Birju P. Shah

Versatile fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based mesoporous silica nanoparticles for real-time monitoring of drug release.

We describe the development of a versatile fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based real-time monitoring system, consisting of (a) coumarin-labeled-cysteine tethered mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) as the drug carrier, (b) a fluorescein isothiocyanate-β-cyclodextrin (FITC-β-CD) as redox-responsive molecular valve blocking the pores, and (c) a FRET donor-acceptor pair of coumarin and FITC integrated within the pore-unlocking event, thereby allowing for monitoring the release of drugs from the pores in real-time. Under nonreducing conditions, when the disulfide bond is intact, the close proximity between coumarin and FITC on the surface of MSNs results in FRET from coumarin to FITC. However, in the presence of the redox stimuli like glutathione (GSH), the disulfide bond is cleaved which leads to the removal of molecular valve (FITC-β-CD), thus triggering drug release and eliminating FRET. By engineering such a FRET-active donor-acceptor structure within the redox-responsive molecular valve, we can monitor the release of the drugs entrapped within the pores of the MSN nanocarrier, following the change in the FRET signal. We have demonstrated that, any exogenous or endogenous change in the GSH concentration will result in a change in the extent of drug release as well as a concurrent change in the FRET signal, allowing us to extend the applications of our FRET-based MSNs for monitoring the release of any type of drug molecule in real-time.

Real-Time Monitoring of ATP-Responsive Drug Release Using Mesoporous-Silica-Coated Multicolor Upconversion Nanoparticles

Stimuli-responsive drug delivery vehicles have garnered immense interest in recent years due to unparalleled progress made in material science and nanomedicine. However, the development of stimuli-responsive devices with integrated real-time monitoring capabilities is still in its nascent stage because of the limitations of imaging modalities. In this paper, we describe the development of a polypeptide-wrapped mesoporous-silica-coated multicolor upconversion nanoparticle (UCNP@MSN) as an adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-responsive drug delivery system (DDS) for long-term tracking and real-time monitoring of drug release. Our UCNP@MSN with multiple emission peaks in UV-NIR wavelength range was functionalized with zinc-dipicolylamine analogue (TDPA-Zn(2+)) on its exterior surface and loaded with small-molecule drugs like chemotherapeutics in interior mesopores. The drugs remained entrapped within the UCNP-MSNs when the nanoparticles were wrapped with a compact branched polypeptide, poly(Asp-Lys)-b-Asp, because of multivalent interactions between Asp moieties present in the polypeptide and the TDPA-Zn(2+) complex present on the surface of UCNP-MSNs. This led to luminescence resonance energy transfer (LRET) from the UCNPs to the entrapped drugs, which typically have absorption in UV-visible range, ultimately resulting in quenching of UCNP emission in UV-visible range while retaining their strong NIR emission. Addition of ATP led to a competitive displacement of the surface bound polypeptide by ATP due to its higher affinity to TDPA-Zn(2+), which led to the release of the entrapped drugs and subsequent elimination of LRET. Monitoring of such ATP-triggered ratiometric changes in LRET allowed us to monitor the release of the entrapped drugs in real-time. Given these results, we envision that our proposed UCNP@MSN-polypeptide hybrid nanoparticle has great potential for stimuli-responsive drug delivery as well as for monitoring biochemical changes taking place in live cancer and stem cells.

Synergistic Induction of Apoptosis in Brain Cancer Cells by Targeted Codelivery of siRNA and Anticancer Drugs

Multiple dysregulated pathways in tumors necessitate targeting multiple oncogenic elements by combining orthogonal therapeutic moieties like short-interfering RNAs (siRNA) and drug molecules in order to achieve a synergistic therapeutic effect. In this manuscript, we describe the synthesis of cyclodextrin-modified dendritic polyamines (DexAMs) and their application as a multicomponent delivery vehicle for translocating siRNA and anticancer drugs. The presence of β-cyclodextrins in our DexAMs facilitated complexation and intracellular uptake of hydrophobic anticancer drugs, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) and erlotinib, whereas the cationic polyamine backbone allowed for electrostatic interaction with the negatively charged siRNA. The DexAM complexes were found to have minimal cytotoxicity over a wide range of concentrations and were found to efficiently deliver siRNA, thereby silencing the expression of targeted genes. As a proof of concept, we demonstrated that upon appropriate modification with targeting ligands, we were able to simultaneously deliver multiple payloads--siRNA against oncogenic receptor, EGFRvIII and anticancer drugs (SAHA or erlotinib)--efficiently and selectively to glioblastoma cells. Codelivery of siRNA-EGFRvIII and SAHA/erlotinib in glioblastoma cells was found to significantly inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis, as compared to the individual treatments.

Core-shell nanoparticle-based peptide therapeutics and combined hyperthermia for enhanced cancer cell apoptosis.

Mitochondria-targeting peptides have garnered immense interest as potential chemotherapeutics in recent years. However, there is a clear need to develop strategies to overcome the critical limitations of peptides, such as poor solubility and the lack of target specificity, which impede their clinical applications. To this end, we report magnetic core–shell nanoparticle (MCNP)-mediated delivery of a mitochondria-targeting pro-apoptotic amphipathic tail-anchoring peptide (ATAP) to malignant brain and metastatic breast cancer cells. Conjugation of ATAP to the MCNPs significantly enhanced the chemotherapeutic efficacy of ATAP, while the presence of targeting ligands afforded selective delivery to cancer cells. Induction of MCNP-mediated hyperthermia further potentiated the efficacy of ATAP. In summary, a combination of MCNP-mediated ATAP delivery and subsequent hyperthermia resulted in an enhanced effect on mitochondrial dysfunction, thus resulting in increased cancer cell apoptosis.

Combined Magnetic Nanoparticle‐based MicroRNA and Hyperthermia Therapy to Enhance Apoptosis in Brain Cancer Cells

A novel therapy is demonstrated utilizing magnetic nanoparticles for the dual purpose of delivering microRNA and inducing magnetic hyperthermia. In particular, the combination of lethal-7a microRNA (let-7a), which targets a number of the survival pathways that typically limit the effectiveness of hyperthermia, with magnetic hyperthermia greatly enhances apoptosis in brain cancer cells.

Graphite-Coated Magnetic Nanoparticles as Multimodal Imaging Probes and Cooperative Therapeutic Agents for Tumor Cells

An effective therapeutic approach against cancer typically requires the combination of several modalities, such as chemotherapy, radiation, and hyperthermia. In this regard, the development of multifunctional nanomaterial-based systems with combined therapeutic and molecular imaging capabilities has shown great potential but has not been fully explored. In particular, magnetic nanomaterials have been at the fore-front of cancer research as noninvasive imaging probes as well as multifunctional therapeutics. [1] For example, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with appropriate surface modifications have been successfully applied to deliver therapeutic biomolecules, such as anticancer drugs, antibodies, and siRNAs, to target tumor cells or tissues. [2] Moreover, the unique physical and chemical properties of these magnetic nanostructures have enabled their wide applications in cancer imaging and therapy, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and hyperthermia. [3] Promising advances have been made in synthesizing multifunctional MNPs from various materials, including metals, [4] metal oxides, [5] metal alloys, [6] and metal–graphitic-shell nanomaterials, [7] with different properties. However, current studies are mostly focused on the synthesis and characterization of materials with limited demonstration of their biomedical applications, like molecular imaging and therapy. As a result, research efforts towards developing MNP-based multimodal therapeutics to control the tumor microenvironment are highly limited and have not been fully explored. Therefore, in order to address the challenges of MNP-based therapeutics, as well as to narrow the gap between current nanoparticle-based multimodal imaging approaches and their clinical applications, there is a clear need to synthesize effective chemotherapeutic MNPs and to develop multimodal therapies for targeting specific oncogenes, thereby activating/deactivating corresponding key signaling pathways.

Multimodal Magnetic Core–Shell Nanoparticles for Effective Stem‐Cell Differentiation and Imaging

Stem cells, owing to their ability to differentiate into specialized cells that can serve a particular function, have enormous potential in the field of regenerative medicine, wherein these stem cell-based therapies can be used to treat a wide range of diseases including diabetes, heart disease, and liver disease.[1] However, the realization of stem cell-based therapies in the clinic is severely hampered by our current inability to achieve the efficient delivery of genetic materials into target cells, which is required to specifically direct differentiation. In particular, with regard to stem cell-based regenerative medicine, it is vital to achieve: i) the highly efficient transfection of targeted cells; ii) biocompatibility, with an emphasis on maintaining a high cell viability without altering migratory and differentiation potential; and iii) non-invasive monitoring for the long-term evaluation of therapy.[2]

Development of Photoactivated Fluorescent N-Hydroxyoxindoles and Their Application for Cell-Selective Imaging.

Photoactivatable fluorophores are essential tools for studying the dynamic molecular interactions within important biological systems with high spatiotemporal resolution. However, currently developed photoactivatable fluorophores based on conventional dyes have several limitations including reduced photoactivation efficiency, cytotoxicity, large molecular size, and complicated organic synthesis. To overcome these challenges, we herein report a class of photoactivatable fluorescent N-hydroxyoxindoles formed through the intramolecular photocyclization of substituted o-nitrophenyl ethanol (ONPE). These oxindole fluorophores afford excellent photoactivation efficiency with ultra-high fluorescence enhancement (up to 800-fold) and are small in size. Furthermore, the oxindole derivatives show exceptional biocompatibility by generating water as the only photolytic side product. Moreover, structure-activity relationship analysis clearly revealed the strong correlation between the fluorescent properties and the substituent groups, which can serve as a guideline for the further development of ONPE-based fluorescent probes with desired photophysical and biological properties. As a proof-of-concept, we demonstrated the capability of a new substituted ONPE that has an uncaging wavelength of 365-405 nm and an excitation/emission at 515 and 620 nm, for the selective imaging of a cancer cell line (Hela cells) and a human neural stem cell line (hNSCs).