Hyaluronic Acid-Based Nanocarriers for Anticancer Drug Delivery.

Hyaluronic acid (HA), a main component of the extracellular matrix, is widely utilized to deliver anticancer drugs due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity, non-immunogenicity and numerous modification sites, such as carboxyl and hydroxyl groups. Moreover, HA serves as a natural ligand for tumor-targeted drug delivery systems, as it contains the endocytic HA receptor, CD44, which is overexpressed in many cancer cells. Therefore, HA-based nanocarriers have been developed to improve drug delivery efficiency and distinguish between healthy and cancerous tissues, resulting in reduced residual toxicity and off-target accumulation. This article comprehensively reviews the fabrication of anticancer drug nanocarriers based on HA in the context of prodrugs, organic carrier materials (micelles, liposomes, nanoparticles, microbubbles and hydrogels) and inorganic composite nanocarriers (gold nanoparticles, quantum dots, carbon nanotubes and silicon dioxide). Additionally, the progress achieved in the design and optimization of these nanocarriers and their effects on cancer therapy are discussed. Finally, the review provides a summary of the perspectives, the lessons learned so far and the outlook towards further developments in this field.

Three-Dimensional Bioprinting of Decellularized Extracellular Matrix-Based Bioinks for Tissue Engineering.

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting is one of the most promising additive manufacturing technologies for fabricating various biomimetic architectures of tissues and organs. In this context, the bioink, a critical element for biofabrication, is a mixture of biomaterials and living cells used in 3D printing to create cell-laden structures. Recently, decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM)-based bioinks derived from natural tissues have garnered enormous attention from researchers due to their unique and complex biochemical properties. This review initially presents the details of the natural ECM and its role in cell growth and metabolism. Further, we briefly emphasize the commonly used decellularization treatment procedures and subsequent evaluations for the quality control of the dECM. In addition, we summarize some of the common bioink preparation strategies, the 3D bioprinting approaches, and the applicability of 3D-printed dECM bioinks to tissue engineering. Finally, we present some of the challenges in this field and the prospects for future development.

Role of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) in fabrication of inorganic-based materials: a green and unique route.

In recent times, the supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) process has attracted increasing attention in fabricating diverse materials due to the attractive features of environmentally benign nature and economically promising character. Owing to these unique characteristics and high-penetrability, as well as diffusivity conditions of scCO2, this high-pressure technology, with mild operation conditions, cost-effective, and non-toxic, among others, is often applied to fabricate various organic and inorganic-based materials, resulting in the unique crystal architectures (amorphous, crystalline, and heterojunction), tunable architectures (nanoparticles, nanosheets, and aerogels) for diverse applications. In this review, we give an emphasis on the fabrication of various inorganic-based materials, highlighting the recent research on the driving factors for improving the quality of fabrication in scCO2, procedures for production and dispersion in scCO2, as well as common indicators utilized to assess quality and processing ability of materials. Next, we highlight the effects of specific properties of scCO2 towards synthesizing the highly functional inorganic-based nanomaterials. Finally, we summarize this compilation with interesting perspectives, aiming to arouse a more comprehensive utilization of scCO2 to broaden the horizon in exploring the green/eco-friendly processing of such versatile inorganic-based materials. Together, we firmly believe that this compilation endeavors to disclose the latent capability and universal prevalence of scCO2 in the synthesis and processing of inorganic-based materials.

Fabrication of Supercritical Antisolvent (SAS) Process-Assisted Fisetin-Encapsulated Poly (Vinyl Pyrrolidone) (PVP) Nanocomposites for Improved Anticancer Therapy.

Due to its hydrophobicity, fisetin (FIS) often suffers from several limitations in terms of its applicability during the fabrication of pharmaceutical formulations. To overcome this intrinsic limitation of hydrophobicity, we demonstrate here the generation of poly (vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP)-encapsulated FIS nanoparticles (FIS-PVP NPs) utilizing a supercritical antisolvent (SAS) method to enhance its aqueous solubility and substantial therapeutic effects. In this context, the effects of various processing and formulation parameters, including the solvent/antisolvent ratio, drug/polymer (FIS/PVP) mass ratio, and solution flow rate, on the eventual particle size as well as on distribution were investigated using a 23 factorial experimental design. Notably, the FIS/PVP mass ratio significantly affected the morphological attributes of the resultant particles. Initially, the designed constructs were characterized systematically using various techniques (e.g., chemical functionalities were examined with Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and physical states were examined with X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques). In addition, drug release as well as cytotoxicity evaluations in vitro indicated that the nanosized polymer-coated particles showed augmented performance efficiency compared to the free drug, which was attributable to the improvement in the dissolution rate of the FIS-PVP NPs due to their small size, facilitating a higher surface area over the raw form of FIS. Our findings show that the designed SAS process-assisted nanoconstructs with augmented bioavailability, have great potential for applications in pharmaceutics.

Supercritical Fluid-Assisted Fabrication of Manganese (III) Oxide Hollow Nanozymes Mediated by Polymer Nanoreactors for Efficient Glucose Sensing Characteristics.

Despite their inherent efficacy in significantly accelerating the rate of chemical reactions in biological processes, the applicability of natural enzymes is often hindered because of their intrinsic limitations such as high sensitivity, poor operational stability, and relatively high cost for purification as well as preparation. Thus, the fabrication of catalytically active nanomaterials as artificial enzymes (nanozymes) has become a newly burgeoning area of research in bionic chemistry, aiming in designing functional nanomaterials that mimic various inherent properties of natural enzymes. To address these issues, we present the supercritical fluid (SCF)-assisted fabrication of discrete, monodisperse, and uniform-sized manganese (III) oxide (Mn2O3)-based hollow containers as high-efficiency nanozymes for glucose sensing characteristics. Initially, the core-shell nanoreactors based on polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-encapsulated manganese (III) acetylacetonate (Mn(acac)3) as precursors are fabricated using the SCF technology and subsequent calcination resulted in the Mn2O3 hollow nanoparticles (MHNs). This eco-friendly approach has resulted in the PVP-coated Mn(acac)3 nanoreactors with an average diameter of 220 nm and subsequent calcined hollow products are about one-fifth to that of the precursor. Such MHNs conveniently catalyzed 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as a prominent peroxidase mimic, resulting in the oxidation products (TMB*+) at a specific absorption (UV-vis) maxima of 652 nm. Following typical Michaelis-Menten theory, this approach is further utilized to develop visual nonenzymatic sensing of glucose in a linear range of 0.1-1 mM at a detection limit of 2.31 µM. Collectively, this reliable as well as a cost-effective system with high precision potentially allows rapid detection of analytes, providing a convenient way for its utilization in diverse fields.

Hyaluronan-modified superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles for bimodal breast cancer imaging and photothermal therapy.

Theranostic nanoparticles with both imaging and therapeutic abilities are highly promising in successful diagnosis and treatment of the most devastating cancers. In this study, the dual-modal imaging and photothermal effect of hyaluronan (HA)-modified superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (HA-SPIONs), which was developed in a previous study, were investigated for CD44 HA receptor-overexpressing breast cancer in both in vitro and in vivo experiments. Heat is found to be rapidly generated by near-infrared laser range irradiation of HA-SPIONs. When incubated with CD44 HA receptor-overexpressing MDA-MB-231 cells in vitro, HA-SPIONs exhibited significant specific cellular uptake and specific accumulation confirmed by Prussian blue staining. The in vitro and in vivo results of magnetic resonance imaging and photothermal ablation demonstrated that HA-SPIONs exhibited significant negative contrast enhancement on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and photothermal effect targeted CD44 HA receptor-overexpressing breast cancer. All these results indicated that HA-SPIONs have great potential for effective diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Glycosaminoglycan-targeted iron oxide nanoparticles for magnetic resonance imaging of liver carcinoma.

To develop an efficient probe for targeted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of liver carcinoma, the surface modification of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) was carried out by conjugating a naturally-occurring glycosaminoglycan with specific biological recognition to human hepatocellular liver carcinoma (HepG2) cells. These modified SPIOs have good water dispersibility, superparamagnetic property, cytocompatibility and high magnetic relaxivity for MR imaging. When incubated with HepG2 cells, they demonstrated significant cellular uptake and specific accumulation, as confirmed by Prussian blue staining and confocal microscopy. The in vitro MR imaging of HepG2 cells and in vivo MR imaging of HepG2 tumors confirmed their effectiveness for targeted MR imaging of liver carcinoma.

Using casein and oxidized hyaluronic acid to form biocompatible composite hydrogels for controlled drug release.

To develop biocompatible polymeric hydrogels for the in-situ encapsulation and controlled release of hydrophilic drugs, the oxidized hyaluronic acid containing aldehyde groups was prepared by the reaction between hyaluronic acid and sodium periodate, and then used for the first time to crosslink casein protein in aqueous system. By changing its aldehyde group content or amount, we found that the gelation kinetics and the properties of resultant composite hydrogel could be modulated. Particularly, an increase of its aldehyde group content or amount was found to result in a shorten gelation time, an enhanced gel strength, a reduced swelling ratio and a prolonged drug release. In addition, the as obtained composite hydrogel was also evaluated for its in vitro cytotoxicity on L929 mouse fibroblast cells and was confirmed to have a good biocompatibility.

[Hepatocyte growth factor enhances protein synthesis in cardiomyocytes exposed to gamma-ray irradiation].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the protective effect of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) on protein synthesis in rat cardiomyocytes exposed to gamma-ray irradiation. METHODS: Primary cultured cardiomyocytes were irradiated with single-dose (20 Gy) gamma ray in the absence or presence of HGF (40 ng/ml) added in the cell culture 3 h before the exposure. Forty-eight hours after irradiation, the total cellular protein was measured and cell cycle analyzed by flow cytometry. The cardiomyoctes were also infected with AdGFP 48 h after irradiation and the fluorescence intensity of the green fluorescence protein (GFP) in the cells determined by flow cytometry 48 h after infection. RESULTS: The protein synthesis was decreased significantly in the irradiated cardiomyocytes as compared with the control group (P<0.01), but was remedied significantly by incubation of the cells with HGF before the exposure (P<0.05). Flow cytometry revealed much lower mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of GFP in irradiated cardiomycytes than in cells without the exposure (P<0.01); The MFI was higher in HGF-treated cardiomyocytes than in cells without HGF treatment following the exposure (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Gamma ray irradiation inhibits protein synthesis in cardiomyocytes, and HGF may attenuate this effect of gamma ray exposure for cardiomyocyte protection.

A Method of the Simultaneous Purification of Cardiac Troponin T and I.

A method of the simultaneous purification of cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and troponin I (cTnI) from human cardiac left ventricular muscle have been developed. Five mg cTnT and 10.2 mg of cTnI were obtained from 100 mg of cardiac muscle. The purity of cTnT and cTnI could reach to 97.6% and 97.2% respectively. Their immunoactivity and specificity have been identified by ELISA method.