Study the anticancer efficacy of doxorubicin-loaded redox-responsive chitosan-derived nanoparticles in the MDA-MB-231 cell line.

This study focuses on the design and evaluation of redox-responsive nanoparticles (NPs) by synthesizing disulfide-containing N-phthaloyl chitosan-SS-methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (NPC-SS-mPEG) and incorporating the anti-cancer drug doxorubicin into the NPs. The structural features of NPC-SS-mPEG were investigated using FTIR, NMR, XRD, and TGA/DTA analysis. DLS and TEM analysis confirmed the particle size and morphology of the NPs. The stability of the NPs was measured with the presence and absence of glutathione (GSH) in buffers pH 5 and 7.4. Furthermore, the release of DOX from the NPs was studied in GSH (10 mM) containing/absent medium at pH 5 and pH 7.4 which mimics the intracellular environment with redox potential. The results indicated a significantly increased release of DOX in the GSH containing medium pH 5 (82.9 ± 2.1 %) and pH 7.4 (67.37 ± 0.88 %) compared to the GSH free pH 7.4 (29.99 ± 1.01 %) and pH 5 medium (56.56 ± 1.7 %) at 60 h. The cytotoxicity study in the MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line by MTT assay indicated higher toxicity of redox-responsive NPs to cancer cells than free DOX. In concurrence with the cytotoxicity assay, in-vitro fluorescence staining assays (AO/EB, Hoechst, ROS generation) also confirmed that NPs loaded with DOX induce higher toxicity to cancer cells than free DOX. Taken together, the overall results confirmed the superiority of the redox response-mediated release of DOX in effectively controlling cancer progression.

Oral microbiota in cancer: could the bad guy turn good with application of polyphenols?

The human oral cavity is comprised of dynamic and polynomial microbes which uniquely reside in the microenvironments of oral cavities. The cumulative functions of the symbiotic microbial communities maintain normal homeostasis; however, a shifted microbiota yields a dysbiosis state, which produces local and systemic diseases including dental caries, periodontitis, cancer, obesity and diabetes. Recent research reports claim that an association occurs between oral dysbiosis and the progression of different types of cancers including oral, gastric and pancreatic ones. Different mechanisms are proposed for the development of cancer, such as induction of inflammatory reactions, production of carcinogenic materials and alteration of the immune system. Medications are available to treat these associated diseases; however, the current strategies may further worsen the disease by unwanted side effects. Natural-derived polyphenol molecules significantly inhibit a wide range of systemic diseases with fewer side effects. In this review, we have displayed the functions of the oral microbes and we have extended the report regarding the role of polyphenols in oral microbiota to maintain healthy conditions and prevention of diseases with emphasis on the treatment of oral microbiota-associated cancer.

Marine biome-derived secondary metabolites, a class of promising antineoplastic agents: A systematic review on their classification, mechanism of action and future perspectives.

Cancer is one of the most deadly diseases on the planet. Over the past decades, numerous antineoplastic compounds have been discovered from natural resources such as medicinal plants and marine species as part of multiple drug discovery initiatives. Notably, several marine flora (e.g. Ascophyllum nodosum, Sargassum thunbergii) have been identified as a rich source for novel cytotoxic compounds of different chemical forms. Despite the availability of enormous chemically enhanced new resources, the anticancer potential of marine flora and fauna has received little attention. Interestingly, numerous marine-derived secondary metabolites (e.g., Cytarabine, Trabectedin) have exhibited anticancer effects in preclinical cancer models. Most of the anticancer drugs obtained from marine sources stimulated apoptotic signal transduction pathways in cancer cells, such as the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways. This review highlights the sources of different cytotoxic secondary metabolites obtained from marine bacteria, algae, fungi, invertebrates, and vertebrates. Furthermore, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the utilisation of numerous marine-derived cytotoxic compounds as anticancer drugs, as well as their modes of action (e.g., molecular target). Finally, it also discusses the future prospects of marine-derived drug developments and their constraints.

Chitosan based encapsulation increased the apoptotic efficacy of thymol on A549 cells and exhibited non toxic response in swiss albino mice.

Thymol is a plant-derived natural phenolic compound abundantly present in Thymus vulgaris species. In the present study, we developed a chitosan-based drug delivery system to deliver thymol to A549 cells. The physicochemical properties of thymol-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (thymol-NP) were characterized using polyphasic techniques viz., FTIR, XRD, DLS, and SEM. Thymol-NP exhibited a size of 282.5 nm and encapsulation efficiency of 74.08 ± 0.73%. The IC50 of thymol-NP against A549 cells was 99.57 µg/ml at 24 h, which was lower than that of the pure form. Clear apoptotic features such as cellular morphology, cell shrinkage, and augmentation of dead cells were observed in both the thymol and thymol-NP treated A549 cells. The percentage of apoptotic cells in the thymol-NP IC50 treated cells was >90% which was considerably higher than the group treated with thymol alone. In vivo toxicity study showed that the swiss albino mice treated up to a concentration of 1000 mg/kg of thymol-NP neither showed signs of toxicity nor death up to 14 days. Also, no significant influence was observed on behavior, body weight, organ weight, and organ histology. Overall, the data concluded that thymol-NP can be considered a safe and potent drug candidate against A549 cells.

Computational Lock and Key and Dynamic Trajectory Analysis of Natural Biophors Against COVID-19 Spike Protein to Identify Effective Lead Molecules.

New pandemic infection of coronaviridae family virus spread to more than 210 countries with total infection of 1,136,851 and 62,955 (4.6%) deaths until 5th April 2020. Which stopped the regular cycle of humankind but the nature is consistently running. There is no micro molecule remedy found yet to restore the regular life of people. Hence, we decided to work on natural biophores against the COVID proteins. As a first step, major phytoconstituents of antiviral herbs like Leucas aspera, Morinda citrifolia, Azadirachta indica, Curcuma longa, Piper nigrum, Ocimum tenuiflorum, and Corallium rubrum collected and performed the lock and key analysis with major spike protein of COVID-19 to find the best fitting lead biophore using computational drug design platform. The results of protocol run showed, phytoconstituents of Morinda citrifolia and Leucas aspera were found lower binding energy range of - 55.18 to - 25.34 kcal/mol, respectively and compared with Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) (- 24.29 kcal/mol) and Remdesivir (- 25.38 kcal/mol). The results conclude that, core skeletons chromen, anthracene 9, 11 dione and long-chain alkyl acids/ester-containing biophores showen high stable antagonistic affinity with S-protein. Which leads the breakdown of spike protein and ACE2 receptor complex formation and host mechanism of corono virus. In addition, the dynamic trajectory analysis confirmed the complete denaturation of spike protein by the molecule 4-(24-hydroxy-1-oxo-5-n-propyltetracosanyl)-phenol from Leucas aspera and stability of spike-ligand complex. These biophores will aid the researcher to fabricate new promising analogue and being recommended to assess its COVID-19 treatment.