Doubly self-assembled dermatan sulfate/chitosan nanoparticles for targeted siRNA delivery in cancer therapy.

RNA interference, a naturally occurring regulatory mechanism in which small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules are responsible for the sequence-specific suppression of gene expression, emerged as one of the most promising gene therapies in cancer. In this work, we investigate a microfluidics double self-assembly method based on micellization and polyelectrolyte complex formation for the encapsulation of siRNA targeting the BIRC5 gene, a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis gene family, that codes for survivin a protein of theinhibitorof apoptosis protein family that is involved in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) proliferation and metastasis within nanoparticles of an amphiphilic chitosan-graft-poly(methyl methacrylate) copolymer and low-molecular weight dermatan sulfate, a polysaccharide targeting the CD44 receptor overexpressed in this tumor. Nanoparticles are spherical and display a hydrodynamic diameter of ∼ 200 nm, as measured by dynamic light scattering and scanning electron microscopy.

Dermatan Sulfate/Chitosan Nanoparticles Loaded with an Anti-Inflammatory Peptide Increase the Response of Human Colorectal Cancer Cells to 5-Fluorouracil.

The gold standard drug for colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment, 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), induces pharmacological tolerance in long-term management. The transcriptional factor nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NFκB) plays a key role in 5-FU resistance. The aim of this work is to study the capability of polyelectrolytes complex nanoparticles of dermatan sulfate (DS) and chitosan (CS), loaded with the anti-inflammatory tripeptide IRW, to sensitize colorectal cancer cells to 5-FU.

Self-Healing and Shape Memory Effects in Gold Microparticles through the Defects-Mediated Diffusion.

Some metal alloys subjected to irreversible plastic deformation can repair the inflicted damage and/or recover their original shape upon heating. The conventional shape memory effect in metallic alloys relies on collective, or "military" phase transformations. This work demonstrates a new and fundamentally different type of self-healing and shape memory in single crystalline faceted nano and microparticles of pure gold, which are plastically deformed with an atomic force microscope tip.