Inflammatory bowel disease and Clostridium difficile infection: clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management.

As a frequent complication of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) was confirmed to not only aggravate the symptoms of IBD but also result in unexpected outcomes, including death. With the increasing prevalence rate of IBD and the updating of CDI diagnosis, the incidence of CDI in IBD patients is also seen rising. Although a detection method consisting of glutamate dehydrogenase immunoassay or nucleic acid amplification test and then toxin A/B enzyme immunoassay was recommended and widely adopted, the diagnosis of CDI in IBD is still a challenge because of the overlap between the symptoms of CDI in IBD and CDI itself. Vancomycin and fidaxomicin are the first-line therapy for CDI in IBD; however, the treatment has different effects due to the complexity of IBD patients' conditions and the choice of different treatment schemes. Although the use of fecal microbial transplantation is now in the ascendant for IBD management, the prospects are still uncertain and the prevention and treatment of the recurrence of CDI in IBD remain a clinical challenge. In this paper, the epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical manifestation, prevention, and therapy of CDI in IBD were summarized and presented.

Kernelized Deep Learning for Matrix Factorization Recommendation System Using Explicit and Implicit Information.

In the current matrix factorization recommendation approaches, the item and the user latent factor vectors are with the same dimension. Thus, the linear dot product is used as the interactive function between the user and the item to predict the ratings. However, the relationship between real users and items is not entirely linear and the existing recommendation model of matrix factorization faces the challenge of data sparsity. To this end, we propose a kernelized deep neural network recommendation model in this article. First, we encode the explicit user-item rating matrix in the form of column vectors and project them to higher dimensions to facilitate the simulation of nonlinear user-item interaction for enhancing the connection between users and items. Second, the algorithm of association rules is used to mine the implicit relation between users and items, rather than simple feature extraction of users or items, for improving the recommendation performance when the datasets are sparse. Third, through the autoencoder and kernelized network processing, the implicit data are connected with the explicit data by the multilayer perceptron network for iterative training instead of doing simple linear weighted summation. Finally, the predicted rating is output through the hidden layer. Extensive experiments were conducted on four public datasets in comparison with several existing well-known methods. The experimental results indicated that our proposed method has obtained improved performance in data sparsity and prediction accuracy.

Small interfering RNA delivery to the neurons near the amyloid plaques for improved treatment of Alzheimer׳s disease.

Gene therapy represents a promising treatment for the Alzheimer׳s disease (AD). However, gene delivery specific to brain lesions through systemic administration remains big challenge. In our previous work, we have developed an siRNA nanocomplex able to be specifically delivered to the amyloid plaques through surface modification with both CGN peptide for the blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration and QSH peptide for ß-amyloid binding. But, whether the as-designed nanocomplex could indeed improve the gene accumulation in the impaired neuron cells and ameliorate AD-associated symptoms remains further study. Herein, we prepared the nanocomplexes with an siRNA against ß-site amyloid precursor protein-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1), the rate-limiting enzyme of Aß production, as the therapeutic siRNA of AD. The nanocomplexes exhibited high distribution in the Aß deposits-enriched hippocampus, especially in the neurons near the amyloid plaques after intravenous administration. In APP/PS1 transgenic mice, the nanocomplexes down-regulated BACE1 in both mRNA and protein levels, as well as Aß and amyloid plaques to the level of wild-type mice. Moreover, the nanocomplexes significantly increased the level of synaptophysin and rescued memory loss of the AD transgenic mice without hematological or histological toxicity. Taken together, this work presented direct evidences that the design of precise gene delivery to the AD lesions markedly improves the therapeutic outcome.

Systemic delivery of BACE1 siRNA through neuron-targeted nanocomplexes for treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

ß-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) is a key enzyme to cleave the amyloid precursor protein to develop Alzheimer's disease (AD). Reducing BACE1 expression in central neuron through RNA interference technology shows great promise to overcome AD. However, to obtain an efficient and neurons-specific delivery of siRNA against BACE1 through systemic administration remains challenging. Here, we design and prepare siRNA nano-carriers based on PEGylated poly(2-(N,N-dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate) (PEG-PDMAEMA) modified with both the CGN peptide for blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration and the Tet1 peptide for neuron-specific binding. The nanocomplexes CT/siRNA, composed of CGN-PEG-PDMAEMA and Tet1-PEG-PDMAEMA at a weight ratio of 1:1, display a good stability in the blood and do not lead to hemolysis at N/P = 10. The internalization of nanocomplexes in neuron cells relies on clathrin-mediated endocytosis and micropinocytosis, while caveolae-mediated endocytosis plays a major role in entrance of CT/siRNA into cerebral capillary endothelial cell bEnd.3. The nanocomplexes successfully escape from lysosomes and enter in the cytoplasm of the neuron cells, inducing effective gene silence (about 50% decrease in BACE1 mRNA levels) and reversing Aß25-35 oligomer-induced synaptic injury. After caudal vein injection in mice, CT/siRNA display higher brain accumulation than unmodified nanocomplexes (brain drug targeting index = 2.62), and colocalize with neurons or locate nearby. In APP/PS1 transgenic mice, the nanocomplexes significantly decrease BACE1 mRNA and the amyloid plaques, suppress phosphorylated tau protein levels, as well as promote hippocampal neurogenesis. Noticeably, administration of the nanocomplexes restores the cognitive performance of the AD transgenic mice to the level of wild-type control without significant adverse effects on myelination. Our results demonstrate the CT/siRNA nanocomplexes capable of specifically directing BACE1 siRNA to brain neurons with great potential for AD therapy.

Dual-functional nanoparticles for precise drug delivery to Alzheimer's disease lesions: Targeting mechanisms, pharmacodynamics and safety.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and is characterized by the cerebral accumulation of extracellular amyloid plaques. In a previous study, this histopathological hallmark was used as a target on a dual-functional nanoparticle (TQNP) to deliver biotechnological drugs, such as the H102 peptide, a ß-sheet breaker, to AD lesions precisely. This delivery system could reduce the amyloid-ß (Aß) burden in the brains of AD model mice, as well as ameliorated the memory impairment of the mice. Regretfully, the mechanism how nanoparticles penetrated the BBB and subsequently targeted to the plaques is still unclear. In this study, the internalization, subcellular fate and transportation of the nanoparticles on bEnd.3 cells and an in vitro BBB model, demonstrated that TQNP could be taken up through various routes, including caveolae-mediated endocytosis, suggesting that some of TQNP were able to cross the BBB intact. Then, the TQNP were visualized to specifically bind to the Aß plaques. TQNP targeting to amyloid plaques might lead to enhanced therapeutic efficacy, which was further evaluated in APP/PS1 transgenic mice. The TQNP/H102 obtained better ability in decreasing amyloid plaques, increasing Aß-degrading enzymes, reducing tau protein phosphorylation, protecting synapses and improving the spatial learning and memory of transgenic mice than nanoparticles modified with a single ligand. And good biocompatibility of TQNP was indicated with subacute toxicity assays. In conclusion, TQNP was a valuable nanodevice for the precise delivery for biotechnological drugs to treat AD.

A hybrid siRNA delivery complex for enhanced brain penetration and precise amyloid plaque targeting in Alzheimer's disease mice.

To realize the therapeutic potential of gene drugs for Alzheimer's disease (AD), non-invasive, tissue-specific and efficient delivery technologies must be developed. Here, a hybrid system for amyloid plaques targeted siRNA delivery was formed by PEGylated Poly(2-(N,N-dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate) (PEG-PDMAEMA) conjugated with two d-peptides, a CGN for brain penetration and a QSH for ß-amyloid binding. The hybrid complex CQ/siRNA, composed of 25% MPEG-PDMAEMA, 50% CGN-PEG-PDMAEMA and 25% QSH-PEG-PDMAEMA, showed negligible cytotoxicity and could protect siRNA from enzyme degradation. Being taken up by neuron cells, the complexes could escape from lysosomes, release siRNA in the cytoplasm and thus producing effective gene silence (down-regulated protein level to 18.5%). After intravenous injection, CQ/siRNA penetrated into the brain in an intact form and located around the plaques in transgenic AD mice. The precisely amyloid plaques delivery resulted in increased therapeutic activities, which was demonstrated by the strong mRNA (36.4%) knockdown of BACE1 (a therapeutic target of AD), the less yield of enzyme-digested products sAPPß (-42.6%), as well as the better neurons protection than the single component complexes. In conclusion, the hybrid complex could efficiently and precisely deliver an siRNA to the AD lesion and might be a potential candidate for gene therapy for AD. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: The gene delivery system achieving high brain penetration and lesion region accumulation was first applied to treat AD, and the preparation exhibited a significantly better neuroprotective effect than that modified with a single ligand. The intracellular process of which the complexes escape from lysosomes and release the siRNA in cytoplasm was revealed. The brain targeting and amyloid plaque binding ability of the complex were systemic evaluated, and the in vivo co-location experiments provided a direct evidence of the precise delivery of the siRNA to the amyloid plaques. One of the targeting ligands, CGN, which was a retro-inverso modified peptide to achieve better affinity to the BBB, was first applied to the brain targeting system.

2D-MoO3 nanosheets for superior gas sensors.

By taking advantages of both grinding and sonication, an effective exfoliation process is developed to prepare two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum oxide (MoO3) nanosheets. The approach avoids high-boiling-point solvents that would leave a residue and cause aggregation. Gas sensors fabricated using the 2D-MoO3 nanosheets provide a significantly enhanced chemical sensor performance. Compared with the sensors using bulk MoO3, the response of the 2D-MoO3 sensor increases from 7 to 33; the sensor response time is reduced from 27 to 21 seconds, and the recovery time is shortened from 26 to 10 seconds. We attribute the superior performance to the 2D-structure with a much increased surface area and reactive sites.

Lapatinib-loaded human serum albumin nanoparticles for the prevention and treatment of triple-negative breast cancer metastasis to the brain.

Brain metastasis from triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has continued to lack effective clinical treatments until present. However, the feature of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) frequently overexpressed in TNBC offers the opportunity to employ lapatinib, a dual-tyrosine kinase inhibitor of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) and EGFR, in the treatment of brain metastasis of TNBC. Unfortunately, the low oral bioavailability of lapatinib and drug efflux by blood-brain barrier have resulted in low drug delivery efficiency into the brain and limited therapeutic effects for patients with brain metastasis in clinical trials. To overcome such disadvantages, we developed lapatinib-loaded human serum albumin (HSA) nanoparticles, named LHNPs, by modified nanoparticle albumin-bound (Nab) technology. LHNPs had a core-shell structure and the new HSA/phosphatidylcholine sheath made LHNPs stable in bloodstream. Compared to free lapatinib, LHNPs could inhibit the adhesion, migration and invasion ability of high brain-metastatic 4T1 cells more effectively in vitro. Tissue distribution following intravenous administration revealed that LHNPs (i.v., 10 mg/kg) achieved increased delivery to the metastatic brain at 5.43 and 4.36 times the levels of Tykerb (p.o., 100 mg/kg) and lapatinib solution (LS, i.v., 10 mg/kg), respectively. Compared to the marketed Tykerb group, LHNPs had markedly better inhibition effects on brain micrometastasis and significantly extended the median survival time of 4T1 brain metastatic mice in consequence. The improved anti-tumor efficacy of LHNPs could be partly ascribed to down-regulating metastasis-related proteins. Therefore, these results clearly indicated that LHNPs could become a promising candidate for clinical applications against brain metastasis of TNBC.

Incorporation of lapatinib into human serum albumin nanoparticles with enhanced anti-tumor effects in HER2-positive breast cancer.

Lapatinib, a selective small-molecule dual-tyrosine kinase inhibitor of HER2 and EGFR, is effective in HER2-positive patients with advanced metastatic breast cancer. However, its low and variable oral absorption, large required daily dose and serious gastrointestinal side effects all limit its clinical use. Intravenous administration offers a good option to overcome these disadvantages. However, the poor solubility of lapatinib in water and organic solvents causes lapatinib to fail in a common injectable preparation. Considering lapatinib's high albumin binding ability (>99%), in this study, we developed human serum albumin nanoparticles loaded with lapatinib (LHNPs) by Nab technology for intravenous administration and investigated its efficacy against HER2-positive breast cancer. Raman shift, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies demonstrated that lapatinib was successfully incorporated into nanoparticles, and LHNPs exhibited good stability and sustained-release effect in vitro. LHNPs could be effectively taken up by SKBr3 cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, and the uptake was mediated by energy-dependent endocytosis, which involved clathrin-dependent pinocytosis. Furthermore, in vitro and in vivo data indicated that LHNPs presented the strong ability to induce apoptosis and superior anti-tumor efficacy in tumor-bearing mice to the commercial tablet Tykerb through the inhibition of HER2 phosphorylation. Subchronic toxicity assays indicated that LHNPs had no hepatic or kidney toxicity. With mature technology for industrial production and enhanced therapeutic effects, LHNPs are likely to have great potential as a safe therapeutic candidate against HER2-positive breast cancer in the clinic.

Intranasal H102 Peptide-Loaded Liposomes for Brain Delivery to Treat Alzheimer's Disease.

PURPOSE: H102, a novel ß-sheet breaker peptide, was encapsulated into liposomes to reduce its degradation and increase its brain penetration through intranasal administration for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS: The H102 liposomes were prepared using a modified thin film hydration method, and their transport characteristics were tested on Calu-3 cell monolayers. The pharmacokinetics in rats' blood and brains were also investigated. Behavioral experiments were performed to evaluate the improvements on AD rats' spatial memory impairment. The neuroprotective effects were tested by detecting acetylcholinesterase (AchE), choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and insulin degrading enzyme (IDE) activity and conducting histological assays. The safety was evaluated on rats' nasal mucosa and cilia. RESULTS: The liposomes prepared could penetrate Calu-3 cell monolayers consistently. After intranasal administration, H102 could be effectively delivered to the brain, and the AUC of H102 liposomes in the hippocampus was 2.92-fold larger than that of solution group. H102 liposomes could excellently ameliorate spatial memory impairment of AD model rats, increase the activities of ChAT and IDE and inhibit plaque deposition, even in a lower dosage compared with H102 intranasal solution. H102 nasal formulations showed no toxicity on nasal mucosa. CONCLUSIONS: The H102-loaded liposome prepared in this study for nasal administration is stable, effective and safe, which has great potential for AD treatment.

Conjugating influenza a (H1N1) antigen to n-trimethylaminoethylmethacrylate chitosan nanoparticles improves the immunogenicity of the antigen after nasal administration.

As one of the most serious infectious respiratory diseases, influenza A (H1N1) is a great threat to human health, and it has created an urgent demand for effective vaccines. Nasal immunization can induce both systemic and mucosal immune responses against viruses, and it can serve as an ideal route for vaccination. However, the low immunogenicity of antigens on nasal mucosa is a high barrier for the development of nasal vaccines. In this study, we covalently conjugated an influenza A (H1N1) antigen to the surface of N-trimethylaminoethylmethacrylate chitosan (TMC) nanoparticles (H1N1-TMC/NP) through thioester bonds to increase the immunogenicity of the antigen after nasal administration. SDS-PAGE revealed that most of the antigen was conjugated on TMC nanoparticles, and an in vitro biological activity assay confirmed the stability of the antigen after conjugation. After three nasal immunizations, the H1N1-TMC/NP induced significantly higher levels of serum IgG and mucosal sIgA compared with free antigen. A hemagglutination inhibition assay showed that H1N1-TMC/NP induced much more protective antibodies than antigen-encapsulated nanoparticles or alum-precipitated antigen (I.M.). In the mechanistic study, H1N1-TMC/NP was shown to stimulate macrophages to produce IL-1ß and IL-6 and to stimulate spleen lymphocytes to produce IL-2 and IFN-γ. These results indicated that H1N1-TMC/NP may be an effective vaccine against influenza A (H1N1) viruses for use in nasal immunization.

The potential use of lapatinib-loaded human serum albumin nanoparticles in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive cancer with limited treatment options. However, the shared feature of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression in TNBC offers the opportunity for targeted molecular therapy for this breast cancer subtype. Previous studies have indicated that lapatinib, a selective small-molecular dual-tyrosine kinase inhibitor of HER2 and EGFR, is effective in reducing cancer progression and metastasis, indicating that it might be a candidate for TNBC treatment. However, its poor water solubility, low and variable oral absorption, and large daily dose all limit the clinical use of lapatinib. In this study, we developed human serum albumin (HSA) nanoparticles loaded with lapatinib for intravenous administration to overcome these disadvantages and enhance its efficacy against TNBC. 4T1 cells (a murine TNBC cells) were selected as the cell model because their growth and metastatic spread are very close to those of human breast cancer cells. Lapatinib-loaded HSA nanoparticles (LHNPs) were prepared by Nab technology. LHNPs displayed cytotoxicity similar to the free drug but exhibited superior capacity to induce early apoptosis in 4T1 monolayer cells. Importantly, LHNPs showed improved penetration and inhibition effects in tumor spheroids compared to lapatinib solution (LS). Pharmacokinetic investigations revealed that HSA nanoparticles (i.v.) effectively increased the accumulation of lapatinib in tumor tissue at 2.38 and 16.6 times the level of LS (i.v.) and Tykerb (p.o.), respectively. Consequently, it had markedly better suppression effects both on primary breast cancer and lung metastasis in tumor-bearing mice compared to the commercial drug Tykerb. The improved anti-tumor efficacy of LHNPs may be partly attributed to its close binding to SPARC, which is widely present in the extracellular matrix of tumor tissue. These results demonstrated that LHNPs might be a promising anti-tumor agent for TNBC.

Antigen-conjugated N-trimethylaminoethylmethacrylate chitosan nanoparticles induce strong immune responses after nasal administration.

PURPOSE: Antigens were conjugated on the surface of N-trimethylaminoethylmethacrylate chitosan (TMC) nanoparticles to induce systemic and mucosal immune responses after nasal immunization. METHODS: TMC was synthesized by free radical polymerization and blank nanoparticles were prepared by ionic crosslinking of TMC and sodium tripolyphosphate. The model antigen (ovalbumin) was conjugated on the surface of blank nanoparticles (OVA-NP) through thioester bond formation. The cellular uptake of OVA-NP was investigated in Raw 264.7 macrophages and biodistribution of antigens was studied by the radioiodine labeling method. The immunological effects were evaluated by nasal administration of OVA-NP to Balb/C mice. The transport mechanism and nasal toxicity of OVA-NP were studied in rats. RESULTS: The cellular uptake of OVA-NP was significantly higher than that of ovalbumin-encapsulated nanoparticles (NPe) after 30 min. Nasally administered OVA-NP showed higher transport of antigens to cervical lymph nodes with higher targeting efficiency than all other groups. Compared with NPe, OVA-NP induced much higher levels of systemic and mucosal immune responses in Balb/C mice after three nasal immunizations. Ex vivo culturing of nasopharynx-associated lymphoid tissue (NALT) confirmed its participation in nasal immunization. The transport mechanism study revealed that OVA-NP can be transported across the nasal epithelium through glands and may be taken up in NALT through M cells. OVA-NP did not induce obvious toxicity to nasal mucosa or hemolysis in animals. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated that the conjugation of TMC nanoparticles with antigens is an effective strategy for nasal vaccination.

The potential use of H102 peptide-loaded dual-functional nanoparticles in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative disease with few effective treatments. The non-targeted distribution of drugs decreases drug efficiency and cause side effects. The cascade targeting strategy has been suggested for precise drug delivery. We developed a dual-functional nanoparticle drug delivery system loaded with ß-sheet breaker peptide H102 (TQNP/H102). Two targeting peptides, TGN and QSH, were conjugated to the surface of the nanoparticles for blood-brain barrier transport and Aß42 targeting, respectively. The prepared nanoparticles were spherical and uniform. The brain distribution study of H102 was conducted with the HPLC-mass spectrometry method to evaluate whether this nano-carrier could achieve increased AD-lesion delivery. The highest uptake of H102 was observed in the hippocampi of the TQNP/H102 group mice 1h after administration, which was 2.62 and 1.86 times the level of non-modified nanoparticles (NP/H102) and TGN modified nanoparticles (TNP/H102), respectively. The neuroprotective effects of H102 preparations were evaluated using Morris water maze experiment, biochemical indexes assay and tissue histology. The spatial learning and memory of the AD model mice in the TQNP/H102 group were significantly improved compared with the AD control group, and were also better than other preparations at the same dosage, even the TNP/H102 group. These results were consistent with the values of biochemical indexes in mouse hippocampi as well as the histological observations. The results demonstrate that TQNP is a promising carrier for peptide or protein drugs, such as H102, for entry into the central nervous system (CNS) and subsequent location of brain AD lesions, thus offering a highly-specific method for AD therapy.

Preparation and evaluation of antigen/N-trimethylaminoethylmethacrylate chitosan conjugates for nasal immunization.

The frequent outbreak of respiratory infectious diseases such as influenza and pulmonary tuberculosis calls for new immunization strategies with high effectiveness. Nasal immunization is one of the most potential methods to prevent the diseases infected through the respiratory tract. In this study, we designed a water-soluble system based on antigen/N-trimethylaminoethylmethacrylate chitosan conjugates for nasal immunization. N-trimethylaminoethylmethacrylate chitosan (TMC) was synthesized by free radical polymerization of chitosan and N-trimethylaminoethylmethacrylate chloride and identified by (1)H NMR and FT-IR. Thiolated ovalbumin (OVA) was covalently conjugated to maleimide modified TMC with high conjugation efficiency. OVA conjugated TMC (OVA-TMC) significantly increased uptake of OVA by Raw 264.7 cells, which was 2.38 times higher than that of OVA/TMC physical mixture (OVA+TMC) at 4h. After nasal administration, OVA-TMC showed higher transport efficiency to superficial and deep cervical lymph nodes than OVA+TMC or OVA alone. Balb/C mice were intranasally given with OVA-TMC three times at 2-week internals to evaluate the immunological effect. The serum IgG, IgG1 and IgG2a levels of the OVA-TMC group were 17.9-87.9 times higher than that of the OVA+TMC group and comparable to that of the intramuscular group. The secretory IgA levels in nasal wash and saliva of the OVA-TMC group were 5.2-7.1 times higher than that of the OVA+TMC group while the secretory IgA levels of the intramuscular alum-precipitated OVA group were not increased. After immunofluorescence staining of nasal cavity, IgA antibody secreting cells were mainly observed in the lamina propria regions and glands of nasal mucosa. OVA-TMC showed little toxicity to the nasal epithelia or cilia of rats after nasal administration for three consecutive days. These results demonstrated that antigen conjugated TMC can induce both systemic and mucosal immune responses after nasal administration and may serve as a convenient, safe and effective vaccine for preventing respiratory infectious diseases.

Dual-functional nanoparticles targeting amyloid plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's disease mice.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder with few treatments. The limitations imposed by the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the non-selective distribution of drugs in the brain have hindered the effective treatment of AD and may result in severe side effects on the normal brains. We developed a dual-functional nanoparticle drug delivery system based on a PEGylated poly (lactic acid) (PLA) polymer. Two targeting peptides that were screened by phage display, TGN and QSH, were conjugated to the surface of the nanoparticles. TGN specifically targets ligands at the BBB, while QSH has good affinity with Aß(1-42), which is the main component of amyloid plaque. Tests probing the bEnd.3 cell uptake and in vivo imaging were conducted to determine the best density of TGN on the nanoparticles' surfaces. The optimal amount of QSH was studied using a Thioflavin T (ThT) binding assay and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) experiments. The optimal maleimide/peptide molar ratio was 3 for both TGN and QSH on the surface of the nanoparticles (T3Q3-NP), and these nanoparticles achieved enhanced and precise targeted delivery to amyloid plaque in the brains of AD model mice. A MTT assay also validated the safety of this dual-targeted delivery system; little cytotoxicity was demonstrated with both bEnd.3 and PC 12 cells. In conclusion, the T3Q3-NP might be a valuable targeting system for AD diagnosis and therapy.

Concanavalin A-conjugated poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(lactic acid) nanoparticles for intranasal drug delivery to the cervical lymph nodes.

Concanavalin A (ConA)-conjugated poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(lactic acid) nanoparticles (ConA-NPs) were prepared for targeted drug delivery to the cervical lymph nodes after intranasal administration. ConA, a lectin specifically binding to α-mannose and α-glucose, was covalently conjugated on NPs without loss of its carbohydrates binding bioactivity. In vitro cellular uptake experiment demonstrated that NPs could be uptaken by Calu-3 cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, and conjugation of ConA on NPs could significantly increase the rate and amount of cellular uptake. ConA-NP showed no obvious toxicity to Calu-3 cells in vitro or to the nasal cilia of rats in vivo. Compared with NPs without ConA, ConA-NP is more effective in targeting drugs to the deep cervical lymph nodes, as evidenced by 1.36-2.52 times increase of targeting efficiency, demonstrating that ConA-NP is a potential carrier for targeted drug delivery to the cervical lymph nodes via nasal route.