Nanocarrier-based gene delivery for immune cell engineering.

Clinical advances in genetically modified immune cell therapies, such as chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapies, have raised hope for cancer treatment. The majority of these biotechnologies are based on viral methods for ex vivo genetic modification of the immune cells, while the non-viral methods are still in the developmental phase. Nanocarriers have been emerging as materials of choice for gene delivery to immune cells. This is due to their versatile physicochemical properties such as large surface area and size that can be optimized to overcome several practical barriers to successful gene delivery. The in vivo nanocarrier-based gene delivery can revolutionize cell-based cancer immunotherapies by replacing the current expensive autologous cell manufacturing with an off-the-shelf biomaterial-based platform. The aim of this research is to review current advances and strategies to overcome the challenges in nanoparticle-based gene delivery and their impact on the efficiency, safety, and specificity of the process. The main focus is on polymeric and lipid-based nanocarriers, and their recent preclinical applications for cancer immunotherapy.

Optical Biomarker-based Biosensors for Cancer/Infectious Disease Medical Diagnoses.

Thousands of billions of dollars have been disbursed worldwide for the diagnosis and therapy of disease. Nanobioscience combined with sensing technology has facilitated the pathway to diagnosis by introducing a novel, highly sensitive and selective detection system known as the nanobiosensor to reduce the overall cost of treatment. Among the many types of biosensors, optical ones are more easily developed because of their low cost, rapid construction, small size, high performance, high sensitivity and selectivity, high signal-to-noise ratio, flexible geometry, and portability properties. This study reviews and discusses nanobiosensors and electrochemical biosensors with the main focus on colorimetric, fluorometric, luminometric, fiber optic, and surface plasmon resonance-based optical biosensors and an emphasis on their applications in medical diagnosis.

Recent progress in theranostic applications of hybrid gold nanoparticles.

A significant area of research is theranostic applications of nanoparticles, which involves efforts to improve delivery and reduce side effects. Accordingly, the introduction of a safe, effective, and, most importantly, renewable strategy to target, deliver and image disease cells is important. This state-of-the-art review focuses on studies done from 2013 to 2016 regarding the development of hybrid gold nanoparticles as theranostic agents in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and infectious disease. Several syntheses (chemical and green) methods of gold nanoparticles and their applications in imaging, targeting, and delivery are reviewed; their photothermal efficiency is discussed as is the toxicity of gold nanoparticles. Owing to the unique characterizations of hybrid gold nanoparticles and their potential to be developed as multifunctional, we predict they will present an undeniable role in clinical studies and provide treatment platforms for various diseases. Thus, their clearance and interactions with extra- and intra-cellular molecules need to be considered in future projects.