Neutrophils, the most abundant type of leukocytes in blood, can form neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). These are pathogen-trapping structures generated by expulsion of the neutrophil's DNA with associated proteolytic enzymes. NETs produced by infection can promote cancer metastasis. We show that metastatic breast cancer cells can induce neutrophils to form metastasis-supporting NETs in the absence of infection. Using intravital imaging, we observed NET-like structures around metastatic 4T1 cancer cells that had reached the lungs of mice. We also found NETs in clinical samples of triple-negative human breast cancer. The formation of NETs stimulated the invasion and migration of breast cancer cells in vitro. Inhibiting NET formation or digesting NETs with deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I) blocked these processes. Treatment with NET-digesting, DNase I-coated nanoparticles markedly reduced lung metastases in mice. Our data suggest that induction of NETs by cancer cells is a previously unidentified metastasis-promoting tumor-host interaction and a potential therapeutic target.

Cancer cells induce metastasis-supporting neutrophil extracellular DNA traps

The surface of a polymeric nanoparticle (NP) is often functionalized with cell-interactive ligands and/or additional polymeric layers to control NP interaction with cells and proteins. However, such modification is not always straightforward when the surface is not chemically reactive. For this reason, most NP functionalization processes employ reactive linkers or coupling agents or involve prefunctionalization of the polymer, which are complicated and inefficient. Moreover, prefunctionalized polymers can lose the ability to encapsulate and retain a drug if the added ligands change the chemical properties of the polymer. To overcome this challenge, we use dopamine polymerization as a way of functionalizing NP surfaces. This method includes brief incubation of the preformed NPs in a weak alkaline solution of dopamine, followed by secondary incubation with desired ligands. Using this method, we have functionalized poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) NPs with three representative surface modifiers: a small ...

/pdf/polydopamine-based-simple-and-versatile-surface-modification-3vdlutoltk.pdf

Polydopamine-based simple and versatile surface modification of polymeric nano drug carriers.

Nanoparticles have received enormous attention as a promising tool to enhance target-specific drug delivery and diagnosis. Various in vitro and in vivo techniques are used to characterize a new system and predict its clinical efficacy. These techniques enable efficient comparison across nanoparticles and facilitate a product optimization process. On the other hand, we recognize their limitations as a prediction tool, due to inadequate applications and overly simplified test conditions. We provide a critical review of in vitro and in vivo techniques currently used for evaluation of nanoparticles and introduce emerging techniques and models that may be used complementarily.

/pdf/nanoparticle-characterization-state-of-the-art-challenges-1rkm9raf5e.pdf

Nanoparticle Characterization: State of the Art, Challenges, and Emerging Technologies

Dry powders based on PLGA nanoparticles for pulmonary delivery of antibiotics: modulation of encapsulation efficiency, release rate and lung deposition pattern by hydrophilic polymers.

Shell biorefinery, referring to the fractionation of crustacean shells into their major components and the transformation of each component into value-added chemicals and materials, has attracted growing attention in recent years. Since the large quantities of waste shells remain underexploited, their valorization can potentially bring both ecological and economic benefits. This Review provides an overview of the current status of shell biorefinery. It first describes the structural features of crustacean shells, including their composition and their interactions. Then, various fractionation methods for the shells are introduced. The last section is dedicated to the valorization of chitin and its derivatives for chemicals, porous carbon materials and functional polymers.

Shell Biorefinery: Dream or Reality?

When a nanoparticle is developed for systemic application, its surface is typically protected by polyethylene glycol (PEG) to help their prolonged circulation and evasion of immune clearance. On the other hand, PEG can interfere with interactions between nanocarriers and target cells and negatively influence the therapeutic outcomes. To overcome this challenge, we propose low molecular-weight chitosan (LMWC) as an alternative surface coating, which can protect the nanomedicine in neutral pH but allow cellular interactions in weakly acidic pH of tumors. LMWCs with a molecular weight of 2–4 kDa, 4–6.5 kDa, and 11–22 kDa were produced by hydrogen peroxide digestion and covalently conjugated with poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA). Nanoparticles created with PLGA-LMWC conjugates showed pH-sensitive cell interactions, which enabled specific drug delivery to cells in a weakly acidic environment. The hydrophilic LMWC layer reduced opsonization and phagocytic uptake. These properties qualify LMWCs as a promising biomaterial for pH-sensitive stealth coating.

/pdf/low-molecular-weight-chitosan-as-a-ph-sensitive-stealth-28p96p8uiy.pdf

Low molecular-weight chitosan as a pH-sensitive stealth coating for tumor-specific drug delivery.

Abnormal airway mucus presents a significant challenge for inhalational drug delivery. Recognizing the thick and tenacious airway mucus seen in the cystic fibrosis (CF) patients as a critical barrier to effective drug delivery, both into the mucus layer itself as well as across that layer to the underlying airway epithelium, we hypothesize that mannitol or NaCl can form inhalable drug carriers, improve drug penetration into the mucus, and ultimately enhance the drug's therapeutic effect. The objective of this study is to test whether mannitol and NaCl particles, as inhalable drug carriers, improve drug delivery into and enhance a drug's activity within a mucus-like material. Microparticles con- taining Ciprofloxacin (Cipro), an active ingredient, and either mannitol or NaCl were produced by spray-drying. Cipro encapsulated in mannitol particles (Cipro-mannitol) was significantly more effective at killing Pseudomonas aer- uginosa (P. aeruginosa) grown in artificial mucus (AM) than Cipro encapsulated in either NaCl particles (Cipro-NaCl) or in hydrophobic particles consisting of dipalmitoylphospha- tidylcholine (DPPC), albumin, and lactose (Cipro-DAL). The relatively high antibacterial effectiveness of Cipro-man- nitol was not due to the effect of mannitol on bacteria or on Cipro. Rather, the unique performance of the mannitol- based particles in AM is attributable to its ability to increase local water content in the AM and enhance drug penetration into it. Mannitol is a promising excipient for inhalable microparticles that facilitate the drug delivery into the CF mucus. Biotechnol. Bioeng. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2011;108: 1441-1449. 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Mannitol‐Guided delivery of ciprofloxacin in artificial cystic fibrosis mucus model

Development of quinic acid-conjugated nanoparticles as a drug carrier to solid tumors.

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Low molecular-weight chitosan as a pH-sensitive stealth coating for tumor-specific drug delivery.

Mannitol‐Guided delivery of ciprofloxacin in artificial cystic fibrosis mucus model

Development of quinic acid-conjugated nanoparticles as a drug carrier to solid tumors.