Biocompatible and biodegradable nanoparticles for enhancement of anti-cancer activities of phytochemicals

Abstract

Many phytochemicals show promise in cancer prevention and treatment, but their low aqueous solubility, poor stability, unfavorable bioavailability, and low target specificity make administering them at therapeutic doses unrealistic. This is particularly true for (–)-epigallocatechin gallate, curcumin, quercetin, resveratrol, and genistein. There is an increasing interest in developing novel delivery strategies for these natural products. Liposomes, micelles, nanoemulsions, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers and poly (lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles are biocompatible and biodegradable nanoparticles. Those nanoparticles can increase the stability and solubility of phytochemicals, exhibit a sustained release property, enhance their absorption and bioavailability, protect them from premature enzymatic degradation or metabolism, prolong their circulation time, improve their target specificity to cancer cells or tumors via passive or targeted delivery, lower toxicity or side-effects to normal cells or tissues through preventing them from prematurely interacting with the biological environment, and enhance anti-cancer activities. Nanotechnology opens a door for developing phytochemical-loaded nanoparticles for prevention and treatment of cancer.

Therapeutic Applications of Curcumin Nanomedicine Formulations in Cardiovascular Diseases

“…Nanomedicine is bridging the gap between pharmaceutical limitations and the therapeutic potentials of natural phytochemicals by improving the compound's targeting, pharmacokinetics, efficacy, and cellular uptake [73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80]. Many studies have focused on CUR nanotechnology mediated drug delivery formulations in optimization the therapeutics uses of CUR for various diseases, such as cancer therapy [81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90], neurodegenerative disorders [91,92], wound healing [93], diabetes [94,95], and inflammatory diseases [96].…”

Recent developments in solid lipid nanoparticle and surface-modified solid lipid nanoparticle delivery systems for oral delivery of phyto-bioactive compounds in various chronic diseases

“…57,58 SLNs have been extensively used in many studies to orally deliver bioactive compounds with an enhanced anticancer effect. 17,57,[59][60][61][62] Genistein is a phytoestrogen that is extensively used for hormone-related cancers, and it has limited bioavailability. Recently, genisteinloaded solid lipid microparticles (SLMs) with a particle size of 6 µm were compared with SLNs with a particle size of about 120 nm in terms of their bioavailability.…”

PhytoNanotechnology: Enhancing Delivery of Plant Based Anti-cancer Drugs

“…An exhaustive review of the nanotech platforms for delivering some phytoconstituents as liposomes, nanoemulsions, micelles, SLNPs, and nanolipid carriers (NLCs) has been discussed with remarkable increase in their anticancer activity, an outcome of nanotechnology advantages (Chuan et al, 2015). A detailed summary of the application of nanotechnology for delivery of combination chemotherapy with many advantages over conventional combination therapy is presented and they have described many phytodrug combinations with synthetic and nature derived anticancer drugs (PCT and ETP; TPT and VCR; VCR and QUR; PCT and DOX; CUR and DOX; PCT and CUR to mention some) that have been developed as NPs, liposomes, lipid-polymer hybrid NPs and micelles delivering enhanced therapeutic efficacy for the combination drugs (Chen et al, 2017).…”