No abstract

The proposed method permitted the preparation of smart hydrogel particles in one step with almost 100% encapsulation yield. The temperature-sensitive release profiles suggest that the obtained spherical-shaped biomaterials are suitable as protein carriers. These stimuli-responsive beads could have potential to be used in pharmaceutical or other biomedical applications, including tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

The incidence of chronic wounds is increasing due to our aging population and the augment of people afflicted with diabetes. With the extended knowledge on the biological mechanisms underlying these diseases, there is a novel influx of medical technologies into the conventional wound care market. Recent Advances: Several nanotechnologies have been developed demonstrating unique characteristics that address specific problems related to wound repair mechanisms. In this review, we focus on the most recently developed nanotechnology-based therapeutic agents and evaluate the efficacy of each treatment in in vivo diabetic models of chronic wound healing. Critical Issues: Despite the development of potential biomaterials and nanotechnology-based applications for wound healing, this scientific knowledge is not translated into an increase of commercially available wound healing products containing nanomaterials. Future Directions: Further studies are critical to provide insights into how scientific evidences from nanotechnology-based therapies can be applied in the clinical setting.

Redox-responsive polymersomes were prepared by self-assembly of a hydrophobically modified keratin and employing a water addition/solvent evaporation method. Polyethylene glycol-40 stearate (PEG40ST) was chosen as hydrophobic block to be coupled to keratin via radical grafting. The amphiphilic polymer exhibited low critical aggregation concentration (CAC; 10 μg/mL), indicating a good thermodynamic stability. The polymeric vesicles loaded both hydrophilic methotrexate and hydrophobic curcumin with high entrapment efficiencies, and showed a GSH-dependent drug release rate. Confocal studies on HeLa cells revealed that the obtained polymersomes were efficiently internalized. Biocompatibility properties of the proposed delivery vehicle were assessed in HET-CAM test and Balb-3T3 mouse fibroblasts. Polymersomes loaded with either methotrexate or curcumin inhibited HeLa and CHO-K1 cancer cells proliferation. Overall, the proposed keratin polymersomes could be efficient nanocarriers for chemotherapeutic agents.

The establishment of tumor microenvironment using biomimetic in vitro models that recapitulate key tumor hallmarks including the tumor supporting extracellular matrix (ECM) is in high demand for accelerating the discovery and preclinical validation of more effective anticancer therapeutics. To date, ECM‐mimetic hydrogels have been widely explored for 3D in vitro disease modeling owing to their bioactive properties that can be further adapted to the biochemical and biophysical properties of native tumors. Gathering on this momentum, herein the current landscape of intrinsically bioactive protein and peptide hydrogels that have been employed for 3D tumor modeling are discussed. Initially, the importance of recreating such microenvironment and the main considerations for generating ECM‐mimetic 3D hydrogel in vitro tumor models are showcased. A comprehensive discussion focusing protein, peptide, or hybrid ECM‐mimetic platforms employed for modeling cancer cells/stroma cross‐talk and for the preclinical evaluation of candidate anticancer therapies is also provided. Further development of tumor‐tunable, proteinaceous or peptide 3D microtesting platforms with microenvironment‐specific biophysical and biomolecular cues will contribute to better mimic the in vivo scenario, and improve the predictability of preclinical screening of generalized or personalized therapeutics.