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Among the potent anticancer agents, methotrexate (MTX) is very effective against many different types of cancer cells. Implementation of chemotherapy along with radiotherapy, known as synchronous chemoradiotherapy, can augment the treatment efficacy. In the present study self‐assembled MTX conjugated mPEG‐PCL copolymer encapsulating gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) hybrid (mPEG‐PCL‐MTX@Au) was developed as both drug carrier and radiosensitizer. After successful synthesis and characterization of hybrids with different techniques such as hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance (HNMR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ultraviolet–visible (UV‐Vis), x‐ray diffraction analysis (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The anticancer activity of designed system was evaluated with a series of biological assays. TEM image indicate that AuNPs encapsulated by self‐assembled mPEG‐PCL‐MTX NPs. It was found that the micelle of that shown in the TEM image contains nine gold nanoparticles (NPs). The hydrodynamic diameter of mPEG‐PCL‐MTX@Au was 81.40 ± 8 nm. As a result, at acidic pH, which simulates tumor tissue, the most drug release is done compared to neutral pH conditions, which are the physiological conditions of the body. About 70% of the drug was released in acidic pH, while in alkaline pH, it was about 35%. The effectiveness of cancer treatment was significantly improved by using developed NPs, which introduces simultaneous chemotherapy and radiotherapy. MTT and apoptosis assays show that the mPEG‐PCL‐MTX@Au as the final formulation improves the radiosensitivity of the 4T1 breast cancer cells and also remarkably kills breast cancer. Furthermore, the result revealed that designed hybrid system extremely able to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) within cancer cells. These results offer powerful evidence for the potential capability of mPEG‐PCL‐MTX@Au in radiosensitization of malignant tumors and opens up a new avenue of research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among all the cancers, colorectal cancer (CRC) has the third mortality rank in both genders. Cancer vaccines have shown promising results in boosting patients' immune systems to fight cancer. Using the IEDB database, we predicted mouse MHC‐I (H2‐Ld) binding epitopes from four tumor‐associated antigens (APC, KRAS, TP53, and PIK3CA) and designed a multi‐epitope vaccine. We expressed the candidate vaccine and encapsulated it into the cationic micelle with polyethyleneimine conjugated to oleic acid as its building blocks. We studied tumor inhibition effect, cytokine production, and lymphocyte proliferation in the mouse CRC model after vaccination. Our finding illustrated significant tumor growth inhibition in mouse models treated with the candidate nanovaccine. Besides the significant release of IFN‐γ and IL‐4 by immunized mouse spleen T‐lymphocytes, T‐cell proliferation assay results confirmed effective immune response after the vaccination. These results demonstrate the potential therapeutic effects of nanovaccines and could be a possible approach to CRC immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, Fe3O4/GO and Fe3O4/ZnO/GO nanocomposites (NPs) synthesized by thermal treatment at 823 K, and their drug delivery properties for curcumin (CUR) as an anticancer drug were investigated. The structural, morphological, and magnetic properties of these Nps were studied. The results of XRD, FTIR and EDX analyses indicated the synthesis of pure and crystalline structures of GO, Fe3O4/GO and Fe3O4/ZnO/GO NPs. Moreover, the mean size of spherical shape in Fe3O4/GO and Fe3O4/ZnO/GO nanoparticles was 42.36 and 53.21 nm, respectively. Based on the results of release and loading at different pHs, the drug is well loaded on the NPs and released at the tumor site. Based on these studies, the drug loading percentage on Fe3O4/GO is higher than Fe3O4/ZnO/GO. Also, the results showed that 41.65% of the drug is released from Fe3O4/GO and 23.43% from Fe3O4/ZnO/GO in the first ten hours after being in the cancer cell site. The Hemolysis test of prepared NPs and the cytotoxicity of NCs and CUR-loaded on NCs against U87 cancer cells and fibroblast human cells were investigated using the MTT assay. The toxic effect of Fe3O4/GO and of Fe3O4/ZnO/GO was more in U87 cancer cells compared to normal fibroblast cells. The results of anticancer activity of Nano-carriers on brain cancer cell lines revealed that CUR-loaded nanocrystals (NCs) have significant cytotoxicity activity on U87. Therefore, these NCs are capable of acting as drug delivery systems for anti-cancer drugs like CUR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Medicinal plants Scutellaria multicaulis and Scutellaria bornmuelleri belong to the Scutellaria genus and Lamiaceae family, and are widely used in traditional Iranian medicine. This study aims to characterize promising bioactive phytochemicals found in the aerial parts of S. multicaulis and S. bornmuelleri. Methods: Accordingly, volatile oils were obtained by hydrodistillation of S. multicaulis and S. bornmuelleri leaves and stems, and then analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Results: A total of 88 components, representing 92.4% of the oil (oil yield determined to be 0.53%, v/w), were identified in the essential oils of S. multicaulis. The main group was sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (24%), with α-himachalene (7.2%), α-longipinene (6.8%), and α-copaene (3.2%) as the main components. A total of 89 chemicals, representing 83.2% of the essential oil (oil yield determined to be 0.31%, v/w), were detected in the essential oil of S. bornmuelleri. The main components were steroids, such as 14-β-H-pregna (32.9%), hydrocarbons (22.5%), sesquiterpenes (11.4%), and monoterpenes (4.6%), which were considered minor constituents. The contents of sesquiterpene and monoterpene hydrocarbons present in S. multicaulis and S. bornmuelleri were 24% and 7.1%, respectively. However, the contribution of oxygenated monoterpenes (4%) and sesquiterpenes (4.3%) in both species was less than 5%. Conclusion: As the first report on the chemical composition of S. multicaulis and S. bornmuelleri, this study showed that the major compounds were steroids and sesquiterpenes. Keywords: 14-β-H-Pregna, GC/MS, α-himachalene, α-Longipinene, Scutellaria

To conquer the low water solubility and bioavailability of curcumin (CUR), to corroborate its functional qualities and to broaden its applicability in the pharmaceutical sector, numerous nanoscale methods have been widely exploited for its administration. Because of its polycystic, biodegradable, biocompatibility, non-toxicity, and non-allergenic properties, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and glycine (Gly) have been actively investigated as natural biopolymers for decades. Various BSA and Gly-based nanocarriers with unique features for CUR delivery, such as magnetic ferrite nanoparticles, are being developed (MNPs). In this work, magnesium ferrite (MgFe2O4)/BSA and nickel ferrite (NiFe2O4)/Gly nanocomposites loaded with CUR (drug model) were manufactured for the first time using a chemical co-precipitation approach to create biocompatible drug nanocarriers. It was found that the synthesized MgFe2O4/BSA and NiFe2O4/Gly nanoparticles have a uniform particle distribution and their size is much less than 100 nm. Saturation magnetization in MgFe2O4 and NiFe2O4 reaches 13.07 and 33.4 emu/g the remarkable peak of magnetization decreases to 10.99 and 32.36 emu/g after the addition of polymers. These analyses also showed the presence of chemical bonds in the structure of the nanocomposite. The curcumin diffusion process in NPs were determined using a mathematical modeling. The yielding of the product for MgFe2O4/BSA and NiFe2O4/Gly in 200 h is about 72 and 63%, respectively. Also, regressed relative diffusivities (D/R2), including effective steric hindrance, were determined as 5.75 × 10-4 and 2.72 × 10-4 h-1 for MgFe2O4/BSA and NiFe2O4/Gly, respectively. It shows that there is a significant steric barrier that significantly deviates from the molecular diffusion of the liquid. As a result, the low effective release of curcumin in the particles is more noticeable. Our study demonstrated the effective relationship between the polymer architecture and the biophysical properties of the resulting nanoparticles and shed light on new approaches for the design of efficient NP-based drug carriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a type of the central nervous system malignancy and considered as the most lethal and aggressive primary brain tumor. Adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) along with temozolomide (TMZ) is considered as the standard treatment regimen for GBM. However, implementation of RT in tumor suppression is frequently accompanied by several side effects. Additionally, dose limitation and radioresistance are other major drawbacks associated with radiation therapy. To this end, nanoradioenhancer/or nanoradiosensitizer based on high-Z metallic elements has emerged as a powerful treatment modality in GBM therapy. In this study, CuFe2O4 decorated with BSA nanoplatforms (CuFe2O4 @BSA) was fabricated to improve the theraputics potential of RT through sensitizing the U-87 GBM cells to X-ray radiation. The characterization techniques such as FTIR, XRD, EDS and UV–Vis spectroscopy confirmed successful fabrication of CuFe2O4 @BSA radioenhancer, while also TEM images indicated the prepared nanoradiosensitizers are uniform, homogenous, and spherical with an average size of about 5 nm. In vitro hemocompatibility and cytocompatibility of developed CuFe2O4 @BSA nanoradiosensitizers were also investigated by hemolysis and MTT assay, respectively. The merits of CuFe2O4 @BSA nanoplatforms in sensitizing the U-87 cells to the ionizing radiation were also exploited using intracellular ROS generation and MTT assay. It was found that CuFe2O4 @BSA nanoradiosensitizers did not cause any deleterious effects on primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) of which the cell viability of all treated group was beyond 95%, endorsing the cytocompatibility and safety of these nanoplatforms for further assessment. Hemolysis assay also confirms the biosafety of CuFe2O4 @BSA nanoradiosensitizers, exhibiting no significant toxicity against human red blood cells in which the degree of hemolysis was less than 4%. In vitro cancer radiotherapy also demonstrated that the cell viability of U-87 GBM was considerably decreased once co-modality of X-ray and CuFe2O4 @BSA nanoradiosensitizers were used simultaneously. Radiosensitizing ability of these nanoparticles was also proved by intracellular ROS generation, of which implementation of CuFe2O4 @BSA nanoradiosensitizers upon X-ray irradiation resulted in superior ROS production. Overall, these findings provide vital evidence for applicability of prepared CuFe2O4 @BSA nanoradiosensitizers in killing the primary brain tumor cells specifically GBM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The improvement of high‐Z‐based metallic nanostructures as radiosensitizers with high monolithicity and versatility by superadditive therapeutic track and the good protective effect is considerable, but they are limited by some problems such as nonideal selectivity for the target tissue. In this study, nanosystems were developed to enhance the efficacy of radiotherapy and reduce cancer cell survival based on innovative gold (Au) functionalized oxygen‐single‐walled carbon nanotubes (O‐SWCNTs). We illustrate the use of folic acid (FA) as a targeting agent and bovine serum albumin (BSA) to stabilize the physiological environment and increase durability. The physical and chemical properties of the nanosystems were evaluated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet–visible (UV–Visible), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) techniques. Finally, the MTT assay was used to investigate the therapeutic effects of nanoparticles in the 4 T1 mouse breast cancer model in the presence and absence of X‐rays. So, the cancer cells experienced a more effective reduction in survival after receiving O‐SWCNTs‐Au‐BSA‐FA + 8 Gy than O‐SWCNTs‐BSA, Au‐BSA‐FA, and O‐SWCNTs‐Au‐BSA + 8 Gy groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]