Cancer is a grievous disease whose treatment requires a more efficient, non-invasive therapy, associated with minimal side effects. Gold nanoparticles possessing greatly impressive optical properties have been a forerunner in bioengineered cancer therapy. This theranostic system has gained immense popularity and finds its application in the field of molecular detection, biological imaging, cancer cell targeting, etc. The photothermal property of nanoparticles, especially of gold nanorods, causes absorption of the light incident by the light source, and transforms it into heat, resulting in tumor cell destruction. This review describes the different optical features of gold nanoparticles and summarizes the advance research done for the application of gold nanoparticles and precisely gold nanorods for combating various cancers including breast, lung, colon, oral, prostate, and pancreatic cancer.
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Lung cancer is the second most common cancer and the primary cause of cancer-related death in both men and women worldwide. Due to diagnosis at an advanced stage, it is associated with high mortality in the majority of patients. At present, various treatment approaches are available such as chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy. However, all these approaches usually cause serious side effects like degeneration of normal cells, bone marrow depression, alopecia, extensive vomiting, etc. To overcome the aforementioned problems, researchers have focused on the alternative therapeutic approach in which various natural compounds are reported, which possessed anti-lung cancer activity. Phytocompounds exhibit their anti-lung cancer activity via targeting various cell-signaling pathways, apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and regulating antioxidant status and detoxification. Apart from the excellent anti-cancer activity, clinical administration of phytocompounds is confined because of their high lipophilicity and low bioavailability. Therefore, researchers show their concern in the development of a stable, safe, and effective approach of treatment with minimal side effects by the development of nanoparticle-based delivery of these phytocompounds to the target site. Targeted delivery of phytocompound through nanoparticles overcomes the aforementioned problems. In this article, the molecular mechanism of phytocompounds, their emerging combination therapy, and their nanoparticles-based delivery systems in the treatment of lung cancer have been discussed.
Onychomycosis is a prominent fungal infection that causes discoloration, thickening, and mutilation leading to the separation of the nail from the nail bed. Treatment modalities for onychomycosis may include oral, topical, or combination therapy with antifungals and at times may require chemical or surgical intervention. The burden of side effects of antifungals is enormous, and therefore using molecular docking-based drug selection in context with the target keratin protein would ensure better disease management. Ciclopirox, Amorolfine HCl, Efinaconazole, Tioconazole, and Tavaborole were submitted for assessment, revealing that Amorolfine HCl is the best fit. Consequently, two formulations (Nail lacquer and nanoemulgel) were developed from Amorolfine HCl to validate the in silico screening outcomes. The formulations were further fortified with over-the-counter ingredients vis-a-vis with vitamin E in nail lacquer and undecylenic acid in nanoemulgel for their prominent roles in improving nail health. Both the formulations were systematically designed, optimized, and characterized. Amorolfine HCl containing nanoemulgel (NEG) was developed using undecylenic acid as an oil phase and thioglycolic acid as a penetration enhancer. The quality parameters evaluated were particle size, the zeta potential for nanoemulsion (NE) (78.04 ± 4.724 nm and −0.7mV, respectively), in vitro cumulative drug release (96.74% for NE and 88.54% for NEG), and transungual permeation (about 73.49% for NEG and 54.81% for NE). Nail lacquer was evaluated for the drying time, non-volatile content, and blush test. In vitro cumulative drug release of the developed nail lacquer and comparator marketed formulations were around 81.5% and 75%, respectively. Similarly, the transungual drug permeation was 6.32 μg/cm2 and 5.89 μg/cm2, respectively, in 24 h. The in silico guided preparation of both formulations containing Amorolfine HCl and over the counter ingredients is amenable for therapeutic use against onychomycosis and will be evaluated in the in vivo model.
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