Glycans have been selected by nature for both structural and 'recognition' purposes. Taking inspiration from nature, nanomedicine exploits glycans not only as structural constituents of nanoparticles and nanostructured biomaterials but also as selective interactors of such glyco-nanotools. Surface glycosylation of nanoparticles finds application in targeting specific cells, whereas recent findings give evidence that the glycan content of cell microenvironment is able to induce the cell fate. This review will highlight the role of glycans in nanomedicine, schematizing the different uses and roles in drug-delivery systems and in biomaterials for regenerative medicine.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.4155/fmc-2018-0368 | DOI Listing |
Chem Commun (Camb)
January 2025
Institute of Chemical Biology and Nanomedicine, State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Biomacromolecular Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China.
The cell membrane, characterized by its inherent asymmetry, functions as a dynamic barrier that regulates numerous cellular activities. This Highlight aims to provide the chemistry community with a comprehensive overview of the intriguing and underexplored inner leaflet, encompassing both fundamental biology and emerging synthetic modification strategies. We begin by describing the asymmetric nature of the plasma membrane, with a focus on the distinct roles of lipids, proteins, and glycan chains, highlighting the composition and biofunctions of the inner leaflet and the biological mechanisms that sustain membrane asymmetry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Nanomedicine
January 2025
Department of General Practice and Family Medicine, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130000, People's Republic of China.
In the last few years, cellulose has garnered much interest for its application in drug delivery, especially in cancer therapy. It has special properties like biocompatibility, biodegradability, high porosity, and water permeability render it a good candidate for developing efficient carriers for anticancer agents. Cellulose based nanomaterials like cellulose nanofibers, bacterial cellulose, cellulose nanocrystals and microcrystalline cellulose as delivery vehicles for targeted drug delivery to cancer cells are reviewed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Nanomedicine
January 2025
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy.
Purpose: Dimethyl fumarate (DMF), the first-line oral therapy for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, is rapidly metabolized into monomethyl fumarate. The DMF oral administration provokes gastrointestinal discomfort causing treatment withdrawal. The present study aimed to develop an innovative formulation for DMF nasal administration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Nanomedicine
January 2025
Hospital of Stomatology, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Introduction: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening type of acute lung injury (ALI) characterized by elevated mortality rates and long-term effects. To date, no pharmacological treatment has proven effective for ARDS. Mesenchymal stem cell-derived apoptotic vesicles (apoVs) were recently found to have excellent therapeutic potential for inflammatory diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Mol Sci
December 2024
Materials Research Institute, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico.
Since its conceptualization, click chemistry in all its variants has proven to be a superior synthesis protocol, compared to conventional methods, for forming new covalent bonds under mild conditions, orthogonally, and with high yields. If a term like reactive resilience could be established, click reactions would be good examples, as they perform better under increasingly challenging conditions. Particularly, highly hindered couplings that perform poorly with conventional chemistry protocols-such as those used to conjugate biomacromolecules (e.
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