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Journal Article Review Epublish 16 citations

PubMed: 39482651 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-024-02163-z

Folate-engineered chitosan nanoparticles: next-generation anticancer nanocarriers.

Mol Cancer 23(1):244

Authors: Prashant Kesharwani, Kratika Halwai, Saurav Kumar Jha, Mohammed H Al Mughram, Salem Salman Almujri, Waleed H Almalki, Amirhossein Sahebkar

Affiliations

  • Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, 110062, India.
  • Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, 110062, India.
  • Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering (BSBE), Indian Institute of Technology, Uttar Pradesh, Kanpur, 208016, India.
  • Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Postal Code 61421, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
  • Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Postal Code 61421, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
  • Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
  • Biotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
  • Applied Biomedical Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

Abstract

Chitosan nanoparticles (NPs) are well-recognized as promising vehicles for delivering anticancer drugs due to their distinctive characteristics. They have the potential to enclose hydrophobic anticancer molecules, thereby enhancing their solubilities, permeabilities, and bioavailabilities; without the use of surfactant, i.e., through surfactant-free solubilization. This allows for higher drug concentrations at the tumor sites, prevents excessive toxicity imparted by surfactants, and could circumvent drug resistance. Moreover, biomedical engineers and formulation scientists can also fabricate chitosan NPs to slowly release anticancer agents. This keeps the drugs at the tumor site longer, makes therapy more effective, and lowers the frequency of dosing. Notably, some types of cancer cells (fallopian tube, epithelial tumors of the ovary, and primary peritoneum; lung, kidney, ependymal brain, uterus, breast, colon, and malignant pleural mesothelioma) have overexpression of folate receptors (FRs) on their outer surface, which lets folate-drug conjugate-incorporated NPs to target and kill them more effectively. Strikingly, there is evidence suggesting that the excessively produced FR&αgr (isoforms of the FR) stays consistent throughout treatment in ovarian and endometrial cancer, indicating resistance to conventional treatment; and in this regard, folate-anchored chitosan NPs can overcome it and improve the therapeutic outcomes. Interestingly, overly expressed FRs are present only in certain tumor types, which makes them a promising biomarker for predicting the effectiveness of FR-targeted therapy. On the other hand, the folate-modified chitosan NPs can also enhance the oral absorption of medicines, especially anticancer drugs, and pave the way for effective and long-term low-dose oral metronomic scheduling of poorly soluble and permeable drugs. In this review, we talked briefly about the techniques used to create, characterize, and tailor chitosan-based NPs; and delved deeper into the potential applications of folate-engineered chitosan NPs in treating various cancer types.

MeSH

Nanoparticles, Pharmaceutical Preparations, Neoplasms, Chitosan, Therapeutics

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