High-Load Core@Shell Nanocarriers with Irinotecan and 5-Fluorouracil for Combination Chemotherapy in Colorectal Cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer type and second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, requiring novel drug-delivery concepts. ITC@ZrO(TocP)/ZrO(FdUMP) core@shell nanocarriers (designated ITC-FdUMP-NC) with the clinically relevant chemotherapeutics irinotecan (ITC) and fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine-5'-phosphate (FdUMP) (active derivative of 5'-fluorouracil/5-FU) are a new type of nanocarrier with high drug payload (22 wt% of lipophilic ITC: particle core; 10 wt% of hydrophilic FdUMP: particle shell). The nanocarriers are tested in different CRC cell lines, a normal cell line, and rectal cancer patient-derived organoids (PDOs).

Macrophages co-loaded with drug-associated and superparamagnetic nanoparticles for triggered drug release by alternating magnetic fields.

Two features of macrophages make them attractive for targeted transport of drugs: they efficiently take up a broad spectrum of nanoparticles (NPs) and, by sensing cytokine gradients, they are attracted to the sites of infection and inflammation. To expand the potential of macrophages as drug carriers, we investigated whether macrophages could be simultaneously coloaded with different types of nanoparticles, thus equipping individual cells with different functionalities. We used superparamagnetic iron oxide NPs (SPIONs), which produce apoptosis-inducing hyperthermia when exposed to an alternating magnetic field (AMF), and co-loaded them on macrophages together with drug-containing NPs (inorganic-organic nanoparticles (IOH-NPs) or mesoporous silica NPs (MSNs)).