Improved Anti-Tumoral Therapeutic Efficacy of 4-Hydroxynonenal Incorporated in Novel Lipid Nanocapsules in 2D and 3D Models.

4-hydroxynonenal (HNE), a lipid peroxidation product, is a promising anti-neoplastic drug due to its remarkable anti-cancer activities. However, this possibility has not been explored, because the delivery of HNE is very challenging as a result of its low solubility and its poor stability. This study intentionally designed a new type of lipid nanocapsules specifically for HNE delivery.

Micro- and nanobubbles: a versatile non-viral platform for gene delivery.

Micro- and nanobubbles provide a promising non-viral strategy for ultrasound mediated gene delivery. Microbubbles are spherical gas-filled structures with a mean diameter of 1-8 μm, characterised by their core-shell composition and their ability to circulate in the bloodstream following intravenous injection. They undergo volumetric oscillations or acoustic cavitation when insonified by ultrasound and, most importantly, they are able to resonate at diagnostic frequencies.

The inclusion complex of 4-hydroxynonenal with a polymeric derivative of β-cyclodextrin enhances the antitumoral efficacy of the aldehyde in several tumor cell lines and in a three-dimensional human melanoma model.

4-Hydroxynonenal (HNE) is the most studied end product of the lipoperoxidation process, by virtue of its relevant biological activity. The antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects of HNE have been widely demonstrated in a great variety of tumor cell types in vitro. Thus, it might represent a promising new molecule in anticancer therapy strategies.

New chitosan nanobubbles for ultrasound-mediated gene delivery: preparation and in vitro characterization.

Background: The development of nonviral gene delivery systems is one of the most intriguing topics in nanomedicine. However, despite the advances made in recent years, several key issues remain unsettled. One of the main problems relates to the difficulty in designing nanodevices for targeted delivery of genes and other drugs to specific anatomic sites.

Enhanced antiviral activity of acyclovir loaded into nanoparticles.

The activity of antivirals can be enhanced by their incorporation in nanoparticulate delivery systems. Peculiar polymeric nanoparticles, based on a β-cyclodextrin-poly(4-acryloylmorpholine) monoconjugate (β-CD-PACM), are proposed as acyclovir carriers. The experimental procedure necessary to obtain the acyclovir-loaded nanoparticles using the solvent displacement preparation method will be described in this chapter.

Nanosponge formulations as oxygen delivery systems.

Three types of cyclodextrin nanosponges were synthetized cross-linking α, β or γ cyclodextrin with carbonyldiimidazole as cross-linker. Nanosponges are solid nanoparticles previously used as drug carriers. In this studies cyclodextrin nanosponges were developed as oxygen delivery system.

Amphoteric agmatine containing polyamidoamines as carriers for plasmid DNA in vitro and in vivo delivery.

In this paper we report on the investigation, as DNA nonviral carriers, of three samples of an amphoteric polyamidoamine bearing 4-aminobutylguanidine deriving units, AGMA5, AGMA10, and AGMA20, characterized by different molecular weights (M(w) 5100, 10100, and 20500, respectively). All samples condensed DNA in spherical, positively charged nanoparticles and protected it against enzymatic degradation. AGMA10 and AGMA20 polyplexes had average diameters lower than 100 nm.

Tricarbonyl-rhenium complexes of a thiol-functionalized amphoteric poly(amidoamine).

An amphoteric thiol-functionalized poly(amidoamine) nicknamed ISA23SH(10%) was synthesized. Rhenium complexes 1 and 2, containing 0.5 and 0.

Ultrasound-mediated oxygen delivery from chitosan nanobubbles.

Ultrasound (US) energy combined with gas-filled microbubbles has been used for several years in medical imaging. This study investigated the ability of oxygen-loaded chitosan bubbles to exchange oxygen in the presence or in the absence of US. Oxygen delivery is enhanced by sonication and both frequency and time duration of US affected the exchange kinetics.

Heat enhances gas delivery and acoustic attenuation in CO(2) filled microbubbles.

Thermo-responsive chitosan microbubbles were developed as new therapeutic device for vehiculating gases to tissues concomitantly to hyperthermic treatments. Aiming at applications to non-invasive temperature monitoring, microbubbles were characterized for acoustic attenuation properties in the 1-15 MHz range both by direct methods and by B-mode Ultrasound imaging up to 43 degrees C, which is the temperature used in clinical hyperthermia. The chitosan microbubbles showed a mean diameter of 1 microm at room temperature, which slightly decreases after heating, enhancing gas delivery.

Microbubble-mediated oxygen delivery to hypoxic tissues as a new therapeutic device.

Chitosan-coated oxygen microbubbles of average diameter 2.5 mum, narrow size distribution and spherical shape were prepared. A core-shell structure was evidenced by fluorescence microscopy using fluorescent microbubbles.