Search

Hypoxia-induced intratumoral heterogeneity poses a major challenge in tumor therapy due to the varying susceptibility to chemotherapy. Moreover, the spatial distribution patterns of hypoxic and normoxic tissues makes conventional combination therapy less effective. In this study, a tumor-acidity and bioorthogonal chemistry mediated in situ size transformable nanocarrier (NP@DOX

Spatiotemporal targeting of anti-glioma drugs remains a pressing issue in glioblastoma (GBM) treatment. We challenge this issue by developing a minimally invasive

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) and tumor heterogeneity have resulted in abysmally poor clinical outcomes in glioblastoma (GBM) with the standard therapeutic regimen. Despite several anti-glioma drug delivery strategies, the lack of adequate chemotherapeutic bioavailability in gliomas has led to a suboptimal therapeutic gain in terms of improvement in survival and increased systemic toxicities. This has paved the way for designing highly specific and non-invasive drug delivery approaches for treating GBM. The intranasal (IN) route is one such delivery strategy that has the potential to reach the brain parenchyma by circumventing the BBB. We recently showed that

Nanotechnology-based drug delivery platforms have shown great potential in overcoming the limitations of conventional therapy for glioblastoma (GBM). However, permeation across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), physiological complexity of the brain, and glioma targeting strategies cannot entirely meet the challenging requirements of distinctive therapeutic delivery stages. The objective of this research is to fabricate lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for the co-delivery of paclitaxel (PTX) and miltefosine (HePc) a proapoptotic agent decorated with transferrin (Tf-PTX-LNPs) and investigate its anti-glioma activity both in vitro and in vivo orthotopic NOD/SCID GBM mouse model. The present study demonstrates the anti-glioma effect of the dual drug combination of PTX and proapoptotic HePc lipid-based transferrin receptor (TfR) targeted alternative delivery (direct nose to brain transportation) of the nanoparticulate system (Tf-PTX-LNPs, 364 ± 5 nm, -43 ± 9 mV) to overcome the O

Gliomas are the most common malignancies of the brain and have a mean survival of 12 months with only 5–10% of the patients surviving for more than 5 years, independent of treatment after diagnosis. Conventional treatment modalities have found the modest success in reducing tumor burden and metastases. Presence of different biological barriers and drug-resistance efflux transporters are crucial for tumor recurrence and treatment failure. Nanotechnology may amend these circumstances by targeting residual infiltrating malignant cells with minimal damage to normal cells, on-demand release and an improved cellular uptake by tumor cells. This review highlights the current status and advances in nanotechnology for treatment of gliomas.

The early diagnosis and monitoring of the progress of cancers are limited due to the lack of adequate screening tools. Ultrasensitive and precise point-of-care cancer diagnostic tools are required for the early detection and screening of cancer biomarkers at the bedside with accuracy and specificity of diagnosis. Recent advances in nano- and microfabrication based technologies integrated with different sensing platforms are accelerating the development of rapid, low-cost and reliable point-of-care cancer diagnostic devices. These technologies allow low volumes of reagents and samples, reduced analysis time, are disposable and portable, and provide ultrasensitive multiplexed analysis to improve diagnostic and prognostic evaluations. Networking for communicating and transferring the results through wireless networks provides additional opportunities for remote telemedicine-based diagnosis and planning of treatment regimens, even in semi-urban and rural areas. This review focuses on recent advances in point-of-care cancer diagnostics for efficient treatment along with the key challenges, opportunities and future scope of these technologies for clinical translation.

Oral folate fortification has been successful in many developed nations, however, developing countries still face low compliance and high incidence of folate deficiency associated with low birth weight infants and preterm deliveries. We report safe and efficient approach for transdermal systemic folate delivery using fluidising liposomes (120 ± 4 nm) stabilised within 3D matrix of naturally occurring cosmetic bases: Fuller’s earth and henna with room temperature stability. The proof of stratum corneum fluidisation was established ex-vivo by Langmuir-Blodgett film, FTIR and confocal imaging in rat skin. In-vivo topical application in rats showed 11-fold increase in plasma folate within 2 hr, confirming systemic delivery through skin. Efficacy study in folate deficient rats over 4 weeks showed significantly higher plasma levels compared to oral delivery with significant skin depot. Sub-acute toxicity studies in rats at 750-fold higher doses showed safety after 4 weeks daily application. Primary irritation patch test on 25 healthy human volunteers proved non-irritant nature of the nutricosmetics. The technology is first demonstration of transdermal folate fortification with nanosized liposome incorporated in cosmetics, without synthetic surfactants/ethanol or need of external energy. The platform technology opens the possibility of delivering multiple nutrients systemically through skin and can be scaled for affordable community fortification.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) remains a serious concern due to its effects on the quality of life of patients and its socioeconomic burden to society. Present day management of PD has limitations in both diagnosis and treatment. Nanotechnology may provide smart solutions to this problem. The present review highlights the recent advancements in the development of nanotechnology platforms for PD. The review focuses on the use of such platforms in diagnostics, treatments, deep brain stimulation, neurosurgery and other modalities of management and the role of nanotechnology in each of these fields. The review also sheds light on the translation of technologies from labs to clinics and the essential advantages as well as concerns that accompany the translation.