Design, preparation, and in vitro characterization of a trimodally-targeted nanomagnetic onco-theranostic system for cancer diagnosis and therapy.

In this study, the aim was to introduce and characterize a new trimodally-targeted nanomagnetic onco-theranostic system for simultaneous early diagnosis and efficient treatment of cancer. The onco-theranostic system was designed as it could target the tumor site through three targeting approach, i.e.

Carrier erythrocytes: recent advances, present status, current trends and future horizons.

Introduction: Carrier erythrocytes, thanks to their main advantages, including biocompatibility, biodegradability, immunocompatibility, simple and well-known structure and physiology, availability for sampling and versatility in loading and use, have been studied as cellular carriers for delivery of drugs and other bioactive agents for more than three decades. Based on this body of knowledge and recent advances in this field, and with the help of novel multidisciplinary sciences and technologies, it seems that this field is becoming renowned and experiencing an outstanding turning point in its developmental history.

Areas Covered: In this trendy and timely review, following a short historical review of the story of erythrocytes from oxygen delivery to drug delivery and evaluation of the present status of these biocarriers, recent advances and current experimental, technological and clinical trends, as well as future horizons, and, in particular, translation-prone strategies, are going to be discussed in detail.

2H-chromene derivatives bearing thiazolidine-2,4-dione, rhodanine or hydantoin moieties as potential anticancer agents.

A variety of (Z)-[(2H-chromen-3-yl)methylene]azolidinones 6a-t bearing thiazolidine-2,4-dione, rhodanine or hydantoin scaffolds were designed and synthesized as potential anticancer agents. Inhibitory effect of synthesized compounds 6a-t on the viability of cancer and non-cancer cells was assessed using MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) reduction assay. The SAR study revealed that the N-substitution of azolidinone moiety cannot improve the activity but S/NH replacement (thiazolidine-2,4-dione/hydantoin) and S/O alteration (rhodanine/thiazolidine-2,4-dione) enable us to modulate the growth inhibition activity against various cell lines.

Dihydropyridines and multidrug resistance: previous attempts, present state, and future trends.

Multidrug resistance is defined as the resistance of a tumor cell to the cytotoxic action of divergent drugs used in chemotherapy. Dihydropyridines are a class of calcium channel antagonists that were discovered to have a multidrug resistance reversing effect and prompted investigations resulting in the synthesis of hundreds of new derivatives. Most of the investigators tried to achieve two goals: a decrease in Ca²(+) channel-blocking activity and an increase in the multidrug resistance reversing effect.

Novel delivery systems for interferons.

Interferons, IFNs, are among the most widely studied and clinically used biopharmaceuticals. Despite their invaluable therapeutic roles, the widespread use of IFNs suffers from some inherent limitations, mainly their relatively short circulation lifespan and their unwanted effects on some non-target tissues. Therefore, both these constraints have become the central focus points for the research efforts on the development of a variety of novel delivery systems for these therapeutic agents with the ultimate goal of improving their therapeutic end-points.

Preparation and validation of carrier human erythrocytes loaded by bovine serum albumin as a model antigen/protein.

Erythrocytes as the most readily available and abundant cells within the body have been studied extensively for their potential application as drug delivery carries. In this study, human erythrocytes were loaded by bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a model antigen/protein using hypotonic preswelling method for targeted delivery of this antigen-to antigen-presenting cells. The average loaded amount, efficiency of entrapment, and cell recovery upon loading procedure were 1979.

Lipoproteins: from physiological roles to drug delivery potentials.

Lipoproteins, the endogenous lipid-protein associations responsible for lipid metabolism within the human body, have attracted interest in recent years for their potential as drug delivery carriers owing to, mainly, their lipophilic/amphiphilic nature, which makes them ideal for interacting with highly lipophilic drugs. After lipoprotein particles have been isolated from the blood, drugs can be "loaded" onto them with a variety of methods. Loading can be done either in soluble/suspended form in a liquid medium or as a dry film.

A simple and rapid HPLC method for quantitation of interferon-alpha2b in dosage forms and delivery systems.

Development of reliable assay methods for quantitation of interferons in dosage forms has encountered serious limitations because of the physicochemical nature of these proteins as well as the sensitivity/selectivity issues. A rapid, available, and easy-to-use reversed-phase HPLC method has been developed for quantitative analysis of interferon-alpha2b in pharmaceuticals. The reversed- phase method was based on a gradient system using a wide-pore C4 column and produced linear response in drug concentration range of 0.