Eleni K. Efthimiadou

Novel copper(II) complex of N-propyl-norfloxacin and 1,10-phenanthroline with enhanced antileukemic and DNA nuclease activities.

We have synthesized and characterized a novel copper(II) complex of the fluoroquinolone antibacterial drug N-propyl-norfloxacin (Hpr-norf) in the presence of 1,10-phenanthroline (Phen) and studied its biological properties as antitumor antibiotic and antimicrobial agent. Human acute myeloid leukemia cell line HL-60, MTT assay, and Trypan blue assay were used to test the antileukemic, the cell viability, and the structural integrity of the cell membrane and cell proliferation properties of (chloro)(Phen)( N-propyl-norfloxacinato)copper(II) (complex 1), respectively. We found that the proliferation rate and viability of HL-60 cells decreased after treatment with complex 1, leading to cell death through apoptosis in a time-dependent manner. The antimicrobial activity of complex 1 has been tested, revealing an increased potency in comparison to the free Hpr-norf. Complex 1 proved to be capable of acting as an independent nuclease by inducing nicking of supercoiled pUC19 plasmid. Our results suggest that 1 may provide a valuable tool in cancer chemotherapy.

Metal complexes of the third-generation quinolone antimicrobial drug sparfloxacin: Structure and biological evaluation

Five metal complexes of the third-generation quinolone antimicrobial agent sparfloxacin with Fe(3+), VO(2+), Mn(2+), Ni(2+) and UO(2)(2+) have been prepared and characterized with physicochemical and spectroscopic techniques. In these complexes, sparfloxacin acts as a bidentate deprotonated ligand bound to the metal through the ketone oxygen and a carboxylate oxygen. The complexes are six-coordinate with distorted octahedral geometry. For VO(sparfloxacinato)(2)(H(2)O) the axial position, trans to the vanadyl oxygen, is occupied by a ketone oxygen atom. Molecular mechanics calculations have been performed in order to propose a model for the structure of each complex. The antimicrobial activity of the complexes has been tested against three microorganisms showing that they exhibit lower activity than free sparfloxacin. UV spectroscopic titration with calf-thymus DNA (CT DNA) has shown that the complexes can bind to CT DNA and the binding constants to CT DNA have been calculated. The cyclic voltammograms of the complexes in the presence of CT DNA have shown that they bind to CT DNA probably by the intercalative binding mode. Fluorescence competitive studies with ethidium bromide (EB) have revealed the ability of the complexes to displace the DNA-bound EB. The complexes exhibit good binding propensity to human and bovine serum albumin proteins having relatively high binding constant values.

Structure, antimicrobial activity and DNA-binding properties of the cobalt(II)-sparfloxacin complex.

The neutral mononuclear cobalt(II) complex with sparfloxacin has been prepared and characterized with physicochemical, spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques, and molecular mechanics calculations. The interaction of the complex with calf-thymus DNA has been investigated with UV spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and competitive studies with ethidium bromide. The antimicrobial activity of the complex has been tested against three microorganisms.

99mTc-labeled aminosilane-coated iron oxide nanoparticles for molecular imaging of ανβ3-mediated tumor expression and feasibility for hyperthermia treatment

HYPOTHESIS Dual-modality imaging agents, such as radiolabeled iron oxide nanoparticles (IO-NPs), are promising candidates for cancer diagnosis and therapy. We developed and evaluated aminosilane coated Fe3O4 (10±2nm) as a tumor imaging agent in nuclear medicine through 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) functionalization. We evaluated this multimeric system of targeted (99m)Tc-labeled nanoparticles (NPs) conjugated with a new RGD derivate (cRGDfK-Orn3-CGG), characterized as NPs-RGD as a potential thermal therapy delivery vehicle. EXPERIMENTS Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and spectroscopy techniques were used to characterize the IO-NPs indicating their functionalization with peptides. Radiolabeled IO-NPs (targeted, non-targeted) were evaluated with regard to their radiochemical, radiobiological and imaging characteristics. In vivo studies were performed in normal and ανβ3-positive tumor (U87MG glioblastoma) bearing mice. We also demonstrated that this system could reach ablative temperatures in vivo. FINDINGS Both radiolabeled IO-NPs were obtained in high radiochemical yield (>98%) and proved stable in vitro. The in vivo studies for both IO-NPs have shown significant liver and spleen uptake at all examined time points in normal and U87MG glioblastoma tumor-bearing mice, due to their colloidal nature. We have confirmed through in vivo biodistribution studies that the non-targeted (99m)Tc-NPs poorly internalized in the tumor, while the targeted (99m)Tc-NPs-RGD, present 9-fold higher tumor accumulation at 1h p.i. Accumulation of both IO-NPs in other organs was negligible. Blocking experiments indicated target specificity for integrin receptors in U87MG glioblastoma cells. The preliminary in vivo study of applied alternating magnetic field showed that the induced hyperthermia is feasible due to the aid of IO-NPs.

Thermodynamic and structural destabilization of apoE3 by hereditary mutations associated with the development of lipoprotein glomerulopathy

Lipoprotein glomerulopathy (LPG) is a dominant inherited kidney disorder characterized by lipoprotein thrombi in glomerular capillaries. Single-amino-acid mutations in apoE have been associated with the development of the disease, although the mechanism is unknown. In an effort to gain mechanistic insight linking the presence of such mutations and the development of LPG, we evaluated the effects of three of the most common apoE3 variants associated with this disease, namely R145P(Sendai), R147P(Chicago), and R158P(Osaka or Kurashiki), on the structural and conformational integrity of the protein. All three variants were found to have significantly reduced helical content, to expose a larger portion of hydrophobic surface to the solvent, and to be significantly thermodynamically destabilized, often lacking functionally relevant unfolding intermediates. Furthermore, all variants were aggregation prone and had enhanced sensitivity to protease digestion. Finally, although the variants were able to form discoidal lipoprotein particles, discrete subpopulations of poorly formed or aberrant particles were evident. Furthermore, these lipoprotein particles were thermodynamically destabilized and aggregation prone. Overall, our data suggest that these mutations induce a generalized unfolding of the N-terminal domain of apoE3 toward a molten-globule-like structure. ApoE3 N-terminal domain unfolding due to mutation may constitute a common mechanism underlying the proteins association with the pathogenesis of LPG.

Synthesis and characterization of novel natural product-Gd(III) MRI contrast agent conjugates

Several novel gadolinium chelates conjugated with paclitaxel, colchicine and thyroxine have been prepared as MRI contrast agents targeted to tubulin and thyroxine-binding globulin, respectively.

pH- and thermo-responsive microcontainers as potential drug delivery systems: Morphological characteristic, release and cytotoxicity studies

Polymeric pH- and thermo-sensitive microcontainers (MCs) were developed as a potential drug delivery system for cancer therapy. It is well known that cancer cells exhibit notable characteristics such as acidic pH due to glycolytic cycle and higher temperature due to their higher proliferation rate. Based on these characteristics, we constructed a dual pH- and thermo-sensitive material for specific drug release on the pathological tissue. The MCs fabrication is based on a two-step procedure, in which, the first step involves the core synthesis and the second one is related to the shell formation. The core consists of poly(methyl methacrylate (PMMA), while the shell consists of PMMA, poly(isopropylacrylamide), poly(acrylic acid) and poly(divinylbenzene). Three different types of MCs were synthesized based on the seed polymerization method. The synthesized MCs were characterized structurally by Fourier transform infrared and morphologically by scanning electron microscopy. Dynamic light scattering was also used to study their behavior in aqueous solution under different pH and temperature conditions. For the loading and release study, the anthracycline drug daunorubicin (DNR) was used as a model drug, and its release properties were evaluated under different pH and thermo-conditions. Cytotoxicity studies were also carried out against MCF-7 breast cancer and 3T3 mouse embryonic fibroblast cells. According to our results, the synthesized microcontainers present desired pH and thermo behavior and can be applied in drug delivery systems. It is worth mentioning that the synthesized microcontainers which incorporated the drug DNR exhibit higher toxicity than the free drug.

Comparative study of LbL and crosslinked pH sensitive PEGylated LbL microspheres: Synthesis, characterization and biological evaluation

In this report, the fabrication of hollow, pH-sensitive microspheres using the layer by layer method is being demonstrated. The process is based on the coating of colloidal silica templates with polyelectrolyte layers, followed by dissolution of the core using a buffer system of hydrofluoric acid and ammonium fluoride. With this buffer system, the template can be dissolved in mild pH conditions, where the polymeric layers are still stable. The resulting microspheres show pH dependent properties, where they swell and dissolve at a certain pH value. In order to improve the nanocontainers properties, such as solubility and cytotoxicity a second specimen of microspheres was fabricated by coating the fabricated microspheres with one layer of poly(acrylic acid) and one layer of methoxy-polyethylene glycol amine, and then these additional layers were crosslinked by carbodiimide chemistry. Loading and release properties of the fabricated microspheres have been studied in order to investigate their behavior as a function of pH and ionic strength. These novel microspheres have potential application in the fields of drug delivery, diagnostics and life sciences.

Dynamic in vivo imaging of dual-triggered microspheres for sustained release applications: synthesis, characterization and cytotoxicity study.

This paper deals with the synthesis, characterization and property evaluation of drug-loaded magnetic microspheres with pH-responsive cross-linked polymer shell. The synthetic procedure consists of 3 steps, of which the first two comprise the synthesis of a poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) template and the synthesis of a shell by using acrylic acid (AA) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) as monomers, and divinyl benzene (DVB) as cross-linker. The third step of the procedure refers to the formation of magnetic nanoparticles on the microspheres surface. AA that attaches pH-sensitivity in the microspheres and magnetic nanoparticles in the inner and the outer surface of the microspheres, enhance the efficacy of this intelligent drug delivery system (DDS), which constitutes a promising approach toward cancer therapy. A number of experimental techniques were used to characterize the resulting microspheres. In order to investigate the in vitro controlled release behavior of the synthesized microspheres, we studied the Dox release percentage under different pH conditions and under external magnetic field. Hyperthermia caused by an alternating magnetic field (AFM) is used in order to study the doxorubicin (Dox) release behavior from microspheres with pH functionality. The in vivo fate of these hybrid-microspheres was tracked by labeling them with the γ-emitting radioisotope (99m)Tc after being intravenously injected in normal mice. According to our results, microsphere present a pH depending and a magnetic heating, release behavior. As expected, labeled microspheres were mainly found in the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS). The highlights of the current research are: (i) to illustrate the advantages of controlled release by combining hyperthermia and pH-sensitivity and (ii) to provide noninvasive, in vivo information on the spatiotemporal biodistribution of these microsphere by dynamic γ-imaging.

Versatile quarto stimuli nanostructure based on Trojan Horse approach for cancer therapy: Synthesis, characterization, in vitro and in vivo studies

Nanostructured delivery and diagnostic systems that induces specific targeting properties by exploiting the local physicochemical tumour characteristics will be evaluated is the present work. It is well known that cancer cells have specific physicochemical characteristics, which can be taken into consideration for the design of a broad spectrum of drug delivery systems (DDS). Some of those characteristics including the different temperature environment their susceptibility when temperature ranges between 40 and 43°C where cell apoptosis is induced, the intra- and extra-cellular pH which varies from 6.0 to 6.8, for cancer cells, and 6.5 to 7.4 for normal cells respectively, (lysosomes acidic pH ranges 4-5). Additional significant factors are the overexpressed receptors on the tumour surface. Loading and release studies were carried out by using the anthracycline drug Doxorubicin and their cytotoxicity was evaluated by using the MTT assay in healthy and diseased cell lines. The highlight of this work is the in vitro and in vivo studies which were performed in order to evaluate different nanostructures as for their biodistribution, pharmacokinetic and toxicity per se.