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Short time treatment with reduced dosages of selol-loaded PLGA nanocapsules (NcSel) combined with magnetic hyperthermia (MHT) is evaluated in aged Erhlich tumor-bearing mice. Clinical, hematological, biochemical, genotoxic and histopathological parameters are assessed during 7 d treatment with NcSel and MHT, separately or combined. The time evolution of the tumor volume is successfully modeled using the logistic mathematical model. The combined therapy comprising NcSel and MHT is able to hinder primary tumor growth and a case of complete tumor remission is recorded. Moreover, no metastasis was diagnosed and the adverse effects are negligible. NcSel plus MHT may represent an effective and safe alternative to cancer control in aged patients. Future clinical trials are encouraged., (© 2022 IOP Publishing Ltd.)

The aim of this work was to develop and test the in vitro biological activity of nanocapsules loaded with a doxorubicin (DOX) free base dissolved in a core of castor oil shelled by poly(methyl vinyl ether-co-maleic anhydride) conjugated to n-octadecylamine residues. This system was stable and monodisperse, with a hydrodynamic diameter of about 300 nm. These nanocapsules changed the intracellular distribution of DOX, from the nuclei to the cytoplasm, and exhibited higher toxicity towards cancer cells - 4T1 and MCF-7 - and significantly lower toxicity towards normal cells - NIH-3T3 and MCF-10A - in vitro. In conclusion, these nanocapsules are suitable DOX carriers, which remain to be studied in in vivo tumor models.

Leishmaniasis is a neglected disease threatening over 350 million people. Antimonials are first-line drugs due to resistance and side effects there is a demand for alternative chemotherapy. Itraconazole (ITZ) is an antimycotic. It was encapsulated into poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) and covered with mannose. The NPs were 250 nm and -1.1 mV ± 0.7. PLGA-ITZ-mannose NPs presented a toxicity of 20.7% for J774 cells, and no toxicity for THP 1. The J774 cells were infected with three Leishmania promastigotes strains and treated with ITZ loaded PLGA NPs with/without mannose. The parasite percentage of L.(V.) panamensis intracellular amastigotes significantly (p < 0.01) decreased from 34.4% to 13.7% and 5.7% for PLGA-ITZ-mannose NPs and PLGA-ITZ NPs, respectively. For L.(L.) infantum there was a reduction (p < 0.001) from 18.1% to 4.8% and 8.3% for PLGA-ITZ-mannose NPs and PLGA-ITZ NPs, respectively. Further with L.(L.) braziliensis amastigotes there was a significant reduction (p < 0.001) from 54.9% to 28% and 21.1% for PLGA-ITZ-mannose NPs and PLGA-ITZ NPs, respectively. Adding mannose increased the efficacy PLGA-ITZ NPs against L.(L.) infantum, while it had no effect against L(V.) panamensis and L.(L.) braziliensis amastigotes. We recommend further investigation of PLGA-ITZ-mannose NPs in animal models to evaluate their potential. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 00B: 000-000, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 107B: 680-687, 2019., (© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Nanocapsules (NCS-DOX) with an oily core of selol and a shell of poly(methyl vinyl ether-co-maleic anhydride) covalently conjugated to doxorubicin were developed. These nanocapsules are spherical, with an average hydrodynamic diameter of about 170 nm, and with negative zeta potential. NCS-DOX effectively co-delivered the selol and the doxorubicin into 4T1 cells and changed the intracellular distribution of DOX from the nuclei to the mitochondria. Moreover, a significantly increased cytotoxicity against 4T1 cells was observed, which is suggestive of additive or synergic effect of selol and doxorubicin. In conclusion, PVM/MA nanocapsules are suitable platforms to co-deliver drugs into cancer cells.

Due to the low therapeutic index of different chemotherapeutic drugs used for cancer treatment, the development of new anticancer drugs remains an intense field of research. A recently developed mixture of selenitetriacylglycerides, selol, was shown to be active against different cancer cells in vitro. As this compound is highly hydrophobic, it was encapsulated, in a previous study, into poly(methyl vinyl ether-co-maleic anhydride)-shelled nanocapsules in order to improve its dispersibility in aqueous media. Following this line of research, the present report aimed at enhancing the In Vitro activity of the selol nanocapsules against cancerous cells by decorating their surface with folic acid. It is known that several cancer cells overexpress folate receptors. Stable folic acid-decorated selol nanocapsules (SNP-FA) were obtained, which showed to be spherical, with a hydro-dynamic diameter of 364 nm, and zeta potential of -24 mV. In comparison to non-decorated selol nanocapsules, SNP-FA presented higher activity against 4T1, MCF-7 and HeLa cells. Moreover, the decoration of the nanocapsules did not alter their toxicity towards fibroblasts, NIH-3T3 cells. These results show that the decoration with folic acid increased the toxicity of selol nanocapsules to cancer cells. These nanocapsules, besides enabling to disperse selol in an aqueous medium, increased the toxicity of this drug In Vitro, and may be useful to treat cancer in vivo, potentially increasing the specificity of selol towards cancer cells.

Nanocapsules containing selol and doxorubicin (NCS-DOX) with an oily core of selol and a shell of poly(methyl vinyl ether-co-maleic anhydride) covalently conjugated to doxorubicin were developed in a previous work. In this study, these nanocapsules showed a similar antitumour effect in comparison to the free doxorubicin (DOX) treatment, but showed no evident DOX-related cardiotoxicity, as evidenced by serum creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) activity. The histopathological analysis showed that the free DOX treatment induced more intense morphological damage to myocardial tissues in comparison to NCS-DOX treatment. Animals treated with free DOX presented important muscle fibre degradation and animals treated with NCS-DOX, heart tissue did not present signals of muscle fibre degeneration. These results indicate that the cardiotoxicity related to DOX is reduced when this drug is carried by the NCS-DOX. Noteworthy, biodistribution analyses showed that NCS-DOX accumulated more intensely in tumours than the free DOX. Thus, this study reinforces the importance of the development of nanocapsules as drug carriers for the treatment of cancer.

The objective of this study was to investigate the activity of photodynamic therapy mediated by aluminum-chlorophthalocyanine contained in a polymeric nanostructured carrier composed by methyl vinyl ether-co-maleic anhydride (PVM/MA) against local subcutaneous breast cancer tumors and its effects against distant metastasis in a mouse tumor model. In our results, we observed a decrease in breast cancer tumor growth, prevention of distant lung metastases, and a significant increased survival in mice treated with photodynamic therapy. In addition to these results, we observed that tumor-bearing mice without treatment developed a significant extension of liver hematopoiesis that was significantly reduced in mice treated with photodynamic therapy. We hypothesized and showed that this reduction in (1) metastasis and (2) liver hematopoiesis may be related to the systemic activity of immature hematopoietic cells, specifically the myeloid-derived suppressor cells, which were suppressed in mice treated with photodynamic therapy. These cells produce a tolerogenic tumor environment that protects tumor tissues from immunological surveillance. Therefore, we suggest that photodynamic therapy could be employed in combination with other conventional therapies; such as surgery and radiotherapy, to improve the overall survival of patients diagnosed with breast cancer, as observed in our experimental resuIts.

Selol is a semi-synthetic compound containing selenite that is effective against cancerous cells and safer for clinical applications in comparison with other inorganic forms of selenite. Recently, we have developed a formulation of poly(methyl vinyl ether-co-maleic anhydride)-shelled selol nanocapsules (SPN), which reduced the proliferative activity of lung adenocarcinoma cells and presented little deleterious effects on normal cells in in vitro studies. In this study, we report on the antitumor activity and systemic effects induced by this formulation in chemically induced lung adenocarcinoma-bearing mice. The in vivo antitumor activity of the SPN was verified by macroscopic quantification, immunohistochemistry and morphological analyses. Toxicity analyses were performed by evaluations of the kidney, liver, and spleen; analyses of hemogram and plasma levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate transaminase, urea, and creatinine; and DNA fragmentation and cell cycle activity of the bone marrow cells. Furthermore, we investigated the potential of the SPN formulation to cause hemolysis, activate the complement system, provoke an inflammatory response and change the conformation of the plasma proteins. Our results showed that the SPN reduced the area of the surface tumor nodules but not the total number of tumor nodules. The biochemical and hematological findings were suggestive of the low systemic toxicity of the SPN formulation. The surface properties of the selol nanocapsules point to characteristics that are consistent with the treatment of the tumors in vivo: low hemolytic activity, weak inflammatory reaction with no activation of the complement system, and mild or absent conformational changes of the plasma proteins. In conclusion, this report suggests that the SPN formulation investigated herein exhibits anti-tumoral effects against lung adenocarcinoma in vivo and is associated with low systemic toxicity and high biocompatibility.

Background: Selol is an oily mixture of selenitetriacylglycerides that was obtained as a semi-synthetic compound containing selenite. Selol is effective against cancerous cells and less toxic to normal cells compared with inorganic forms of selenite. However, Selol's hydrophobicity hinders its administration in vivo. Therefore, the present study aimed to produce a formulation of Selol nanocapsules (SPN) and to test its effectiveness against pulmonary adenocarcinoma cells (A549)., Results: Nanocapsules were produced through an interfacial nanoprecipitation method. The polymer shell was composed of poly(methyl vinyl ether-co-maleic anhydride) (PVM/MA) copolymer. The obtained nanocapsules were monodisperse and stable. Both free Selol (S) and SPN reduced the viability of A549 cells, whereas S induced a greater reduction in non-tumor cell viability than SPN. The suppressor effect of SPN was primarily associated to the G2/M arrest of the cell cycle, as was corroborated by the down-regulations of the CCNB1 and CDC25C genes. Apoptosis and necrosis were induced by Selol in a discrete percentage of A549 cells. SPN also increased the production of reactive oxygen species, leading to oxidative cellular damage and to the overexpression of the GPX1, CYP1A1, BAX and BCL2 genes., Conclusions: This study presents a stable formulation of PVM/MA-shelled Selol nanocapsules and provides the first demonstration that Selol promotes G2/M arrest in cancerous cells.

Despite recent advances in nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) formulations, the design of targeted delivery systems to improve the efficacy and reduce side effects of NSAIDs continues to be a focus of much research. Enteric nanoparticles have been recognized as a potential system to reduce gastrointestinal irritations caused by NSAIDs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of EUDRAGIT® L100, polyethylene glycol, and polysorbate 80 on encapsulation efficiency of indomethacin within enteric nanoparticles. Formulations were developed based on a multilevel factorial design (three factors, two levels). The amount of polyethylene glycol was shown to be the factor that had the greatest influence on the encapsulation efficiency (evaluated response) at 95% confidence level. Some properties of nanoparticles like process yield, drug-polymer interaction, particle morphology, and in vitro dissolution profile, which could affect biological performance, have also been evaluated.

This clinical study was developed to primarily evaluate the Complete Cytopathological Response Rate of Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasms to PDT using chitosan nanocapsules containing Chlorocyan-aluminum phthalocyanine as a photoactive agent. Analyses of the Free Recurrence Interval, toxicity profile (immediate and late), and complications (immediate and late), were secondarily analyzed. This study was previously approved by the National Council of Ethics in Research of Brazil (CONEP), on May 28, 2014, under case number 19182113.4.0000.5009. On the surface of the cervix of each selected patient was applied one mL of the formulated gel, and after 30 min, the light was applied. Reports or the identification of adverse effects and/or complications were observed in follow-up visits, in addition to the collection of cervical oncotic cytology. Out of the total group, 11 (91.7%) primarily treated patients evolved with negative cervical oncotic cytology as soon as in the first evaluation following treatment, and one did not achieve any therapeutic benefit, even after reapplication. Two patients with initially positive response presented cytological recurrence determined by histopathology. A new round of PDT was developed, and both evolved with cytological remission three weeks later, remaining negative until the last follow-up. No important side effects were observed in all the patients. Our trial demonstrates that treatment of CIN 1 and 2 lesions using our PDT formulation is feasible and safe. Large randomized clinical trials are required to establish efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]