SMART drug delivery systems: Back to the future vs. clinical reality

Recent advances in nanotechnology and material science have re-ignited interest in drug delivery research. Arguably, however, hardly any of the systems developed and strategies proposed are really relevant for shaping the future (clinical) face of the nanomedicine field. Consequently, as outlined in this commentary, instead of making ever more carrier materials, and making nanomedicine both science-fiction and fiction-science, we should try to come up with rational and realistic concepts to make nanomedicines work, in particular in patient

Азовська операція Революційної Повстанської Армії України (махновців)

В історії України знайдеться не так вже й багато явищ та подій, які б значимістю та силою переросли рамки регіональної та національної історії і ставали повноправними надбаннями історії всесвітньої. Ще менше подібних подій та явищ існувало на рівні південноукраїнського регіону. І було б логічно, якби такі явища посилено досліджувались істориками, а результати досліджень ставали надбанням якомога ширшого загалу, що перетворювало б ці явища на бренд, який швидко вгадувався і запам’ятовувся будь-де. Проте в умовах сучасної України ми цього не спостерігаємо

臨床応用の可能なマウス型モノクローナル抗体の作製 - 早期癌診断へのモノクローナル抗体2H6の応用 -

Here we present a facile synthetic method yielding a linear form of polydopamine via Kumada-coupling, which can be converted into water-soluble melanin, generating high contrast in photoacoustic imaging

Liposomal corticosteroids for the treatment of inflammatory disorders and cancer

Glucocorticoids (GC) are known for their potent immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory properties. As a consequence, they have been extensively used for the treatment of many different diseases. Prolonged and/or high-dose GC therapy, however, generally comes with severe side effects, resulting not only from their very diverse mechanism(s) of action, but also from their relatively poor biodistribution. Drug delivery systems, and in particular liposomes, have been extensively used to enhance the biodistribution and the target site accumulation of GC, and to thereby improve the balance between their efficacy and their toxicity. Many different types of liposomes have been employed, and both local and systemic treatments have been evaluated. We here summarize the progress made in the use of liposomal GC formulations for the treatment of asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and cancer, and we show that the targeted delivery of GC to pathological sites holds significant clinical potentia

Core-crosslinked polymeric micelles: principles, preparation, biomedical applications and clinical translation

Polymeric micelles (PM) are extensively used to improve the delivery of hydrophobic drugs. Many different PM have been designed and evaluated over the years, and some of them have steadily progressed through clinical trials. Increasing evidence suggests, however, that for prolonged circulation times and for efficient EPR-mediated drug targeting to tumors and to sites of inflammation, PM need to be stabilized, to prevent premature disintegration. Core-crosslinking is among the most popular methods to improve the in vivo stability of PM, and a number of core-crosslinked polymeric micelles (CCPM) have demonstrated promising efficacy in animal models. The latter is particularly true for CCPM in which (pro-) drugs are covalently entrapped. This ensures proper drug retention in the micelles during systemic circulation, efficient drug delivery to pathological sites via EPR, and tailorable drug release kinetics at the target site. We here summarize recent advances in the CCPM field, addressing the chemistry involved in preparing them, their in vitro and in vivo performance, potential biomedical applications, and guidelines for efficient clinical translation

Ultrasound-mediated drug delivery to the brain: principles, progress and prospects

The blood–brain barrier (BBB) limits drug delivery to the central nervous system. When combined with microbubbles, ultrasound can transiently permeate blood vessels in the brain. This approach, which can be referred to as sonoporation or sonopermeabilization, holds significant promise for shuttling large therapeutic molecules, such as antibodies, growth factors and nanomedicine formulations, across the BBB. We here describe the basic principles of BBB permeation using ultrasound and microbubbles, and we summarize several (pre-) clinical studies showing the potential of BBB opening for improving the treatment of cancer and neurodegenerative disorder

Micro-computed tomography (μCT) as a novel method in ecotoxicology - determination of morphometric and somatic data in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Fish are important sentinel organisms for the assessment of water quality and play a central role in ecotoxicological research. Of particular importance to the assessment of health and fitness of fish stocks in response to environmental conditions or pollution are morphometric (e.g. Fulton's condition index) and somatic indices (e.g. hepatosomatic, and gonadosomatic index). Standard measurements of somatic indices are invasive and require, by definition, the sacrifice of examined animals, thus prohibiting longitudinal studies and relocation of animals captured in the field. As a potential solution, in the present study, we propose the use of micro-computed tomography (μCT) as imaging modality to non-invasively tomographically image rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) exposed to different sediment suspensions. We here demonstrate that μCT can be used as a tool to reliably measure the volumes of different organs, which could then be applied as a substitute of their weights in calculation of somatic indices. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to report the results of μCT analyses in the context of ecotoxicological research in rainbow trout. It has the potential to greatly increase the information value of experiments conducted with fish and also to potentially reduce the number of animals required for studying temporal effects through facilitating longitudinal studies within the same individuals