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Introduction to Bioresponsive Polymers
Published in Deepa H. Patel, Bioresponsive Polymers, 2020
Deepa H. Patel, Drashti Pathak, Neelang Trivedi
Smart’ bioresponsive materials that are sensitive to biological signals or to pathological abnormalities, and interact with or are actuated by them, are appealing therapeutic platforms for the development of next-generation precision medications. Armed with a better understanding of various biologically responsive mechanisms, researchers have made innovations in the areas of materials chemistry, biomolecular engineering, pharmaceutical science, and micro- and nanofabrication to develop bioresponsive materials for a range of applications, including controlled drug delivery, diagnostics, tissue engineering, and biomedical devices.
A ‘Biomaterial Cookbook’: Biochemically Patterned Substrate to Promote and Control Vascularisation in Vitro and in Vivo
Published in Harishkumar Madhyastha, Durgesh Nandini Chauhan, Nanopharmaceuticals in Regenerative Medicine, 2022
Katie M. Kilgour, Brendan L. Turner, Augustus Adams, Stefano Menegatti, Michael A. Daniele
The biomolecular and mechanical patterning of biomaterials is key to develop scaffolds that induce angiogenesis and vasculogenesis, ultimately enabling successful integration of the construct with the host (Mastrullo, Cathery, Velliou, Madeddu, & Campagnolo, 2020). A variety of techniques are now available to achieve physical patterning, such as Langmuir Blodgett method, immobilisation, electrophoretic deposition, laser deposition, ion beam deposition, plasma treatment, photo-chemical modification, and acid etching (Rana et al., 2017); biomolecular functionalisation can be performed via 3D printing, physisorption and/or chemisorption, and covalent conjugation (Rana et al., 2017). A secondary layer of biomolecular patterning can be provided by the resident or feeder cells, in particular stem and progenitor cells, which respond to local mechanical and biomolecular features by secreting protein factors, cytokines, and chemokines (Murugan, Molnar, Rao, & Hickman, 2009). The combination of engineered solid-phase cues and cell-driven liquid-phase cues forms a complex spatiotemporal pattern of biomolecular signals, which direct downstream cellular fate and tissue organisation (Rana et al., 2017). The angiogenic process is a paradigmatic example of these processes resulting from the crosstalk between biomaterial-regulated and cell-regulated biopatterning (Lovett, Lee, Edwards, & Kaplan, 2009). The engineering of pro-angiogenic tissue scaffolds strives to recapitulate these processes by merging biomolecular engineering, material science, chemical engineering, advanced analytics, and imaging techniques into ECM-mimetic substrates. This review will delve into a detailed discussion of various biomaterials (e.g., natural or synthetic), their properties (e.g., mechanical and biomolecular functionalisation), fabrication methods (e.g., bio-printing, lithography), and the inclusion of cells (e.g., endothelial and stem) to overcome the existing challenges in promoting vascularisation and biomaterial–host integration.
The emerging role of antibody-drug conjugates in urothelial carcinoma
Published in Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy, 2020
Michael Lattanzi, Jonathan E. Rosenberg
Antibody-drug conjugates promise the ability to deliver high concentrations of potent cytotoxic agents to the tumor microenvironment while minimizing systemic distribution and associated toxicities. Over the past decade or so, improvements in biomolecular engineering have allowed the development of novel antibody-drug conjugates with improved antibody specificity, linker stability, and cytotoxic potency. These agents have begun to demonstrate clinically meaningful efficacy with relatively favorable toxicity profiles and have entered routine clinical care for patients with leukemia, lymphoma, breast cancer, and now urothelial carcinoma. EV has demonstrated clear efficacy in advanced urothelial cancer – both as a monotherapy in the platinum-refractory and checkpoint blockade refractory setting as well as in the frontline cisplatin ineligible setting in combination with pembrolizumab. While regulatory approval has only been granted for treatment refractory metastatic disease, the combination of EV with pembrolizumab appears immensely promising and was granted FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation based on the reported data. It is possible that this will lead to approval of this combination for cisplatin ineligible patients in the near future, and may portend an effective platinum-free first-line option for patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma.