Controlled drug delivery systems for cancer based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles

Abstract: The implementation of nanotechnology in medicine has opened new research horizons particularly in the field of therapeutic delivery. Mesoporous silica particles have emerged as biocompatible drug delivery systems with an enormous potential in the treatment of cancer among many other pathologies. In this review, we focus on the unique properties of these particles as chemotherapy delivery carriers. Here, we summarize the general characteristics of these nanomaterials ? including their physicochemical properties and customizable surfaces ? different stimuli that can be used to trigger targeted drug release, biocompatibility and finally, the drawbacks of these types of nanomaterials, highlighting some of the most important features of mesoporous silica nanoparticles in drug delivery.This work has been supported by the Spanish MINECO and European Union FEDER Funds under Project Ref. PI16/00496 (AES 2016), CTM 2017-84050-R, MAT 2015-69508-P, NanoBioApp Network (MINECO-17-MAT2016-81955-REDT), Xunta de Galicia (Centro Singular de Investigación de Galicia - Accreditation 2016-2019 and EM2014/035), European Union (European Regional Development Fund-ERDF) and IDIVAL INNVAL15/15 and INNVAL17/11

Implications of nanoparticles functionalization in supramolecular magnetogels for drug delivery

In this work, dehydropeptide gels were loaded with citrate- or lipid-stabilized nanoparticles to evaluate the effect over doxorubicin release. Particularly, the lipid-stabilized nanoparticles co-assembled with the hydrogel fibres forming lipid-fibre interface domains.Portugal2020, Compete2020, FEDER. SFRH/BD/144017/2019. PTDC/QUI-QFI/28020/2017. UIDB/04650/202

Supramolecular magnetolipogels: a co-assembly strategy for on-demand drug release

In this work, magnetic liposomes, both solid and aqueous, were loaded with a model drug and combined with dehydropeptide-based hydrogels. The encapsulated drug distributed between hydrogel fibres and magnetoliposomes lipid bilayer, which was demonstrated to be independent of the magnetoliposome’s nanoarchitecture, resulting in an attenuated drug release from the magnetolipogels compared to hydrogels.UIDB/00686/2020. UIDB/04650/2020. SFRH/BD/144017/201

Dehydropeptide-based plasmonic lipogels as bionanosystems for controlled drug release

In this work, silica-coated gold nanoparticles and liposomes (storage units) were combined with dehydropeptide-based hydrogels as a proof-of-concept to afford peptide-based NIR light-responsive lipogels. Several liposomes compositions were assessed to study its influence on the final assembly properties. Gold nanospheres were used to assess the preparation method that enabled a closer proximity of the nanoparticles to the liposomes.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España (PID2020-113704RB-I00), Xunta de Galicia (Centro Singular de Investigación de Galicia - Accreditation 2019-2022 ED431G 2019/06 and IN607A 2018/5), and European Union-ERDF (Interreg V-A - Spain-Portugal 0245_IBEROS_1_E, 0712_ACUINANO_1_E, and 0624_2IQBIONEURO_6_E, and Interreg Atlantic Area NANOCULTURE 1.102.531)

Tuning peptide-based hydrogels: co-assembly with composites driving the highway to technological applications

Self-assembled peptide-based gels provide several advantages for technological applications. Recently, the co-assembly of gelators has been a strategy to modulate and tune gel properties and even implement stimuli-responsiveness. However, it still comprises limitations regarding the required library of compounds and outcoming properties. Hence, efforts have been made to combine peptide-based gels and (in)organic composites (e.g., magnetic nanoparticles, metal nanoparticles, liposomes, graphene, silica, clay, titanium dioxide, cadmium sulfide) to endow stimuli-responsive materials and achieve suitable properties in several fields ranging from optoelectronics to biomedical. Herein, we discuss the recent developments with composite peptide-based gels including the fabrication, tunability of gels' properties, and challenges on (bio)technological applications.This work was funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding of CF-UM-UP (UIDB/04650/2020) and CQUM (UIDB/00686/2020), and by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España (PID2020-113704RB-I00 and PID2020-119242RB-I00), Xunta de Galicia (Centro Singular de Investigación de Galicia—Accreditation 2019-2022 ED431G 2019/06 and IN607A 2018/5 and project ED431C 2020-06), and European Union (EU-ERDF Interreg V-A—Spain-Portugal 0245_IBEROS_1_E, 0712_ACUINANO_1_E, and 0624_2IQBIONEURO_6_E, and Interreg Atlantic Area NANOCULTURE 1.102.531), and the European Union H2020-MSCA-RISE-2019 PEPSA-MATE 872233 project. S.R.S. Veloso acknowledges FCT for a PhD grant (SFRH/BD/144017/2019). Support from MAP-Fis Doctoral Programme is also acknowledged

Plasmonic nanocrystals with complex shapes for photocatalysis and growth: Contrasting anisotropic hot-electron generation with the photothermal effect

In plasmonics, and particularly in plasmonic photochemistry, the effect of hot-electron generation is an exciting phenomenon driving new fundamental and applied research. However, obtaining a microscopic description of the hot-electron states represents a challenging problem, limiting our capability to design efficient nanoantennas exploiting these excited carriers. This paper addresses this limitation and studies the spatial distributions of the photophysical dynamic parameters controlling the local surface photochemistry on a plasmonic nanocrystal. We found that the generation of energetic electrons and holes in small plasmonic nanocrystals with complex shapes is strongly position-dependent and anisotropic, whereas the phototemperature across the nanocrystal surface is nearly uniform. Our formalism includes three mechanisms for the generation of excited carriers: the Drude process, the surface-assisted generation of hot-electrons in the sp-band, and the excitation of interband d-holes. Our computations show that the hot-carrier generation originating from these mechanisms reflects the internal structure of hot spots in nanocrystals with complex shapes. The injection of energetic carriers and increased surface phototemperature are driving forces for photocatalytic and photo-growth processes on the surface of plasmonic nanostructures. Therefore, developing a consistent microscopic theory of such processes is necessary for designing efficient nanoantennas for photocatalytic applications

Application of gold nanoparticles as radiosensitizer for metastatic prostate cancer cell lines

More than 50% of all prostate cancer (PCa) patients are treated by radiotherapy (RT). Radioresistance and cancer recurrence are two consequences of the therapy and are related to dose heterogeneity and non-selectivity between normal and tumoral cells. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) could be used as potential radiosensitizers to overcome these therapeutic limitations of RT. This study assessed the biological interaction of different morphologies of AuNPs with ionizing radiation (IR) in PCa cells. To achieve that aim, three different amine-pegylated AuNPs were synthesized with distinct sizes and shapes (spherical, AuNPsp-PEG, star, AuNPst-PEG, and rods, AuNPr-PEG) and viability, injury and colony assays were used to analyze their biological effect on PCa cells (PC3, DU145, and LNCaP) when submitted to the accumulative fraction of RT. The combinatory effect of AuNPs with IR decreased cell viability and increased apoptosis compared to cells treated only with IR or untreated cells. Additionally, our results showed an increase in the sensitization enhancement ratio by cells treated with AuNPs and IR, and this effect is cell line dependent. Our findings support that the design of AuNPs modulated their cellular behavior and suggested that AuNPs could improve the RT efficacy in PCa cells.The author is grateful for the financial support of Foundation for Science and Technology (grant reference: SFRH/BD/138271/2018).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Metabolic disruption of gold nanospheres, nanostars and nanorods in human metastatic prostate cancer cells

Nanomaterials offer a broad spectrum of applications in biomedicine. The shapes of gold nanoparticles could modulate tumor cell behavior. Spherical (AuNPsp), stars (AuNPst) and rods (AuNPr) shapes of polyethylene glycol coated-gold nanoparticles (AuNPs-PEG) were synthesized. Metabolic activity, cellular proliferation, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured and the impact of AuNPs-PEG in metabolic enzymes function was evaluated by RT-qPCR in PC3, DU145, and LNCaP prostate cancer cells. All AuNPs were internalized, and the different morphologies of AuNPs showed to be an essential modulator of metabolic activity. For PC3 and DU145, the metabolic activity of AuNPs was found to rank in the following order from lowest to highest: AuNPsp-PEG, AuNPst-PEG, and AuNPr-PEG. Regarding LNCaP cells, the AuNPst-PEG were less toxic, followed by AuNPsp-PEG and AuNPr-PEG, but it seems not to be dose-dependent. The proliferation was lower in AuNPr-PEG in PC3 and DU145 cells but was stimulated around 10% in most conditions (0.001–0.1 mM) in LNCaP cells (not statistically significant). For 1 mM, LNCaP cells showed a significant decrease in proliferation only for AuNPr-PEG. The outcomes of the current study demonstrated that different AuNPs conformations influence cell behavior, and the correct size and shape must be chosen considering its final application in the field of nanomedicine.The author is grateful for the financial support of Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through project reference—2022.09032.PTDC and also to FCT through COMPETE to the project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-024325.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio