h. As a result, tumor growth was completely inhibited and no damage was observed for normal organ tissues. This newly developed drug nanovehicle has great potential in cancer therapy, and the hierarchical design principle should provide valuable information for the development of the next generation of drug delivery systems. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental details, 1H NMR spectra and GPC of polymers. See DOI: 10.1039/c6nr01595f

  18. Multifunctional nanomedicine platform for concurrent delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs and mild hyperthermia to ovarian cancer cells.

    PubMed

    Taratula, Olena; Dani, Raj Kumar; Schumann, Canan; Xu, Hong; Wang, Andrew; Song, Han; Dhagat, Pallavi; Taratula, Oleh

    2013-12-15

    A multifunctional tumor-targeting delivery system was developed and evaluated for an efficient treatment of drug-resistant ovarian cancer by combinatorial therapeutic modality based on chemotherapy and mild hyperthermia. The engineered iron oxide nanoparticle (IONPs)-based nanocarrier served as an efficient delivery vehicle for doxorubicin and provided the ability to heat cancer cells remotely upon exposure to an alternating magnetic field (AMF). The nanocarrier was additionally modified with polyethylene glycol and LHRH peptide to improve its biocompatibility and ability to target tumor cells. The synthesized delivery system has an average size of 97.1 nm and a zeta potential close to zero, both parameters favorable for increased stability in biological media and decreased elimination by the immune system. The nanocarrier demonstrated faster drug release in acidic conditions that mimic the tumor environment. It was also observed that the LHRH targeted delivery system could effectively enter drug resistant ovarian cancer cells, and the fate of doxorubicin was tracked with fluorescence microscope. Mild hyperthermia (40°C) generated by IONPs under exposure to AMF synergistically increased the cytotoxicity of doxorubicin delivered by the developed nanocarrier to cancer cells. Thus, the developed IONPs-based delivery system has high potential in the effective treatment of ovarian cancer by combinatorial approach. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Development and characterization of voriconazole loaded nanoparticles for parenteral delivery.

    PubMed

    Füredi, Petra; Kovács, Kristóf; Ludányi, Krisztina; Antal, István; Klebovich, Imre

    2016-08-20

    Human serum albumin (HSA) has attracted the most attention in the last decades as a new nanocarrier system of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) due to its biocompatibility and high binding capacity to hydrophobic drugs. Voriconazole (VCZ), an antifungal agent with low water solubility, was selected to produce albumin based nanoparticles using nanoparticle albumin-bound technology (nab™-technology). Aim of our study was to study the development process of VCZ-loaded nanoparticles for parenteral drug delivery, such as homogenizing pressure, homogenizing cycle number and drug loading capacity. The main characters of nanoparticles such as particle size distribution and polydispersity index (PDI) were determined by dynamic light scattering. Six homogenization cycles at 1800bar were ensured the acceptable PDI value (lower than 0.3) of the VCZ content nanoparticles. Optimized formulation process produced 81.2±1nm average particle size which meets the requirements of intravenous administration. Furthermore, the encapsulated concentration of VCZ was 69.7±4.2% and the water solubility was over 2 times greater than the API itself which were determined by the developed HPLC method. The in vivo release behavior can be predicted from our applied in vitro dissolution study. Almost 50% of VCZ was liberated from the nanoparticles in the first 60min. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Efficient delivery of genome-editing proteins using bioreducible lipid nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Wang, Ming; Zuris, John A; Meng, Fantao; Rees, Holly; Sun, Shuo; Deng, Pu; Han, Yong; Gao, Xue; Pouli, Dimitra; Wu, Qi; Georgakoudi, Irene; Liu, David R; Xu, Qiaobing

    2016-03-15

    A central challenge to the development of protein-based therapeutics is the inefficiency of delivery of protein cargo across the mammalian cell membrane, including escape from endosomes. Here we report that combining bioreducible lipid nanoparticles with negatively supercharged Cre recombinase or anionic Cas9:single-guide (sg)RNA complexes drives the electrostatic assembly of nanoparticles that mediate potent protein delivery and genome editing. These bioreducible lipids efficiently deliver protein cargo into cells, facilitate the escape of protein from endosomes in response to the reductive intracellular environment, and direct protein to its intracellular target sites. The delivery of supercharged Cre protein and Cas9:sgRNA complexed with bioreducible lipids into cultured human cells enables gene recombination and genome editing with efficiencies greater than 70%. In addition, we demonstrate that these lipids are effective for functional protein delivery into mouse brain for gene recombination in vivo. Therefore, the integration of this bioreducible lipid platform with protein engineering has the potential to advance the therapeutic relevance of protein-based genome editing.

  1. Bioengineered Nanoparticles for siRNA delivery

    PubMed Central

    Kozielski, Kristen L.; Tzeng, Stephany Y.; Green, Jordan J.

    2014-01-01

    Short interfering RNA (siRNA) has been an important laboratory tool in the last two decades and has allowed researchers to better understand the functions of non-protein-coding genes through RNA interference (RNAi). Although RNAi holds great promise for this purpose as well as for treatment of many diseases, efforts at using siRNA have been hampered by the difficulty of safely and effectively introducing it into cells of interest, both in vitro and in vivo. To overcome this challenge, many biomaterials and nanoparticles (NPs) have been developed and optimized for siRNA delivery, often taking cues from the DNA delivery field, although different barriers exist for these two types of molecules. In this review, we discuss general properties of biomaterials and nanoparticles that are necessary for effective nucleic acid delivery. We also discuss specific examples of bioengineered materials, including lipid-based NPs, polymeric NPs, inorganic NPs, and RNA-based NPs, which clearly illustrate the problems and successes in siRNA delivery. PMID:23821336

  2. Improved intratumoral nanoparticle extravasation and penetration by mild hyperthermia.

    PubMed

    Li, Li; ten Hagen, Timo L M; Bolkestein, Michiel; Gasselhuber, Astrid; Yatvin, Jeremy; van Rhoon, Gerard C; Eggermont, Alexander M M; Haemmerich, Dieter; Koning, Gerben A

    2013-04-28

    Accumulation of nanoparticles in solid tumors depends on their extravasation. However, vascular permeability is very heterogeneous within a tumor and among different tumor types, hampering efficient delivery. Local hyperthermia at a tumor can improve nanoparticle delivery by increasing tumor vasculature permeability, perfusion and interstitial fluid flow. The aim of this study is to investigate hyperthermia conditions required to improve tumor vasculature permeability, subsequent liposome extravasation and interstitial penetration in 4 tumor models. Tumors are implanted in dorsal skin flap window chambers and observed for liposome (~85 nm) accumulation by intravital confocal microscopy. Local hyperthermia at 41°C for 30 min initiates liposome extravasation through permeable tumor vasculature in all 4 tumor models. A further increase in nanoparticle extravasation occurs while continuing heating to 1h, which is a clinically relevant duration. After hyperthermia, the tumor vasculature remains permeable for 8h. We visualize gaps in the endothelial lining of up to 10 μm induced by HT. Liposomes extravasate through these gaps and penetrate into the interstitial space to at least 27.5 μm in radius from the vessel walls. Whole body optical imaging confirms HT induced extravasation while liposome extravasation was absent at normothermia. In conclusion, a thermal dose of 41°C for 1h is effective to induce long-lasting permeable tumor vasculature for liposome extravasation and interstitial penetration. These findings hold promise for improved intratumoral drug delivery upon application of local mild hyperthermia prior to administration of nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Targeting therapeutics to the glomerulus with nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Zuckerman, Jonathan E; Davis, Mark E

    2013-11-01

    Nanoparticles are an enabling technology for the creation of tissue-/cell-specific therapeutics that have been investigated extensively as targeted therapeutics for cancer. The kidney, specifically the glomerulus, is another accessible site for nanoparticle delivery that has been relatively overlooked as a target organ. Given the medical need for the development of more potent, kidney-targeted therapies, the use of nanoparticle-based therapeutics may be one such solution to this problem. Here, we review the literature on nanoparticle targeting of the glomerulus. Specifically, we provide a broad overview of nanoparticle-based therapeutics and how the unique structural characteristics of the glomerulus allow for selective, nanoparticle targeting of this area of the kidney. We then summarize literature examples of nanoparticle delivery to the glomerulus and elaborate on the appropriate nanoparticle design criteria for glomerular targeting. Finally, we discuss the behavior of nanoparticles in animal models of diseased glomeruli and review examples of nanoparticle therapeutic approaches that have shown promise in animal models of glomerulonephritic disease. Copyright © 2013 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Near-infrared remotely triggered drug-release strategies for cancer treatment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Goodman, Amanda M.; Neumann, Oara; Nørregaard, Kamilla; Henderson, Luke; Choi, Mi-Ran; Clare, Susan E.; Halas, Naomi J.

    2017-11-01

    Remotely controlled, localized drug delivery is highly desirable for potentially minimizing the systemic toxicity induced by the administration of typically hydrophobic chemotherapy drugs by conventional means. Nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems provide a highly promising approach for localized drug delivery, and are an emerging field of interest in cancer treatment. Here, we demonstrate near-IR light-triggered release of two drug molecules from both DNA-based and protein-based hosts that have been conjugated to near-infrared-absorbing Au nanoshells (SiO2 core, Au shell), each forming a light-responsive drug delivery complex. We show that, depending upon the drug molecule, the type of host molecule, and the laser illumination method (continuous wave or pulsed laser), in vitro light-triggered release can be achieved with both types of nanoparticle-based complexes. Two breast cancer drugs, docetaxel and HER2-targeted lapatinib, were delivered to MDA-MB-231 and SKBR3 (overexpressing HER2) breast cancer cells and compared with release in noncancerous RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. Continuous wave laser-induced release of docetaxel from a nanoshell-based DNA host complex showed increased cell death, which also coincided with nonspecific cell death from photothermal heating. Using a femtosecond pulsed laser, lapatinib release from a nanoshell-based human serum albumin protein host complex resulted in increased cancerous cell death while noncancerous control cells were unaffected. Both methods provide spatially and temporally localized drug-release strategies that can facilitate high local concentrations of chemotherapy drugs deliverable at a specific treatment site over a specific time window, with the potential for greatly minimized side effects.

  5. Recent Trends in Nanotechnology-Based Drugs and Formulations for Targeted Therapeutic Delivery.

    PubMed

    Iqbal, Hafiz M N; Rodriguez, Angel M V; Khandia, Rekha; Munjal, Ashok; Dhama, Kuldeep

    2017-01-01

    In the recent past, a wider spectrum of nanotechnologybased drugs or drug-loaded devices and systems has been engineered and investigated with high interests. The key objective is to help for an enhanced/better quality of patient life in a secure way by avoiding/limiting drug abuse, or severe adverse effects of some in practice traditional therapies. Various methodological approaches including in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo techniques have been exploited, so far. Among them, nanoparticles-based therapeutic agents are of supreme interests for an enhanced and efficient delivery in the current biomedical sector of the modern world. The development of new types of novel, effective and highly reliable therapeutic drug delivery system (DDS) for multipurpose applications is essential and a core demand to tackle many human health related diseases. In this context, nanotechnology-based several advanced DDS have been engineered with novel characteristics for biomedical, pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical applications that include but not limited to the enhanced/improved bioactivity, bioavailability, drug efficacy, targeted delivery, and therapeutically safer with an extra advantage of overcoming demerits of traditional drug formulations/designs. This review work is focused on recent trends/advances in nanotechnology-based drugs and formulations designed for targeted therapeutic delivery. Moreover, information is also reviewed and given from recent patents and summarized or illustrated diagrammatically to depict a better understanding. Recent patents covering various nanotechnology-based approaches for several applications have also been reviewed. The drug-loaded nanoparticles are among versatile candidates with multifunctional characteristics for potential applications in biomedical, and tissue engineering sector. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  6. A safety and tolerability study of differently-charged nanoparticles for local pulmonary drug delivery

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Harush-Frenkel, Oshrat; Bivas-Benita, Maytal; Nassar, Taher

    Nanoparticle (NP) based drug delivery systems provide promising opportunities in the treatment of lung diseases. Here we examined the safety and tolerability of pulmonary delivered NPs consisting of PEG-PLA as a function of particle surface charge. The rationale for such a comparison should be attributed to the differential pulmonary toxicity of positively and negatively charged PEG-PLA NP. Thus, the local and systemic effects of pulmonary administered NPs were investigated following 5 days of daily endotracheal instillation to BALB/c mice that were euthanized on the eighth or nineteenth day of the experiment. We collected bronchoalveolar lavages and studied hematological as wellmore » as histochemistry parameters. Notably, the cationic stearylamine based PEG-PLA NPs elicited increased local and systemic toxic effects both on the eighth and nineteenth day. In contrast, anionic NPs of similar size were much better tolerated with local inflammatory effects observed only on the eighth experimental day after pulmonary instillation. No systemic toxicity effect was observed although a moderate change was noted in the platelet count that was not considered to be of clinical significance. No pathological observations were detected in the internal organs following instillation of anionic NPs. Overall these observations suggest that anionic PEG-PLA NPs are useful pulmonary drug carriers that should be considered as a promising therapeutic drug delivery system.« less

  7. Implications of protein- and Peptide-based nanoparticles as potential vehicles for anticancer drugs.

    PubMed

    Elzoghby, Ahmed O; Elgohary, Mayada M; Kamel, Nayra M

    2015-01-01

    Protein-based nanocarriers have gained considerable attention as colloidal carrier systems for the delivery of anticancer drugs. Protein nanocarriers possess various advantages including their low cytotoxicity, abundant renewable sources, high drug-binding capacity, and significant uptake into the targeted tumor cells. Moreover, the unique protein structure offers the possibility of site-specific drug conjugation and tumor targeting using various ligands modifying the surface of protein nanocarriers. In this chapter, we highlight the most important applications of protein nanoparticles (NPs) for the delivery of anticancer drugs. We examine the various techniques that have been utilized for the preparation of anticancer drug-loaded protein NPs. Finally, the current chapter also reviews the major outcomes of the in vitro and in vivo investigations of surface-modified tumor-targeted protein NPs. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Gene delivery in conjunction with gold nanoparticle and tumor treating electric field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tiwari, Pawan K.; Soo Lee, Yeon

    2013-08-01

    The advances in electrotherapy to treat the diseased biological cell instigate its extension in gene therapy through the delivery of gene into the nucleus. The objective of this study is to investigate the application of moderate intensity alternating electric field, also known as tumor treating electric field on a carrier system consisting of a charged gene complex conjugated to the surface of a gold nanoparticle. The gene delivery mechanism relies on the magnitude and direction of the induced electric field inside the cytoplasm in presence of carrier system. The induced electric field strength is significant in breaking the gene complex-gold nanoparticle bonding, and exerting an electric force pushing the charged gene into the nucleus. The electric force orientation is dependent on the aspect ratio (AR) of the gold nanoparticle and a relationship between them is studied via Maxwell two-dimensional (2D) finite element simulation analyzer. The development of charge density on the surface of carrier system and the required electric field strength to break the bonding are investigated utilizing the Gouy-Chapman-Grahame-Stern (GCGS) theoretical model. A carrier system having the aspect ratio of the gold nanoparticle in the range 1 < AR ≤ 5 and AR = 1 are substantial delivering cationic and anionic genes into the nucleus, respectively.

  9. Quantitative self-assembly prediction yields targeted nanomedicines

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shamay, Yosi; Shah, Janki; Işık, Mehtap; Mizrachi, Aviram; Leibold, Josef; Tschaharganeh, Darjus F.; Roxbury, Daniel; Budhathoki-Uprety, Januka; Nawaly, Karla; Sugarman, James L.; Baut, Emily; Neiman, Michelle R.; Dacek, Megan; Ganesh, Kripa S.; Johnson, Darren C.; Sridharan, Ramya; Chu, Karen L.; Rajasekhar, Vinagolu K.; Lowe, Scott W.; Chodera, John D.; Heller, Daniel A.

    2018-02-01

    Development of targeted nanoparticle drug carriers often requires complex synthetic schemes involving both supramolecular self-assembly and chemical modification. These processes are generally difficult to predict, execute, and control. We describe herein a targeted drug delivery system that is accurately and quantitatively predicted to self-assemble into nanoparticles based on the molecular structures of precursor molecules, which are the drugs themselves. The drugs assemble with the aid of sulfated indocyanines into particles with ultrahigh drug loadings of up to 90%. We devised quantitative structure-nanoparticle assembly prediction (QSNAP) models to identify and validate electrotopological molecular descriptors as highly predictive indicators of nano-assembly and nanoparticle size. The resulting nanoparticles selectively targeted kinase inhibitors to caveolin-1-expressing human colon cancer and autochthonous liver cancer models to yield striking therapeutic effects while avoiding pERK inhibition in healthy skin. This finding enables the computational design of nanomedicines based on quantitative models for drug payload selection.

  10. Chitosan magnetic nanoparticles for drug delivery systems.

    PubMed

    Assa, Farnaz; Jafarizadeh-Malmiri, Hoda; Ajamein, Hossein; Vaghari, Hamideh; Anarjan, Navideh; Ahmadi, Omid; Berenjian, Aydin

    2017-06-01

    The potential of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) in drug delivery systems (DDSs) is mainly related to its magnetic core and surface coating. These coatings can eliminate or minimize their aggregation under physiological conditions. Also, they can provide functional groups for bioconjugation to anticancer drugs and/or targeted ligands. Chitosan, as a derivative of chitin, is an attractive natural biopolymer from renewable resources with the presence of reactive amino and hydroxyl functional groups in its structure. Chitosan nanoparticles (NPs), due to their huge surface to volume ratio as compared to the chitosan in its bulk form, have outstanding physico-chemical, antimicrobial and biological properties. These unique properties make chitosan NPs a promising biopolymer for the application of DDSs. In this review, the current state and challenges for the application magnetic chitosan NPs in drug delivery systems were investigated. The present review also revisits the limitations and commercial impediments to provide insight for future works.

  11. Development and characterization of multifunctional nanoparticles for drug delivery to cancer cells

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nahire, Rahul Rajaram

    Lipid and polymeric nanoparticles, although proven to be effective drug delivery systems compared to free drugs, have shown considerable limitations pertaining to their uptake and release at tumor sites. Spatial and temporal control over the delivery of anticancer drugs has always been challenge to drug delivery scientists. Here, we have developed and characterized multifunctional nanoparticles (liposomes and polymersomes) which are targeted specifically to cancer cells, and release their contents with tumor specific internal triggers. To enable these nanoparticles to be tracked in blood circulation, we have imparted them with echogenic characteristic. Echogenicity of nanoparticles is evaluated using ultrasound scattering and imaging experiments. Nanoparticles demonstrated effective release with internal triggers such as elevated levels of MMP-9 enzyme found in the extracellular matrix of tumor cells, decreased pH of lysosome, and differential concentration of reducing agents in cytosol of cancer cells. We have also successfully demonstrated the sensitivity of these particles towards ultrasound to further enhance the release with internal triggers. To ensure the selective uptake by folate receptor- overexpressing cancer cells, we decorated these nanoparticles with folic acid on their surface. Fluorescence microscopic images showed significantly higher uptake of folate-targeted nanoparticles by MCF-7 (breast cancer) and PANC-1 (pancreatic cancer) cells compared to particles without any targeting ligand on their surface. To demonstrate the effectiveness of these nanoparticles to carry the drugs inside and kill cancer cells, we encapsulated doxorubicin and/or gemcitabine employing the pH gradient method. Drug loaded nanoparticles showed significantly higher killing of the cancer cells compared to their non-targeted counterparts and free drugs. With further development, these nanoparticles certainly have potential to be used as a multifunctional nanocarriers for image guided, targeted delivery of anticancer drugs.

  12. Dual drug-loaded nanoparticles on self-integrated scaffold for controlled delivery

    PubMed Central

    Bennet, Devasier; Marimuthu, Mohana; Kim, Sanghyo; An, Jeongho

    2012-01-01

    Antioxidant (quercetin) and hypoglycemic (voglibose) drug-loaded poly-D,L-lactideco-glycolide nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using the solvent evaporation method. The dual drug-loaded nanoparticles were incorporated into a scaffold film using a solvent casting method, creating a controlled transdermal drug-delivery system. Key features of the film formulation were achieved utilizing several ratios of excipients, including polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol, hyaluronic acid, xylitol, and alginate. The scaffold film showed superior encapsulation capability and swelling properties, with various potential applications, eg, the treatment of diabetes-associated complications. Structural and light scattering characterization confirmed a spherical shape and a mean particle size distribution of 41.3 nm for nanoparticles in the scaffold film. Spectroscopy revealed a stable polymer structure before and after encapsulation. The thermoresponsive swelling properties of the film were evaluated according to temperature and pH. Scaffold films incorporating dual drug-loaded nanoparticles showed remarkably high thermoresponsivity, cell compatibility, and ex vivo drug-release behavior. In addition, the hybrid film formulation showed enhanced cell adhesion and proliferation. These dual drug-loaded nanoparticles incorporated into a scaffold film may be promising for development into a transdermal drug-delivery system. PMID:22888222

  13. Water-soluble core/shell nanoparticles for proton therapy through particle-induced radiation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Park, Jeong Chan; Jung, Myung-Hwan; Kim, Maeng Jun; Kim, Kye-Ryung

    2015-02-01

    Metallic nanoparticles have been used in biomedical applications such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), therapy, and drug delivery systems. Metallic nanoparticles as therapeutic tools have been demonstrated using radio-frequency magnetic fields or near-infrared light. Recently, therapeutic applications of metallic nanomaterials combined with proton beams have been reported. Particle-induced radiation from metallic nanoparticles, which can enhance the therapeutic effects of proton therapy, was released when the nanoparticles were bombarded by a high-energy proton beam. Core/shell nanoparticles, especially Au-coated magnetic nanoparticles, have drawn attention in biological applications due to their attractive characteristics. However, studies on the phase transfer of organic-ligand-based core/shell nanoparticles into water are limited. Herein, we demonstrated that hydrophobic core/shell structured nanomaterials could be successfully dispersed in water through chloroform/surfactant mixtures. The effects of the core/shell nanomaterials and the proton irradiation on Escherichia coli (E. coli) were also explored.

  14. Controlled Fabrication of Gelatin Nanoparticles as Drug Carriers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jahanshahi, M.; Sanati, M. H.; Minuchehr, Z.; Hajizadeh, S.; Babaei, Z.

    2007-08-01

    In recent years, significant effort has been devoted to develop nanotechnology for drug delivery since it offers a suitable means of delivering small molecular weight drugs, as well as macromolecules such as proteins, peptides or genes by either localized or targeted delivery to the tissue of interest. Nanotechnology focuses on formulating therapeutic agents in biocompatible nanocomposites such as nanoparticles, nanocapsules, micellar systems, and conjugates. Protein nanoparticles (BSA, HAS and gelatin) generally vary in size from 50-300 nm and they hold certain advantages such as greater stability during storage, stability in vivo, non-toxicity, non-antigen and ease to scale up during manufacture over the other drug delivery systems. The primary structure of gelatin offers many possibilities for chemical modification and covalent drug attachment. Here nanoparticles of gelatin type A were prepared by a two-step desolvation method as a colloidal drug delivery system and the essential parameters in fabrication were considered. Gelatin was dissolved in 25 mL distilled water under room temperature range. Then acetone was added to the gelatin solution as a desolvating agent to precipitate the high molecular weight (HMW) gelatin. The supernatant was discarded and the HMW gelatin re-dissolved by adding 25 mL distilled water and stirring at 600 rpm. Acetone were added drop-wise to form nanoparticles. At the end of the process, glutaraldehyde solution was used for preparing nanoparticles as a cross-linking agent, and stirred for 12h at 600 rpm. For purification stage we use centrifuge with 600rpm for 3 times. The objective of the present study is consideration of some factors such as temperature, gelatin concentration, agitation speed and the amount of acetone and their effects on size and distribution of nanoparticles. Among the all conditions, 60° C, 50 mg/ml gelatin concentration, 75 ml acetone had the best result and the nanoparticle size was under 170 nm. The effect of these factors for synthesis of gelatine nanoparticle is strongly discussed.

  15. Hydrophobic drug-triggered self-assembly of nanoparticles from silk-elastin-like protein polymers for drug delivery.

    PubMed

    Xia, Xiao-Xia; Wang, Ming; Lin, Yinan; Xu, Qiaobing; Kaplan, David L

    2014-03-10

    Silk-elastin-like protein polymers (SELPs) combine the mechanical and biological properties of silk and elastin. These properties have led to the development of various SELP-based materials for drug delivery. However, SELPs have rarely been developed into nanoparticles, partially due to the complicated fabrication procedures, nor assessed for potential as an anticancer drug delivery system. We have recently constructed a series of SELPs (SE8Y, S2E8Y, and S4E8Y) with various ratios of silk to elastin blocks and described their capacity to form micellar-like nanoparticles upon thermal triggering. In this study, we demonstrate that doxorubicin, a hydrophobic antitumor drug, can efficiently trigger the self-assembly of SE8Y (SELPs with silk to elastin ratio of 1:8) into uniform micellar-like nanoparticles. The drug can be loaded in the SE8Y nanoparticles with an efficiency around 6.5% (65 ng doxorubicin/μg SE8Y), S2E8Y with 6%, and S4E8Y with 4%, respectively. In vitro studies with HeLa cell lines demonstrate that the protein polymers are not cytotoxic (IC50 > 200 μg/mL), while the doxorubicin-loaded SE8Y nanoparticles showed a 1.8-fold higher cytotoxicity than the free drug. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and flow cytometry indicate significant uptake of the SE8Y nanoparticles by the cells and suggest internalization of the nanoparticles through endocytosis. This study provides an all-aqueous, facile method to prepare nanoscale, drug-loaded SELPs packages with potential for tumor cell treatments.

  16. Characteristics of lipid micro- and nanoparticles based on supercritical formation for potential pharmaceutical application

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    The interest of the pharmaceutical industry in lipid drug delivery systems due to their prolonged release profile, biocompatibility, reduction of side effects, and so on is already known. However, conventional methods of preparation of these structures for their use and production in the pharmaceutical industry are difficult since these methods are usually multi-step and involve high amount of organic solvent. Furthermore, some processes need extreme conditions, which can lead to an increase of heterogeneity of particle size and degradation of the drug. An alternative for drug delivery system production is the utilization of supercritical fluid technique. Lipid particles produced by supercritical fluid have shown different physicochemical properties in comparison to lipid particles produced by classical methods. Such particles have shown more physical stability and narrower size distribution. So, in this paper, a critical overview of supercritical fluid-based processes for the production of lipid micro- and nanoparticles is given and the most important characteristics of each process are highlighted. PMID:24034341

  17. A novel animal model to evaluate the ability of a drug delivery system to promote the passage through the BBB.

    PubMed

    Iannone, Michelangelo; Cosco, Donato; Cilurzo, Felisa; Celia, Christian; Paolino, Donatella; Mollace, Vincenzo; Rotiroti, Domenicantonio; Fresta, Massimo

    2010-01-18

    The purpose of this investigation was to explore the potentiality of a novel animal model to be used for the in vivo evaluation of the ability of a drug delivery system to promote the passage through the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and/or to improve the brain localization of a bioactive compound. A Tween 80-coated poly-L-lactid acid nanoparticles was used as a model of colloidal drug delivery system, able to trespass the BBB. Tacrine, administered in LiCl pre-treated rats, induces electrocorticographic seizures and delayed hippocampal damage. The toxic effects of tacrine-loaded poly-L-lactid acid nanoparticles (5mg/kg), a saline solution of tacrine (5mg/kg) and an empty colloidal nanoparticle suspension were compared following i.p. administration in LiCl-pre-treated Wistar rats. All the animals treated with tacrine-loaded nanoparticles showed an earlier outcome of CNS adverse symptoms, i.e. epileptic onset, with respect to those animals treated with the free compound (10 min vs. 22 min respectively). In addition, tacrine-loaded nanoparticles administration induced damage of neuronal cells in CA1 field of the hippocampus in all treated animals, while the saline solution of tacrine only in 60% of animals. Empty nanoparticles provided similar results to control (saline-treated) group of animals. In conclusion, the evaluation of time-to-onset of symptoms and the severity of neurodegenerative processes induced by the tacrine-lithium model of epilepsy in the rat, could be used to evaluate preliminarily the capability of a drug delivery system to trespass (or not) the BBB in vivo. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Hydrophobically modified glycol chitosan nanoparticles-encapsulated camptothecin enhance the drug stability and tumor targeting in cancer therapy.

    PubMed

    Min, Kyung Hyun; Park, Kyeongsoon; Kim, Yoo-Shin; Bae, Sang Mun; Lee, Seulki; Jo, Hyung Gon; Park, Rang-Woon; Kim, In-San; Jeong, Seo Young; Kim, Kwangmeyung; Kwon, Ick Chan

    2008-05-08

    To prepare a water-insoluble camptothecin (CPT) delivery carrier, hydrophobically modified glycol chitosan (HGC) nanoparticles were constructed by chemical conjugation of hydrophobic 5beta-cholanic acid moieties to the hydrophilic glycol chitosan backbone. Insoluble anticancer drug, CPT, was easily encapsulated into HGC nanoparticles by a dialysis method and the drug loading efficiency was above 80%. CPT-encapsulated HGC (CPT-HGC) nanoparticles formed nano-sized self-aggregates in aqueous media (280-330 nm in diameter) and showed sustained release of CPT for 1 week. Also, HGC nanoparticles effectively protected the active lactone ring of CPT from the hydrolysis under physiological condition, due to the encapsulation of CPT into the hydrophobic cores in the HGC nanoparticles. The CPT-HGC nanoparticles exhibited significant antitumor effects and high tumor targeting ability towards MDA-MB231 human breast cancer xenografts subcutaneously implanted in nude mice. Tumor growth was significantly inhibited after i.v. injection of CPT-HGC nanoparticles at doses of 10 mg/kg and 30 mg/kg, compared to free CPT at dose of 30 mg/kg. The significant antitumor efficacy of CPT-HGC nanoparticles was attributed to the ability of the nanoparticles to show both prolonged blood circulation and high accumulation in tumors, as confirmed by near infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging systems. Thus, the delivery of CPT to tumor tissues at a high concentration, with the assistance of HGC nanoparticles, exerted a potent therapeutic effect. These results reveal the promising potential of HGC nanoparticles-encapsulated CPT as a stable and effective drug delivery system in cancer therapy.

  19. Polymeric nanoparticles for nonviral gene therapy extend brain tumor survival in vivo.

    PubMed

    Mangraviti, Antonella; Tzeng, Stephany Yi; Kozielski, Kristen Lynn; Wang, Yuan; Jin, Yike; Gullotti, David; Pedone, Mariangela; Buaron, Nitsa; Liu, Ann; Wilson, David R; Hansen, Sarah K; Rodriguez, Fausto J; Gao, Guo-Dong; DiMeco, Francesco; Brem, Henry; Olivi, Alessandro; Tyler, Betty; Green, Jordan J

    2015-02-24

    Biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles have the potential to be safer alternatives to viruses for gene delivery; however, their use has been limited by poor efficacy in vivo. In this work, we synthesize and characterize polymeric gene delivery nanoparticles and evaluate their efficacy for DNA delivery of herpes simplex virus type I thymidine kinase (HSVtk) combined with the prodrug ganciclovir (GCV) in a malignant glioma model. We investigated polymer structure for gene delivery in two rat glioma cell lines, 9L and F98, to discover nanoparticle formulations more effective than the leading commercial reagent Lipofectamine 2000. The lead polymer structure, poly(1,4-butanediol diacrylate-co-4-amino-1-butanol) end-modified with 1-(3-aminopropyl)-4-methylpiperazine, is a poly(β-amino ester) (PBAE) and formed nanoparticles with HSVtk DNA that were 138 ± 4 nm in size and 13 ± 1 mV in zeta potential. These nanoparticles containing HSVtk DNA showed 100% cancer cell killing in vitro in the two glioma cell lines when combined with GCV exposure, while control nanoparticles encoding GFP maintained robust cell viability. For in vivo evaluation, tumor-bearing rats were treated with PBAE/HSVtk infusion via convection-enhanced delivery (CED) in combination with systemic administration of GCV. These treated animals showed a significant benefit in survival (p = 0.0012 vs control). Moreover, following a single CED infusion, labeled PBAE nanoparticles spread completely throughout the tumor. This study highlights a nanomedicine approach that is highly promising for the treatment of malignant glioma.

  20. Surface modification of PLGA nanoparticles via human serum albumin conjugation for controlled delivery of docetaxel

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) based nanoparticles are considered to be a promising drug carrier in tumor targeting but suffer from the high level of opsonization by reticuloendothelial system due to their hydrophobic structure. As a result surface modification of these nanoparticles has been widely studied as an essential step in their development. Among various surface modifications, human serum albumin (HSA) possesses advantages including small size, hydrophilic surface and accumulation in leaky vasculature of tumors through passive targeting and a probable active transport into tumor tissues. Methods PLGA nanoparticles of docetaxel were prepared by emulsification evaporation method and were surface conjugated with human serum albumin. Fourier transform infrared spectrum was used to confirm the conjugation reaction where nuclear magnetic resonance was utilized for conjugation ratio determination. In addition, transmission electron microscopy showed two different contrast media in conjugated nanoparticles. Furthermore, cytotoxicity of free docetaxel, unconjugated and conjugated PLGA nanoparticles was studied in HepG2 cells. Results Size, zeta potential and drug loading of PLGA nanoparticles were about 199 nm, −11.07 mV, and 4%, respectively where size, zeta potential and drug loading of conjugated nanoparticles were found to be 204 nm, −5.6 mV and 3.6% respectively. Conjugated nanoparticles represented a three-phasic release pattern with a 20% burst effect for docetaxel on the first day. Cytotoxicity experiment showed that the IC50 of HSA conjugated PLGA nanoparticles (5.4 μg) was significantly lower than both free docetaxel (20.2 μg) and unconjugated PLGA nanoparticles (6.2 μg). Conclusion In conclusion surface modification of PLGA nanoparticles through HSA conjugation results in more cytotoxicity against tumor cell lines compared with free docetaxel and unconjugated PLGA nanoparticles. Albumin conjugated PLGA nanoparticles may represent a promising drug delivery system in cancer therapy. PMID:23866721

  1. Functionalized gold nanoparticles for topical delivery of methotrexate for the possible treatment of psoriasis.

    PubMed

    Bessar, Hagar; Venditti, Iole; Benassi, Luisa; Vaschieri, Cristina; Azzoni, Paola; Pellacani, Giovanni; Magnoni, Cristina; Botti, Elisabetta; Casagrande, Viviana; Federici, Massimo; Costanzo, Antonio; Fontana, Laura; Testa, Giovanna; Mostafa, Fawzia Farag; Ibrahim, Samia Ali; Russo, Maria Vittoria; Fratoddi, Ilaria

    2016-05-01

    Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) represent an effective choice for topical drug delivery systems thanks to their small size, general non-toxicity, ease of functionalization and high surface to volume ratio. Even if systemic, methotrexate still plays an important role in psoriasis treatment: its topical use shows insufficient percutaneus penetration owing to limited passive diffusion, high molecular weight and dissociation at physiological pH. The aim of our study was to design a new drug delivery nanocarrier for Methotrexate and to improve its solubility, stability and biodistribution. AuNPs were on purpose prepared with a hydrophilic stabilizing layer, in order to improve the colloidal stability in water. Water-soluble gold nanoparticles functionalized by sodium 3-mercapto-1-propansulfonate (Au-3MPS) were prepared and loaded with methotrexate (MTX). The loading efficiency of MTX on Au-3MPS was assessed in the range 70-80%, with a fast release (80% in one hour). The release was studied up to 24h reaching the value of 95%. The Au-3MPS@MTX conjugate was fully characterized by spectroscopic techniques (UV-vis, FTIR) and DLS. Preliminary toxicity tests in the presence of keratinocytes monolayers allowed to assess that the used Au-3MPS are not toxic. The conjugate was then topically used on C57BL/6 mouse normal skin in order to trace the absorption behavior. STEM images clearly revealed the distribution of gold nanoparticles inside the cells. In vitro studies showed that Methotrexate conjugated with Au-3MPS is much more efficient than Methotrexate alone. Moreover, DL50, based on MTT analysis, is 20 folds reduced at 48 h, by the presence of nanoparticles conjugation. UV-vis spectra for in vivo tracing of the conjugate on bare mouse skin after 24h of application, show increased delivery of Methotrexate in the epidermis and dermis using Au-3MPS@MTX conjugate, compared to MTX alone. Moreover we observed absence of the Au-3MPS in the dermis and in the epidermis, suggesting that these layers of the skin do not retain the nanoparticles. Based on our data, we found that the novel Au-3MPS@MTX conjugate is an effective non-toxic carrier for the satisfactory percutaneous absorption of Methotrexate and could help in possible topical treatment of psoriasis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Use of dextran nanoparticle: A paradigm shift in bacterial exopolysaccharide based biomedical applications.

    PubMed

    Banerjee, Aparna; Bandopadhyay, Rajib

    2016-06-01

    This review is a concise compilation of all the major researches on dextran nanoparticle based biomedical applications. Dextran is a highly biocompatible and biodegradable neutral bacterial exopolysaccharide with simple repeating glucose subunits. It's simple yet unique biopolymeric nature made it highly suitable as nanomedicine, nanodrug carrier, and cell imaging system or nanobiosensor. Most importantly, it is extremely water soluble and shows no post drug delivery cellular toxicity. Complete metabolism of dextran is possible inside body thus possibility of renal failure is minimum. Dextran based nanoparticles have superior aqueous solubility, high cargo capacity and intrinsic viscosity, and short storage period. The main focus area of this review is- past and present of major biomedical applications of dextran based nanomaterials thus showing a paradigm shift in bacterial exopolysaccharide based nanobiotechnology. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Application of optical coherence tomography for assessment of transcutaneous vaccine delivery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kamali, T.; Rattanapak, T.; Hook, S.; Meglinski, I.

    2012-03-01

    Immunization is one of the most efficient and cost-effective means for the prevention of diseases, but most vaccines have to be administered invasively. A novel strategy of inducing an immune response is topical application of vaccines to intact skin. Apart from being a non-invasive route of drug delivery, skin delivery also offers an advantageous mode of immunization due to the ability of skin immune cells to present antigens to the immune system. Topical vaccine penetration through the outermost layers of skin is based on the percutaneous diffusion of lipid-based nano-particles. In the current study we investigate the applicability of Optical Coherence Tomography for monitoring transcutaneous delivery of a peptide vaccine into the skin in vivo.

  4. Nanoengineered drug delivery systems for enhancing antibiotic therapy.

    PubMed

    Kalhapure, Rahul S; Suleman, Nadia; Mocktar, Chunderika; Seedat, Nasreen; Govender, Thirumala

    2015-03-01

    Formulation scientists are recognizing nanoengineered drug delivery systems as an effective strategy to overcome limitations associated with antibiotic drug therapy. Antibiotics encapsulated into nanodelivery systems will contribute to improved management of patients with various infectious diseases and to overcoming the serious global burden of antibiotic resistance. An extensive review of several antibiotic-loaded nanocarriers that have been formulated to target drugs to infectious sites, achieve controlled drug release profiles, and address formulation challenges, such as low-drug entrapment efficiencies, poor solubility and stability is presented in this paper. The physicochemical properties and the in vitro/in vivo performances of various antibiotic-loaded delivery systems, such as polymeric nanoparticles, micelles, dendrimers, liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles, nanohybirds, nanofibers/scaffolds, nanosheets, nanoplexes, and nanotubes/horn/rods and nanoemulsions, are highlighted and evaluated. Future studies that will be essential to optimize formulation and commercialization of these antibiotic-loaded nanosystems are also identified. The review presented emphasizes the significant formulation progress achieved and potential that novel nanoengineered antibiotic drug delivery systems have for enhancing the treatment of patients with a range of infections. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.

  5. Fabrication and characterization of an inorganic gold and silica nanoparticle mediated drug delivery system for nitric oxide

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Das, Amitava; Mukherjee, Priyabrata; Singla, Sumit K.; Guturu, Praveen; Frost, Megan C.; Mukhopadhyay, Debabrata; Shah, Vijay H.; Ranjan Patra, Chitta

    2010-07-01

    Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in inhibiting the development of hepatic fibrosis and its ensuing complication of portal hypertension by inhibiting human hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation. Here we have developed a gold nanoparticle and silica nanoparticle mediated drug delivery system containing NO donors, which could be used for potential therapeutic application in chronic liver disease. The gold nanoconjugates were characterized using several physico-chemical techniques such as UV-visible spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Silica nanoconjugates were synthesized and characterized as reported previously. NO released from gold and silica nanoconjugates was quantified under physiological conditions (pH = 7.4 at 37 °C) for a substantial period of time. HSC proliferation and the vascular tube formation ability, manifestations of their activation, were significantly attenuated by the NO released from these nanoconjugates. This study indicates that gold and silica nanoparticle mediated drug delivery systems for introducing NO could be used as a strategy for the treatment of hepatic fibrosis or chronic liver diseases, by limiting HSC activation.

  6. Engineered Hybrid Nanoparticles for On-Demand Diagnostics and Therapeutics.

    PubMed

    Nguyen, Kim Truc; Zhao, Yanli

    2015-12-15

    Together with the simultaneous development of nanomaterials and molecular biology, the bionano interface brings about various applications of hybrid nanoparticles in nanomedicine. The hybrid nanoparticles not only present properties of the individual components but also show synergistic effects for specialized applications. Thus, the development of advanced hybrid nanoparticles for targeted and on-demand diagnostics and therapeutics of diseases has rapidly become a hot research topic in nanomedicine. The research focus is to fabricate novel classes of programmable hybrid nanoparticles that are precisely engineered to maximize drug concentrations in diseased cells, leading to enhanced efficacy and reduced side effects of chemotherapy for the disease treatment. In particular, the hybrid nanoparticle platforms can simultaneously target diseased cells, enable the location to be imaged by optical methods, and release therapeutic drugs to the diseased cells by command. This Account specially discusses the rational fabrication of integrated hybrid nanoparticles and their applications in diagnostics and therapeutics. For diagnostics applications, hybrid nanoparticles can be utilized as imaging agents that enable detailed visualization at the molecular level. By the use of suitable targeting ligands incorporated on the nanoparticles, targeted optical imaging may be feasible with improved performance. Novel imaging techniques such as multiphoton excitation and photoacoustic imaging using near-infrared light have been developed using the intrinsic properties of particular nanoparticles. The use of longer-wavelength excitation sources allows deeper penetration into the human body for disease diagnostics and at the same time reduces the adverse effects on normal tissues. Furthermore, multimodal imaging techniques have been achieved by combining several types of components in nanoparticles, offering higher accuracy and better spatial views, with the aim of detecting life-threatening diseases before symptoms appear. For therapeutics applications, various nanoparticle-based treatment methods such as photodynamic therapy, drug delivery, and gene delivery have been developed. The intrinsic ability of organic nanoparticles to generate reactive oxygen species has been utilized for photodynamic therapy, and mesoporous silica nanoparticles have been widely used for drug loading and controlled delivery. Herein, the development of controlled-release systems that can specifically deliver drug molecules to target cells and release then upon triggering is highlighted. By control of the release of loaded drug molecules at precise sites (e.g., cancer cells or malignant tumors), side effects of the drugs are minimized. This approach provides better control and higher efficacy of drugs in the human body. Future personalized medicine is also feasible through gene delivery methods. Specific DNA/RNA-carrying nanoparticles are able to deliver them to target cells to obtain desired properties. This development may create an evolution in current medicine, leading to more personalized healthcare systems that can reduce the population screening process and also the duration of drug evaluation. Furthermore, nanoparticles can be incorporated with various components that can be used for simultaneous diagnostics and therapeutics. These multifunctional theranostic nanoparticles enable real-time monitoring of treatment process for more efficient therapy.

  7. Principles of nanoparticle design for overcoming biological barriers to drug delivery

    PubMed Central

    Blanco, Elvin; Shen, Haifa; Ferrari, Mauro

    2016-01-01

    Biological barriers to drug transport prevent successful accumulation of nanotherapeutics specifically at diseased sites, limiting efficacious responses in disease processes ranging from cancer to inflammation. Although substantial research efforts have aimed to incorporate multiple functionalities and moieties within the overall nanoparticle design, many of these strategies fail to adequately address these barriers. Obstacles, such as nonspecific distribution and inadequate accumulation of therapeutics, remain formidable challenges to drug developers. A reimagining of conventional nanoparticles is needed to successfully negotiate these impediments to drug delivery. Site-specific delivery of therapeutics will remain a distant reality unless nanocarrier design takes into account the majority, if not all, of the biological barriers that a particle encounters upon intravenous administration. By successively addressing each of these barriers, innovative design features can be rationally incorporated that will create a new generation of nanotherapeutics, realizing a paradigmatic shift in nanoparticle-based drug delivery. PMID:26348965

  8. Theory and modeling of particles with DNA-mediated interactions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Licata, Nicholas A.

    In recent years significant attention has been attracted to proposals which utilize DNA for nanotechnological applications. Potential applications of these ideas range from the programmable self-assembly of colloidal crystals, to biosensors and nanoparticle based drug delivery platforms. In Chapter I we introduce the system, which generically consists of colloidal particles functionalized with specially designed DNA markers. The sequence of bases on the DNA markers determines the particle type. Due to the hybridization between complementary single-stranded DNA, specific, type-dependent interactions can be introduced between particles by choosing the appropriate DNA marker sequences. In Chapter II we develop a statistical mechanical description of the aggregation and melting behavior of particles with DNA-mediated interactions. A quantitative comparison between the theory and experiments is made by calculating the experimentally observed melting profile. In Chapter III a model is proposed to describe the dynamical departure and diffusion of particles which form reversible key-lock connections. The model predicts a crossover from localized to diffusive behavior. The random walk statistics for the particles' in plane diffusion is discussed. The lateral motion is analogous to dispersive transport in disordered semiconductors, ranging from standard diffusion with a renormalized diffusion coefficient to anomalous, subdiffusive behavior. In Chapter IV we propose a method to self-assemble nanoparticle clusters using DNA scaffolds. An optimal concentration ratio is determined for the experimental implementation of our self-assembly proposal. A natural extension is discussed in Chapter V, the programmable self-assembly of nanoparticle clusters where the desired cluster geometry is encoded using DNA-mediated interactions. We determine the probability that the system self-assembles the desired cluster geometry, and discuss the connections to jamming in granular and colloidal systems. In Chapter VI we consider a nanoparticle based drug delivery platform for targeted, cell specific chemotherapy. A key-lock model is proposed to describe the results of in-vitro experiments, and the situation in-vivo is discussed. The cooperative binding, and hence the specificity to cancerous cells, is kinetically limited. The implications for optimizing the design of nanoparticle based drug delivery platforms is discussed. In Chapter VII we present prospects for future research: the connection between DNA-mediated colloidal crystallization and jamming, and the inverse problem in self-assembly.

  9. Delivery of kinesin spindle protein targeting siRNA in solid lipid nanoparticles to cellular models of tumor vasculature

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ying, Bo; Campbell, Robert B., E-mail: robert.campbell@mcphs.edu

    2014-04-04

    Highlights: • siRNA-lipid nanoparticles are solid particles not lipid bilayers with aqueous core. • High, but not low, PEG content can prevent nanoparticle encapsulation of siRNA. • PEG reduces cellular toxicity of cationic nanoparticles in vitro. • PEG reduces zeta potential while improving gene silencing of siRNA nanoparticles. • Kinesin spindle protein can be an effective target for tumor vascular targeting. - Abstract: The ideal siRNA delivery system should selectively deliver the construct to the target cell, avoid enzymatic degradation, and evade uptake by phagocytes. In the present study, we evaluated the importance of polyethylene glycol (PEG) on lipid-based carriermore » systems for encapsulating, and delivering, siRNA to tumor vessels using cellular models. Lipid nanoparticles containing different percentage of PEG were evaluated based on their physical chemical properties, density compared to water, siRNA encapsulation, toxicity, targeting efficiency and gene silencing in vitro. siRNA can be efficiently loaded into lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) when DOTAP is included in the formulation mixture. However, the total amount encapsulated decreased with increase in PEG content. In the presence of siRNA, the final formulations contained a mixed population of particles based on density. The major population which contains the majority of siRNA exhibited a density of 4% glucose, and the minor fraction associated with a decreased amount of siRNA had a density less than PBS. The inclusion of 10 mol% PEG resulted in a greater amount of siRNA associated with the minor fraction. Finally, when kinesin spindle protein (KSP) siRNA was encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles containing a modest amount of PEG, the proliferation of endothelial cells was inhibited due to the efficient knock down of KSP mRNA. The presence of siRNA resulted in the formation of solid lipid nanoparticles when prepared using the thin film and hydration method. LNPs with a relatively modest amount of PEG can sufficiently encapsulate siRNA, improve cellular uptake and the efficiency of gene silencing.« less

  10. In vivo delivery and long-term tissue retention of nano-encapsulated sirolimus using a novel porous balloon angioplasty system.

    PubMed

    Granada, Juan F; Tellez, Armando; Baumbach, William R; Bingham, Brendan; Keng, Yen-Fang; Wessler, Jeffrey; Conditt, Gerard; McGregor, Jennifer; Stone, Gregg; Kaluza, Greg L; Leon, Martin B

    2016-08-20

    Among antirestenotic compounds, sirolimus displays a superior safety profile compared to paclitaxel, but its pharmacokinetic properties make it a challenging therapeutic candidate for single-time delivery. Herein we evaluate the feasibility of delivery, long-term retention and vascular effects of sirolimus nanoparticles delivered through a novel porous angioplasty balloon in normal porcine arteries and in a swine model of in-stent restenosis (ISR). Sirolimus nanoparticle formulation was delivered via porous balloon angioplasty to 753 coronary artery segments for pharmacokinetic studies and 26 segments for biological effect of sirolimus delivery in different clinical scenarios (de novo [n=8], ISR [n=6] and following stent implantation [n=12]). Sirolimus coronary artery concentrations were above the target therapeutic level of 1 ng/mg after 26 days, and were >100-fold higher in coronary artery treatment sites than in distal myocardium and remote tissues at all time points. At 28 days, reduction in percent stenosis in formulation-treated sites compared to balloon angioplasty treatment was noted in all three clinical scenarios, with the largest effect seen in the de novo study. Local coronary delivery of sirolimus nanoparticles in the porcine model using a novel porous balloon delivery system achieved therapeutic long-term intra-arterial drug levels without significant systemic residual exposure.

  11. Nanomedicine: nanoparticles, molecular biosensors, and targeted gene/drug delivery for combined single-cell diagnostics and therapeutics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Prow, Tarl W.; Salazar, Jose H.; Rose, William A.; Smith, Jacob N.; Reece, Lisa; Fontenot, Andrea A.; Wang, Nan A.; Lloyd, R. Stephen; Leary, James F.

    2004-07-01

    Next generation nanomedicine technologies are being developed to provide for continuous and linked molecular diagnostics and therapeutics. Research is being performed to develop "sentinel nanoparticles" which will seek out diseased (e.g. cancerous) cells, enter those living cells, and either perform repairs or induce those cells to die through apoptosis. These nanoparticles are envisioned as multifunctional "smart drug delivery systems". The nanosystems are being developed as multilayered nanoparticles (nanocrystals, nanocapsules) containing cell targeting molecules, intracellular re-targeting molecules, molecular biosensor molecules, and drugs/enzymes/gene therapy. These "nanomedicine systems" are being constructed to be autonomous, much like present-day vaccines, but will have sophisticated targeting, sensing, and feedback control systems-much more sophisticated than conventional antibody-based therapies. The fundamental concept of nanomedicine is to not to just kill all aberrant cells by surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy. Rather it is to fix cells, when appropriate, one cell-at-a-time, to preserve and re-build organ systems. When cells should not be fixed, such as in cases where an improperly repaired cell might give rise to cancer cells, the nanomedical therapy would be to induce apoptosis in those cells to eliminate them without the damagin bystander effects of the inflammatory immune response system reacting to necrotic cells or those which have died from trauma or injury. The ultimate aim of nanomedicine is to combine diagnostics and therapeutics into "real-time medicine", using where possible in-vivo cytometry techniques for diagnostics and therapeutics. A number of individual components of these multi-component nanoparticles are already working in in-vitro and ex-vivo cell and tissue systems. Work has begun on construction of integrated nanomedical systems.

  12. Chitosan-Acrylic Polymeric Nanoparticles with Dynamic Covalent Bonds. Synthesis and Stimuli Behavior.

    PubMed

    Palacio, Herman; Otálvaro, Felipe; Giraldo, Luis Fernando; Ponchel, Gilles; Segura-Sánchez, Freimar

    2017-12-01

    Drug delivery represents one of the most important research fields within the pharmaceutical industry. Different strategies are reported every day in a dynamic search for carriers with the ability to transport drugs across the body, avoiding or decreasing toxic issues and improving therapeutic activity. One of the most interesting strategies currently under research is the development of drug delivery systems sensitive to different stimuli, due to the high potential attributed to the selective delivery of the payload. In this work, a stimuli-sensitive nanocarrier was built with a bifunctional acrylic polymer, linked by imine and disulfide bonds to thiolate chitosan, the latter being a biopolymer widely known in the field of tissue engineering and drug delivery by its biodegradability and biocompatibility. These polymer nanoparticles were exposed to different changes in pH and redox potential, which are environments commonly found inside cancer cells. The results proof the ability of the nanoparticles to keep the original structure when either changes in pH or redox potential were applied individually. However, when both stimuli were applied simultaneously, a disassembly of the nanoparticles was evident. These special characteristics make these nanoparticles suitable nanocarriers with potential for the selective delivery of anticancer drugs.

  13. Isolation and chemical analysis of nanoparticles from English ivy (Hedera helix L.)

    PubMed Central

    Lenaghan, Scott C.; Burris, Jason N.; Chourey, Karuna; Huang, Yujian; Xia, Lijin; Lady, Belinda; Sharma, Ritin; Pan, Chongle; LeJeune, Zorabel; Foister, Shane; Hettich, Robert L.; Stewart, C. Neal; Zhang, Mingjun

    2013-01-01

    Bio-inspiration for novel adhesive development has drawn increasing interest in recent years with the discovery of the nanoscale morphology of the gecko footpad and mussel adhesive proteins. Similar to these animal systems, it was discovered that English ivy (Hedera helix L.) secretes a high strength adhesive containing uniform nanoparticles. Recent studies have demonstrated that the ivy nanoparticles not only contribute to the high strength of this adhesive, but also have ultraviolet (UV) protective abilities, making them ideal for sunscreen and cosmetic fillers, and may be used as nanocarriers for drug delivery. To make these applications a reality, the chemical nature of the ivy nanoparticles must be elucidated. In the current work, a method was developed to harvest bulk ivy nanoparticles from an adventitious root culture system, and the chemical composition of the nanoparticles was analysed. UV/visible spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and electrophoresis were used in this study to identify the chemical nature of the ivy nanoparticles. Based on this analysis, we conclude that the ivy nanoparticles are proteinaceous. PMID:23883948

  14. An overview of clinical and commercial impact of drug delivery systems.

    PubMed

    Anselmo, Aaron C; Mitragotri, Samir

    2014-09-28

    Drug delivery systems are widely researched and developed to improve the delivery of pharmaceutical compounds and molecules. The last few decades have seen a marked growth of the field fueled by increased number of researchers, research funding, venture capital and the number of start-ups. Collectively, the growth has led to novel systems that make use of micro/nano-particles, transdermal patches, inhalers, drug reservoir implants and antibody-drug conjugates. While the increased research activity is clearly an indication of proliferation of the field, clinical and commercial translation of early-stage research ideas is critically important for future growth and interest in the field. Here, we will highlight some of the examples of novel drug delivery systems that have undergone such translation. Specifically, we will discuss the developments, advantages, limitations and lessons learned from: (i) microparticle-based depot formulations, (ii) nanoparticle-based cancer drugs, (iii) transdermal systems, (iv) oral drug delivery systems, (v) pulmonary drug delivery, (vi) implants and (vii) antibody-drug conjugates. These systems have impacted treatment of many prevalent diseases including diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases, among others. At the same time, these systems are integral and enabling components of products that collectively generate annual revenues exceeding US $100 billion. These examples provide strong evidence of the clinical and commercial impact of drug delivery systems. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Systemic Delivery of Anti-miRNA for Suppression of Triple Negative Breast Cancer Utilizing RNA Nanotechnology.

    PubMed

    Shu, Dan; Li, Hui; Shu, Yi; Xiong, Gaofeng; Carson, William E; Haque, Farzin; Xu, Ren; Guo, Peixuan

    2015-10-27

    MicroRNAs play important roles in regulating the gene expression and life cycle of cancer cells. In particular, miR-21, an oncogenic miRNA is a major player involved in tumor initiation, progression, invasion and metastasis in several cancers, including triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, delivery of therapeutic miRNA or anti-miRNA specifically into cancer cells in vivo without collateral damage to healthy cells remains challenging. We report here the application of RNA nanotechnology for specific and efficient delivery of anti-miR-21 to block the growth of TNBC in orthotopic mouse models. The 15 nm therapeutic RNA nanoparticles contains the 58-nucleotide (nt) phi29 pRNA-3WJ as a core, a 8-nt sequence complementary to the seed region of miR-21, and a 39-nt epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) targeting aptamer for internalizing RNA nanoparticles into cancer cells via receptor mediated endocytosis. The RNase resistant and thermodynamically stable RNA nanoparticles remained intact after systemic injection into mice and strongly bound to tumors with little or no accumulation in healthy organs 8 h postinjection, and subsequently repressed tumor growth at low doses. The observed specific cancer targeting and tumor regression is a result of several key attributes of RNA nanoparticles: anionic charge which disallows nonspecific passage across negatively charged cell membrane; "active" targeting using RNA aptamers which increases the homing of RNA nanoparticles to cancer cells; nanoscale size and shape which avoids rapid renal clearance and engulfment by lung macrophages and liver Kupffer cells; favorable biodistribution profiles with little accumulation in healthy organs, which minimizes nonspecific side effects; and favorable pharmacokinetic profiles with extended in vivo half-life. The results demonstrate the clinical potentials of RNA nanotechnology based platform to deliver miRNA based therapeutics for cancer treatment.

  16. Systemic Delivery of Anti-miRNA for Suppression of Triple Negative Breast Cancer Utilizing RNA Nanotechnology

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    MicroRNAs play important roles in regulating the gene expression and life cycle of cancer cells. In particular, miR-21, an oncogenic miRNA is a major player involved in tumor initiation, progression, invasion and metastasis in several cancers, including triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, delivery of therapeutic miRNA or anti-miRNA specifically into cancer cells in vivo without collateral damage to healthy cells remains challenging. We report here the application of RNA nanotechnology for specific and efficient delivery of anti-miR-21 to block the growth of TNBC in orthotopic mouse models. The 15 nm therapeutic RNA nanoparticles contains the 58-nucleotide (nt) phi29 pRNA-3WJ as a core, a 8-nt sequence complementary to the seed region of miR-21, and a 39-nt epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) targeting aptamer for internalizing RNA nanoparticles into cancer cells via receptor mediated endocytosis. The RNase resistant and thermodynamically stable RNA nanoparticles remained intact after systemic injection into mice and strongly bound to tumors with little or no accumulation in healthy organs 8 h postinjection, and subsequently repressed tumor growth at low doses. The observed specific cancer targeting and tumor regression is a result of several key attributes of RNA nanoparticles: anionic charge which disallows nonspecific passage across negatively charged cell membrane; “active” targeting using RNA aptamers which increases the homing of RNA nanoparticles to cancer cells; nanoscale size and shape which avoids rapid renal clearance and engulfment by lung macrophages and liver Kupffer cells; favorable biodistribution profiles with little accumulation in healthy organs, which minimizes nonspecific side effects; and favorable pharmacokinetic profiles with extended in vivo half-life. The results demonstrate the clinical potentials of RNA nanotechnology based platform to deliver miRNA based therapeutics for cancer treatment. PMID:26387848

  17. Recent Advances in Nanomaterials for Gene Delivery—A Review

    DOE PAGES

    Riley, Michael; Vermerris, Wilfred

    2017-04-28

    With the rapid development of nanotechnology in the recent decade, novel DNA and RNA delivery systems for gene therapy have become available that can be used instead of viral vectors. These non-viral vectors can be made of a variety of materials, including inorganic nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, liposomes, protein and peptide-based nanoparticles, as well as nanoscale polymeric materials. They have as advantages over viral vectors a decreased immune response, and additionally offer flexibility in design, allowing them to be functionalized and targeted to specific sites in a biological system with low cytotoxicity. The focus of this review is to provide anmore » overview of novel nanotechnology-based methods to deliver DNA and small interfering RNAs into biological systems.« less

  18. Determining the size of nanoparticles in the example of magnetic iron oxide core-shell systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jarzębski, Maciej; Kościński, Mikołaj; Białopiotrowicz, Tomasz

    2017-08-01

    The size of nanoparticles is one of the most important factors for their possible applications. Various techniques for the nanoparticle size characterization are available. In this paper selected techniques will be considered base on the prepared core-shell magnetite nanoparticles. Magnetite is one of the most investigated and developed magnetic material. It shows interesting magnetic properties which can be used for biomedical applications, such as drug delivery, hypothermia and also as a contrast agent. To reduce the toxic effects of Fe3O4, magnetic core was covered by dextran and gelatin. Moreover, the shell was doped by fluorescent dye for confocal microscopy investigation. The main investigation focused on the methods for particles size determination of modified magnetite nanoparticles prepared with different techniques. The size distribution were obtained by nanoparticle tracking analysis, dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, fluorescent correlation spectroscopy (FCS) and confocal microscopy were used to compare the results for particle size determination of core-shell systems.

  19. An overview of drug delivery vehicles for cancer treatment: Nanocarriers and nanoparticles including photovoltaic nanoparticles.

    PubMed

    Chowdhury, Silvia; Yusof, Faridah; Salim, Wan Wardatul Amani Wan; Sulaiman, Nadzril; Faruck, Mohammad Omer

    2016-11-01

    Cancer is a complicated disease for which finding a cure presents challenges. In recent decades, new ways to treat cancer are being sought; one being nanomedicine, which manipulates nanoparticles to target a cancer and release drugs directly to the cancer cells. A number of cancer treatments based on nanomedicine are under way and mostly are in preclinical trials owing to challenges in administration, safety, and effectiveness. One alternative method for drug delivery is the use of photovoltaic nanoparticles, which has the potential to deliver drugs via light activation. The concepts are based on standard photovoltaic cell that holds opposite charges on its surfaces and releases drugs when charge intensity or polarity changes upon photo-stimulation such as from a laser source or sunlight. This review will cover some recent progress in cancer treatment using nanoparticles, including photovoltaic nanoparticles. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Controllable delivery of hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs from electrospun poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)/mesoporous silica nanoparticles composite mats.

    PubMed

    Song, Botao; Wu, Chengtie; Chang, Jiang

    2012-11-01

    Co-delivery of several drugs has been regarded as an alternative strategy for achieving enhanced therapeutic effect. In this study, a co-delivery system based on the electrospun poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)/mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) composite mat was designed for the co-encapsulation and prolonged release of one hydrophilic and one hydrophobic drug simultaneously. MSNs were chosen to load the hydrophobic model drug fluorescein (FLU) and hydrophilic model drug rhodamine B (RHB), respectively (named as RHB-loaded MSNs and FLU-loaded MSNs). Two kinds of drug-loaded MSNs were incorporated into the polymer matrix to form a fibrous structure by blending electrospinning. The effect of the weight ratios for the two kinds of drug-loaded MSNs and the initial PLGA concentrations on the drug release kinetics were systematically investigated. The results showed that both model drugs RHB and FLU maintained sustained delivery with controllable release kinetics during the releasing period, and the release kinetics was closely dependent on the loading ratios of two drug-loaded MSNs and the initial PLGA concentrations in the composite mats. The results suggest that the co-drug delivery system may be used for wound dressing that requires the combined therapy of several kinds of drugs. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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