DNA biodots based targeted theranostic nanomedicine for the imaging and treatment of non-small cell lung cancer
Authors: Abhishek Jha
Sanjeev Kumar Mahto
Madaswamy S Muthu
Ankita Sanjay Burande
Abhishesh Kumar Mehata
Kanchan Yadav
Suruchi Poddar
Matte Kasi Viswanadh
Avanish Singh Parmar
Journal: International Journal of Biological Macromolecules (2020)
Discipline: BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
Keywords: Bio-dots; Cetuximab; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Etoposide; Non-small cell lung cancer
Affiliations: Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi 221005, India., School of Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi 221005, India., Centre for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi 221005, India., School of Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi 221005, India; Centre for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi 221005, India., Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi 221005, India; Centre for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi 221005, India., Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi 221005, India; Centre for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi 221005, India. Electronic address: .

Abstract:  The light absorption and emission characteristics of DNA biodots (DNA-BD), along with biocompatibility, give them a high potential for use in various medical applications, particularly in diagnostic purpose. DNA, under high pressure and temperature, condenses to form luminescent biodots. The objective of this research is to develop DNA-biodots (BD) loaded and cetuximab conjugated targeted theranostic liposomes of etoposide for lung cancer imaging and therapy. Theranostic liposomes were prepared by using the solvent injection method and characterized for their particle size, polydispersity, zeta potential, encapsulation efficiency, and pH-dependent in-vitro release, SEM, TEM AFM, EDX, and XRD. The t50% (time at which 50% of the drug releases from the preparation) of the formulations was pH-dependent, with a significant increase in the release at lower pH (5.5). To kill A549 adenocarcinoma cells, the etoposide (control) required significantly (p &lt; 0.05) higher drug concentrations in comparison to non-targeted and; the non-targeted formulation required more concentrations in comparison to targeted liposomes. The in-vivo results demonstrated that CTX-TPGS decorated theranostic liposomes could be a promising carrier for lung theranostics due to their nano-size and selectivity towards EGFR overexpressed cells which provided an improved NSCLC targeted delivery of ETP in comparison to the non-targeted and control formulations. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 More similar than one would expect when considering two images from as many papers. The AFM images from two different papers and for two different types of materials look exactly the same. It is quite interesting to note that the 2D AFM image is entirely dissimilar (Not shown here), but 3D AFM images are 100 percent match. Can authors please provide a suitable reason for why there is so much difference in 2D AFM images when 3D AFM images are exactly the same.  ,