Search results for " DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS."

Chemoresistance and chemosensitization in cholangiocarcinoma

2017

One of the main difficulties in the management of patients with advanced cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is their poor response to available chemotherapy. This is the result of powerful mechanisms of chemoresistance (MOC) of quite diverse nature that usually act synergistically. The problem is often worsened by altered MOC gene expression in response to pharmacological treatment. Since CCA includes a heterogeneous group of cancers their genetic signature coding for MOC genes is also diverse; however, several shared traits have been defined. Some of these characteristics are shared with other types of liver cancer, namely hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatoblastoma. An important goal in modern onco…

Gold nanostar–polymer hybrids for siRNA delivery: Polymer design towards colloidal stability and in vitro studies on breast cancer cells

2017

To overcome the low bioavailability of siRNA (small interfering RNA) and to improve their transfection efficiency, the use of non-viral delivery carriers is today a feasible approach to transform the discovery of these incredibly potent and versatile drugs into clinical practice. Polymer-modified gold nanoconstructs (AuNCs) are currently viewed as efficient and safe intracellular delivery carriers for siRNA, as they have the possibility to conjugate the ability to stably entrap and deliver siRNAs inside cells with the advantages of gold nanoparticles, which can act as theranostic agents and radiotherapy enhancers through laser-induced hyperthermia. In this study, AuNCs were prepared by coat…

Clinical and Microbiologic Effects of Subgingival Controlled-Release Delivery of Chlorhexidine Chip in the Treatment of Periodontitis: A Multicenter …

2008

Background: The main therapeutic approach for periodontal diseases is mechanical treatment of root surfaces via scaling and root planing (SRP). Multicenter clinical trials have demonstrated that the adjunctive use of a chlorhexidine (CHX) chip is effective in improving clinical results compared to SRP alone. However, some recent studies failed to confirm these clinical results, and conflicting results were reported regarding the effects of the CHX chip on subgingival microflora. The aim of this study was to provide further data on the clinical and microbiologic effects of CHX chips when used as an adjunct to SRP. Methods: A total of 116 systemically healthy individuals with moderate to adva…

Novel Lipid and Polymeric Materials as Delivery Systems for Nucleic Acid Based Drugs

2015

Nucleic acid based drugs (NADBs) are short DNA/RNA molecules that include among others, antisense oligonucleotides, aptamers, small interfering RNAs and micro-interfering RNAs. Despite the different mechanisms of actions, NABDs have the ability to combat the effects of pathological gene expression in many experimental systems. Thus, nowadays, NABDs are considered to have a great therapeutic potential, possibly superior to that of available drugs. Unfortunately, however, the lack of effective delivery systems limits the practical use of NABDs. Due to their hydrophilic nature, NABDs cannot efficiently cross cellular membrane; in addition, they are subjected to fast degradation by cellular and…

“AD HOC” MODIFIED CLAYS FOR BIOTECHNOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS

Nowadays, the scientific community has to face with cogent problems strictly linked to the improvement of quality of live. Among the different tasks to achieve the prefixed objective the focus has been put on the drug administration, i.e., attention has been paid to propose an appropriate solution to improve the performance of a drug delivery system and to eliminate both the side effect and drawbacks. With the aim to achieve the design, synthesis, and characterization of versatile systems, with peculiar characteristics, based on clays and clays modified with a biocompatible surfactant, able to adsorb and release organic substances of pharmaceutical interest the present PhD thesis has been u…

Polybenzofulvene derivatives bearing dynamic binding sites as potential anticancer drug delivery systems.

2020

In order to obtain new advanced functional materials capable of recognizing drug molecules, the polybenzofulvene backbone of molecular brush poly-6-MOEG-9-TM-BF3k has been functionalized with a “synthetic dynamic receptor” composed of two 1-adamantylurea moieties linked together by means of a dipropyleneamino bridge as in Meijer's bis(adamantylurea) pincer (BAUP). This functional material, bearing synthetic receptors potentially capable of recognizing/loading and then delivering drug molecules, was used to prepare colloidal drug delivery systems (by means of soft interaction with BAUP) for delivering the model anti-cancer drug doxorubicin (DOXO). The resulting nanostructured drug delivery s…

Solid lipid nanoparticles containing tamoxifen characterization and in vitro antitumoral activity.

2005

Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) containing tamoxifen, a nons- teroidal antiestrogen used in breast cancer therapy, were prepared by microemulsion and precipitation techniques. Tamoxifen loaded SLNs seem to have dimensional properties useful for parenteral administration, and in vitro plasmatic drug release studies demon- strated that these systems are able to give a prolonged release of the drug in the intact form. Preliminary study of antiproliferative ac- tivity in vitro, carried out on MCF-7 cell line (human breast cancer cells), demonstrated that SLNs, containing tamoxifen showed an antitumoral activity comparable to free drug. The results of char- acterization studies and of in vitro …

TRAIL in cancer therapy: present and future challenges.

2007

International audience; Since its identification in 1995, TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) has sparked growing interest in oncology due to its reported ability to selectively trigger cancer cell death. In contrast to other members of the TNF superfamily, TRAIL administration in vivo is safe. The relative absence of toxic side effects of this naturally occurring cytokine, in addition to its antitumoural properties, has led to its preclinical evaluation. However, despite intensive investigations, little is known in regards to the mechanisms underlying TRAIL selectivity or efficiency. An appropriate understanding of its physiological relevance, and of the mechanisms controlling ca…

A New Hyaluronic Acid Derivative Obtained from Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization as a siRNA Vector for CD44 Receptor Tumor Targeting.

2015

Two derivatives of hyaluronic acid (HA) have been synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), starting from an ethylenediamino HA derivative (HA-EDA) and by using diethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DEAEMA) as a monomer for polymerization. Both samples, indicated as HA-EDA-pDEAEMA a and b, are able to condense siRNA, as determined by gel retardation assay and resulting complexes show a size and a zeta potential value dependent on polymerization number, as determined by dynamic light scattering measurements. In vitro studies performed on HCT 116 cell line, that over express CD44 receptor, demonstrate a receptor mediated uptake of complexes, regardless of their surface charge. New…

Densely PEGylated polybenzofulvene brushes for potential applications in drug encapsulation

2018

The technique of grafting side chains onto a linear polymeric backbone is commonly used to confer to the new polymeric material with desired properties, such as tunable solubility, ionic charge, biocompatibility, or specific interactions with biological systems. In this paper, two new polybenzofulvene backbones were assembled by spontaneous polymerization of the appropriate benzofulvene monomers (4,6-PO-BF3k and 4&rsquo