Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent causes of cancer mortality in women. In order to increase patient prognosis and survival rates, new technologies are urgently required to deliver therapeutics in a more effective and efficient manner. Niosome nanoparticles have been recently employed as therapeutic platforms capable of loading and carrying drugs within their core for both mono and combination therapy. Here, niosome-based nanoscale carriers were investigated as a targeted delivery system for breast cancer therapy. The platform developed consists of niosomes loaded with letrozole and cyclophosphamide (NLC) and surface-functionalized with a folic-acid-targeting moiety (NLCPFA). Drug release from the formulated particles exhibited pH-sensitive properties in which the niosome showed low and high release in physiological and cancerous conditions, respectively. The results revealed a synergic effect in cytotoxicity by co-loading letrozole and cyclophosphamide with an efficacy increment in NLCPFA use in comparison with NLC. The NLCPFA resulted in the greatest drug internalization compared to the non-targeted formulation and the free drug. Additionally, downregulation of cyclin-D, cyclin-E, MMP-2, and MMP-9 and upregulating the expression of caspase-3 and caspase-9 genes were observed more prominently in the nanoformulation (particularly for NLCPFA) compared to the free drug. This exciting data indicated that niosome-based nanocarriers containing letrozole and cyclophosphamide with controlled release could be a promising platform for drug delivery with potential in breast cancer therapy.

One of the antibiotics used to treat infections is streptomycin sulfate that inhibits both Gram-negative and -positive bacteria. Nanoparticles are suitable carriers for the direct delivery and release of drug agents to infected locations. Niosomes are one of the new drug delivery systems that have received much attention today due to their excellent biofilm penetration property and controlled release. In this study, niosomes containing streptomycin sulfate were prepared by using the thin layer hydration method and optimized based on the size, polydispersity index (PDI), and encapsulation efficiency (EE%) characteristics. It was found that the Span 60-to-Tween 60 ratio of 1.5 and the surfactant-to-cholesterol ratio of 1.02 led to an optimum formulation with a minimum of size, low PDI, and maximum of EE of 97.8 nm, 0.27, and 86.7%, respectively. The drug release investigation showed that 50.0 ± 1.2% of streptomycin sulfate was released from the niosome in 24 h and reached 66.4 ± 1.3% by the end of 72 h. Two-month stability studies at 25° and 4°C showed more acceptable stability of samples kept at 4°C. Consequently, antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activities of streptomycin sulfate–loaded niosomes against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were found significantly higher than those of free drug, and the minimum inhibitory concentration values decreased 4- to 8-fold. Furthermore, niosome-encapsulated streptomycin up to 1,500 μg/ml exhibited negligible cytotoxicity against the human foreskin fibroblasts cell line, whereas the free drug exhibited slight cytotoxicity at this concentration. Desired physical characteristics and low toxicity of niosomal nano-carriers containing streptomycin sulfate made them a demanded candidate for the treatment of current bacterial infections and biofilms.

The current study evaluated the anti-cancer properties of bio-functionalized silver nanoparticles fabricated by Juniperus chinensis leaf extracts. The nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, UV–visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, dynamic light scattering, Zeta potential and X-ray spectroscopy. Further, this study elucidated the cellular and molecular mechanisms of nanoparticles for anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects on human lung cancer cells (A549) and compared them with commercial drug cisplatin. The size of the spherical nanoparticle was 12.96 nm with negative zeta potential. Up-regulation of caspase 3,9 and p53, Annexin V-FITC/PI, DAPI staining, and ROS production indicated the remarkable apoptotic effect of AgNPs compared to cisplatin. Moreover, down-regulation of MMP2/MMP9 scratch and matrigel assays revealed anti-metastatic properties of AgNPs. Cell cycle analysis and downregulation of cyclin D1 indicated cancer cell cessation in the G0/G1 phase. Overall, the results revealed that the green-synthetized AgNPs had anti-metastasis and anti-proliferation effects on lung cancer cells in comparison to cisplatin with lower side effects on the normal cell line.

Fighting with cancer requires the delivery of different therapeutics to the target cancerous cells, by taking the advantages of the synergistic effects of complementary medicine. Herein, we present a folate-PEGylated...

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