Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Wenjuan Jin, Zelong Chen, Senyu Yang, Yun Qu, Yuxin Pei, Zhichao Pei
Summary: A disulfide-induced supra-amphiphilic co-assembly strategy was proposed for co-delivery of hydrophobic drugs in combination therapies, enhancing anti-tumor efficiency significantly in specific tumors through targeted therapy and phototherapy.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Bhoomika Pandit, Maksim Royzen
Summary: Gemcitabine, widely used as an anticancer drug, has limitations such as enzymatic deamination, fast systemic clearance, and emerging chemoresistance. Recent developments in prodrug strategies and drug delivery methods aim to improve the pharmacokinetic properties and effectiveness of gemcitabine in treating cancerous tumors.
Article
Polymer Science
Ning Li, Zhenyu Duan, Lili Wang, Chunhua Guo, Hu Zhang, Zhongwei Gu, Qiyong Gong, Kui Luo
Summary: An amphiphilic peptide dendrimer conjugated with gemcitabine has been developed as a nano-prodrug for breast cancer therapy, showing self-assembled behavior and effective release of the drug. In vivo studies confirm the therapeutic efficacy of the drug against breast cancer, indicating potential applications for gemcitabine and other anticancer agents.
MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yujin Lee, Nanhee Song, Nuri Kim, Manseok Yang, Gayoung Kwon, Hyejin Hyeon, Eunkyeong Jung, Seong-Cheol Park, Chunho Kim, Dongwon Lee
Summary: A ROS-generating polyprodrug of cinnamaldehyde (CA) has been developed, which serves as a drug carrier and synergizes with drug payloads. The polyprodrug can self-assemble with a tumor-targeting lipopeptide and encapsulate doxorubicin to exert synergistic anticancer actions.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Wang Yin, Liu Tian, Shenchun Wang, Dezhen Zhang, Shengrong Guo, Meidong Lang
Summary: This study reports a co-delivery system of paclitaxel and doxorubicin based on a functionalized poly(epsilon-caprolactone) conjugated with folate. The system exhibits controlled drug release, synergistic effect in inhibiting breast cancer cell proliferation, and high ability to induce cell apoptosis without obvious side effects in mice.
JOURNAL OF DRUG DELIVERY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Chensong Zhang, Yining Song, Guoqing Yan, Jiachi Ma
Summary: Fluorinated dual-crosslinked carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS)-based nano-prodrugs with precise structure were developed to address the challenges of polysaccharide-based nano-prodrugs in clinical transformation. These nano-prodrugs showed metabolic stability, tumoral cellular uptake improvement, physicochemical stability at physiological pH, selective drug release and synergistic cytotoxicity at tumoral intracellular pH/GSH. They also exhibited stability in long-term storage and circulation, normal blood routine and aminotransferase, fantastic hemocompatibility, selective tumor accumulation and precise synergistic chemotherapy, achieving significant tumor growth inhibition while minimizing side effects.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2023)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Man Zhou, Lijuan Wen, Cui Wang, Qiao Lei, Yongxiu Li, Xiaoqing Yi
Summary: Paclitaxel is a chemotherapy drug used in tumor treatment, but its poor solubility limits its clinical applications. Smart drug delivery systems can improve the solubility, permeability, and stability of drugs, enhancing therapeutic efficacy and reducing side effects. Polymeric prodrugs have shown great advantages in drug delivery due to their high drug loading and stability. This study summarizes the development of stimulus-sensitive polymeric prodrug micelles based on paclitaxel, considering different types of stimuli such as pH, reduction, enzyme, and reactive oxygen species (ROS). The design, synthesis, and biomedical applications of stimulus-responsive polymeric prodrugs of paclitaxel are reviewed, and future directions in this field are discussed.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ling-Na Han, Kai-Qiang Wang, Zi-Ning Ren, Xue Yang, Xiao Duan, Sasirekha Krishnan, Abinaya Jaisankar, Jeong-Hui Park, Khandmaa Dashnyam, Wujie Zhang, Jose Luis Pedraz, Seeram Ramakrishna, Hae-Won Kim, Chang-Feng Li, Li-Hua Song, Murugan Ramalingam
Summary: In this study, we synthesized and characterized a novel amphiphilic prodrug nanomicelle of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and glutamic acid (Glu) for targeted cancer therapy. The nanomicelles showed excellent stability and high drug loading capacity. The in vitro experiments confirmed their therapeutic efficiency against HeLa cells.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hengyu Liu, Tianqi Nie, Xiao Duan, Xinyu Zhang, Yilu Zheng, Wenhao Zhong, Haolin Chen, Congxiu Miao, Jun Wu, Dongjun Lin
Summary: In this study, a redox-responsive prodrug system was developed for the targeted delivery of lenalidomide (LND) and methotrexate (MTX) to treat primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL). The system demonstrated efficient inhibition of lymphoma growth and prevention of liver metastasis. It was also shown to bypass the blood-brain barrier and effectively distribute into brain tissues, inhibiting lymphoma growth in the brain.
JOURNAL OF CONTROLLED RELEASE
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Manali Patki, Aishwarya Saraswat, Shraddha Bhutkar, Vikas Dukhande, Ketan Patel
Summary: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a deadly cancer with Gemcitabine (Gem) as the main treatment, but its efficacy is limited by rapid inactivation by cytidine deaminase (CDA) in pancreatic cancer cells. A study found that a CDA inhibitor, Zebularine (Zeb), synergistically increased Gem-induced cytotoxicity in three pancreatic cancer cell lines. This combination treatment showed potential as a future approach for PDAC therapy.
EXPERIMENTAL CELL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Yi Lu, Die Jia, Xianbin Ma, Mengyun Liang, Shengxin Hou, Wei Qiu, Yuan Gao, Peng Xue, Yuejun Kang, Zhigang Xu
Summary: A stimuli-responsive prodrug nanogel was developed using a two-in-one cross-linking strategy to deliver a combination of chemotherapeutic drugs for improving the deficiencies of chemotherapy and enhancing cancer therapeutic efficiency. The high drug loading capacity and suitable nanoscale size of the obtained nanogel facilitate cell uptake and tumor penetration, leading to enhanced tumor growth inhibition by the synergistic DNA damage in response to the reductive tumor microenvironment. This unique prodrug nanogel shows promise as a candidate for effective tumor treatment-based chemotherapy.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Saffiya Habib, Moganavelli Singh
Summary: Gemcitabine is a widely used anti-metabolite drug for cancer treatment, but its efficacy is limited by various factors. The use of nanoparticles as delivery agents presents an opportunity to overcome these limitations, improve drug efficacy, and reduce side effects.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
M. S. van der Heijden, G. Sonpavde, T. Powles, A. Necchi, M. Burotto, M. Schenker, J. P. Sade, A. Bamias, P. Beuzeboc, J. Bedke, J. Oldenburg, G. Chatta, Y. Urun, D. Ye, Z. He, B. P. Valderrama, J. H. Ku, Y. Tomita, J. Filian, L. Wang, D. Purcea, M. Y. Patel, F. Nasroulah, M. D. Galsky
Summary: In patients with previously untreated advanced urothelial carcinoma, combination therapy with nivolumab plus gemcitabine-cisplatin resulted in significantly better outcomes compared to gemcitabine-cisplatin alone.
NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Xinzhu Shan, Zhiqiang Zhao, Chen Wang, Jin Sun, Zhonggui He, Cong Luo, Shenwu Zhang
Summary: This review discusses the application of prodrug-engineered nanomedicines in synergistic chemo-phototherapy. They offer advantages of synergistic treatment effect and dosage reduction, but also face challenges in design rationale.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Shani L. Levit, Christina Tang
Summary: Treatment of ovarian cancer is challenging due to late diagnosis, drug resistance, and chemotherapy toxicity. Combination chemotherapy, delivery sequence, dosing schedule, and nanoparticle formulations can enhance treatment efficacy. Polymer nanoparticles show promise for clinical translation of combination therapies with tunable dosing schedules.