Browsing by Author "Duarte, Sofia O. D."
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- Advances in Pancreatic Cancer treatment by Nano-Based drug delivery systemsPublication . Viegas, Cláudia; Patrício, Ana B.; Prata, João; Fonseca, Leonor; Macedo, Ana S.; Duarte, Sofia O. D.; Fonte, PedroPancreatic cancer represents one of the most lethal cancer types worldwide, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 5%. Due to the inability to diagnose it promptly and the lack of efficacy of existing treatments, research and development of innovative therapies and new diagnostics are crucial to increase the survival rate and decrease mortality. Nanomedicine has been gaining importance as an innovative approach for drug delivery and diagnosis, opening new horizons through the implementation of smart nanocarrier systems, which can deliver drugs to the specific tissue or organ at an optimal concentration, enhancing treatment efficacy and reducing systemic toxicity. Varied materials such as lipids, polymers, and inorganic materials have been used to obtain nanoparticles and develop innovative drug delivery systems for pancreatic cancer treatment. In this review, it is discussed the main scientific advances in pancreatic cancer treatment by nano-based drug delivery systems. The advantages and disadvantages of such delivery systems in pancreatic cancer treatment are also addressed. More importantly, the different types of nanocarriers and therapeutic strategies developed so far are scrutinized.
- Lipid-based nanoformulations for drug delivery: an ongoing perspectivePublication . Rehman, Mubashar; Tahir, Nayab; Sohail, Muhammad Farhan; Qadri, Muhammad Usman; Duarte, Sofia O. D.; Brandão, Pedro; Esteves, Teresa; Javed, Ibrahim; Fonte, PedroOils and lipids help make water-insoluble drugs soluble by dispersing them in an aqueous medium with the help of a surfactant and enabling their absorption across the gut barrier. The emergence of microemulsions (thermodynamically stable), nanoemulsions (kinetically stable), and self-emulsifying drug delivery systems added unique characteristics that make them suitable for prolonged storage and controlled release. In the 1990s, solid-phase lipids were introduced to reduce drug leakage from nanoparticles and prolong drug release. Manipulating the structure of emulsions and solid lipid nanoparticles has enabled multifunctional nanoparticles and the loading of therapeutic macromolecules such as proteins, nucleic acid, vaccines, etc. Phospholipids and surfactants with a well-defined polar head and carbon chain have been used to prepare bilayer vesicles known as liposomes and niosomes, respectively. The increasing knowledge of targeting ligands and external factors to gain control over pharmacokinetics and the ever-increasing number of synthetic lipids are expected to make lipid nanoparticles and vesicular systems a preferred choice for the encapsulation and targeted delivery of therapeutic agents. This review discusses different lipids and oil-based nanoparticulate systems for the delivery of water-insoluble drugs. The salient features of each system are highlighted, and special emphasis is given to studies that compare them.
- Nanomedicine in oncology: diagnostic breakthroughs and therapeutic FrontiersPublication . Shehzad, Adeeb; Alves, Júlia; Ul-Islam, Mazhar; Saidi, Abdullah Khamis Al; Duarte, Sofia O. D.; Khan, Mohammad Sherjeel Javed; Fonte, PedroNanomedicine is a multidisciplinary field, offering significant promises for cancer detection and therapy. Nanoparticles (NPs), nanoprobes and nanobiosensors can be tailored to achieve highly sensitive tumor detection by contrast imaging techniques. The application of directed drug delivery for cancer therapies can be achieved via the formulation and tailoring of drug-loaded nanocarriers. NPs have been employed as carrier to transport drugs or biological molecules to tumor tissues via active or passive mechanisms, consequently improving treatment outcomes and minimize harmful effects. However, nanomedicine translation has been hindered by augmented permeability and retention and ICI of the TME, limiting improvement and potential outcomes of patients. TME, consisting of cancerous cells, CAFs or TAFs, specific immune cells, and the stroma, performs a crucial part in contributing to cancer resistance to nanotherapy. This review summarizes nanotechnology application in the identification and treatment of cancers by exploring pathophysiological features, mechanisms and limitation of nanomedicine in cancer.
- Synergistic effect of aloe vera hydrogels with imatinib for pH-responsive drug release in breast cancer treatmentPublication . Khan, Aroob Hasan; Shehzad, Adeeb; Pirela, Paola; Atalaia, Mariana; Ruivinho, Beatriz Lourenço; Rashan, Luay; Miran, Waheed; Duarte, Sofia O. D.; Fonte, PedroImatinib (IM) efficacy as a cancer drug is limited by pharmacokinetic drug resistance developed during systemic circulation before reaching the target site.Hydrogels have attracted attention because of their characteristic physiochemical and biochemical properties, flexibility, and the ability to release drugs directly at target sites causing cancer mitigation. The current study aims at developing Aloe Vera (AV) hydrogels for the efficient and targeted delivery of IM into cancer cells and studying its synergistic effect. Incorporating Aloe Vera into the previously studied Sodium Alginate (SA)/PolyVinyl Alcohol (PVA) hydrogels and loading with IM is expected to reach a pH-responsive release efficiency, enhanced biochemical properties and increased cancer cell cytotoxicity. The hydrogels, SA/PVA and SA/PVA/AV were characterized (FT-IR, SEM) and investigated for their physiochemical properties. The presence of AV and IM were confirmed by the increase in the intensity of band from 3000 to 3500 cm-1, while an increase in the pore size was observed upon the loading of IM. The final formulation, SA/PVA/AV hydrogels displayed increased pore size which leveraged their swelling, degradation, encapsulation, and release properties by 400%, 100%, 56%, and 94%, respectively. The in vitro analysis on breast cancer cells showed that the SA/PVA/AV hydrogels loaded with IM worked synergistically to significantly reduce the cancer cell viability to 40%, surpassing the efficacy of the SA/PVA/AV hydrogel and IM treatments alone. This study highlights the promising potential for the use of AV in the development of a drug delivery system (DDS) for targeting and improving therapeutic outcomes in cancer treatment.