The use of cytotoxic chemotherapic agents is the most common method for the treatment of metastatic cancers. Poor water solubility and low efficiency of chemotherapic agents are among the major hurdles of effective chemotherapy treatments. Curcumin and paclitaxel are well-known chemotherapic agents with poor water solubility and undesired side effects. In this study, a novel drug nanocarrier system was formulated by encapsulating curcumin and paclitaxel in poly(β-cyclodextrin triazine) (PCDT) for the therapy of four cancer models; ovarian, lung, prostate, and breast cancer. Cell viability and colony formation assays revealed enhanced curcumin cytotoxicity upon complexation. Annexin V apoptotic studies showed that the PCDT complexation improved curcumin induced apoptosis in human ovarian cancer cell lines A2780 and SKOV-3, human nonsmall cell lung carcinoma cell line H1299, and human prostate cancer line DU-145, while no significant effect was observed with paclitaxel/PCDT complexation. The bioactivity of combining curcumin and paclitaxel was also investigated. A synergism was found between curcumin and paclitaxel, particularly when complexed with PCDT on A2780, SKOV-3, and H1299 cancer cell lines.

Cross-linked hydrogels are synthesized from hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA), polyethyleneglycol methacrylate (PEGMA), and N-[tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl]-acrylamide (HMMA) [p(HEMA-co-PEGMA-co-HMMA) hydrogels] containing 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, or 12 M % of the cross-linker tetraethyleneglycol diacrylate (TEGDA) and are loaded during synthesis with the well-known redox mediator, ferrocene monocarboxylic acid (FcCOOH). In the absence of FcCOOH, the M% TEGDA in deionized (DI) water (48%; 1 mol % TEGDA to 32%; 12 mol % TEGDA) scales with the cross-link density in accordance with Flory-Huggins-Rehner theory. The release profiles of FcCOOH from hydrogel slabs (43.0 mM) into 0.1 M HEPES/0.1 M KCl buffer are determined from the oxidation peak current of FcCOOH via cyclic voltammetry (100 mV/s) and are decidedly Fickian with overall diffusion coefficients that range from 2.64 x 10(-8) cm(2)/s (1 mol % TEGDA) to 4.87 x 10(-9) cm(2)/s (12 mol % TEGDA) and with n parameters that approximated 0.5 but nonetheless linearly declined from 0.49 (1 mol %) to 0.42 (12 mol %). Diffusion coefficients, like hydration, strongly correlate with the M% TEGDA and hence with the cross-link density or the molecular weight (MW) between cross-links. The temperature dependence of the release profiles measured at 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, and 45 degrees C reveal thermally activated transport with activation energies that are 30 kJ/mol (3 mol %), 36 kJ/mol (5 mol %), 45 kJ/mol (7 mol %), 47 kJ/mol (9 mol %) and 57 kJ/mol (12 mol %). Covalent tethering of the FcCOOH via the UV-polymerizable monomers ferrocene monomethacrylate (Fc-AEMA) and ferrocene polyethylene glycol monomethacrylate (Fc-PEG(3500)-AEMA) to produce pendant redox moieties is shown to eliminate or attenuate release of Fc. While, Fc-AEMA showed no evidence of release (0%) from the hydrogel, its PEG-conjugated equivalent, Fc-PEG(3500)-AEMA, shows release of 16% Fc after 5 days of immersion. These hydrogels will serve as the immobilization matrix for oxidoreductase enzymes of biosensors and the parameters obtained used in the modeling of such systems.

A novel, water-soluble trans-platinum complex was synthesized by inclusion complexation with beta-cyclodextrin. The complexation was confirmed by (1)H NMR, FT-IR, TGA, and XRD as well as by SEM and EDX. As the precursor complex is not water-soluble, it is difficult to employ it for biological applications. Here, we report that the encapsulation with cyclodextrin allowed to solubilize the complex to a solubility value of 1.6 mg/mL. Moreover, the cytotoxicity in vitro of the novel inclusion complex indicated a much higher activity after encapsulation.

Herein, a single-step, scalable approach for preparing a multifunctional, theranostic drug delivery system made out of paclitaxel, iron oxide nanoparticles, gold nanoparticles, and poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(ε-caprolactone) is reported.