Development of polyvinylpyrrolidone/paclitaxel self-assemblies for breast cancer

The goal of this investigation was to develop and demonstrate a polymer/paclitaxel selfassembly(PTX-SA) formulation. Polymer/PTX-SAs were screened based on smaller size of formulation using dynamic light scattering analysis. Additionally, fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry studies exhibited that polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP)-based PTX-SAs(PVP/PTX-SAs) had superior cellular internalization capability in MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. The optimized PVP/PTXSAs exhibited less toxicity to human red blood cells indicating a suitable formulation for reducing systemic toxicity. The formation of PVP and PTX self-assemblies was confirmed using fluorescence quenching and transmission electron microscopy which indicated that the PVP/PTX-SAs were spherical in shape with an average size range of 53.81 nm as detected by transmission electron microscopy(TEM).FTIR spectral analysis demonstrates incorporation of polymer and paclitaxel functional groups in PVP/PTX-SAs. Both proliferation(MTS) and clonogenic(colony formation) assays were used to validate superior anticancer activity of PVP/PTX-SAs in breast cancer cells over paclitaxel. Such superior anticancer activity was also demonstrated by downregulation of the expression of pro-survival protein(Bcl-x L), upregulation of apoptosis-associated proteins(Bid, Bax, cleaved caspase 7, and cleaved PARP)and β-tubulin stabilization. These results support the hypothesis that PVP/PTX-SAs improved paclitaxel delivery to cancer cells.

Milk exosomes:Nature’s abundant nanoplatform for theranostic applications

Exosomes are a unique subpopulation of naturally occurring extracellular vesicles which are smaller intracellular membrane nanoparticle vesicles.Exosomes have proven to be excellent nanocarriers for carrying lipids,proteins,mRNAs,non-coding RNAs,and DNAs,and disseminating long-distance intercellular communications in various biological processes.Among various cell-line or biological fluid derived exosomes,milk exosomes are abundant in nature and exhibit many nanocarrier characteristics favorable for theranostic applications.To be an effective delivery carrier for their clinical translation,exosomes must inbuilt loading,release,targeting,and imaging/tracking characteristics.Considering the unmet gaps of milk exosomes in theranostic technology it is essential to focus the current review on drug delivery and imaging applications.This review delineates the efficiency of exosomes to load therapeutic or imaging agents and their successful delivery approaches.It is emphasized on possible modifications of exosomes towards increasing the stability and delivery of agents.This article also summarizes the specific applications and the process of developing milk exosomes as a future pharmaceutical drug delivery vehicle.

Bioactive nanotherapeutic trends to combat triple negative breast cancer

The management of aggressive breast cancer,particularly,triple negative breast cancer(TNBC)remains a formidable challenge,despite treatment advancement.Although newer therapies such as atezolizumab,olaparib,and sacituzumab can tackle the breast cancer prognosis and/or progression,but achieved limited survival benefit(s).The current research efforts are aimed to develop and implement strategies for improved bioavailability,targetability,reduce systemic toxicity,and enhance therapeutic outcome of FDA-approved treatment regimen.This review presents various nanoparticle technology mediated delivery of chemotherapeutic agent(s)for breast cancer treatment.This article also documents novel strategies to employ cellular and cell membrane cloaked(biomimetic)nanoparticles for effective clinical translation.These technologies offer a safe and active targeting nanomedicine for effective management of breast cancer,especially TNBC.