Polymeric micelles: Theranostic co-delivery system for poorly water-soluble drugs and contrast agents.

Interest in theranostic agents has continued to grow because of their promise for simultaneous cancer detection and therapy. A platform-based nanosized combination agent suitable for the enhanced diagnosis and treatment of cancer was prepared using polymeric polyethylene glycol-phosphatidylethanolamine-based micelles loaded with both, poorly soluble chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel and hydrophobic superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION), a Magnetic Resonance Imaging contrast agent. The co-loaded paclitaxel and SPION did not affect each other's functional properties in vitro. In vivo, the resulting paclitaxel-SPION-co-loaded PEG-PE micelles retained their Magnetic Resonance contrast properties and apoptotic activity in breast and melanoma tumor mouse models. Such theranostic systems are likely to play a significant role in the combined diagnosis and therapy that leads to a more personalized and effective form of treatment.

Design of multifunctional non-viral gene vectors to overcome physiological barriers: dilemmas and strategies.

Gene-based therapeutics hold great promise for medical advancement and have been used to treat various human diseases with mixed success. However, their therapeutic application in vivo is limited due largely to several physiological barriers. The design of non-viral gene vectors with the ability to overcome delivery obstacles is currently under extensive investigation. These efforts have placed an emphasis on the development of multifunctional vectors able to execute multiple tasks to simultaneously overcome both extracellular and intracellular obstacles. However, the assembly of these different functionalities into a single system to create multifunctional gene vectors faces many conflicts that largely limit the safe and efficient application of lipoplexes and polyplexes in a systemic delivery. In the review, we have described the dilemmas inherent in the design of a viable, non-viral gene vector equipped with multiple functionalities. The strategies directed towards individual delivery barriers are first summarized, followed by a focus on the design of so-called smart multifunctional vectors with the capability to overcome the delivery difficulties of gene medicines, including the so-called the "polycation dilemma", the "PEG dilemma" and the "package and release dilemma".

Size-selective template-assisted electrophoretic assembly of nanoparticles for biosensing applications.

The precise, size-selective assembly of nanoparticles gives rise to many applications where the assembly of nano building blocks with different biological or chemical functionalizations is necessary. We introduce a simple, fast, reproducible-directed assembly technique that enables a complete sorting of nanoparticles with single-particle resolution. Nanoparticles are size-selectively assembled into prefabricated via arrays using a sequential template-directed electrophoretic assembly method. Polystyrene latex (PSL) nanoparticles with diameters ranging from 200 to 50 nm are selectively assembled into vias comparable to nanoparticle diameter. We investigate the effects of particle size and via size on the sorting efficiency. We show that complete sorting can be achieved when the size of the vias is close to the diameter of the nanoparticles and the size distribution of the chosen nanoparticles does not overlap. The results also show that it is necessary to keep the electric field on during the insertion and removal of the template. To elucidate the versatility and nil effects that the electrophoresis assembly technique has on the assembled nanoparticle characteristics, we have assembled cancer-specific monoclonal antibody-2C5-coated nanoparticles and have also shown that they can successfully measure low concentrations of the nucleosome (NS) antigen.