Engineering a folic acid-decorated ultrasmall gemcitabine nanocarrier for breast cancer therapy: Dual targeting of tumor cells and tumor-associated macrophages

Combination of passive targeting with active targeting is a promising approach to improve the therapeutic efficacy of nanotherapy. However, most reported polymeric systems have sizes above 100 nm, which limits effective extravasation into tumors that are poorly vascularized and have dense stroma. This will, in turn, limit the overall effectiveness of the subsequent uptake by tumor cells via active targeting. In this study, we combined the passive targeting via ultra-small-sized gemcitabine (GEM)-based nanoparticles (NPs) with the active targeting provided by folic acid (FA) conjugation for enhanced dual targeted delivery to tumor cells and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). We developed an FA-modified prodrug carrier based on GEM (PGEM) to load doxorubicin (DOX), for co-delivery of GEM and DOX to tumors. The co-delivery system showed small particle size of ～10 nm in diameter. The ligand-free and FA-targeted micelles showed comparable drug loading efficiency and a sustained DOX release profile. The FA-conjugated micelles effectively increased DOX uptake in cultured KB cancer cells that express a high level of folate receptor (FR), but no obvious increase was observed in 4T1.2 breast cancer cells that have a low-level expression of FR. Interestingly, in vivo, systemic delivery of FA-PGEM/DOX led to enhanced accumulation of the NPs in tumor and drastic reduction of tumor growth in a murine 4T1.2 breast cancer model. Mechanistic study showed that 4T1.2 tumor grown in mice expressed a significantly higher level of FOLR2, which was selectively expressed on TAMs. Thus, targeting of TAM may also contribute to the improved in vivo targeted delivery and therapeutic efficacy.     

Enhanced Antitumor Efficacy by d-Glucosamine-Functionalized and Paclitaxel-Loaded Poly(Ethylene Glycol)-Co-Poly(Trimethylene Carbonate) Polymer Nanoparticles

The poor selectivity of chemotherapeutics for cancer treatment may lead to dose-limiting side effects that compromise clinical outcomes. To solve the problem, surface-functionalized polymer nanoparticles are regarded as promising tumor-targeting delivery system. On the basis of glucose transporter (GLUT) overexpression on cancer cells, d-glucosamine-conjugated and paclitaxel-loaded poly(ethylene glycol)-co-poly(trimethylene carbonate) copolymer nanoparticles (DGlu-NP/PTX) were developed as potential tumor-targeting drug delivery system in this study. Because of the high affinity between d-glucosamine and GLUT, DGlu-NP/PTX could target to tumor tissue through GLUT-mediated endocytosis to improve the selectivity of PTX. DGlu-NP/PTX was prepared by emulsion/solvent evaporation technique and characterized in terms of morphology, size, and zeta potential. In vitro evaluation of two-dimensional cells and three-dimensional tumor spheroids revealed that DGlu-NP/PTX was more potent than those of plain nanoparticles (NP/PTX) and Taxol. In vivo multispectral fluorescent imaging indicated that DGlu-NP had higher specificity and efficiency on subcutaneous xenografts tumor of mouse. Furthermore, DGlu-NP/PTX showed the greatest tumor growth inhibitory effect on in vivo subcutaneous xenografts model with no evident toxicity. Therefore, these results demonstrated that DGlu-NP/PTX could be used as potential vehicle for cancer treatment. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.     

Design of a Novel Nucleus-Targeted NLS-KALA-SA Nanocarrier to Delivery Poorly Water-Soluble Anti-Tumor Drug for Lung Cancer Treatment

In this study, we designed a novel nucleus-targeted nanocarrier (NLS-KALA-SA, NKSN) consisting of Kala peptide (KALA), nuclear localization signal (NLS) and stearic acid (SA) using Fmoc solid phase synthesis method. We chose Curcumin (CUR), Paclitaxel (PTX), Ginsenoside compound K(CK) as models of poorly water-soluble antitumor drugs, The drugs loaded NLS-KALA-SA nanoparticles (CUR/NKSN, PTX/NKSN, CK/NKSN) were obained by the dialysis method, their physicochemical properties were determined and antitumor activity were evaluated. The NLS-KALA-SA nanoparticles were spherical shaped with an average size of 76.4 ± 7.6 mm and a zeta potential of 43.7 ± 5.8 mV. The drug-loaded NLS-KALA-SA nanoparticles were above 86.1% and 17.1% in entrapment efficiency and drug loading capacity, and had sustained drug release behavior. Biodistribution and cellular uptake study exhibited that PTX/NKSN mainly distributed in tumor site of A549-bearing mice, and coumarin-6(C6) loaded NLS-KALA-SA nanoparticle (C6/NKSN) was predominantly accumulated in the nucleus of A549 cells. Western blot analysis indicated that PTX/NKSN could more remarkably inhibit Bcl-2 expression and enhance the expression of Bax and Caspase-3 as compared to the controls in A549 cells. Cell apoptosis and antitumor activity study showed that PXT/NKSN could more obviously induce apoptosis of A549 cells compared with free PXT, the PTX/NKSN administration was more effective than free PTX for lung cancer treatment and displayed mild toxicity in A549-bearing mice. The results demonstrates that the NLS-KALA-SA nanoparticles system could enhance the antitumor effects of the encapsulated drug and reduce tissue toxicity due to its long circulating properties and tumor targeting, which might provide a promising strategy for lung cancer treatment.     

Lipid/PAA-coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles for dual-pH-responsive codelivery of arsenic trioxide/paclitaxel against breast cancer cells

Nanomedicine has attracted increasing attention and emerged as a safer and more effective modality in cancer treatment than conventional chemotherapy. In particular, the distinction of tumor microenvironment and normal tissues is often used in stimulus-responsive drug delivery systems for controlled release of therapeutic agents at target sites. In this study, we developed mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) coated with polyacrylic acid (PAA), and pH-sensitive lipid (PSL) for synergistic delivery and dual-pH-responsive sequential release of arsenic trioxide (ATO) and paclitaxel (PTX) (PL-PMSN-PTX/ATO). Tumor-targeting peptide F56 was used to modify MSNs, which conferred a target-specific delivery to cancer and endothelial cells under neoangiogenesis. PAA- and PSL-coated nanoparticles were characterized by TGA, TEM, FT-IR, and DLS. The drug-loaded nanoparticles displayed a dual-pH-responsive (pH_e = 6.5, pH_endo = 5.0) and sequential drug release profile. PTX within PSL was preferentially released at pH = 6.5, whereas ATO was mainly released at pH = 5.0. Drug-free carriers showed low cytotoxicity toward MCF-7 cells, but ATO and PTX co-delivered nanoparticles displayed a significant synergistic effect against MCF-7 cells, showing greater cell-cycle arrest in treated cells and more activation of apoptosis-related proteins than free drugs. Furthermore, the extracellular release of PTX caused an expansion of the interstitial space, allowing deeper penetration of the nanoparticles into the tumor mass through a tumor priming effect. As a result, FPL-PMSN-PTX/ATO exhibited improved in vivo circulation time, tumor-targeted delivery, and overall therapeutic efficacy.     

抗HER2/neu受体拟肽修饰的紫杉醇白蛋白纳米粒的血液毒性和病理学毒性研究（英文）

纳米制剂具备高载药量、靶向性积聚以及表面修饰性质,被广泛应用于临床诊断和治疗,但是相关的毒性研究很少。为了研究白蛋白纳米制剂静脉注射后对正常组织的毒性,我们先通过高压均质法制备稳定、均一的紫杉醇白蛋白纳米粒,通过共价键将靶向肿瘤细胞HER2/neu受体的拟肽AHNP结合于纳米粒表面得到靶向修饰的纳米粒,并考察其理化性质。建立HER2受体过表达的荷瘤裸小鼠模型,静脉注射纳米制剂和紫杉醇传统注射液后取血进行血常规比较分析,发现紫杉醇白蛋白纳米粒和AHNP靶向修饰的紫杉醇白蛋白纳米粒均避免了传统注射液引起的粒细胞减少症和贫血作用。对动物肿瘤和重要组织进行病理切片、H&E染色分析,发现AHNP靶向修饰显著提高紫杉醇白蛋白纳米粒的抗肿瘤效果。紫杉醇白蛋白纳米粒和紫杉醇溶液均引起严重的肝损伤,AHNP靶向修饰能显著降低纳米粒对于肝脏的损伤,但可能增加个别动物的肺部损伤。     

Enhancement of cancer therapy efficacy by trastuzumab-conjugated and pH-sensitive nanocapsules with the simultaneous encapsulation of hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds

Trastuzumab-conjugated pH-sensitive double emulsion nanocapsules (DENCs) stabilized by a single-component Poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with magnetic nanoparticles can be fabricated through a two-step double emulsion process; these nanocapsules can be used to encapsulate hydrophilic doxorubicin (Dox) and hydrophobic paclitaxel (PTX) simultaneously. When PMA_SH was attached to the shell of the DENCs, enhanced dual drug release of PTX/Dox was detected, specifically in intracellular acidic pH environments. The targeting ability of these Trastuzumab-conjugated DENCs was demonstrated with confocal images, which revealed a significantly elevated cellular uptake in HER-2 overexpressing SkBr3 cells. More importantly, an intravenous injection of this co-delivery system followed by magnetic targeting (MT) chemotherapy suppressed cancer growth in vivo more efficiently than the delivery of either PTX or Dox alone. The integration of the functionalities makes this combination therapy system a powerfully new tool for in vitro/in vivo cancer therapy, especially for in HER-2 positive cancers.From the Clinical EditorTrastuzumab-conjugated pH-sensitive nanocapsules were used in this study for simultaneous targeted delivery of hydrophobic (PTX) and hydrophilic (Dox) anti-cancer agents to HER-2 positive cancer cells. Additional use of magnetic targeting demonstrated superior efficacy of this delivery system compared to PTX or Dox alone.     

Intracellular targeting of PLGA nanoparticles encapsulating antigenic peptide to the endoplasmic reticulum of dendritic cells and its effect on antigen cross-presentation in vitro

Intracellularly targeted delivery system based on PLGA nanoparticles decorated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-targeting or control peptides and encapsulating antigenic peptide and fluorescent marker, was developed and characterized. The cellular uptake by dendritic cells (murine DC2.4 cells), intracellular trafficking, and cross-presentation efficiency of this delivery system were studied in vitro. The prepared nanoparticles (an average diameter of ~350 nm) efficiently encapsulated antigenic peptide and fluorescent marker and gradually released them over several days. Yet, the nanoparticles' size was small enough to allow their efficient endocytosis by the antigen-presenting cells in vitro. Surface conjugation of the targeting or control peptides enhanced the endocytosis of the nanoparticles, affected their intracellular trafficking, and induced prolonged low-magnitude cross-presentation of the antigenic peptide. We demonstrated in vitro that the intracellular fate of nanoparticulate drug delivery systems can be altered by their surface decoration with peptidic targeting residues. More detailed investigation is required to determine the mechanisms and therapeutic potential of intracellular targeting of nanodelivery systems in vivo for the goal of an anticancer vaccine.     

Enhanced Anti-Rheumatoid Arthritis Activity of Total Alkaloids from Picrasma Quassioides in Collagen-Induced Arthritis Rats by a Targeted Drug Delivery System

New drug delivery systems have rarely been used in the formulation of traditional Chinese medicine, especially those that are crude active Chinese medicinal ingredients. In the present study, hyaluronic acid decorated lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles were used to prepare a targeted drug delivery system (TDDS) for total alkaloid extract from Picrasma quassioides (TAPQ) to improve its targeting property and anti-inflammatory activity. Picrasma quassioides, a common-used traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), containing a series of hydrophobic total alkaloids including β-carboline and canthin-6-one alkaloids show great anti-inflammatory activity. However, its high toxicity (IC₅₀= 8.088±0.903 μg/ml), poor water solubility (need to dissolve with 0.8% Tween-80) and poor targeting property severely limits its clinical application. Herein, hyaluronic acid (HA) decorated lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles loaded with TAPQ (TAPQ-NPs) were designed to overcome above mentioned deficiencies. TAPQ-NPs have good water solubility, strong anti-inflammatory activity and great joint targeting property. The in vitro anti-inflammatory activity assay showed that the efficacy of TAPQ-NPs was significantly higher than TAPQ(P<0.001). Animal experiments showed that the nanoparticles had good joint targeting property and had strong inhibitory activity against collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). These results indicate that the application of this novel targeted drug delivery system in the formulation of traditional Chinese medicine is feasible.     

Difunctional Pluronic copolymer micelles for paclitaxel delivery: synergistic effect of folate-mediated targeting and Pluronic-mediated overcoming multidrug resistance in tumor cell lines

A significant obstacle for successful chemotherapy with paclitaxel (PTX) is multidrug resistance (MDR) in tumor cells. Micelles and mixed micelles were prepared from Pluronic block copolymer P105 or L101 as PTX delivery systems for overcoming MDR. Both micelle systems were covalently modified with the targeting agent folic acid to recognize and bind a variety of tumor cells via their surface-overexpressed folate receptor. There was an increased level of uptake of folate-conjugated micellar PTX (i.e. FOL-P105/PTX, FOL-PL/PTX) compared to plain micellar PTX (i.e. P105/PTX, PL/PTX) in human breast cancer MDR cell sublines, MCF-7/ADR, and the uptake of folate-conjugated micellar PTX could be inhibited by free folic acid, which suggested that the level of uptake could be mediated by the folate receptor. The cytotoxicity of folate-conjugated micellar PTX in the MDR cell culture model was much higher compared with plain micellar PTX or free PTX, and the plain micellar PTX also has higher cytotoxicity than free PTX. Overall, the MDR cells are more susceptible to the cytotoxic effects of Pluronic micellar PTX than their parental cells. The introduction of folic acid into P105 or PL mixed micelles enhanced the cell-killing effect by active internalization. Increased internalization explained the improved cytotoxicity of the FOL-micellar PTX to tumor cells. We suggest that the combined mechanisms of folate-mediated active internalization and Pluronic-mediated overcoming MDR be beneficial in treatment of MDR solid tumors by targeting delivery of micellar PTX into the tumor cells where folate receptor is frequently overexpressed, reducing accumulation of micellar PTX in other tissues or organs and further reducing side effects and toxicities of the drug.     

肿瘤相关巨噬细胞在肿瘤发病过程及治疗中的研究进展

巨噬细胞是机体内参与免疫反应的重要免疫细胞之一, 随着人们对巨噬细胞研究的深入, 肿瘤相关巨噬细胞(TAMs)这一概念被提出。TAMs是肿瘤微环境(TME)中复杂而异质的细胞群, 与肿瘤相关炎症的发生有密切关系, 可影响肿瘤的生长、侵袭、转移和肿瘤内血管形成, 也可分泌多种细胞因子和趋化因子抑制抗肿瘤免疫反应的发生。由此可见, TAMs与肿瘤的发生发展有密切的关系, 因此成为肿瘤治疗的有趣靶点。本文就TAMs如何参与肿瘤进展、如何在临床中用于肿瘤治疗的靶点进行综述。     

Targeted delivery of insoluble cargo (paclitaxel) by PEGylated chitosan nanoparticles grafted with Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD)

Poor delivery of insoluble anticancer drugs has so far precluded their clinical application. In this study, we developed a tumor-targeting delivery system for insoluble drug (paclitaxel, PTX) by PEGylated O-carboxymethyl-chitosan (CMC) nanoparticles grafted with cyclic Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptide. To improve the loading efficiency (LE), we combined O/W/O double emulsion method with temperature-programmed solidification technique and controlled PTX within the matrix network as in situ nanocrystallite form. Furthermore, these CMC nanoparticles were PEGylated, which could reduce recognition by the reticuloendothelial system (RES) and prolong the circulation time in blood. In addition, further graft of cyclic RGD peptide at the terminal of PEG chain endowed these nanoparticles with higher affinity to in vitro Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells and in vivo tumor tissue. These outstanding properties enabled as-designed nanodevice to exhibit a greater tumor growth inhibition effect and much lower side effects over the commercial formulation Taxol.     

PEGylated dendritic polyglycerol conjugate targeting NCAM-expressing neuroblastoma: Limitations and challenges

Neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) is found to be a stem-cell marker in several tumor types and its overexpression is known to correlate with increased metastatic capacity. To combine extravasation- and ligand-dependent targeting to NCAM overexpressing-cells in the tumor microenvironment, we developed a PEGylated NCAM-targeted dendritic polyglycerol (PG) conjugate. Here, we describe the synthesis, physico-chemical characterization and biological evaluation of a PG conjugate bearing the mitotic inhibitor paclitaxel (PTX) and an NCAM-targeting peptide (NTP). PG-NTP-PTX-PEG was evaluated for its ability to inhibit neuroblastoma progression in vitro and in vivo as compared to non-targeted derivatives and free drug. NCAM-targeted conjugate inhibited the migration of proliferating endothelial cells, suggesting it would be able to inhibit tumor angiogenesis. The targeting conjugate provided an improved binding and uptake on IMR-32 cells compared to non-targeted control. However, these results did not translate to our in vivo model on orthotopic neuroblastoma bearing mice.     

??Click?? Conjugation of Peptide on the Surface of Polymeric Nanoparticles for Targeting Tumor Angiogenesis

Purpose

Angiogenesis plays a critical role in tumor growth. This phenomena is regulated by numerous mediators such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). CBO-P11, a cyclo-peptide, has proven to specifically bind to receptors of VEGF and may be used as targeting ligand for tumor angiogenesis. We herein report the design of novel nanoparticles conjugated to CBO-P11 in order to specifically target tumor site.

Methods

The conjugation of CBO-P11 on the surface of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanoparticles was investigated using the copper(I)-catalyzed Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition known as ??click?? reaction. CBO-P11 was modified with a near-infrared cyanine dye bearing an alkyne function, allowing both ??click?? coupling on azido-modified nanoparticles and fluorescence labelling. Each step of this nanodevice construction was judiciously performed in aqueous solution and successfully characterized. The cytotoxicity of nanoparticles was evaluated in human brain endothelial cell line and their affinity for VEGF receptors was determined via fluorescence-based uptake assays on porcine aortic endothelial cell line.

Results

Nanoparticles were found to be spherical, dense, monodisperse and stable. No cytotoxicity was observed after four?days of incubation demonstrating the biocompatibility of nanoparticles. Fluorescence highlighted the specific interaction of these functionalized nanoparticles for VEGF receptors, suggesting that the targeting peptide bioactivity was retained.

Conclusions

These results demonstrate the potential of these functionalized nanoparticles for targeting tumor angiogenesis and their possible use as multifunctional plateform for cancer treament if coupled with therapeutic agents.     

Lipid-albumin nanoassemblies co-loaded with borneol and paclitaxel for intracellular drug delivery to C6 glioma cells with P-gp inhibition and its tumor targeting

Successful chemotherapy with paclitaxel (PTX) is impeded by multidrug resistance (MDR) in tumor cells. In this study, lipid-albumin nanoassemblies co-loaded with borneol and paclitaxel (BOR/PTX LANs) were prepared to circumvent MDR in C6 glioma cells. The physiochemical properties including particle size, encapsulation efficiency and morphology were evaluated in vitro. Quantitative and qualitative investigations of cellular uptake were carried out in C6 glioma cells. The cytotoxicity of the BOR/PTX LANs was determined by MTT assay. After that, the tumor targeting was also evaluated in C6 glioma bearing mice by in vivo imaging analysis. BOR/PTX LANs have a higher entrapment efficiency (90.4 ± 1.2%), small particle size (107.5 ± 3.2 nm), narrow distribution (P.I. = 0.171 ± 0.02). The cellular uptake of PTX was significantly increased by BOR/PTX LANs compared with paclitaxel loaded lipid-albumin nanoassemblies (PTX LANs) in quantitative research. The result was further confirmed by confocal laser scanning microscopy qualitatively. The cellular uptake was energy-, time- and concentration-dependent, and clathrin- and endosome/lysosome-associated pathways were involved. The BOR/PTX LANs displayed a higher cytotoxicity agaist C6 glioma cells in comparion with PTX LANs and Taxol. Moreover, the encapsulation of BOR in LANs obviously increased the accumulation of the drug in tumor tissues, demonstrating the tumor targeted ability of BOR/PTX LANs. These results indicated that BOR/PTX LANs could overcome MDR by combination of drug delivery systems and P-gp inhibition, and shown the potential for treatment of gliomas.     

Synergistic tumor microenvironment targeting and blood–brain barrier penetration via a pH-responsive dual-ligand strategy for enhanced breast cancer and brain metastasis therapy

Cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) which shape the tumor microenvironment (TME) and the presence of blood brain barrier (BBB) remain great challenges in targeting breast cancer and its brain metastasis. Herein, we reported a strategy using PTX-loaded liposome co-modified with acid-cleavable folic acid (FA) and BBB transmigrating cell penetrating peptide dNP2 peptide (cFd-Lip/PTX) for enhanced delivery to orthotopic breast cancer and its brain metastasis. Compared with single ligand or non-cleavable Fd modified liposomes, cFd-Lip exhibited synergistic TME targeting and BBB transmigration. Moreover, upon arrival at the TME, the acid-cleavable cFd-Lip/PTX showed sensitive cleavage of FA, which reduced the hindrance effect and maximized the function of both FA and dNP2 peptide. Consequently, efficient targeting of folate receptor (FR)-positive tumor cells and FR-negative CAFs was achieved, leading to enhanced anti-tumor activity. This strategy provides a feasible approach to the cascade targeting of TME and BBB transmigration in orthotopic and metastatic cancer treatment.     

A hybrid bacterium with tumor-associated macrophage polarization for enhanced photothermal-immunotherapy

Remodeling the tumor microenvironment through reprogramming tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and increasing the immunogenicity of tumors via immunogenic cell death (ICD) have been emerging as promising anticancer immunotherapy strategies. However, the heterogeneous distribution of TAMs in tumor tissues and the heterogeneity of the tumor cells make the immune activation challenging. To overcome these dilemmas, a hybrid bacterium with tumor targeting and penetration, TAM polarization, and photothermal conversion capabilities is developed for improving antitumor immunotherapy in vivo. The hybrid bacteria (B.b@QDs) are prepared by loading Ag₂S quantum dots (QDs) on the Bifidobacterium bifidum (B.b) through electrostatic interactions. The hybrid bacteria with hypoxia targeting ability can effectively accumulate and penetrate the tumor tissues, enabling the B.b to fully contact with the TAMs and mediate their polarization toward M1 phenotype to reverse the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. It also enables to overcome the intratumoral heterogeneity and obtain abundant tumor-associated antigens by coupling tumor penetration of the B.b with photothermal effect of the QDs, resulting in an enhanced immune effect. This strategy that combines B.b-triggered TAM polarization and QD-induced ICD achieved a remarkable inhibition of tumor growth in orthotopic breast cancer.     

Legumain/pH dual-responsive lytic peptide–paclitaxel conjugate for synergistic cancer therapy

After molecule targeted drug, monoclonal antibody and antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs), peptide–drug conjugates (PDCs) have become the next generation targeted anti-tumor drugs due to its properties of low molecule weight, efficient cell penetration, low immunogenicity, good pharmacokinetic and large-scale synthesis by solid phase synthesis. Herein, we present a lytic peptide PTP7-drug paclitaxel conjugate assembling nanoparticles (named PPP) that can sequentially respond to dual stimuli in the tumor microenvironment, which was designed for passive tumor-targeted delivery and on-demand release of a tumor lytic peptide (PTP-7) as well as a chemotherapeutic agent of paclitaxel (PTX). To achieve this, tumor lytic peptide PTP-7 was connected with polyethylene glycol by a peptide substrate of legumain to serve as hydrophobic segments of nanoparticles to protect the peptide from enzymatic degradation. After that, PTX was connected to the amino group of the polypeptide side chain through an acid-responsive chemical bond (2-propionic-3-methylmaleic anhydride, CDM). Therefore, the nanoparticle (PPP) collapsed when it encountered the weakly acidic tumor microenvironment where PTX molecules fell off, and further triggered the cleavage of the peptide substrate by legumain that is highly expressed in tumor stroma and tumor cell surface. Moreover, PPP presents improved stability, improved drug solubility, prolonged blood circulation and significant inhibition ability on tumor growth, which gives a reasonable strategy to accurately deliver small molecule drugs and active peptides simultaneously to tumor sites.     

Pure redox-sensitive paclitaxel–maleimide prodrug nanoparticles: Endogenous albumin-induced size switching and improved antitumor efficiency

A commercial albumin-bound paclitaxel nano-formulation has been considered a gold standard against breast cancer. However, its application still restricted unfavorable pharmacokinetics and the immunogenicity of exogenous albumin carrier. Herein, we report an albumin-bound tumor redox-responsive paclitaxel prodrugs nano-delivery strategy. Using diverse linkages (thioether bond and disulfide bond), paclitaxel (PTX) was conjugated with an albumin-binding maleimide (MAL) functional group. These pure PTX prodrugs could self-assemble to form uniform and spherical nanoparticles (NPs) in aqueous solution without any excipients. By immediately binding to blood circulating albumin after intravenous administration, NPs are rapidly disintegrated into small prodrug/albumin nanoaggregates in vivo, facilitating PTX prodrugs accumulation in the tumor region via albumin receptor-mediated active targeting. The tumor redox dual-responsive drug release property of prodrugs improves the selectivity of cytotoxicity between normal and cancer cells. Moreover, disulfide bond-containing prodrug/albumin nanoaggregates exhibit long circulation time and superior antitumor efficacy in vivo. This simple and facile strategy integrates the biomimetic characteristic of albumin, tumor redox-responsive on-demand drug release, and provides new opportunities for the development of the high-efficiency antitumor nanomedicines.KEY WORDS: Paclitaxel, Abraxane, Redox-sensitive, Disulfide bond, Maleimide, Prodrug-based nano-drug delivery systems, Prodrug/albumin nanoaggregates, Breast cancer treatment     

Selective Targeting of the Novel CK-10 Nanoparticles to the MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells

The main objective of this project was to formulate novel decorated amphiphilic PLGA nanoparticles aiming for the selective delivery of the novel peptide (CK-10) to the cancerous/tumor tissue. Novel modified microfluidic techniques were used to formulate the nanoparticles. This technique was modified by using of Nano Assemblr associated with salting out of the organic solvent using K₂HPO₄. This modification is associated with higher peptide loading efficiencies, smaller size and higher uniformity. Size, zeta potential & qualitative determination of the adsorbed targeting ligands were measured by dynamic light scattering and laser anemometry techniques using the zeta sizer. Quantitative estimation of the adsorbed targeting ligands was done by colorimetry and spectrophotometric techniques. Qualitative and quantitative uptakes of the various PLGA nanoparticles were examined by the fluorescence microscope and the flow cytometer while the cytotoxic effect of the nanoparticles was measured by the colorimetric MTT assay. PLGA/poloxamer.FA, PLGA/poloxamer.HA, and PLGA/poloxamer.Tf have breast cancer MDA. MB321 cellular uptakes 83.8, 75.43 & 69.37 % which are higher than those of the PLGA/B cyclodextrin.FA, PLGA/B cyclodextrin.HA and PLGA/B cyclodextrin.Tf 80.87, 74.47 & 64.67 %. Therefore, PLGA/poloxamer.FA and PLGA/poloxamer.HA show higher cytotoxicity than PLGA/ poloxamer.Tf with lower breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cell viabilities 30.74, 39.15 & 49.23 %, respectively. The design of novel decorated amphiphilic CK-10 loaded PLGA nanoparticles designed by the novel modified microfluidic technique succeeds in forming innovative anticancer formulations candidates for therapeutic use in aggressive breast cancers.     

Development a hyaluronic acid ion-pairing liposomal nanoparticle for enhancing anti-glioma efficacy by modulating glioma microenvironment

Glioma, one of the most common brain tumors, remains a challenge worldwide. Due to the specific biological barriers such as blood–brain barrier (BBB), cancer stem cells (CSCs), tumor associated macrophages (TAMs), and vasculogenic mimicry channels (VMs), a novel versatile targeting delivery for anti-glioma is in urgent need. Here, we designed a hyaluronic acid (HA) ion-pairing nanoparticle. Then, these nanoparticles were encapsulated in liposomes, termed as DOX-HA-LPs, which showed near-spherical morphology with an average size of 155.8?nm and uniform distribution (PDI?=?0.155). HA was proven to specifically bind to CD44 receptor, which is over-expressed on the surface of tumor cells, other associated cells (such as CSCs and TAMs) and VMs. We systematically investigated anti-glioma efficacy and mechanisms in vivo and in vitro. The strong anti-glioma efficacy could attribute to the accumulation in glioma site and the regulation of tumor microenvironment with depletion of TAMs, inhibition of VMs, and elimination of CSCs.