IIT-Hyderabad team develops therapy to treat cancer

Researchers from IIT hyderabad develop combination of photothermal therapy and chemotherapy using naturally derived anticancer agen

The role played by bacterial infections in the onset and metastasis of cancer

Understanding various responses of cells towards change in their external environment, presence of other species and is important in identifying and correlating the mechanisms leading to malignant transformations and cancer development. Although uncovering and comprehending the association between bacteria and cancer is highly challenging, it promises excellent perspectives and approaches for successful cancer therapy. This review introduces various bacterial species, their virulence factors, and their role in cell transformations leading to cancer (particularly gastric, oral, colon, and breast cancer). Bacterial dysbiosis permutates host cells, causes inflammation, and results in tumorigenesis. This review explored bacterial-mediated host cell transformation causing chronic inflammation, immune receptor hyperactivation/absconding immune recognition, and genomic instability. Bacterial infections downregulate E-cadherin, leading to loosening of epithelial tight junction polarity and triggers metastasis. In addition to understanding the role of bacterial infections in cancer development, we have also reviewed the application of bacteria for cancer therapy. The emergence of bacteriotherapy combined with conventional therapies led to new and effective ways of overcoming challenges associated with available treatments. This review discusses the application of bacterial minicells, microswimmers, and outer cell membrane vesicles (OMV) for drug delivery applications. © 2021 The Author(s

IIT-Hyderabad develops combination therapy

Researchers from IIT Hyderabad develop combination of photothermal therapy and chemotherapy using naturally derived anticancer agen

IIT Hyderabad team uses plant extract, heat to kill cancer cells

IIT Hyderabad used chlorophyll-rich extract of a medicinal plant encapsulated in nanoparticles along with a dye to kill cancer cells when exposed to near-infrared light. The cancer cells were killed through reactive oxygen species-mediated autophagy. The extract was selective in killing only cancer cells

Development of label-free gold nanoparticle based rapid colorimetric assay for clinical/point-of-care screening of cervical cancer

Cervical cancer is the fourth largest cancer, affecting women across the globe. Rapid screening is of vital importance for diagnosis and treatment of the disease, especially in developing countries with high risk populations. In this paper, we report a simple, novel and rapid approach for qualitative screening of cervical cancer. A label-free colorimetric technique ("C-ColAur") involving the in situ formation of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) in the presence of clinical samples is demonstrated. The as-formed Au NPs, owing to the sample composition produced a characteristic color that can be used for the qualitative detection of malignancy. We demonstrated the proof of principle using clinical samples (cervical fluid) collected from both cancer affected and healthy individuals. The results of the detection technique, "C-ColAur"when compared with those of the existing conventional diagnostic procedures (i.e. Pap smear or biopsy), showed 96.42% sensitivity. With the detection time less than a minute and with no/minimal sample processing requirements, the proposed technique shows great potential for point-of-care as well as clinical screening of cervical cancer. © The Royal Society of Chemistry

Casein nanoformulations - Potential biomaterials in theranostics

Casein is a milk protein emerging as a potential nanosystem for applications in therapy and diagnosis. Casein consists of four major phosphoproteins with their homologous primary amino acid sequences into the following families αs1, αs2, β, and κ-casein. In the aqueous phase, casein forms micelles binding with colloidal calcium phosphate. Biocompatibility, high drug binding/encapsulation capability, potential to cross the blood-brain barrier, and targeted cellular uptake are a few of the properties of casein micelles, enabling their application in therapy. This review discusses various components, properties, and functions of casein phosphoproteins and casein micelles. Application-specific cross-linking mechanisms and different synthesis approaches are also discussed. This review extensively explores casein's structural and functional properties and its biomedical application: targeted drug delivery and tissue engineering. The potential applications of casein-based complexes for treating iron deficiency anaemia and casein-derived peptides for inhibition of neuronal cognitive disorders are also discussed in this review. © 2022 Elsevier Lt

Facile Synthesis of Fluorescent Polymer Encapsulated Metal (PoeM) Nanoparticles for Imaging and Therapeutic Applications

Polyethylene glycol (PEG), known for its biocompatibility and biodegradability has been in use for surface coating of nanoparticles. PEG coating prevents opsonization thereby enhancing the systemic circulation time of nanoparticles. It is non-fluorescent in nature requiring additional conjugation with fluorescent dye molecules for tracking the nanoparticles. In the current work, PEG was converted into fluorescent PEG (FL PEG) through a facile one pot synthesis approach. This eliminates the need for additional fluorescent tag for tracking the nanoparticles. FL PEG showed excellent biocompatibility with normal cell lines (L929). There was a delayed uptake of FL PEG by zebrafish embryos which indicated the systemic circulation enhancement property of PEG. Fluorescent polymer encapsulated metal nanoparticles (PoeM NPs) were prepared using FL PEG as a coating agent. The anti-bacterial & photothermal therapy by PoeM NPs were demonstrated. PoeM (Ag) NPs showed a significant antibacterial effect equivalent to that of Gentamicin (broad spectrum antibiotic). PoeM (Au) nanoshells (NS) were prepared by galvanic replacement of PoeM (Ag) NPs. They were further used for photothermal therapy of cancer cells. They showed 67±0.5% of cancer cell death when subjected to NIR laser irradiation. Thus, FL PEG based PoeM NPs could lead to the development of multifunctional nanosystems to be deployed for both imaging & therapeutic applications

Biodegradable/disintegrable nanohybrids for photothermal theranostics

Nanohybrids using biocompatible and biodegradable materials are explored for their photothermal mediated theranostic applications. These hybrids are so chosen that they are biocompatible and biodegradable. Gold-based different nanosystems have NIR absorption which is highly favored for PTT, but they are limited by their toxicity, stability, and clearance. To overcome these challenges, we have demonstrated thermosensitive liposome-gold hybrid nanosystem for photothermal therapy and its clearance in vivo for the first time. We have also explored the possibility of using the same hybrid as drug (curcumin) carrier for triggered delivery and were successful in using curcumin as an adjuvant to PTT. Thermoresponsive polymers coated with gold for photothermal therapy and X-ray imaging of deep seated tumors has been evaluated. Fluorescent Poly (ethylene glycol) encapsulated metal nanoparticles were also synthesized and their application for cancer theranostics has been explored. Biodegradable and biocompatible polymer (PLGA) and liposomes loaded with anticancer plant fraction and a NIR dye showed synergistic photo-chemo therapy against cancer in-vitro & in-vivo. The intracellular changes with PTT and the mechanistic action of anti-cancer agent were explored in detail

Photothermal therapy assisted bioactive nanoprobes for effective cancer theranostics

Development of smart bioactive materials which can be ideal for cancer therapy is the need of the hour. In the current study, we have entrapped a bioactive hydrophobic plant fraction into a polymeric and liposomal nanoprobes. Various parameters like size, photothermal efficacy, release and therapeutic efficacy in cancer cells were evaluated. We found that both the nanosystem are efficient in terms of the photothermal transduction efficacy. However, the relative cellular internalization and therapeutic efficacy were higher in the case of the polymeric nano probes. Further in-vivo studies can help to translate them as technology-driven active cancer theranostic agents

The “nano to micro” transition of hydrophobic curcumin crystals leading to in situ adjuvant depots for Au-liposome nanoparticle mediated enhanced photothermal therapy

Photothermal therapy (PTT) is emerging as a promising treatment for skin cancer. Plasmon-resonant gold-coated liposome nanoparticles (Au Lipos NPs) specifically absorb Near Infra-Red (NIR) light resulting in localized hyperthermia (PTT). In the current study, curcumin (a hydrophobic anticancer agent) was entrapped in Au Lipos NPs as nanocrystals to act as an adjuvant for the PTT of melanoma. NIR light irradiation on Au Lipos Cur NPs triggered the release of curcumin nanocrystals which coalesce to form curcumin microcrystals (CMCs). An in situ "nano to micro" transition in the crystal state of curcumin was observed. This in situ transition leads to the formation of CMCs. These CMCs exhibited sustained release of curcumin for a prolonged duration (>10 days). The localized availability of curcumin aids in enhancing PTT by inhibiting the growth and mobility of cancer cells that escape PTT. In the in vitro modified scratch assay, the Au Lipos Cur NP + Laser group showed >1.5 fold enhanced therapeutic coverage when compared with the Au Lipos NP + Laser group. In vivo PTT studies performed in a B16 tumor model using Au Lipos Cur NPs showed a significant reduction of the tumor volume along with the localized release of curcumin in the tumor environment. It was observed that the localized release of curcumin enables an immediate adjuvant effect resulting in the enhancement of PTT