PURPOSE The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect in the immune response produced by CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) co-encapsulated with the antigen ovalbumin (OVA) within poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) 502 and 752 microparticles (MP). METHODS MP were prepared by blending 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (DOTAP) with PLGA and Total Recirculation One Machine System (...

BACKGROUND Serum and high ionic strength solutions constitute important barriers to cationic lipid-mediated intravenous gene transfer. Preparation or incubation of lipoplexes in these media results in alteration of their biophysical properties, generally leading to a decrease in transfection efficiency. Accurate quantification of these changes is of paramount importance for the success of lipop...

Doxorubicin is used to treat numerous types of tumors including breast cancer, yet dose-associated toxicities limit its clinical application. Here, we demonstrated a novel strategy by which to deliver doxorubicin to breast cancer cells by conjugating cancer cell-specific single-strand DNA aptamers with doxorubicin-encapsulated DOTAP:DOPE nanoparticles (NPs). We utilizing a whole-cell-SELEX stra...

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) is a highly potent drug in gene-based therapy with a challenge of being delivered in a sustained manner. Nanoparticle drug delivery systems allow for incorporating and controlled release of therapeutic payloads. We demonstrate that solid lipid nanoparticles can incorporate and provide sustained release of siRNA. Tristearin solid lipid nanoparticles, made by nanopre...

Mixing liposomes with hydrophilic particles induces fusion of the liposome onto the particle surface. Such supported bilayers have been studied extensively as models of the cell membrane, while their applications in drug delivery have not been pursued. In this communication, we report liposome fusion on mesoporous particles as a synergistic means to simultaneously load and seal cargo within the...

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most frequent primary malignancies of the liver and is resistant to anticancer drugs. Hypoxia is a master cause of tumor resistance to chemotherapy. Hypoxia-inducible factor-one alpha (HIF-1α) plays a key role in the adaptive responses to hypoxic environments. HIF-1α is constitutively up-regulated in several tumor types might thus be implicated in tu...