Nanotechnology-Based Approaches for Chronic Diseases

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2019) | Viewed by 14453

Special Issue Editors

Department of Integrated Bioscience-Biomedical Chemistry, Nanotechnology Research Center, College of Bio-medical and Health Science, Konkuk University Glocal campus, Chungju 27413, Korea
Interests: functional foods; nanotechnology; neuroinflammation; bioactive compounds; nanodelivery systems; phyto bioactive compounds; parkinsons
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Biotechnology, GLOCAL campus, Konkuk University, Chungju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea
Interests: neuronal/neurodegenerative complications; nanodelivery systems; medical biotechnology
Department of Biotechnology, Konkuk University, Chungju, Chungbuk, Korea
Interests: pharmacological targets; oxidative stress; nanotechnology; mitochondrial dysfunction; neuroprotection; neuroinflammation; microarray; cognition; parkinson’s disease
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Chronic diseases like neurodegenerative diseases, cancers, diabetes, arthritis, cardiovascular diseases and so on are rapidly increasing worldwide among elders, and gradually also among young people due to their sedentary work style, limited physical activity and other factors. The World Health Organization’s report on the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) estimated that, by 2030, around 103 million of the global population (12% increase) will be affected by neurological-related chronic disorders. Despite this, the treatment for the chronic neuronal complications like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, and so on, is still limited due to the difficulty for drugs to cross the blood–brain barrier, which has led researchers to search for novel medicines with a lower particle size. Similarly, other chronic diseases are also facing problems in the delivery of drug or other bioactive compounds to the target site. Nanotechnology-based medicines are currently in the pipeline for the effective delivery of those drugs with a lower particle size and the enhanced bioavailability of these loaded drugs. Several nanotechnology-based nanodelivery systems have been developed for the effective loading of drugs or bioactive compounds like solid lipid nanoparticles, nanoemulsions, liposomes, phytosomes, exosomes, etc. These delivery systems show enhanced delivery of the drugs to the target site thereby effectively control or prevent disease conditions. Thus, the nanotechnology-based delivery of drug or bioactive compounds is currently an emerging trends in the protection, treatment or prevention of chronic diseases.

Thus, this Special issue focuses on but is not limited to the following key sectors:

  • Nanodelivery system development for chronic diseases
  • Nanotechnologies used for drug development like micronization
  • Nanotechnology-based molecular interactions
  • Nanomedicine-based nerve repair and regeneration
  • Nanomedicine for neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease
  • Targeted nanomedicines
  • Nanotoxicology
  • Nanoimaging

Dr. Palanivel Ganesan
Dr.Karthivashan Govindarajan
Prof.Dr.Dong-Kug Choi
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Nanodelivery systems
  • Nanoemulsion
  • Chronic diseases
  • Nanotoxicology
  • Cancer
  • Diabetes
  • Hypertension
  • Neuroinflammation
  • Nanoliposomes

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 6143 KiB  
Article
Induction of WNT16 via Peptide-mRNA Nanoparticle-Based Delivery Maintains Cartilage Homeostasis
by Huimin Yan, Ying Hu, Antonina Akk, Muhammad Farooq Rai, Hua Pan, Samuel A. Wickline and Christine T.N. Pham
Pharmaceutics 2020, 12(1), 73; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics12010073 - 17 Jan 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3590
Abstract
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a progressive joint disease that causes significant disability and pain and for which there are limited treatment options. We posit that delivery of anabolic factors that protect and maintain cartilage homeostasis will halt or retard OA progression. We employ a [...] Read more.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a progressive joint disease that causes significant disability and pain and for which there are limited treatment options. We posit that delivery of anabolic factors that protect and maintain cartilage homeostasis will halt or retard OA progression. We employ a peptide-based nanoplatform to deliver Wingless and the name Int-1 (WNT) 16 messenger RNA (mRNA) to human cartilage explants. The peptide forms a self-assembled nanocomplex of approximately 65 nm in size when incubated with WNT16 mRNA. The complex is further stabilized with hyaluronic acid (HA) for enhanced cellular uptake. Delivery of peptide-WNT16 mRNA nanocomplex to human cartilage explants antagonizes canonical β-catenin/WNT3a signaling, leading to increased lubricin production and decreased chondrocyte apoptosis. This is a proof-of-concept study showing that mRNA can be efficiently delivered to articular cartilage, an avascular tissue that is poorly accessible even when drugs are intra-articularly (IA) administered. The ability to accommodate a wide range of oligonucleotides suggests that this platform may find use in a broad range of clinical applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanotechnology-Based Approaches for Chronic Diseases)
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23 pages, 10943 KiB  
Article
Enzyme-Loaded Gel Core Nanostructured Lipid Carriers to Improve Treatment of Lysosomal Storage Diseases: Formulation and In Vitro Cellular Studies of Elosulfase Alfa-Loaded Systems
by J. Víctor Álvarez, Carolina Herrero Filgueira, Alexandre de la Fuente González, Cristóbal Colón Mejeras, Andrés Beiras Iglesias, Shunji Tomatsu, José Blanco Méndez, Asteria Luzardo Álvarez, María Luz Couce and Francisco J. Otero Espinar
Pharmaceutics 2019, 11(10), 522; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics11100522 - 11 Oct 2019
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3779
Abstract
Mucopolysaccharidosis IVA (Morquio A) is a rare inherited metabolic disease caused by deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme N-acetylgalatosamine-6-sulfate-sulfatase (GALNS). Until now, treatments employed included hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and enzyme replacement therapy (ERT); the latter being the most commonly used to treat mucopolysaccharidoses, [...] Read more.
Mucopolysaccharidosis IVA (Morquio A) is a rare inherited metabolic disease caused by deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme N-acetylgalatosamine-6-sulfate-sulfatase (GALNS). Until now, treatments employed included hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and enzyme replacement therapy (ERT); the latter being the most commonly used to treat mucopolysaccharidoses, but with serious disadvantages due to rapid degradation and clearance. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate the potential of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) by encapsulating elosulfase alfa and preserving its enzyme activity, leading to enhancement of its biological effect in chondrocyte cells. A pegylated elosulfase alfa-loaded NLC was characterized in terms of size, ζ potential, structural lipid composition (DSC and XRD), morphology (TEM microscopy), and stability in human plasma. The final formulation was freeze-dried by selecting the appropriate cryoprotective agent. Viability assays confirmed that NLCs were non-cytotoxic to human fibroblasts. Imaging techniques (confocal and TEM) were used to assess the cellular uptake of NLCs loaded with elosulfase alfa. This study provides evidence that the encapsulated drug exhibits enzyme activity inside the cells. Overall, this study provides a new approach regarding NLCs as a promising delivery system for the encapsulation of elosulfase alfa or other enzymes and the preservation of its activity and stability to be used in enzymatic replacement therapy (ERT). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanotechnology-Based Approaches for Chronic Diseases)
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17 pages, 12252 KiB  
Article
Hollow Microcapsules as Periocular Drug Depot for Sustained Release of Anti-VEGF Protein
by Krishna Radhakrishnan, Anita Vincent, Rini Rachel Joseph, Miguel Moreno, Andreas Dickescheid, Rupesh Agrawal and Subbu Venkatraman
Pharmaceutics 2019, 11(7), 330; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics11070330 - 11 Jul 2019
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3241
Abstract
Diseases affecting the posterior segment of the eye such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy are leading causes of blindness all over the world. The current treatment regimen for such diseases involves repeated intravitreal injections of anti- Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) [...] Read more.
Diseases affecting the posterior segment of the eye such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy are leading causes of blindness all over the world. The current treatment regimen for such diseases involves repeated intravitreal injections of anti- Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) proteins. This method is highly invasive and can lead to severe complications. In an attempt to develop less invasive alternatives, we propose the use of a controlled release system consisting of anti-VEGF loaded hollow microcapsules that can be administered periocularly to form drug eluting depots on the episcleral surface. The microcapsules with either positive or negative surface charge were prepared by a layer by layer approach and showed pH responsive permeability switching. An ex vivo experiment using porcine sclera indicated positively charged microcapsules remained on the episcleral surface over four days while the negatively charged microcapsules were washed away. These positively charged microcapsules were then loaded with anti-VEGF protein ranibizumab using pH dependent permeability switching and protein release from the microcapsules were studied using an in vitro setup. An ex vivo experiment utilizing porcine sclera demonstrated sustained release of ranibizumab over seven days with zero-order kinetics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanotechnology-Based Approaches for Chronic Diseases)
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22 pages, 293 KiB  
Review
Nanomaterial-Based Approaches for Neural Regeneration
by Raluca Ioana Teleanu, Oana Gherasim, Tudor George Gherasim, Valentina Grumezescu, Alexandru Mihai Grumezescu and Daniel Mihai Teleanu
Pharmaceutics 2019, 11(6), 266; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics11060266 - 08 Jun 2019
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3228
Abstract
Mechanical, thermal, chemical, or ischemic injury of the central or peripheral nervous system results in neuron loss, neurite damage, and/or neuronal dysfunction, almost always accompanied by sensorimotor impairment which alters the patient’s life quality. The regenerative strategies for the injured nervous system are [...] Read more.
Mechanical, thermal, chemical, or ischemic injury of the central or peripheral nervous system results in neuron loss, neurite damage, and/or neuronal dysfunction, almost always accompanied by sensorimotor impairment which alters the patient’s life quality. The regenerative strategies for the injured nervous system are currently limited and mainly allow partial functional recovery, so it is necessary to develop new and effective approaches for nervous tissue regenerative therapy. Nanomaterials based on inorganic or organic and composite or hybrid compounds with tunable physicochemical properties and functionality proved beneficial for the transport and delivery/release of various neuroregenerative-relevant biomolecules or cells. Within the following paragraphs, we will emphasize that nanomaterial-based strategies (including nanosized and nanostructured biomaterials) represent a promising alternative towards repairing and regenerating the injured nervous system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanotechnology-Based Approaches for Chronic Diseases)
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