Abstract
The epoch of nanotechnology has authorized novel investigation strategies in the area of drug delivery. Liposomes are attractive biomimetic nanocarriers characterized by their biocompatibility, high loading capacity, and their ability to reduce encapsulated drug toxicity. Nevertheless, various limitations including physical instability, lack of site specificity, and low targeting abilities have impeded the use of solo liposomes. Metal nanocarriers are emerging moieties that can enhance the therapeutic activity of many drugs with improved release and targeted potential, yet numerous barriers, such as colloidal instability, cellular toxicity, and poor cellular uptake, restrain their applicability in vivo. The empire of nanohybrid systems has shelled to overcome these curbs and to combine the criteria of liposomes and metal nanocarriers for successful theranostic delivery. Metallic moieties can be embedded or functionalized on the liposomal systems. The current review sheds light on different liposomal-metal nanohybrid systems that were designed as cellular bearers for therapeutic agents, delivering them to their targeted terminus to combat one of the most widely recognized diseases, cancer.
Highlights
NIR exposure disrupts liposomes architecture and triggers anticancer agents’ release which creates an efficient platform for targeted controlled drug delivery and contrast media. This dual effect was evaluated by Ou et al who synthesized multibranched gold nanoantennas (MGNs) by one-step seedless growth mechanism to mediate photothermal heating upon NIR light with low-temperature sensitive liposomes (LTSLs) for the delivery of Dox to MDA-MB-231 triple-negative breast cancer cells (TNBC) [52]
These findings proved the potential application of transferrin receptor-targeted liposomes for brain tumor delivery of anticancer drugs and imaging molecules, for successful brain tumor diagnosis and treatment [83]
The in vitro cytotoxicity of EPI-gold nanoparticles (GNPs) liposomes against MCF-7 cancer cell lines showed IC50 of 52% after 24 h, with amplified reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Treatment with this IC50 for 72 h showed that EPI-GNPs liposomes resulted in the irregular shape of MCF-7 cells with condensed nuclei, distorted membrane, and apoptotic bodies. This superior cytotoxicity was explained by the successful encapsulation of EPI in liposomes that allowed the diffusion of the drug into the nucleus, enhancing the therapeutic anticancer effect with minimal side effects to normal tissue, another reason for this anticancer efficacy is the generation of ROS that altered the permeability of the mitochondrial membrane, inducing apoptosis through the intrinsic pathway
Summary
Systems: A Critical Review of Theranostic Behavior in Cancer.
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