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Application of Carbon Nanotubes in Cancer Vaccines as Drug Delivery Tools
Published in Loutfy H. Madkour, Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery in Cancer Treatment, 2022
Platinum (Pt) analogues have also been investigated for drug delivery using CNTs for cancer treatment. Feazell et al. reported that the preparation of a Pt (IV)-based SWCNT prodrug led to intracellular concentrations six times higher than those reached when treating the cells with the free drug [34,171]. More recently, the same authors built another Pt-based targeted prodrug system using SWCNT as a longboat for the delivery of Pt [172]. The derivative was prepared by binding folic acid, as targeting agent, to a Pt(IV) compound, and tethering this conjugate through an amide coupling with terminal amines of phospholipid–PEG chains wrapped around the CNT. The Pt(IV) can be reduced inside the endosome, then losing the two axial ligands and leading to the active Pt(II) compound. The authors demonstrated that the internalization of this construct takes place by folate receptor-mediated endocytosis. The system was active in killing cancer cells (human choriocarcinoma and human nasopharyngeal carcinoma) with IC50 values more than eight times lower than cisplatin alone. The authors thus proved the actual ability of the system to act as a prodrug, generating the cytotoxic derivative (cisplatin) once internalized, and thus killing in a selective way folate receptor overexpressing cells.
Nanoscale Drug Delivery Vehicles for Solid Tumors: A New Paradigm for Localized Drug Delivery Using Temperature Sensitive Liposomes
Published in Mansoor M. Amiji, Nanotechnology for Cancer Therapy, 2006
Chemotherapeutics are designed to kill cancer cells or prevent them from dividing. The major types of cancer drugs include antimetabolites, alkylating agents, antibiotics, antimitotics, hormones, and inorganics (e.g., cisplatin). The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Drug Dictionary contains technical definitions and synonyms for more than 500 agents that are being used in the treatment of patients with cancer or cancer-related conditions.1 However, the magic bullet,* interpreted here as “a drug that is solely specific for cancer cells,” is still not available.2,3 The drugs that have been developed can kill cancer cells, but most of them can also kill normal cells, resulting in a low therapeutic index (ratio of lethal dose to effective dose). This limits their dosage and, ultimately, their efficacy.4 Apart from the success of cisplatin in testicular cancer and methotrexate in choriocarcinoma, systemic chemotherapy has not yet exposed solid tumors to sufficiently high drug concentrations for an adequate period of time to cause meaningful tumor regressions.4 Therefore, surgery† and radiation are the mainstays for local control of tumors.‡ In modern clinical practice, chemotherapy is mostly used as a post-surgical adjuvant to remove microscopic metastases that have spread from the original site. Other applications include neoadjuvant therapy to downsize local tumors before surgery or radiation and palliative care for the incurable patient.4
Marine Algal Secondary Metabolites Are a Potential Pharmaceutical Resource for Human Society Developments
Published in Se-Kwon Kim, Marine Biochemistry, 2023
Somasundaram Ambiga, Raja Suja Pandian, Lazarus Vijune Lawrence, Arjun Pandian, Ramu Arun Kumar, Bakrudeen Ali Ahmed Abdul
Polyphenols are classified into many types. They are phenolic acids, flavonoids, epigallate, epicatechin, anthocyanidins, gallic acids, tannins and catechin. Polyphenols have much potential to reduce the mitotic index. Also, the levels of cellular proteins were decrease which needed for the cancer cell proliferation and colony formation. For instance, due to the cytotoxic activities of compound, Scutellarein 4′-methylether exhibits effect of anticancer in vivo and in vitro. This compound is isolated from the marine algae Osmundea pinnatifida, and it is used in the treatment of choriocarcinoma cancer (Spada et al., 2008).
Facile engineering of chitosan-coated aminopterin loaded zeolitic imidazolate framework: promising drug delivery system for breast cancer
Published in Journal of Experimental Nanoscience, 2023
Aminopterin, or 4-aminopterin acid, is a well-known folate blocker. Several folate-mediated processes, including nucleotide synthesis, may be blocked by AMT and its active compounds, which could reduce DNA synthesis [10]. AMT is an extremely popular chemotherapy drug in clinical settings [11]. Treatment of acute lymphocytic leukemia, choriocarcinoma, breast carcinoma, head and neck cancer, oat cell carcinoma, mycosis fungoides, and osteogenic sarcoma can all benefit from this approach, either on their own or in conjunction with other therapies [12]. Its therapeutic application is constrained by its toxic side effects, including bone marrow inhibition, anemia, thrombocytopenia, and gastric and liver problems. Several active research initiatives are currently aimed at developing compounds with enhanced tumor-cell selectivity, decreased toxicity, enhanced delivery characteristics, and enhanced lipid solubility and membrane permeability [11, 13, 14].