ReviewGlyco-nanoparticles: New drug delivery systems in cancer therapy
Introduction
It is commonly accepted that cancer is an important public health problem with a high mortality throughout the world [1]. In spite of the broad used of common chemotherapeutic agents for treating cancer, these agents have some shortcomings, including inadequate tumor tissues recognition leading to damage to the healthy tissues and low bio-compatibility caused by their hydrophobicity, which results in the aggregation [2,3]. Hence, researchers should necessarily provide efficient therapeutic tools for recognizing the attributes of the healthy cells and cancer cells in the clinical contexts, and concurrently target the cancerous tissues. Notably, clinics need intelligent, sensible, and particular nano-carrier systems for the targeted delivery of the chemotherapeutic agents [[3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8]]. Some studies have addressed a number of nano-carrier which could employed as effective delivery systems such as the polymeric NPs, dendrimers micelles, and liposomes, for optimizing the treatment regimens for cancer [[9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14]].
According to research, carbohydrate, nucleic acid, and protein are among the prominent ingredients of the living organisms. There is sufficient knowledge of the structures, interactions, and functions of the nucleic acid and protein. Nevertheless, there is not enough knowledge about the contribution of carbohydrate to the cells. In fact, a dense coating of carbohydrate, known as glycocalyx, covers the the surface of mammalian cells [15]. Another study showed that carbohydrate appeared basically conjugated to the lipids and proteins (i.e., glycoprotein, glycolipid, & proteoglycan) in the glycocalyx. Indeed, it acts as a glycoconjugate, which develops its biological functions. We know that such complex oligosaccharides play a role in controlling several normal and pathological procedures [16]. However, multivalent ligands compensate for the excessive low affinities of the carbohydrates to the biological objects. Therefore, we designed a novel integrated strategy called glyco-nanotechnology strategy 4 for examining and interfering in the carbohydrate to protein-mediated and carbohydrate to carbohydrate interactions. It is notable that glycol-nanotechnology is one of the strategies to tailor the sugar bio-functional gold nano-clusters (glycol-nanoparticles or GNPs) in a convenient and flexible manner [[17], [18], [19]]. Actually, GNPs present a glycocalix-like surface with multi-valent carbohydrate representation and globular form [18]. The GNPs have a series of benefits in comparison to the formerly procured colloids that are simplified procurement and treatment, exceptional little core dimension and narrow distribution size, control over the ligand numbers and NPs sizes, water solubility, higher storage stability with no flocculation, singular physical features, and lack of cyto-toxicity [20]. Herein, we summarize the GNPs used in treatment of cancer.
Section snippets
Nanotherapeutics: a new way for treatment
Nano-therapeutics is one of the current applications of nanotechnology with a great effect on the medical fields [[21], [22], [23], [24], [25], [26]]. Nano-technology is the source of nano-drug [27]. Nanomedicine is a relatively developing area of science which dates back to 1959 according to the predictions of Richard P. Feynman [28]. According to the studies, a nano-meter is 1 millionth part of a milli-meter, and the term nano refers to the dwarf [29]. Therefore, nanotechnology addresses
Advantage of nano-technology for cancer
It is notable that biological processes such as the procedures essential for life and the ones, which result in the cancer, take place at the nano-scale. Actually, the human's body consists of multiple biological nano-machines [49]. In fact, nanotechnology offers opportunities for studying and manipulating the macro-molecules in the real time and over the initial phases of cancer development [50]. Nanotechnology is able to detect rapidly and sensitively the cancer-associated molecules that
Nanoparticles and Cancer therapy
Based on the research, traditional cancer chemotherapy possesses the cancer treatment factors, which distribute non-specifically in the humans bodies. Therefore, such medicines would have an effect on the cancerous and normal cells. Such nonspecific distribution of the medicines would limit the drug dosage into the cancer cells while creating very high toxicity to the normal cells, tissues, and parts of the body, so that it causes different reverse consequences such as hair loss, weakness, and
Glyco-nanoparticles
Researchers extensively dealt with integrating nanotechnology with carbohydrates over the past ten years. In fact, advancements in the glycol-nanotechnology resulted in creating diverse bio-active glycol-nanostructures for different health associated utilizations like the drug delivery, bio-materials, gene therapies, pathogen detection, suppressors of toxins, and lectin-based bio-sensors [[79], [80], [81], [82]]. Researchers indicated that the NPs functionalized with the carbohydrates would
Glyco-quantum dots
It is commonly agreed that the fluorescent semi-conductor nano-crystals (also called quantum dots (QDs)) have been greatly considered over the past ten years as a result of their specific size-dependent optical features [95]. It should be noted that quantum electronic and mechanical features of the substances have considerable differences from the bulk solid features. In spite of the possible use of the optical imaging, the GNPs containing semi-conductor nano-crystals, the early hydrophobic QDs
Glyco-nanoparticles and cancer therapy
It is commonly accepted that one of the most severe medical issues resulting in mortality throughout the world is cancer. In spite of the broad utilization of the traditional chemo-therapeutic agents for treating cancer, they suffer from a number of shortcomings like improper recognition of tumor tissues leading to damages to the healthy tissues and lower bio-compatibility as a result of their hydrophobicity, which result in aggregation. Hence, it is highly necessary for the clinics to have an
Glycoside-nanoparticles and cancer therapy
Researchers introduced a type of the synthetic glycosides as the suppressors of adeno-carcinoma and glioma cell proliferations [236,237]. Notably, glycosides are as a derivative of the N-acyl-d-glucosamine. Moreover, earlier findings showed that their activities would enhance as the prolonged hydrocarbon chain has been present at the C-1 position of the glycoside moiety. Given that conjugating a sugar with an oleyl chain would improve conjugate anti-tumoral activities [238]. However, this
Clinical status
There is evidence of the history of the colloidal gold utilization for enjoying its health advantages for many centuries [250]. One of the earliest approved successes of the health advantages of the colloidal gold is its application as one of sources of radiation for brachy-therapy and arthritis treatment [251]. Surely, such a success has enhanced the attention to the use of the gold and further noble metals for health care uses. For example, a number of AuNPs, including Aurimune that is a
Conclusion
It has been known that recent therapeutic options for diverse cancers are surgical operation, hormone therapies, radiation, and chemotherapy. Even though the above traditional alternatives enhanced the patients’ survival rate, they still suffer from different constraints. In fact, targeting the pharmaceutical is one of the quickly emerging strategies for overcoming problems in the drug delivery, particularly to the tumor site. Despite of the conventional drug delivery systems, NPs-based
Funding source
None.
Declaration of Competing Interest
None.
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