Organic nanoparticle systems for spatiotemporal control of multimodal chemotherapy

Abstract

Introduction Chemotherapeutic drugs are used in combination to target multiple mechanisms involved in cancer cell survival and proliferation. Carriers are developed to deliver drug combinations to common target tissues in optimal ratios and desirable sequences. Nanoparticles (NP) have been a popular choice for this purpose due to their ability to increase the circulation half-life and tumor accumulation of a drug. Areas covered We review organic NP carriers based on polymers, proteins, peptides, and lipids for simultaneous delivery of multiple anticancer drugs, drug/sensitizer combinations, drug/photodynamic- or photothermal therapy combinations, and drug/gene therapeutics with examples in the past three years. Sequential delivery of drug combinations, based on either sequential administration or built-in release control, is introduced with an emphasis on the mechanistic understanding of such control. Expert opinion Recent studies demonstrate how a drug carrier can contribute to co-localizing drug combinations in optimal ratios and dosing sequences to maximize the synergistic effects. We identify several areas for improvement in future research, including the choice of drug combinations, circulation stability of carriers, spatiotemporal control of drug release, and the evaluation and clinical translation of combination delivery.

Anticancer peptide: Physicochemical property, functional aspect and trend in clinical application (Review)

“…Similarly, another drug delivery system, known as nanoparticles, can carry ACPs to tumor sites without enzymatic degradation and can then enter inaccessible tumor sites (114). However, anticancer drug-carrying nanoparticles should be optimized for synergistic effect, drug release control, circulating stability and drug combination (115). Moreover, binding peptides could be modified to protect enzymatic digestion, penetrate cancer cell or organelle membranes, specifically bind to cancer targets and stimulate biological cells around tumor environments (116).…”

Application of Nanomaterials in Biomedical Imaging and Cancer Therapy

“…Combination chemotherapy is used in the treatment of a broad range of cancers. Nanoparticles are essential to delivering many of these drugs to the target site and also provide a theranostic platform for multifunction [ 147 ]. Multidrug-loaded NPs formulation consists of different classes of therapeutic agents.…”

Utilização de Nanopartículas no Tratamento do Câncer: Aspectos Gerais, Mecanismos de Ação Antineoplásicos e Aplicabilidades Tumorais

“…Além da Green Technology, outras aplicabilidades vêm surgindo ao longo dos anos envolvendo NP no tratamento do câncer, como, por exemplo, a fototerapia e a terapia fototermal. A fototerapia é uma combinação direta com quimioterápicos, na qual fotossensibilizadores são acionados a partir de uma fonte de irradiação, tornando--se uma vertente de aplicação mais segura e específica, já que as NP serão ativadas na região do corpo onde a luz for concentrada 67 .…”

“…Outro tipo de aplicação recente com NP é a terapia gênica. Nessa terapia, pequenas moléculas que podem interferir ou alterar a estrutura de DNA são incorporadas no interior das NP, como plasmídeos de DNA, miRNA ou RNA de interferência 67 , como mostrado nos estudos de Devulapally et al 55 e Xiang et al 54 Terapias que utilizam genes interferentes e quimioterapia são favoráveis para a erradicação de tumores, mas enfrentam desafios como a estrutura pequena de seus materiais não alcançando efeitos consideráveis 67 . Os vírus também estão sendo estudados como novos agentes carreadores de drogas, por conterem características biocompatíveis com o corpo humano, facilidade de molde em vários tamanhos e formas, podendo ser conjugado junto com PEG para prolongar seu tempo na corrente sanguínea.…”