Poly(1-vinylimidazole) polyplexes as novel therapeutic gene carriers for lung cancer therapy

• Gayathri Kandasamy,
• Elena N. Danilovtseva,
• Vadim V. Annenkov and
• Uma Maheswari Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 354–369, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.26

• the intensity obtained for β-actin band was used to normalize the band intensity of the corresponding VEGF protein band. Flow cytometry: Apoptotic cells were visualized using an Annexin V-FITC apoptosis detection kit (BD Biosciences, San Jose, USA) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. Briefly

Using gold nanoparticles to detect single-nucleotide polymorphisms: toward liquid biopsy

• María Sanromán Iglesias and
• Marek Grzelczak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 263–284, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.20

• . Several release mechanisms have been identified. 1) Secretion after cell death through apoptosis and necrosis, 2) secretion from tumor cells in the form of free or encapsulated DNA fragments, and 3) secretion from phagocytized tumor cells [35][36][37][38]. It has been observed that with the increase of

• tumor load, the local fraction of ctDNA increases compared to the overall amount of cfDNA in the sample [39]. However, this tendency is patient-dependent. The average length of ctDNA fragments generated from cell apoptosis ranges from 145 to 180 bp. Longer fragments of up to 10 kbp are secreted by cell

• in the further development of personalized medicine. Alterations in cell-free DNA. Cell-free DNA can be released from both cancerous and normal cells located in the tumor environment through apoptosis, necrosis or secretion. Once in the bloodstream, cfDNA may exist either free or associated with

Rational design of block copolymer self-assemblies in photodynamic therapy

• Maxime Demazeau,
• Laure Gibot,
• Anne-Françoise Mingotaud,
• Patricia Vicendo,
• Clément Roux and
• Barbara Lonetti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 180–212, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.15

Design of a nanostructured mucoadhesive system containing curcumin for buccal application: from physicochemical to biological aspects

• Sabrina Barbosa de Souza Ferreira,
• Gustavo Braga,
• Évelin Lemos Oliveira,
• Jéssica Bassi da Silva,
• Hélen Cássia Rosseto,
• Lidiane Vizioli de Castro Hoshino,
• Mauro Luciano Baesso,
• Wilker Caetano,
• Craig Murdoch,
• Helen Elizabeth Colley and
• Marcos Luciano Bruschi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2304–2328, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.222

• drug has been evidenced and shown to act on a variety of molecular targets that regulate the proliferation and apoptosis, decrease the expression of NF-κB and increase insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 5 (IGFBP-5) and cytochrome P450, family 1, member A1 (CYP1A1) [32][33][34]. Moreover, CUR

Synthesis and potent cytotoxic activity of a novel diosgenin derivative and its phytosomes against lung cancer cells

• Liang Xu,
• Dekang Xu,
• Ziying Li,
• Yu Gao and
• Haijun Chen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1933–1942, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.189

• efficiently than Di phytosomes after 72 h of incubation time by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. The results indicated that P2Ps could be a promising anticancer formulation for non-small-cell lung cancer. Keywords: diosgenin; non-small-cell lung cancer; phytosomes; sterol structure; Introduction

• anticancer activities, such as restraining the hTERT gene expression in A549 lung cancer cells [3], inhibiting breast cancer stem-like cells via Wnt β-catenin signaling [4], impeding hepatocellular carcinoma cells by increasing DDX3 expression [5], and inducing apoptosis of prostate cancer cells through

• antiproliferative activity against A549 and PC9 cells than Di. Cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induced by P2 The cell cycle is the series of events that take place in cells for their propagation and multiplication. The phases consist of the gap-1 phase (G1), synthesis phase (S), mitosis phase (M), and gap-2 phase

Toxicity and safety study of silver and gold nanoparticles functionalized with cysteine and glutathione

• Barbara Pem,
• Igor M. Pongrac,
• Lea Ulm,
• Ivan Pavičić,
• Valerije Vrček,
• Darija Domazet Jurašin,
• Marija Ljubojević,
• Adela Krivohlavek and
• Ivana Vinković Vrček

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1802–1817, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.175

• , reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, apoptosis induction and DNA damage in murine fibroblast cells (L929), while ecotoxicity was tested using the aquatic model organism Daphnia magna. The toxicity of these nanoparticles was considerably lower compared to their ionic metal forms (i.e., Ag+ and Au3

• studies indicating that AgNPs negatively impact cell membranes, interfere with signaling pathways, disrupt the cell cycle, and cause mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, DNA damage and apoptosis [7][8][9]. Many reports on AgNP toxicity attribute it fully or partially to dissolved or released ionic

• [26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. Most likely, a mechanism of their toxicity is the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) that trigger necrosis or apoptosis [33]. So far, a general consensus regarding NP toxicity is that their toxic effects cannot be conclusively

Effects of gold and PCL- or PLLA-coated silica nanoparticles on brain endothelial cells and the blood–brain barrier

• Aniela Bittner,
• Angélique D. Ducray,
• Hans Rudolf Widmer,
• Michael H. Stoffel and
• Meike Mevissen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 941–954, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.95

• and lysosomes in microglia [10]. None of the NPs investigated resulted in cytotoxicity, decreased cell viability, apoptosis, autophagy or inflammation. However, exposure to NPs led to oxidative stress via depletion of cellular glutathione and to a downregulation of neuronal differentiation markers in

• kidney cells. Si-NPs induced time- and concentration-dependent neuronal cell death by production of reactive oxygen species and reduction of glutathione levels [12]. Similarly, Si-NPs led to morphological changes, concentration-dependent membrane damage, decreased cell viability, increased apoptosis

• inflammation and apoptosis via connection to the NF-κB pathway [22]. Size- and dose-dependent cytotoxicity and disruption of the BBB after exposure to SiO2 particles were shown in a human model and confirmed in vivo [23]. Integrity and function of the BBB of primary porcine brain microvascular ECs (PBECs) in

The systemic effect of PEG-nGO-induced oxidative stress in vivo in a rodent model

• Qura Tul Ain,
• Samina Hyder Haq,
• Abeer Alshammari,
• Moudhi Abdullah Al-Mutlaq and
• Muhammad Naeem Anjum

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 901–911, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.91

• and found that treatment with GO can extract phospholipid and cholesterol from the plasma membrane of human alveolar epithelial A549 cells, producing surface pores [50][51]. This effect greatly reduced the cell viability and results in cellular damage and apoptosis, and long-term exposure could cause

Targeting strategies for improving the efficacy of nanomedicine in oncology

• Gonzalo Villaverde and
• Alejandro Baeza

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 168–181, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.16

• subcellular localizations [42][82]. There are many cytotoxic drugs, such as doxorubicin, that induce cell apoptosis through intercalation with nuclear DNA. Further, gene silencing therapies based on an effective delivery of short hairpin RNA (shRNA) bearing genes for small interfering RNA (siRNA) need nuclear

• inducing cell apoptosis, such as gamitrinibs and cisplatin [84]. One of the best ways to bring molecules or nanocarriers to mitochondria is by using positively charged groups. These motives are able to escape from the early endosome and reach to the mitochondria [85][86]. One of the most commonly used

Characterization and influence of hydroxyapatite nanopowders on living cells

• Przemyslaw Oberbek,
• Tomasz Bolek,
• Adrian Chlanda,
• Seishiro Hirano,
• Sylwia Kusnieruk,
• Julia Rogowska-Tylman,
• Ganna Nechyporenko,
• Viktor Zinchenko,
• Wojciech Swieszkowski and
• Tomasz Puzyn

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 3079–3094, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.286

• ions play an important role in cellular processes such as transcription, motility, exocytosis and apoptosis [68]. Intracellular calcium acts as a secondary messenger [69][70] and its concentration is strictly regulated by the cell [71]. A toxic effect occurs when more cells are dying than are produced

• by cell division, and is connected to apoptosis, i.e., programmed cell death. According to Ramovatar et al. [49], a high intracellular Ca2+ concentration may trigger a cascade of events, i.e., the activation of calpain (protein kinases), the disruption of the cytoskeletal integrity [72], the

• induction of stress inside the cell and the activation of the tumour-suppressor gene p53 [73][74], which promotes the downstream gene expression finally leading to an apoptosis. Gene p53 is also activated by phosphorylation, that is, the attachment of the phosphate group (PO43−) to the protein chain [75][76

Hybrid Au@alendronate nanoparticles as dual chemo-photothermal agent for combined cancer treatment

• Anouchka Plan Sangnier,
• Romain Aufaure,
• Laurence Motte,
• Claire Wilhelm,
• Erwann Guenin and
• Yoann Lalatonne

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2947–2952, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.273

• . They inhibit the prenylation of GTPase proteins, which affects cell morphology, replication and signalling that can cause cell death by apoptosis [8][9]. However, the in vivo therapeutic use of HMBPs is limited by low bioavailability. Once intravenously injected, free HMBPs are only slightly

Comparative biological effects of spherical noble metal nanoparticles (Rh, Pd, Ag, Pt, Au) with 4–8 nm diameter

• Alexander Rostek,
• Marina Breisch,
• Kevin Pappert,
• Kateryna Loza,
• Marc Heggen,
• Manfred Köller,
• Christina Sengstock and
• Matthias Epple

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2763–2774, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.258

• ]. Some authors have reported antimicrobial activity of gold, platinum, and palladium nanoparticles in the size range of 5 to 30 nm against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria [23][24][25] and distinct adverse biological effects such as genotoxicity, induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest of

Size-selected Fe₃O₄–Au hybrid nanoparticles for improved magnetism-based theranostics

• Maria V. Efremova,
• Yulia A. Nalench,
• Eirini Myrovali,
• Anastasiia S. Garanina,
• Ivan S. Grebennikov,
• Polina K. Gifer,
• Maxim A. Abakumov,
• Marina Spasova,
• Makis Angelakeris,
• Alexander G. Savchenko,
• Michael Farle,
• Natalia L. Klyachko,
• Alexander G. Majouga and
• Ulf Wiedwald

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2684–2699, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.251

• tested by several methods. Standard MTS assay (Figure 7, Table S2, Supporting Information File 1) was conducted to investigate the NP cytotoxicity. These results are supplemented with apoptosis/necrosis activation (Figures S4 and S6, Supporting Information File 1) and production of reactive oxygen

• species (ROS) (Figures S5 and S7, Supporting Information File 1). The ROS excess level is known to induce apoptosis [86][87][88]. The applied combination of techniques enables us to draw definite conclusions about the effect of NPs on cell viability [89]. In our experiments, 15 min AMF exposure of 4T1

• cells incubated with NPs indicate the initial level of induced cell death (22 ± 1%, MTS assay) in comparison with cells, incubated at 37 °C with NPs in the absence of AMF and control samples without NPs in zero field or exposed to AMF. This is well in line with the detection of apoptosis/necrosis as a

Cytotoxicity of doxorubicin-conjugated poly[N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide]-modified γ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles towards human tumor cells

• Zdeněk Plichta,
• Yulia Kozak,
• Rostyslav Panchuk,
• Viktoria Sokolova,
• Matthias Epple,
• Lesya Kobylinska,
• Pavla Jendelová and
• Daniel Horák

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2533–2545, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.236

• Zdenek Plichta Yulia Kozak Rostyslav Panchuk Viktoria Sokolova Matthias Epple Lesya Kobylinska Pavla Jendelova Daniel Horak Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry CAS, Heyrovského nám. 2, 162 06 Prague 6, Czech Republic Department of Regulation of Cell Proliferation and Apoptosis, Institute of Cell

• induction of apoptosis [2][3]. However, its main shortcomings include dose-dependent cardio-, myelo-, and nephrotoxicity [4]. Moreover, Dox quickly disappears after intravenous administration from blood and concentrates in liver, kidneys, myocardium, spleen and lungs even if these organs are not the target

• γ-Fe2O3@P(HPMA-MMAA)-Dox particles at two different concentrations induced apoptosis in the cells (red arrows in Figure 10d–g). It should be also noted that both γ-Fe2O3@PHPMA and P(HPMA-MMAA)-Dox nanoparticles had a tendency to adhere to the cell surface not being engulfed by them, while the

Enhanced antineoplastic/therapeutic efficacy using 5-fluorouracil-loaded calcium phosphate nanoparticles

• Shanid Mohiyuddin,
• Saba Naqvi and
• Gopinath Packirisamy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2499–2515, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.233

• alternative to the antimitotic drug, which causes severe side effects when administrated alone. Keywords: 5-FU; anticancer drug delivery; apoptosis; calcium phosphate nanoparticles; cell cycle; nanomedicine; Introduction Malignant neoplasms are reported as the second most common cause of mortality around

• 26.22% of cells after 100 µg/mL treatment. These results enable us to confirm drug-loaded-NP-induced toxicity on the cells (for all cell lines used) and to exclude carrier-mediated toxicity. Acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) assay The mechanistic evolution of 5-FU-induced apoptosis was confirmed

• this assay, drug-induced apoptosis was confirmed by CaP@5-FU NP treatment. Hoechst 33342 and rhodamine B Apoptotic cells show specific characteristic features such as morphological changes, nuclear fragmentation, and cytoplasmic constriction [41]. The nucleic acid specific dye Hoechst 33342 and the

Biomimetic and biodegradable cellulose acetate scaffolds loaded with dexamethasone for bone implants

• Aikaterini-Rafailia Tsiapla,
• Varvara Karagkiozaki,
• Veroniki Bakola,
• Foteini Pappa,
• Panagiota Gkertsiou,
• Eleni Pavlidou and
• Stergios Logothetidis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1986–1994, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.189

• and into the well-plates where they were located, so as to favor and continue their growth in a place where there was still nutritional material (DMEM). It has been reported that dexamethasone inhibits the proliferation rate of fibroblast cells and induces apoptosis. Glucocorticoids possibly induce

Bioinspired self-healing materials: lessons from nature

• Joseph C. Cremaldi and
• Bharat Bhushan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 907–935, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.85

• the innate immune system [64]. T-cells come from the thymus and use a cell-mediated immune approach by lysing (destroying the cell membrane of) infected cells or causing apoptosis (induced/programmed cell death) in infected cells [25]. B-cells originate in bone and create the humoral path of adaptive

Nanoparticle delivery to metastatic breast cancer cells by nanoengineered mesenchymal stem cells

• Liga Saulite,
• Karlis Pleiko,
• Ineta Popena,
• Dominyka Dapkute,
• Ricardas Rotomskis and
• Una Riekstina

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 321–332, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.32

• to U251 glioma cells and induce cancer cell apoptosis [9]. Moreover, MSCs carrying poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) NPs linked with paclitaxel selectively accumulate in an orthotopic A549 lung tumour model [2]. It has been reported that IFN-beta secreting MSCs could integrate into A375SM melanoma

• apoptosis (anoikis) [44]. Anoikis resistance therefore determines the cell survival and behaviour in a 3D culture. It was previously shown that MDA-MB-231 cells in 3D culture remains viable up to 48 h; however, remarkable MCF7 cell death occurs after 24 h in a 3D culture [45]. Despite the general assumption

Carbon nano-onions as fluorescent on/off modulated nanoprobes for diagnostics

• Stefania Lettieri,
• Marta d’Amora,
• Adalberto Camisasca,
• Alberto Diaspro and
• Silvia Giordani

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1878–1888, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.188

• changes in the cells and tissues. Some of these events include cell proliferation and apoptosis [1], ion transport [2] and other cellular process and diseases such as cancer [3][4][5], Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's disease [6]. Despite the large number of nanotechnology platforms available to date for

Optical techniques for cervical neoplasia detection

• Tatiana Novikova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1844–1862, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.186

• ). It is known that progression of CIN from mild dysplasia to invasive cancer is accompanied by the increase in level of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The overexpression of EGFR has been correlated to uncontrolled cell growth and inhibition of cell apoptosis. Hence, EGFR can be used as a

A nanocomplex of C₆₀ fullerene with cisplatin: design, characterization and toxicity

• Svitlana Prylutska,
• Svitlana Politenkova,
• Kateryna Afanasieva,
• Volodymyr Korolovych,
• Kateryna Bogutska,
• Andriy Sivolob,
• Larysa Skivka,
• Maxim Evstigneev,
• Viktor Kostjukov,
• Yuriy Prylutskyy and
• Uwe Ritter

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1494–1501, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.149

• determined using the image analysis software programs Comet Assay IV (Perspective Instruments, UK) and CometScore (TriTec Corp., USA). Cell-death assay Apoptosis was assessed by staining cells with Annexin V–fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) and counterstaining with propidium iodide (PI) with the use Annexin

• V-FITC Apoptosis Detection Kit (Dojindo EU GmbH, Munich, Germany) according to the instructions of the manufacturer. Briefly, 2 × 105 cells were placed into wells of a 96-well flat-bottom plate and were treated with C60 fullerene (sample 1), Сіs (sample 2) and C60+Cis nanocomplex (sample 3) for 24 h

• cell death. However, mechanism of Cis cytotoxic action involves multiple signaling pathways inducing not only apoptosis but also necrotic cell death [52][53][54][55]. Nephrotoxicity is considered to be the most important side effect of Cis and is mainly caused by tubular epithelial cell necrosis

Carbon nanomaterials sensitize prostate cancer cells to docetaxel and mitomycin C via induction of apoptosis and inhibition of proliferation

• Kati Erdmann,
• Jessica Ringel,
• Silke Hampel,
• Manfred P. Wirth and
• Susanne Fuessel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1307–1317, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.132

• cell death rates were observed in combinatory treatments than in monotreatments, e.g., a combination of MMC and CNFs more than doubled the cell death rate mediated by apoptosis. Combinations with CNTs showed a similar, but less pronounced impact on cellular functions. In summary, carbon nanomaterials

• proliferation as well as by an increased induction of apoptosis [27][28]. In order to further verify this concept and to avoid a bias that might be caused by the structurally similar platinum-based chemotherapeutics, we investigated other chemotherapeutics relevant for urological cancers, namely DTX and

• mitomycin C (MMC), regarding their cytotoxic effects when applied in combination with carbon nanomaterials. DTX is a cytostatic taxane approved for the palliative treatment of castration-resistant PCa [29]. It promotes microtubule stabilization, acts anti-mitotic and initiates apoptosis resulting in cell

Nano-engineered skin mesenchymal stem cells: potential vehicles for tumour-targeted quantum-dot delivery

• Liga Saulite,
• Dominyka Dapkute,
• Karlis Pleiko,
• Ineta Popena,
• Simona Steponkiene,
• Ricardas Rotomskis and
• Una Riekstina

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1218–1230, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.123

• affect the osteogenesis and chondrogenesis capacities of bone marrow MSCs [17]. The impact of QD labelling on the biological properties of targeted stem cells, such as proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis, remains elusive. Therefore, further research on MSCs with regard to the delivery of QDs for

• induced through photoactivation, leading to cancer cell apoptosis. Last but not least, the secretion of sTNFR1 by skin MSCs could downregulate the pro-tumourigenic inflammatory responses [56][57][58]. Conclusion Herein, we showed that carboxyl-coated QDs are biocompatible with skin MSCs. The proliferation

Recombinant DNA technology and click chemistry: a powerful combination for generating a hybrid elastin-like-statherin hydrogel to control calcium phosphate mineralization

• Mohamed Hamed Misbah,
• Mercedes Santos,
• Luis Quintanilla,
• Christina Günter,
• Matilde Alonso,
• Andreas Taubert and
• José Carlos Rodríguez-Cabello

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 772–783, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.80

• specific surface area and three-dimensional porous structures. In addition, osteoblast proliferation and apoptosis are affected by the size and shape of CP. Despite this interest, control of the formation of CP nanostructures with specific characteristics remains a challenge. Although dry methods and high

Association of aescin with β- and γ-cyclodextrins studied by DFT calculations and spectroscopic methods

• Ana I. Ramos,
• Pedro D. Vaz,
• Susana S. Braga and
• Artur M. S. Silva

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 348–357, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.37

• vivo using xenograft mice, showed cytotoxic effects for aescin, through the induction of apoptosis and G2/M cell cycle arrest [9]. Currently, aescin is mostly employed for venotonic action, being available in the form of topical formulations such as lotions, gels and creams. Many of these products