Sudip Mondal

Multimodal tumor-homing chitosan oligosaccharide-coated biocompatible palladium nanoparticles for photo-based imaging and therapy

Palladium, a near-infrared plasmonic material has been recognized for its use in photothermal therapy as an alternative to gold nanomaterials. However, its potential application has not been explored well in biomedical applications. In the present study, palladium nanoparticles were synthesized and the surface of the particles was successfully modified with chitosan oligosaccharide (COS), which improved the biocompatibility of the particles. More importantly, the particles were functionalized with RGD peptide, which improves particle accumulation in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and results in enhanced photothermal therapeutic effects under an 808-nm laser. The RGD peptide-linked, COS-coated palladium nanoparticles (Pd@COS-RGD) have good biocompatibility, water dispersity, and colloidal and physiological stability. They destroy the tumor effectively under 808-nm laser illumination at 2u2009Wu2009cm−2 power density. Further, Pd@COS-RGD gives good amplitude of photoacoustic signals, which facilitates the imaging of tumor tissues using a non-invasive photoacoustic tomography system. Finally, the fabricated Pd@COS-RGD acts as an ideal nanotheranostic agent for enhanced imaging and therapy of tumors using a non-invasive near-infrared laser.

Magnetic hydroxyapatite: a promising multifunctional platform for nanomedicine application

In this review, specific attention is paid to the development of nanostructured magnetic hydroxyapatite (MHAp) and its potential application in controlled drug/gene delivery, tissue engineering, magnetic hyperthermia treatment, and the development of contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging. Both magnetite and hydroxyapatite materials have excellent prospects in nanomedicine with multifunctional therapeutic approaches. To date, many research articles have focused on biomedical applications of nanomaterials because of which it is very difficult to focus on any particular type of nanomaterial. This study is possibly the first effort to emphasize on the comprehensive assessment of MHAp nanostructures for biomedical applications supported with very recent experimental studies. From basic concepts to the real-life applications, the relevant characteristics of magnetic biomaterials are patented which are briefly discussed. The potential therapeutic and diagnostic ability of MHAp-nanostructured materials make them an ideal platform for future nanomedicine. We hope that this advanced review will provide a better understanding of MHAp and its important features to utilize it as a promising material for multifunctional biomedical applications.

Marine natural pigments as potential sources for therapeutic applications

Abstract In recent years, marine natural pigments have emerged as a powerful alternative in the various fields of food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries because of their excellent biocompatibility, bioavailability, safety, and stability. Marine organisms are recognized as a rich source of natural pigments such as chlorophylls, carotenoids, and phycobiliproteins. Numerous studies have shown that marine natural pigments have considerable medicinal potential and promising applications in human health. In this review, we summarize the marine natural pigments as potential sources for therapeutic applications, including: antioxidant, anticancer, antiangiogenic, anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory activities, drug delivery, photothermal therapy (PTT), photodynamic therapy (PDT), photoacoustic imaging (PAI), and wound healing. Marine natural pigments will offer a better platform for future theranostic applications.

Fucoidan-coated core–shell magnetic mesoporous silica nanoparticles for chemotherapy and magnetic hyperthermia-based thermal therapy applications

Core–shell based, bioactive marine biopolymer-coated drug carriers for high drug loading and efficient drug release response to a specific trigger have received much research interest in cancer therapy. In this study, we present a fucoidan-coated core–shell magnetic mesoporous silica drug carrier (FeNP@SiOH@Fuc NPs) system which consists of a magnetic iron oxide (FeNP) core, a mesoporous silica shell (SiOH), and a marine biopolymer, namely fucoidan (Fuc), coated onto the outer surface as a “gatekeeper” for pH-responsive drug delivery and magnetic hyperthermia applications. Fucoidan coating onto the outer surface of the silica nanoparticles was performed through metal–ligand complex coordination approaches. The drug loaded FeNP@SiOH@Fuc/Dox NPs show good drug retention efficiency under physiological pH conditions and show a pH-responsive drug release behavior under an acidic pH environment and hyperthermia temperature (45 °C) conditions in the presence of an alternating magnetic field (AMF). Furthermore, the MTT assay and the intracellular uptake study results indicate that the synthesized FeNP@SiOH@Fuc NPs have biocompatibility and could be efficiently internalized by MDA-MB-231 cells. In addition, owing to the presence of a magnetic iron oxide core, the FeNP@SiOH@Fuc NPs show an excellent magnetic hyperthermia heating efficiency in the presence of an AMF and reach the hyperthermia temperature (45 °C) within a very short time (approximately ∼4–5 min). Since the FeNP@SiOH@Fuc NP system exhibits pH-stimuli responsive drug release performance, good biocompatibility, and efficient magnetic hyperthermia heating efficiency, the proposed system is expected to be a promising candidate as a drug carrier as well as a hyperthermia agent for chemotherapy and magnetic hyperthermia-based thermal therapy applications in emerging cancer therapy.

Hydroxyapatite Coated Iron Oxide Nanoparticles: A Promising Nanomaterial for Magnetic Hyperthermia Cancer Treatment

Targeting cancer cells without injuring normal cells is the prime objective in treatment of cancer. In this present study, solvothermal and wet chemical precipitation techniques were employed to synthesize iron oxide (IO), hydroxyapatite (HAp), and hydroxyapatite coated iron oxide (IO-HAp) nanoparticles for magnetic hyperthermia mediated cancer therapy. The synthesized well dispersed spherical IO-HAp nanoparticles, magnetite, and apatite phases were confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Field emission transmission electron microscopy (FETEM) with Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The non-toxic behavior of synthesized IO-HAp nanoparticles was confirmed by cytotoxicity assay (Trypan blue and MTT assay). The synthesized nanoparticles revealed a remarkable magnetic saturation of 83.2 emu/g for IO and 40.6 emu/g for IO-HAp nanoparticles in presence of 15,000 Oe (1.5 T) magnetic field at room temperature (300 K). The magnetic hyperthermia study that was performed with IO-HAp nanoparticles showed an excellent hyperthermia effect (SAR value 85 W/g) over MG-63 osteosarcoma cells. The in vitro hyperthermia temperature (~45 °C) was reached within 3 min, which shows a very high efficiency and kills nearly all of the experimental MG-63 osteosarcoma cells within 30 min exposure. These results could potentially open new perceptions for biomaterials that are aimed for anti-cancer therapies based on magnetic hyperthermia.

Photoacoustic Imaging-Guided Photothermal Therapy with Tumor-Targeting HA-FeOOH@PPy Nanorods

Cancer theragnosis agents with both cancer diagnosis and therapy abilities would be the next generation of cancer treatment. Recently, nanomaterials with strong absorption in near-infrared (NIR) region have been explored as promising cancer theragnosis agents for bio-imaging and photothermal therapy (PTT). Herein, we reported the synthesis and application of a novel multifunctional theranostic nanoagent based on hyaluronan (HA)-coated FeOOH@polypyrrole (FeOOH@PPy) nanorods (HA-FeOOH@PPy NRs) for photoacoustic imaging (PAI)-guided PTT. The nanoparticles were intentionally designed with rod-like shape and conjugated with tumor-targeting ligands to enhance the accumulation and achieve the entire tumor distribution of nanoparticles. The prepared HA-FeOOH@PPy NRs showed excellent biocompatible and physiological stabilities in different media. Importantly, HA-FeOOH@PPy NRs exhibited strong NIR absorbance, remarkable photothermal conversion capability, and conversion stability. Furthermore, HA-FeOOH@PPy NRs could act as strong contrast agents to enhance PAI, conducting accurate locating of cancerous tissue, as well as precise guidance for PTT. The in vitro and in vivo photothermal anticancer activity results of the designed nanoparticles evidenced their promising potential in cancer treatment. The tumor-bearing mice completely recovered after 17 days of PTT treatment without obvious side effects. Thus, our work highlights the great potential of using HA-FeOOH@PPy NRs as a theranostic nanoplatform for cancer imaging-guided therapy.

Synthesis of Fe 3 O 4 modified mesoporous silica hybrid for pH-responsive drug delivery and magnetic hyperthermia applications

The chemotherapy combined with thermotherapy is greatly considered in clinical applications for cancer treatment. The fabrication of nanomaterials with multifunctionality is an attractive approach to be utilized in cancer therapy. In this work, we report the synthesis of dopamine-urea organosilane (DPU) integrated mesoporous silica material in which the magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles were grown onto the outer surface of the mesoporous silica nanoparticles via Fe3O4-dopamine complexation method. The mesoporous structural characterization results revealed that the synthesized Fe3O4@DPU@MSH materials had high surface area (386xa0m2/g), large pore size (4.5xa0nm) and uniform particles in which the magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles were grown onto the outer surface of the mesopore walls with the particles size about 5–10xa0nm. Because of the existence of Fe3O4 nanoparticles onto the outer surface of the Fe3O4@DPU@MSH material, the sample shows superparamagnetic properties and high magnetic hyperthermia ability in the presence of applied magnetic field. Furthermore, owing to the presence of high surface area, the Fe3O4@DPU@MSH shows high drug loading capacity, and pH-responsive and temperature-accelerated drug release efficiency. In addition, the MTT assay analysis and the intracellular uptake study results support that the synthesized Fe3O4@DPU@MSH material is biocompatible. Therefore, the Fe3O4@DPU@MSH material would be a promising material for drug delivery and magnetic hyperthermia applications in cancer therapy.

Chitosan oligosaccharide coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles for pH-stimuli responsive drug delivery applications

Biopolymer-coated drug delivery system with high drug-loading efficiency and pH-stimuli responsive drug release to the target site receives much research interest in cancer therapy. In this study, we have synthesized a marine biopolymer, namely chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) coated mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSNs@COS NPs) system for pH-responsive drug delivery applications. The COS coating onto the silica nanoparticles was performed through metal–ligand complex coordination approaches. The prepared MSNs@COS NPs system were characterized by low-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), N2 adsorption–desorption and transmission electron microscopic (TEM), and thermogravimetric analyses. The COS-coated MSNs@COS NPs system shows high drug-loading capacity, good drug retention efficiency under physiological pH (pH 7.4) conditions, and an intracellular pH-responsive drug release behavior under acidic pH (pH 6.5, 5.0, and 4.0) environments. Furthermore, the biocompatibility and the intracellular uptake behavior of the MSNs@COS NPs system were evaluated by using MDA-MB-231 cells. The in vitro cytotoxicity and fluorescence microscopic analysis results evidenced that the synthesized MSNs@COS NPs system is biocompatible and could be readily taken up by MDA-MB-231 cells. Therefore, we believe that the proposed system could be applicable for pH-stimuli responsive controlled drug delivery applications in cancer therapy.

Correction: Prussian blue decorated mesoporous silica hybrid nanocarriers for photoacoustic imaging-guided synergistic chemo-photothermal combination therapy

The fabrication of nanotherapeutic systems capable of stimuli-responsive drug delivery and photoacoustic imaging (PAI)-guided photothermal therapy (PTT) is considered significant for chemo-photothermal therapy applications in cancer therapy. In the present study, the Prussian blue nanoflake (PBNF) decorated mesoporous silica hybrid nanoparticle (PB@MSH-EDA NPs) is reported for PAI-guided chemo-photothermal therapy applications. The amine group enriched mesoporous silica channels can be used to encapsulate an anticancer drug for chemotherapy, and the surface decorated PBNFs can convert a near-infrared (NIR) laser (808 nm) into heat for photothermal therapy and can also be used for PAI applications. The PB@MSH-EDA NPs show pH-responsive drug release efficiency under acidic pH (pH 5.0 and 4.0) conditions. Furthermore, the PB@MSH-EDA NPs system shows strong NIR laser absorption and photothermal conversion efficiency under 808 nm laser irradiation. The in vitro experimental result shows that the PB@MSH-EDA NPs are biocompatible and could be efficiently taken up by MDA-MB-231 cells. In addition, the in vivo results demonstrate that the tumor-bearing mice fully recovered after injecting the drug (Dox)-loaded PB@MSH-EDA/Dox NPs and being further irradiated with the 808 nm laser. We believe that the PB@MSH-EDA NPs system could be utilized as an efficient PAI-guided chemo-photothermal therapy agent for the detection and treatment of tumors in an emerging cancer therapy application.

Chitosan as a stabilizer and size-control agent for synthesis of porous flower-shaped palladium nanoparticles and their applications on photo-based therapies

This study reported a newly developed green synthesis method using chitosan and vitamin C to prepare porous flower-shaped palladium nanoparticles. We found that chitosan not only worked as a stabilizer but also as a size-control agent for the synthesis of these nanoparticles. The growth model of flower-shaped palladium nanoparticles was proposed to interpret mechanistic understanding. The obtained nanoparticles showed good biocompatibility and strong near-infrared absorption. The nanoparticles were successfully demonstrated to be highly efficient for both in vitro photothermal therapy and in vitro photoacoustic imaging.