Exosomes are a valuable biomaterial for the development of novel nanocarriers as functionally advanced drug delivery systems. To control and modify the performance of exosomal nanocarriers, we developed hybrid exosomes by fusing their membranes with liposomes using the freeze–thaw method. Exosomes embedded with a specific membrane protein isolated from genetically modified cells were fused with various liposomes, confirming that membrane engineering methods can be combined with genetic modification techniques. Cellular uptake studies performed using the hybrid exosomes revealed that the interactions between the developed exosomes and cells could be modified by changing the lipid composition or the properties of the exogenous lipids. These results suggest that the membrane-engineering approach reported here offers a new strategy for developing rationally designed exosomes as hybrid nanocarriers for use in advanced drug delivery systems.

Nanosize hydrogels (nanogels) are polymer nanoparticles with three-dimensional networks, formed by chemical and/or physical cross-linking of polymer chains. Recently, various nanogels have been designed, with a particular focus on biomedical applications. In this review, we describe recent progress in the synthesis of nanogels and nanogel-integrated hydrogels (nanogel cross-linked gels) for drug-delivery systems (DDS), regenerative medicine, and bioimaging. We also discuss chaperone-like functions of physical cross-linking nanogel (chaperoning engineering) and organic-inorganic hybrid nanogels.

We have been studying the formation of hydrogel nanoparticles by the self-aggregation of hydrophobized polysaccharide and the effective complexation between these nanoparticles as a host and various globular soluble proteins as a guest. This paper describes a new finding that refolding of the heat-denatured enzyme effectively occurs with the nanoparticles and beta-cyclodextrin according to a mechanism similar to that of a molecular chaperone. In particular, the irreversible aggregation of carbonic anhydrase B (CAB) upon heating was completely prevented by complexation between the heat-denatured enzyme and hydrogel nanoparticles formed by the self-aggregation of cholesteryl group-bearing pullulan (CHP). The complexed CAB was released by dissociation of the self-aggregate upon the addition of beta-cyclodextrin. The released CAB refolded to the native form, and almost 100% recovery of the activity was achieved. The thermal stability of CAB was drastically improved by capture of the unfolded form which was then released to undergo refolding.

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Various types of lipid membrane-incorporated C60 with high C60 concentrations can be prepared easily in several hours using the C60 exchange method and the photocleaving activity of cationic lipid membrane-incorporated C60 was appreciably higher than that of the C60.gamma-CDx complex.

As "biotransporting nanofactories", in vivo therapeutic biocatalyst nanoreactors would enable encapsulated enzymes to transform inert prodrugs or neutralize toxic compounds at target disease sites. This would offer outstanding potential for next-generation therapeutic platforms, such as enzyme prodrug therapy. Designing such advanced materials has, however, proven challenging. Here, it is shown that self-assembled nanofactories formulate with polymeric vesicles with an intrinsically permeable membrane. The vesicles, CAPsomes, are composed of carbohydrate-b-poly(propylene glycol) and show molecular-weight-depended permeability. This property enables CAPsomes to act as biocatalyst nanoreactors, protecting encapsulated enzymes from degradation while acting on low-molecular-weight substrates. In tumor bearing mice, combined treatment with enzyme-loaded CAPsomes and doxorubicin prodrug inhibit tumor growth in these mice without any observable toxicity. The results demonstrate, for the first time, in vivo therapeutic efficacy of CAPsomes as nanofactories for enzyme prodrug cancer therapy.

Dynamic CHP-CD nanogels, which consisted of a self-assembly of cholesteryl-group-bearing pullulan (CHP) and beta-cyclodextrin (CD), were characterized by SEC and SEC-MALS methods. The nanogels prevented the thermal aggregation of carbonic anhydrase B (CAB) by selective trapping of the heat-denatured protein. After the complex between the CHP-CD nanogels and CAB was cooled, the enzyme activity of CAB spontaneously recovered upon release from the complex. The dynamic nanogels self-regulated an association of heat denatured protein and dissociation of native protein depending on the concentration of CD. The thermal stability of CAB was improved by thermoresponsive controlled association between the proteins and the artificial molecular chaperone.

We developed a new self-assembled amphiphilic nanogel-crosslinked porous (NanoCliP) gel that can trap proteins, liposomes, and cells. The NanoCliP gel was prepared by Michael addition of a self-assembled nanogel of acryloyl group-modified cholesterol-bearing pullulan to pentaerythritol tetra (mercaptoethyl) polyoxyethylene, followed by freezing-induced phase separation. Dynamic rheological analysis revealed that the storage modulus (G') of the NanoCliP gel was approximately 10 times greater than that of a nonporous nanogel-crosslinked gel. Two-photon excitation deep imaging revealed that the NanoCliP gel comprises interconnected pores of several hundred micrometers in diameter. The NanoCliP gel trapped proteins and liposomes via hydrophobic interactions because its amphiphilic nanogels exhibit chaperone-like activity. Mouse embryonic fibroblasts penetrated the interconnected pores and adhered to the porous surface of fibronectin-complexed NanoCliP gel. In vivo, the NanoCliP gel enhanced cell infiltration, tissue ingrowth, and neovascularization without requiring exogenous growth factors, suggesting that the NanoCliP gel is a promising scaffold for tissue engineering.