Nanomaterials as a Potential Target for Infectious Parasitic Agents.

Despite the technological advancement in the era of personalized medicine and therapeutics development, infectious parasitic causative agents remain one of the most challenging areas of research and development. The disadvantages of conventional parasitic prevention and control are the emergence of multiple drug resistance as well as the non-specific targeting of intracellular parasites, which results in high dose concentration needs and subsequently intolerable cytotoxicity. Nanotechnology has attracted extensive interest to reduce medication therapy adverse effects including poor bioavailability and drug selectivity. Numerous nanomaterials-based delivery systems have previously been shown in animal models to be effective in the treatment of various parasitic infections. This review discusses a variety of nanomaterials-based antiparasitic procedures and techniques as well as the processes that allow them to be targeted to different parasitic infections. This review focuses on the key prerequisites for creating novel nanotechnology-based carriers as a potential option in parasite management, specifically in the context of human-related pathogenic parasitic agents.

Protein-Based Drug Delivery Nanomedicine Platforms: Recent Developments.

BACKGROUND: Naturally occurring protein cages, both viral and non-viral assemblies, have been developed for various pharmaceutical applications. Protein cages are ideal platforms as they are compatible, biodegradable, bioavailable, and amenable to chemical and genetic modification to impart new functionalities for selective targeting or tracking of proteins. The ferritin/ apoferritin protein cage, plant-derived viral capsids, the small Heat shock protein, albumin, soy and whey protein, collagen, and gelatin have all been exploited and characterized as drugdelivery vehicles. Protein cages come in many shapes and types with unique features such as unmatched uniformity, size, and conjugations. OBJECTIVES: The recent strategic development of drug delivery will be covered in this review, emphasizing polymer-based, specifically protein-based, drug delivery nanomedicine platforms. The potential and drawbacks of each kind of protein-based drug-delivery system will also be highlighted. METHODS: Research examining the usability of nanomaterials in the pharmaceutical and medical sectors were identified by employing bibliographic databases and web search engines. RESULTS: Rings, tubes, and cages are unique protein structures that occur in the biological environment and might serve as building blocks for nanomachines. Furthermore, numerous virions can undergo reversible structural conformational changes that open or close gated pores, allowing customizable accessibility to their core and ideal delivery vehicles. CONCLUSION: Protein cages' biocompatibility and their ability to be precisely engineered indicate they have significant potential in drug delivery and intracellular administration.

Protein-based nanomaterials: a new tool for targeted drug delivery.

Protein nanomaterials are well-defined, hollow protein nanoparticles comprised of virus capsids, virus-like particles, ferritin, heat shock proteins, chaperonins and many more. Protein-based nanomaterials are formed by the self-assembly of protein subunits and have numerous desired properties as drug-delivery vehicles, including being optimally sized for endocytosis, nontoxic, biocompatible, biodegradable and functionalized at three separate interfaces (external, internal and intersubunit). As a result, protein nanomaterials have been intensively investigated as functional entities in bionanotechnology, including drug delivery, nanoreactors and templates for organic and inorganic nanomaterials. Several variables influence efficient administration, particularly active targeting, cellular uptake, the kinetics of the release and systemic elimination. This review examines the wide range of medicines, loading/release processes, targeted therapies and treatment effectiveness.

siRNA Delivery to Melanoma Cells with Cationic Niosomes.

RNA interference (RNAi) is a posttranscriptional regulatory mechanism that employs siRNA. It typically results in the degradation of a target mRNA that encodes a particular protein. Treatment with siRNA therapeutics requires the use of an effective drug delivery system to assist in delivering these therapeutics into the cytoplasm of the transfected cells. Here we describe the transfection of melanoma cancer cells with siRNA using cationic niosome nanoparticles as a delivery system. The method of niosome preparation is first introduced and is followed by complex formation with siRNA and the transfection method.

Use of Nanoparticles in Delivery of Nucleic Acids for Melanoma Treatment.

Melanoma accounts for 4% of all skin cancer malignancies, with only 14% of diagnosed patients surviving for more than 5 years after diagnosis. Until now, there is no clear understanding of the detailed molecular contributors of melanoma pathogenesis. Accordingly, more research is needed to understand melanoma development and prognosis.All the treatment approaches that are currently applied have several significant limitations that prevent effective use in melanoma. One major limitation in the treatment of cancer is the acquisition of multidrug resistance (MDR). The MDR results in significant treatment failure and poor clinical outcomes in several cancers, including skin cancer. Treatment of melanoma is especially retarded by MDR. Despite the current advances in targeted and immune-mediated therapy, treatment arms of melanoma are severely limited and stand as a significant clinical challenge. Further, the poor pharmacokinetic profile of currently used chemotherapeutic agents is another reason for treatment failure. Therefore, more research is needed to develop novel drugs and carrier tools for more effective and targeted treatment.Nucleic acid therapy is based on nucleic acids or chemical compounds that are closely related, such as antisense oligonucleotides, aptamers, and small-interfering RNAs that are usually used in situations when a specific gene implicated in a disorder is deemed a therapeutically beneficial target for inhibition. However, the proper application for nucleic acid therapies is hampered by the development of an effective delivery system that can maintain their stability in the systemic circulation and enhance their uptake by the target cells. In this chapter, the prognosis of the different types of melanoma along with the currently used medications is highlighted, and the different types of nucleic acids along with the currently available nanoparticle systems for delivering these nucleic acids into melanoma cells are discussed. We also discuss recently conducted research on the use of different types of nanoparticles for nucleic acid delivery into melanoma cells and highlight the most significant outcomes.

Nanocarriers Mediated Topical Drug Delivery for Psoriasis Treatment.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory skin disease affecting 2 to 3% of people worldwide. Topical therapy as first option in the management of psoriasis is an attractive strategy by delivering drugs efficiently into target sites of disease, minimizing systemic side effects of drugs and ensuring high patient compliance. However, the delivery of antipsoriatic agents via conventional topical formulations is limited due to their poor percutaneous penetration and targeting into deeper layers of the skin. METHOD: In this review, an overview of skin structure and psoriatic skin as well as different approaches used for the treatment are provided. We discussed the topical nanocarriers including solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, liposomes, niosomes, ethosomes, transfersomes, dendrimers and micelles used to deliver antipsoriatic drugs. We also summarized the 2011 onward research studies dealing with the application of nanocarriers for psoriasis treatment. RESULT: In the last decades, numerous types of nanocarriers have been widely investigated as a novel delivery approach to reach effective antipsoriatic drug concentrations. These nanocarriers can enhance the therapeutic efficacy and minimize the toxicity of the drugs by lowering the dose. They also improve drug localization in the skin and achieve site-specific drug targeting. But, most of the available studies have lack of clinical outcome in psoriasis and required more focus on the clinical evaluation. CONCLUSION: Nanocarriers could enhance deposition of antipsoriatic drugs in targeted sites of the skin. Nevertheless, still there is a need to develop more effective simulated models that provide realistic model for psoriasis.

Synthesis, characterization and in vitro hydrolysis of a gemfibrozil-nicotinic acid codrug for improvement of lipid profile.

Combination therapy of fibrates and nicotinic acid has been reported to be synergistic. Herein, we describe a covalent codrug of gemfibrozil (GEM) and nicotinic acid (NA) that was synthesized and characterized by (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, FT-IR, MS analysis and elemental analysis. A validated HPLC method was developed that allows for the accurate quantitative determination of the codrug and its hydrolytic products that are formed during the in vitro chemical and enzymatic hydrolysis. The physico-chemical properties of codrug were improved compared to its parent drugs in term of water solubility and partition coefficient. The kinetics of hydrolysis of the codrug was studied using accelerated hydrolysis experiments at high temperatures in aqueous phosphate buffer solution in pH 1.2, 6.8 and 7.4. Using the Arrhenius equation, the extrapolated half-life at 37°C were 289 days at pH 1.2 for the codrug and 130 and 20,315 days at pH 6.8 for the codrug and gemfibrozil 2-hydroxyethyl ester (GHEE), respectively. The shortest half-lives were at pH 7.4; 42 days for the codrug and 5837 days for GHEE, respectively. The hydrolysis of the latter was studied, alone, at 80°C and pH 1.2 and compared to its hydrolysis when it is produced from the codrug using similar conditions. The k(obs) was found in both cases to be 1.60×10(-3)h(-1). The half-lives in plasma were 35.24 min and 26.75 h for the codrug and GHEE, respectively. With regard to liver homogenate, the hydrolysis half-lives were 1.96 min and 48.13 min for the codrug and GHEE, respectively. It can be expected that in vivo, the codrug will liberate NA immediately in plasma then GEM will be liberated from its 2-hydroxyethyl ester in the liver.