Transforming native exosomes to engineered drug vehicles: A smart solution to modern cancer theranostics.

Exosomes have been the hidden treasure of the cell in terms of cellular interactions, transportation and therapy. The native exosomes (NEx) secreted by the parent cells hold promising aspects in cancer diagnosis and therapy. NEx has low immunogenicity, high biocompatibility, low toxicity and high stability which enables them to be an ideal prognostic biomarker in cancer diagnosis. However, due to heterogeneity, NEx lacks specificity and accuracy to be used as therapeutic drug delivery vehicle in cancer therapy. Transforming these NEx with their innate structure and multiple receptors to engineered exosomes (EEx) can provide better opportunities in the field of cancer theranostics. The surface of the NEx exhibits numeric receptors which can be modified to pave the direction of its therapeutic drug delivery in cancer therapy. Through surface membrane, EEx can be modified with increased drug loading potentiality and higher target specificity to act as a therapeutic nanocarrier for drug delivery. This review provides insights into promising aspects of NEx as a prognostic biomarker and drug delivery tool along with its need for the transformation to EEx in cancer theranostics. We have also highlighted different methods associated with NEx transformations, their nano-bio interaction with recipient cells and major challenges of EEx for clinical application in cancer theranostics.

A paper microfluidic device based colorimetric sensor for the detection and discrimination of elapid versus viper envenomation.

Snake bites are a neglected tropical disease, causing mortality and severe damage to various vital organs like the nervous system, kidneys and heart. There is increasing interest in designing new antivenom treatments that are more specific to particular groups (either taxonomic or regional) of species, given the increasing evidence that current polyvalent Indian antivenom is ineffective in many situations. Under these circumstances, being able to detect the species, or a group of species, responsible for the envenomation becomes important. Unfortunately, no such diagnostic tool is available in the Indian market. Such a tool will need to be rapid, sensitive and affordable. To address this need, we have combined the power of nanotechnology and paper microfluidics and herein report a device that has the ability to detect and differentiate viper venom from elapid and scorpion venom. In principle, this assay is based on the release of the dye from the stimuli-responsive glutaraldehyde cross-linked methylene blue-loaded gelatin (GMG) nanoparticles in the presence of snake venom metalloproteases and serine proteases. The developed equipment-free assay can detect and discriminate viper venom from that of elapids and scorpions. The low-end detection limit of the sensor is ∼3.0 ng for the saw-scaled viper Echis carinatus, while the same for Russell's viper Daboia russelii is ∼6.0 ng. The performance of the sensor remains unaltered for different batches of GMG nanoparticles. Altogether, this finding establishes the role of nanotechnology and paper microfluidics in the rapid and accurate detection of viper venom.

Development of chitosan/poly (vinyl alcohol)/graphene oxide loaded with vanadium doped titanium dioxide patch for visible light driven antibacterial activity and accelerated wound healing application.

Wound healing is a multi-stage process that is dynamic, interactive, and complicated. However, many nanomaterials are employed to expedite wound healing by demonstrating antibacterial activity or boosting cell proliferation. But only one phase is focused during the wound healing process. As a result, there is a need for optimum wound dressing materials that promotes different wound healing cascades with ideal properties. Herein, Graphene Oxide loaded with vanadium (V) doped titanium dioxide (TiO2) blended with chitosan, and polyvinyl alcohol (CS/PVA/GO/TiO2-V) patch was developed for wound healing. XRD, FTIR and FE-SEM analyses were carried out to study the morphology and structural property of the patch. The fabricated patch has a high surface porosity, excellent moisture vapor transfer rate, appropriate swelling behaviour, and oxygen permeability, which results in an excellent moist environment for wound breathing and effective management of wound exudates. The antibacterial test showed significant antibacterial efficacy against wound infections in the presence of light when compared to dark. In-vitro analysis such as hemocompatibility, cytotoxicity, cell adhesion, and scratch assay show the predicted potential wound healing application with high biocompatibility. These results suggest that CS/PVA/GO/TiO2-V patch provides a microenvironment favourable to cells' growth and differentiation and positively modulates full-thickness wounds' healing.