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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key regulatory elements encoded by the genome. A single miRNA can downregulate the expression of multiple genes involved in diverse functions. Because cancer is a disease with multiple gene aberrations, developing novel approaches to identify and modulate miRNA pathways may result in a breakthrough for cancer treatment. With a special focus on glioblastoma (GBM), this review provides an up-to-date summary of miRNA biogenesis, the role of miRNA in cancer resistance, and essential tools for modulating miRNA expression, as well as of clinically promising RNAi delivery systems and how they can be adapted for therapy.

Research efforts towards cancer therapeutics have resulted in the development of a variety of pharmacological molecules, including small synthetic molecules and biological drugs (RNA-based therapies and monoclonal antibodies-mAbs), intended to target tumor or immune-related cells, or their signaling mediators. The majority of them present important biopharmaceutical problems related to their difficulties for overcoming biological barriers and reach their targets. Nanotechnology has been, for more than 60 years, trying to solve these problems. As knowledge in drug discovery, molecular biology, and biomaterials advances, there has been significant progress in the adequate design of nanodelivery strategies that may significantly contribute to the exploitation of the new therapies. This review provides a critical overview of the current potential of nanotechnology to solve problems associated with the different categories of drugs. Starting with the general concept of passive and active targeting, it presents the distinct advantages that delivery technologies have shown to date for improving the therapeutic outcome of small drugs with cytotoxic activity, RNA-and mAb-based therapies. Moreover, it precisely describes the benefits of combining immunotherapies and nanotechnology. The most advanced technologies are put into perspective in relation to their translational pathway and the future avenues for nano-oncologicals.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear that there is a crucial need for the design and development of antiviral agents that can efficiently reduce the fatality rate caused by infectious diseases. The fact that coronavirus mainly enters through the nasal epithelial cells and spreads through the nasal passage makes the nasal delivery of antiviral agents a promising strategy not only to reduce viral infection but also its transmission. Peptides are emerging as powerful candidates for antiviral treatments, showing not only a strong antiviral activity, but also improved safety, efficacy, and higher specificity against viral pathogens. Based on our previous experience on the use of chitosan-based nanoparticles to deliver peptides intra-nasally the current study aimed to explore the delivery of two-novel antiviral peptides making use of nanoparticles consisting of HA/CS and DS/CS. The antiviral peptides were chemically synthesized, and the optimal conditions for encapsulating them were selected through a combination of physical entrapment and chemical conjugation using HA/CS and DS/CS nanocomplexes. Finally, we evaluated the in vitro neutralization capacity against SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-OC43 for potential use as prophylaxis or therapy.