Nanosized Minicells Generated by Lactic Acid Bacteria for Drug Delivery

Abstract

Nanotechnology has the ability to target specific areas of the body, controlling the drug release and significantly increasing the bioavailability of active compounds. Organic and inorganic nanoparticles have been developed for drug delivery systems. Many delivery systems are through clinical stages for development and market. Minicell, a nanosized cell generated by bacteria, is a potential particle for drug delivery because of its size, safety, and biodegradability. Minicells produced by bacteria could drive therapeutic agents against cancer, microbial infection, and other diseases by targeting. In addition, minicells generated by lactic acid bacteria being probiotics are more interesting than others because of their benefits like safety, immunological improvement, and biodegradation. This review aims to highlight the stages of development of nanoparticle for drug delivery and discuss their advantages and limitations to clarify minicells as a new opportunity for the development of potential nanoparticle for drug delivery.

Recent Update on Bacteria as a Delivery Carrier in Cancer Therapy: From Evil to Allies

“…Frequent high-dose administration of chemotherapeutic agents is considered necessary in chemotherapy to exhibit sufficient clinical response due to its low specificity towards cancerous cells, rapid clearance, and indiscriminate drug distribution. The development of targeted drug delivery systems (DDSs) such as liposomes, polymers, and nanoparticles envelop chemotherapeutic agents in a vehicle and targets receptors on the surface of tumour cells allowing an increased degree of specificity for the cells, at the same time reducing the side effects of chemotherapy ( 73 ). Targeting nanoparticles involves the integration of target sections such as antibodies and ligands onto the surface of nanosized carriers that are specific to cancer cell-surface receptors, allowing more selectivity and reduced toxicity resulting from the evasion of nonspecific binding, as well as a reduced multidrug resistance for chemotherapeutic agents.…”

“…Minicells harbour only RNA, proteins, ribosome, membranes, plasmid DNA and peptidoglycans, hence cell division is absent. However, cellular processes such as replication and transcription of plasmid DNA and translation of mRNA may still be continued ( 73 , 75 ). The spherical structure of minicells is described as small enough to slither out of the vessels inside the tumours, but large enough to be contained within normal blood vessels.…”

Bio-Nanocarriers for Lung Cancer Management: Befriending the Barriers

“…Different minicell formulations like the HER2 minicells DOX, EGFR minicells PAC, and EGFR minicells DOX were reported to have high antitumor efficacy in several tumor xenograft models including lung cancer [ 8 ]. Besides this, the bacterial minicells have been reported to be bio-stable for a long duration (~ 6 h) and prevent opsonization by macrophages [ 21 ].…”

The Nanosystems Involved in Treating Lung Cancer

“…Can be loaded with a wide range of various chemotherapeutic agents, coating them with specific, customized antibodies will result in a very high tumoral specificity, showed enhanced biodistribution to the lungs, while carrying doxycycline [ 181 , 182 ]…”