BSA/Silver Nanoparticle-Loaded Hydrogel Film for Local Photothermal Treatment of Skin Cancer.

PURPOSE: To develop a hydrogel film containing bovine serum albumin (BSA)-coated silver nanoparticles (BSA/AgNP) and evaluate its applicability for topical photothermal treatment (PTT) of skin cancer. METHODS: BSA/AgNP-loaded hydrogel films were prepared and their swelling, bioadhesive, mechanical, and photothermal properties were characterized in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: The synthesized BSA/AgNP exhibited a narrow size distribution with good size stability and, notably, possessed great photothermal activity that could stably maintain through repetitive laser irradiation. The BSA/AgNP-loaded hydrogel films showed favorable swelling, bioadhesive, tensile, and photothermal properties. Based on these results, when tested the anti-cancer effects in B16F10 s.c. tumor-bearing mice, the PTT with the topical treatment of BSA/AgNP-loaded hydrogel films could significantly inhibit the tumor growth by a single treatment with no apparent toxicity. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the results of this study demonstrated that the BSA/AgNP-loaded hydrogel films may serve as an effective but safe topical PTT agent for the treatment of skin cancer.

Development and characterization of a superabsorbing hydrogel film containing Ulmus davidiana var. Japonica root bark and pullulan for skin wound healing.

Ulmus davidiana var. japonica (UD) has widely been used in Korean traditional medicine for the treatment of various types of diseases including inflammation and skin wounds. The UD root bark powders possess gelling activity with an excellent capacity for absorbing water. This distinct property could make the UD root bark powders to be a great material for manufacturing a gel film specifically for the healing of large and highly exudating wounds (e.g., pressure sores and diabetic ulcers). In this research, we separated the UD root bark powder into 4 different samples based on their sizes and then tested their water absorption capacity and flowability. Based on these results, 75-150 µm sized and below 75 µm sized samples of UD root bark powders were chosen, and UD gel films were prepared. The UD gel films showed good thermal stability and mechanically improved properties compared with pullulan only gel film with excellent swelling capacity and favorable skin adhesiveness. Further, in the animal studies with the skin wound mice model, the UD gel films exhibited significant therapeutic effects on accelerating wound closure and dermal regeneration. Overall, this study demonstrated the applicability of UD root bark powders for hydrogel wound dressing materials, and the potential of UD gel films to be superior wound dressings to currently available ones.

Anatomical characterization and LC-MS profiling of Adenophora roots from Korea

ABSTRACT "Sasam (沙參)" is a crude drug that is defined in the in Korean Herbal Pharmacopoeia as the root of Adenophora triphylla var. japonica (Regel.) Hara or A. stricta Miq., Campanulaceae. The dried roots of the Adenophora spp. are available in markets, and the roots of various species are similar to each other in shape, making it difficult to distinguish one from another using only the outer morphological appearance. Therefore, the present study aimed to establish quality control parameters for pharmacognostic evaluation and differentiation of five Adenophora species and two varieties grown in Korea. Inner morphological evaluation of the root of these plants was accomplished and preliminary chemical analysis was performed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry profiling. As a result, significant differences among samples were found in anatomical characteristics such as number and thickness of cork layer, existence of stone cell in cork layer, frequency of vessels, and area of intercellular space. Significant differences were found among the samples in the content of three components including shashenoside I and a new alkyl glycoside, adenophoroside I. These findings could provide the scientific criteria for the proper identification and establishment of standards for the use of "Sasam".

Ulmus parvifolia Accelerates Skin Wound Healing by Regulating the Expression of MMPs and TGF-ß.

Ulmus parvifolia is one of the medicinal plants used traditionally for treatment of wounds. We intended to investigate the wound healing effect of the powder of Ulmus parvifolia (UP) root bark in a mouse wound healing model. We also determined the mechanisms of effects of U. parvifolia in skin and skin wound healing effects using a keratinocyte model. Animal experiments showed that the wound lesions in the mice decreased with 200 mesh U. parvifolia root bark powder and were significantly reduced with treatment by UP, compared with those treated with Ulmus macrocarpa (UM). Results from in vitro experiments also revealed that UP extract promoted the migration of human skin keratinocytes. UP powder treatment upregulated the expression of the matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9 protein and significantly increased transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß levels. We confirmed that topical administration of the bark powder exerted a significant effect on skin wound healing by upregulating the expression of MMP and transforming growth factor-ß. Our study suggests that U. parvifolia may be a potential candidate for skin wound healing including epidermal skin rejuvenation.

Curcumin/sunitinib co-loaded BSA-stabilized SPIOs for synergistic combination therapy for breast cancer.

Coating supermagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIOs) with albumin would not only improve their in vivo stability but also improve their drug loading capacity, but current methods are either inefficient or time consuming. Herein, a single step synthesis of bovine serum albumin (BSA)-stabilized SPIOs with high dispersity and stability via a modified co-precipitation method is reported. The benefits of albumin for coating of SPIOs, i.e. its long circulation life, low immunogenicity and drug binding ability to specific binding domains, were all retained in our mildly modified BSA. The BSA-SPIOs thus prepared displayed an excellent T2 contrast enhancing effect and drug loading capacity. Two cytotoxic drugs curcumin and sunitinib, where the former is a drug-resistance depressor and the latter is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, were further co-loaded into the BSA-SPIOs (denoted SPIO-SC) to achieve combined synergistic therapy. SPIO-SC formulations displayed the most significant tumor inhibition yet least drug-induced toxicity both in vitro and in vivo when compared with free drug formulations. Through in vivo pharmacokinetic analysis, it was demonstrated that SPIO-SC most efficiently delivered the encapsulated drugs to the tumor site, and at the same time maintained the originally designed, optimal ratios of curcumin to sunitinib concentrations at the tumor target and yielded the most optimal synergistic effect and, subsequently, the more effective therapeutic outcomes. The prepared BSA-SPIOs are an extremely promising candidate for both MR imaging and drug delivery as a healthcare material.

Cell-penetrating peptides meditated encapsulation of protein therapeutics into intact red blood cells and its application.

Red blood cells (RBCs) based drug carrier appears to be the most appealing for protein drugs due to their unmatched biocompatability, biodegradability, and long lifespan in the circulation. Numerous methods for encapsulating protein drugs into RBCs were developed, however, most of them induce partial disruption of the cell membrane, resulting in irreversible alterations in both physical and chemical properties of RBCs. Herein, we introduce a novel method for encapsulating proteins into intact RBCs, which was meditated by a cell penetrating peptide (CPP) developed in our lab-low molecular weight protamine (LMWP). l-asparaginase, one of the primary drugs used in treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), was chosen as a model protein to illustrate the encapsulation into erythrocytes mediated by CPPs. In addition current treatment of ALL using different l-asparaginase delivery and encapsulation methods as well as their associated problems were also reviewed.