scholarly journals A REVIEW ON LIQUID CRYSTALLINE NANOPARTICLES (CUBOSOMES): EMERGING NANOPARTICULATE DRUG CARRIER

Author(s):  
S. NAVEENTAJ ◽  
Y. INDIRA MUZIB

Cubosomes are novel biocompatible drug delivery system and have honeycombed (cavernous) structures whose diameter size range from 10–500 nm. They appear like dots, which are likely to be spherical structures. Each dot corresponds to the presence of a pore containing aqueous cubic phase in the lipid water system. Cubosomes posse’s great significance in the field of cosmeceuticals and Pharmaceuticals due to its unique features and become an attractive choice of vehicle for in vivo drug delivery due to their low cost, safety, efficacy and versatility for controlled release application and functionalization. Cubosomes have a very simple method of preparation; biodegradability of selected lipids has the capability to encapsulate hydrophobic and hydrophilic substances. Cubosomes are considered to be versatile systems, and prepared cubosomes can be administrated by different ways such as oral, percutaneous and parenteral routes. On the whole, cubosomes offer high consequence in nano-based drug preparations for melanoma (skin cancer) treatment, targeted drug delivery systems and comprise a wide range of applications in many areas and are characterized by various parameters. Consequently, cubosomes are in progress forward of awareness in the Pharmaceutical division. This review article mainly focuses on the methods of preparation, advantages, and applications of cubosomes.

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yulin Chen ◽  
Ping Ma ◽  
Shuangying Gui

Lipids have been widely used as main constituents in various drug delivery systems, such as liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, and lipid-based lyotropic liquid crystals. Among them, lipid-based lyotropic liquid crystals have highly ordered, thermodynamically stable internal nanostructure, thereby offering the potential as a sustained drug release matrix. The intricate nanostructures of the cubic phase and hexagonal phase have been shown to provide diffusion controlled release of active pharmaceutical ingredients with a wide range of molecular weights and polarities. In addition, the biodegradable and biocompatible nature of lipids demonstrates the minimum toxicity and thus they are used for various routes of administration. Therefore, the research on lipid-based lyotropic liquid crystalline phases has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. This review will provide an overview of the lipids used to prepare cubic phase and hexagonal phase at physiological temperature, as well as the influencing factors on the phase transition of liquid crystals. In particular, the most current research progresses on cubic and hexagonal phases as drug delivery systems will be discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avantika Dhadwal ◽  
Dev Raj Sharma ◽  
Vinay Pandit ◽  
Mahendra Singh Ashawat ◽  
Pravin Kumar

Cubosomes are square and rounded particles with internal cubic lattice. Cubosomes are thermodynamically stable and consist of honeycombed (cavernous) structures separating two internal aqueous channels and a large interfacial area. Cubosomes are nanoparticles which are self assembled liquid crystalline particles of certain surfactants with proper ratio of water with microstructure that provides unique properties of practical interest. Bicontinuous cubic liquid crystalline phase is optically clear and very viscous material has the unique structure at nanometer scale. The word bicontinuous refers to the division of the two continuous but non-intersecting aqueous regions by lipid bilayer that is twisted into space filling structure. Hydrating a surfactant or polar lipid that forms cubic phase and then dispersing a solid like phase into smaller particles usually forms a cubosomes. Self-assembled cubosomes as active drug delivery systems are receiving more and more attention and interest after the first discovery and nomination. They exhibit different internal cubic structure and composition with different drug-loading modalities. It has high internal surface area and cubic crystalline structures, relatively simple preparation method, biodegradability of lipids, the ability of encapsulating hydrophobic, hydrophilic and amphiphilic substances, targeting and controlled release of bioactive agents. Cubosomes are having wide range of applications in various fields and they can be characterized by various evaluation parameters. So, Cubosomes are gaining more attention in pharmaceutical field. Keywords: Cubosomes, Liquid crystal, drug-loading, hydrophilic, hydrophobic, amphiphilic.


Author(s):  
David M. Anderson ◽  
Tomas Landh

First discovered in surfactant-water liquid crystalline systems, so-called ‘bicontinuous cubic phases’ have the property that hydropnilic and lipophilic microdomains form interpenetrating networks conforming to cubic lattices on the scale of nanometers. Later these same structures were found in star diblock copolymers, where the simultaneous continuity of elastomeric and glassy domains gives rise to unique physical properties. Today it is well-established that the symmetry and topology of such a morphology are accurately described by one of several triply-periodic minimal surfaces, and that the interface between hydrophilic and hydrophobic, or immiscible polymer, domains is described by a triply-periodic surface of constant, nonzero mean curvature. One example of such a dividing surface is shown in figure 5.The study of these structures has become of increasing importance in the past five years for two reasons:1)Bicontinuous cubic phase liquid crystals are now being polymerized to create microporous materials with monodispersed pores and readily functionalizable porewalls; figure 3 shows a TEM from a polymerized surfactant / methylmethacrylate / water cubic phase; and2)Compelling evidence has been found that these same morphologies describe biomembrane systems in a wide range of cells.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1027
Author(s):  
Vincenzo De Leo ◽  
Francesco Milano ◽  
Angela Agostiano ◽  
Lucia Catucci

Liposomes are consolidated and attractive biomimetic nanocarriers widely used in the field of drug delivery. The structural versatility of liposomes has been exploited for the development of various carriers for the topical or systemic delivery of drugs and bioactive molecules, with the possibility of increasing their bioavailability and stability, and modulating and directing their release, while limiting the side effects at the same time. Nevertheless, first-generation vesicles suffer from some limitations including physical instability, short in vivo circulation lifetime, reduced payload, uncontrolled release properties, and low targeting abilities. Therefore, liposome preparation technology soon took advantage of the possibility of improving vesicle performance using both natural and synthetic polymers. Polymers can easily be synthesized in a controlled manner over a wide range of molecular weights and in a low dispersity range. Their properties are widely tunable and therefore allow the low chemical versatility typical of lipids to be overcome. Moreover, depending on their structure, polymers can be used to create a simple covering on the liposome surface or to intercalate in the phospholipid bilayer to give rise to real hybrid structures. This review illustrates the main strategies implemented in the field of polymer/liposome assembly for drug delivery, with a look at the most recent publications without neglecting basic concepts for a simple and complete understanding by the reader.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joost van Haasteren ◽  
Altar M Munis ◽  
Deborah R Gill ◽  
Stephen C Hyde

Abstract The gene and cell therapy fields are advancing rapidly, with a potential to treat and cure a wide range of diseases, and lentivirus-based gene transfer agents are the vector of choice for many investigators. Early cases of insertional mutagenesis caused by gammaretroviral vectors highlighted that integration site (IS) analysis was a major safety and quality control checkpoint for lentiviral applications. The methods established to detect lentiviral integrations using next-generation sequencing (NGS) are limited by short read length, inadvertent PCR bias, low yield, or lengthy protocols. Here, we describe a new method to sequence IS using Amplification-free Integration Site sequencing (AFIS-Seq). AFIS-Seq is based on amplification-free, Cas9-mediated enrichment of high-molecular-weight chromosomal DNA suitable for long-range Nanopore MinION sequencing. This accessible and low-cost approach generates long reads enabling IS mapping with high certainty within a single day. We demonstrate proof-of-concept by mapping IS of lentiviral vectors in a variety of cell models and report up to 1600-fold enrichment of the signal. This method can be further extended to sequencing of Cas9-mediated integration of genes and to in vivo analysis of IS. AFIS-Seq uses long-read sequencing to facilitate safety evaluation of preclinical lentiviral vector gene therapies by providing IS analysis with improved confidence.


2017 ◽  
Vol 532 (1) ◽  
pp. 345-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Otte ◽  
Yahira M. Báez-Santos ◽  
Ellina A. Mun ◽  
Bong-Kwan Soh ◽  
Young-nam Lee ◽  
...  

Pharmaceutics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Terracciano ◽  
Luca De Stefano ◽  
Ilaria Rea

Diatom microalgae are the most outstanding natural source of porous silica. The diatom cell is enclosed in a three-dimensional (3-D) ordered nanopatterned silica cell wall, called frustule. The unique properties of the diatom frustule, including high specific surface area, thermal stability, biocompatibility, and tailorable surface chemistry, make diatoms really promising for biomedical applications. Moreover, they are easy to cultivate in an artificial environment and there is a large availability of diatom frustules as fossil material (diatomite) in several areas of the world. For all these reasons, diatoms are an intriguing alternative to synthetic materials for the development of low-cost drug delivery systems. This review article focuses on the possible use of diatom-derived silica as drug carrier systems. The functionalization strategies of diatom micro/nanoparticles for improving their biophysical properties, such as cellular internalization and drug loading/release kinetics, are described. In addition, the realization of hybrid diatom-based devices with advanced properties for theranostics and targeted or augmented drug delivery applications is also discussed.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Wang ◽  
Xusha Zhou ◽  
Weixuan Zou ◽  
Yinglin Wu ◽  
Jing Zhao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Exosomes are small, cellular membrane-derived vesicles with a diameter of 50-150 nm. Exosomes are considered ideal drug delivery systems with a wide range of applications in various diseases, including cancer. However, nonspecific delivery of therapeutic agents by exosomes in vivo remains challenging. H uman epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is an epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase, and its overexpression is usually associated with cell survival and tumor progression in various cancers. In this study, we aim to develop novel exosomes with dual HER2-targeting ability as a nanoparticle delivery vehicle to enhance antitumor efficacy in vivo . Results: Here, we report the generation of two kinds of exosomes carrying miRNAs designed to block HER2 synthesis and consequently kill tumor cells. 293-miR-HER2 exosomes package and deliver designed miRNAs to cells to block HER2 synthesis. These exosomes kill cancer cells dependent on HER2 for survival but do not affect cells that lack HER2 or that are engineered to express HER2 but are not dependent on it for survival. In contrast, 293-miR-XS-HER2 exosomes carry an additional peptide, which enables them to adhere to HER2 on the surface of cancer cells. Consequently, these exosomes preferentially enter and kill cells with surface expression of HER2. 293-miR-XS-HER2 exosomes are significantly more effective than the 293-miR-HER2 exosomes in shrinking HER2-positive tumors implanted in mice. Conclusions: Collectively, as novel antitumor drug delivery vehicles, HER2 dual-targeting exosomes exhibit increased target-specific delivery efficiency and can be further utilized to develop new nanoparticle-based targeted therapies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 291-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zepeng Jiao ◽  
Bin Zhang ◽  
Chunya Li ◽  
Weicong Kuang ◽  
Jingxian Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract A drug delivery system based on carboxymethyl cellulose-grafted graphene oxide loaded by methotrexate (MTX/CMC-GO) with pH-sensitive and controlled drug-release properties was developed in this work. CMC was grafted on graphene oxide by ethylenediamine through hydrothermal treatment. CMC serves as a pH-sensitive trigger, while CMC-GO serves as a drug-carrying vehicle due to the curved layer and large plain surface. Different amounts of drugs could be loaded into CMC-GO nanocarriers by control of the original amount of drug/carrier ratios. Additionally, low cytotoxicity against NIH-3T3 cells and low in vivo toxicity was observed. In vivo tumor growth inhibition assays showed that MTX/CMC-GO demonstrated superior antitumor activity than free MTX against HT-29 cells. Moreover, prolonged survival time of mice was observed after MTX/CMC-GO administration. The MTX/CMC-GO drug delivery system has a great potential in colon cancer therapy.


2018 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 22-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Habibollah Faraji ◽  
Reza Nedaeinia ◽  
Esmaeil Nourmohammadi ◽  
Bizan Malaekeh-Nikouei ◽  
Hamid Reza Sadeghnia ◽  
...  

Nanotechnology as a multidisciplinary and scientific innovation plays an important role in numerous biomedical applications, such as molecular imaging, biomarkers and biosensors and also drug delivery. A wide range of studies have been conducted on using of nanoparticles for early diagnosis and targeted drug therapy of various diseases. In fact, the small size, customized surface, upgraded solubility, or multi-functionality of nanoparticles enabled them to interact with complex cellular functions in new ways which opened many doors and created new biomedical applications. These studies demonstrated that nanotechnology vehicles can formulate biological products effectively, and this nano-formulated products with a potent ability against different diseases, were represented to have better biocompatibility, bioaccessibility and efficacy, under in vitro and in vivo conditions.


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