Conceptually new one-pot photoinduced sequential click reactions were implemented to yield novel block copolymers with the ability for cell adhesion. Poly(ε-caprolcatone) possessing clickable functional groups at the chain ends, namely α-alkynyl-ω-alkenyl-poly(ε-caprolactone) (A-PCL-MA), was prepared by ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone using propargyl alcohol in the presence of stannous octoate at 110 °C followed by esterification with methacrylic acid. Azide-functional poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA-N3) was prepared independently by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) followed by an azidation process using sodium azide. Finally, A-PCL-MA was reacted with PMMA-N3 and N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) in a one-pot process through photoinduced sequential click reactions to furnish desired bioactive block copolymer (PMMA-b-PCL-NAC). A matrix for cell adhesion was then prepared from the yielded block copolymer PMMA-b-PCL-NAC and cell proliferation on the matrix was measured. Cells from the Vero cell line (African green monkey kidney epithelial) were incubated on the matrix, and after 48 h, they showed greater cell proliferation than the commercially available cell culture plates used as comparison.

In the present study, two amphiphilic star-hyperbranched copolymers, poly(methyl methacrylate)-b-poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PMMA-b-PHEMA), with different hydrophilic PHEMA segment content (PMMA-b-PHEMA-1, and PMMA-b-PHEMA-2) were synthesized and their drug loading and release profiles were examined by using paclitaxel (PTX) as a model drug. Drug loading capacity and encapsulation efficiency were found to be similar in both polymers. Encapsulation efficiency found to be prominent with 98% and 98.5% for PMMA-b-PHEMA-1 and PMMA-b-PHEMA-2, respectively. On the other hand, drug release behaviors were varied in favor of the block copolymer comprising shorter PHEMA chains (PMMAb-PHEMA-1). Additionally, to assess biological effects of PTX-loaded polymers, human non-small cell lung carcinoma (A549) cells were used. Cell viability and cell cycle analysis showed that both polymers were not toxic to the cells. Cytotoxic effects of PTX-loaded PMMA-b-PHEMA-1 on A 549 cells were higher (66.49% cell viability at 5.0 ng/mL PTX) than that of PMMA-b-PHEMA-2 (72.47% cell viability at 5.0 ng/mL PTX) consistent with the drug release experiments.

No abstract

Most medicinal and pharmaceutical herbal extracts are poorly soluble in aqueous moieties and have reduced adsorption by living cells. Liposomal encapsulation of those so called phytosomes could be a solution to overcome this problem. Meanwhile, much research shows that metallic nanoparticles such as gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) exhibit biological activity such as wound healing and antioxidant properties on living cells. Here, we constructed a novel liposomal formulation by encapsulating both Calendula officinalis extract and AuNPs. After the preparation of vesicles using the traditional thin film hydration method within extrusion, the resulting AuNP-phytosomes were characterized by dynamic light scattering size measurements, zeta potential and atomic force microscopy. These vesicles are less than 100 nm in size and have a high encapsulation efficiency for chlorogenic acid and quercetin as the model major molecules of Calendula extract. Furthermore, AuNP-phytosomes exhibited antioxidant and wound healing activity significantly according to the free forms of each encapsulated material and the plain liposome as well as the phytosome form. Moreover, the cellular interactions of the vesicles were monitored using the nano-vesicles prepared by Texas-Red labelled lipids under fluorescence microscopy.

Theranostically engineered protoporphyrin IX/Gd3+encapsulated niosomes were prepared and used as multimodal theranostic agent.

The impressive properties of nanoparticles (NPs) have caused them to gain considerable attention for biological applications such as cancer therapy.

No abstract

Because of the great achievement and progress made for the generation of novel nanostructures, theranostic nanoplatforms have been the trending topic because of their intensive capability of therapy and diagnosis. Hence, theranostics have also recently been a generic strategy for personalized medicine. Moreover, traditional therapy modalities limit the use of chemotherapeutic agents for every patient, and this requires more effective drug-carrier systems by designing the formulation of drug in a specified way. Herein, we performed a generic theranostic platform in an "all-in-one" concept by the combination of two therapy modalities with an active targeting approach. To achieve this, 10 nm gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) were encapsulated into folic acid (FA-)tagged niosome vesicles. The resulting AuNP−PpIX−FA niosomes were characterized, and their particle size was93 ± 17 nm with a high surface charge and encapsulation efficiency (around 85%). In the case of bioapplications for AuNP−PpIX−FA niosomes, folate-receptor-positive [FR(+)] human cervical cancer (HeLa) and FR-negative [FR(−)] human alveolar type II (A549)-like cell lines were examined with the relative control groups of theranostic vesicles. By testing the toxicity of vesicles, nontoxic concentrations were successfully introduced to the cell with the combined treatment of radiotherapy and photodynamic therapy. On the other hand, the cellular uptake of niosomes also showed great potential for FR(+) HeLa cells as the theranostic platform with an all-in-one approach.