Advanced Drug Delivery to the Lymphatic System: Lipid-Based Nanoformulations.
Advanced drug delivery to the lymphatic system: lipid-based nanoformulations.
Int J Nanomedicine. 2013; 8: 2733-44
Khan AA, Mudassir J, Mohtar N, Darwis Y
The delivery of drugs and bioactive compounds via the lymphatic system is complex and dependent on the physiological uniqueness of the system. The lymphatic route plays an important role in transporting extracellular fluid to maintain homeostasis and in transferring immune cells to injury sites, and is able to avoid first-pass metabolism, thus acting as a bypass route for compounds with lower bioavailability, ie, those undergoing more hepatic metabolism. The lymphatic route also provides an option for the delivery of therapeutic molecules, such as drugs to treat cancer and human immunodeficiency virus, which can travel through the lymphatic system. Lymphatic imaging is useful in evaluating disease states and treatment plans for progressive diseases of the lymph system. Novel lipid-based nanoformulations, such as solid lipid nanoparticles and nanostructured lipid carriers, have unique characteristics that make them promising candidates for lymphatic delivery. These formulations are superior to colloidal carrier systems because they have controlled release properties and provide better chemical stability for drug molecules. However, multiple factors regulate the lymphatic delivery of drugs. Prior to lymphatic uptake, lipid-based nanoformulations are required to undergo interstitial hindrance that modulates drug delivery. Therefore, uptake and distribution of lipid-based nanoformulations by the lymphatic system depends on factors such as particle size, surface charge, molecular weight, and hydrophobicity. Types of lipid and concentration of the emulsifier are also important factors affecting drug delivery via the lymphatic system. All of these factors can cause changes in intermolecular interactions between the lipid nanoparticle matrix and the incorporated drug, which in turn affects uptake of drug into the lymphatic system. Two lipid-based nanoformulations, ie, solid lipid nanoparticles and nanostructured lipid carriers, have been administered via multiple routes (subcutaneous, pulmonary, and intestinal) for targeting of the lymphatic system. This paper provides a detailed review of novel lipid-based nanoformulations and their lymphatic delivery via different routes, as well as the in vivo and in vitro models used to study drug transport in the lymphatic system. Physicochemical properties that influence lymphatic delivery as well as the advantages of lipid-based nanoformulations for lymphatic delivery are also discussed. HubMed – drug
Applications of nanotechnology for melanoma treatment, diagnosis, and theranostics.
Int J Nanomedicine. 2013; 8: 2677-88
Chen J, Shao R, Zhang XD, Chen C
Melanoma is the most aggressive type of skin cancer and has very high rates of mortality. An early stage melanoma can be surgically removed, with a survival rate of 99%. However, metastasized melanoma is difficult to cure. The 5-year survival rates for patients with metastasized melanoma are still below 20%. Metastasized melanoma is currently treated by chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy and radiotherapy. The outcome of most of the current therapies is far from optimistic. Although melanoma patients with a mutation in the oncogene v-Raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B1 (BRAF) have an initially higher positive response rate to targeted therapy, the majority develop acquired drug resistance after 6 months of the therapy. To increase treatment efficacy, early diagnosis, more potent pharmacological agents, and more effective delivery systems are urgently needed. Nanotechnology has been extensively studied for melanoma treatment and diagnosis, to decrease drug resistance, increase therapeutic efficacy, and reduce side effects. In this review, we summarize the recent progress on the development of various nanoparticles for melanoma treatment and diagnosis. Several common nanoparticles, including liposome, polymersomes, dendrimers, carbon-based nanoparticles, and human albumin, have been used to deliver chemotherapeutic agents, and small interfering ribonucleic acids (siRNAs) against signaling molecules have also been tested for the treatment of melanoma. Indeed, several nanoparticle-delivered drugs have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and are currently in clinical trials. The application of nanoparticles could produce side effects, which will need to be reduced so that nanoparticle-delivered drugs can be safely applied in the clinical setting. HubMed – drug
Accelerated killing of cancer cells using a multifunctional single-walled carbon nanotube-based system for targeted drug delivery in combination with photothermal therapy.
Int J Nanomedicine. 2013; 8: 2653-67
Jeyamohan P, Hasumura T, Nagaoka Y, Yoshida Y, Maekawa T, Kumar DS
The photothermal effect of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in combination with the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) for targeting and accelerated destruction of breast cancer cells is demonstrated in this paper. A targeted drug-delivery system was developed for selective killing of breast cancer cells with polyethylene glycol biofunctionalized and DOX-loaded SWCNTs conjugated with folic acid. In our work, in vitro drug-release studies showed that the drug (DOX) binds at physiological pH (pH 7.4) and is released only at a lower pH, ie, lysosomal pH (pH 4.0), which is the characteristic pH of the tumor environment. A sustained release of DOX from the SWCNTs was observed for a period of 3 days. SWCNTs have strong optical absorbance in the near-infrared (NIR) region. In this special spectral window, biological systems are highly transparent. Our study reports that under laser irradiation at 800 nm, SWCNTs exhibited strong light-heat transfer characteristics. These optical properties of SWCNTs open the way for selective photothermal ablation in cancer therapy. It was also observed that internalization and uptake of folate-conjugated NTs into cancer cells was achieved by a receptor-mediated endocytosis mechanism. Results of the in vitro experiments show that laser was effective in destroying the cancer cells, while sparing the normal cells. When the above laser effect was combined with DOX-conjugated SWCNTs, we found enhanced and accelerated killing of breast cancer cells. Thus, this nanodrug-delivery system, consisting of laser, drug, and SWCNTs, looks to be a promising selective modality with high treatment efficacy and low side effects for cancer therapy. HubMed – drug