TY - JOUR A1 - Hönzke, Stefan A1 - Gerecke, Christian A1 - Elpelt, Anja A1 - Zhang, Nan A1 - Unbehauen, Michael A1 - Kral, Vivian A1 - Fleige, Emanuel A1 - Paulus, Florian A1 - Haag, Rainer A1 - Schäfer-Korting, Monika A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard A1 - Hedtrich, Sarah T1 - Tailored dendritic core-multishell nanocarriers for efficient dermal drug delivery: A systematic top-down approach from synthesis to preclinical testing JF - Journal of controlled release N2 - Drug loaded dendritic core-multishell (CMS) nanocarriers are of especial interest for the treatment of skin diseases, owing to their striking dermal delivery efficiencies following topical applications. CMS nanocarriers are composed of a polyglycerol core, connected by amide-bonds to an inner alkyl shell and an outer methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) shell. Since topically applied nanocarriers are subjected to biodegradation, the application of conventional amide-based CMS nanocarriers (10-A-18-350) has been limited by the potential production of toxic polyglycerol amines. To circumvent this issue, three tailored ester-based CMS nanocarriers (10-E-12-350, 10-E-15-350, 10-E-18-350) of varying inner alkyl chain length were synthesized and comprehensively characterized in terms of particle size, drug loading, biodegradation and dermal drug delivery efficiency. Dexamethasone (DXM), a potent drug widely used for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases, was chosen as a therapeutically relevant test compound for the present study. Ester-and amide-based CMS nanocarriers delivered DXM more efficiently into human skin than a commercially available DXM cream. Subsequent in vitro and in vivo toxicity studies identified CMS (10-E-15-350) as the most biocompatible carrier system. The anti-inflammatory potency of DXM-loaded CMS (10-E-15-350) nanocarriers was assessed in TNF alpha supplemented skin models, where a significant reduction of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-8 was seen, with markedly greater efficacy than commercial DXM cream. In summary, we report the rational design and characterization of tailored, biodegradable, ester-based CMS nanocarriers, and their subsequent stepwise screening for biocompatibility, dermal delivery efficiency and therapeutic efficacy in a top-down approach yielding the best carrier system for topical applications. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. KW - Dendritic core-multishell nanocarriers KW - Biocompatibility KW - Dexamethasone KW - Inflammatory skin disease KW - Dermal drug delivery KW - Skin model Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2016.06.030 SN - 0168-3659 SN - 1873-4995 VL - 242 SP - 50 EP - 63 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Li, Mingjun A1 - Gao, Lingyan A1 - Schlaich, Christoph A1 - Zhang, Jianguang A1 - Donskyi, Ievgen S. A1 - Yu, Guozhi A1 - Li, Wenzhong A1 - Tu, Zhaoxu A1 - Rolff, Jens A1 - Schwerdtle, Tanja A1 - Haag, Rainer A1 - Ma, Nan T1 - Construction of Functional Coatings with Durable and Broad-Spectrum Antibacterial Potential Based on Mussel-Inspired Dendritic Polyglycerol and in Situ-Formed Copper Nanoparticles JF - ACS applied materials & interfaces N2 - A novel surface coating with durable broad-spectrum antibacterial ability was prepared based on mussel inspired dendritic polyglycerol (MI-dPG) embedded with copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs). The functional surface coating is fabricated via a facile dip-coating process followed by in situ reduction of copper ions with a MI-dPG coating to introduce Cu NPs into the coating matrix. This coating has been demonstrated to possess efficient long-term antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli (E. coli), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), and kanamycin-resistant E. coli through an "attract-kill-release" strategy. The synergistic antibacterial activity of the coating was shown by the combination of two functions of the contact killing, reactive oxygen species production and Cu ions released from the coating. Furthermore, this coating inhibited biofilm formation and showed good compatibility to eukaryotic cells. Thus, this newly developed Cu NP-incorporated MI-dPG surface coating may find potential application in the design of antimicrobial coating, such as implantable devices. KW - Cu NP-incorporated MI-dPG coating KW - universal coating KW - in situ chemical reduction KW - antibacterial effect KW - drug-resistant bacteria Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b10541 SN - 1944-8244 VL - 9 SP - 35411 EP - 35418 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Edlich, Alexander A1 - Volz, Pierre A1 - Brodwolf, Robert A1 - Unbehauen, Michael A1 - Mundhenk, Lars A1 - Gruber, Achim D. A1 - Hedtrich, Sarah A1 - Haag, Rainer A1 - Alexiev, Ulrike A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard T1 - Crosstalk between core-multishell nanocarriers for cutaneous drug delivery and antigen-presenting cells of the skin JF - Biomaterials : biomaterials reviews online N2 - Owing their unique chemical and physical properties core-multishell (CMS) nanocarriers are thought to underlie their exploitable biomedical use for a topical treatment of skin diseases. This highlights the need to consider not only the efficacy of CMS nanocarriers but also the potentially unpredictable and adverse consequences of their exposure thereto. As CMS nanocarriers are able to penetrate into viable layers of normal and stripped human skin ex vivo as well as in in vitro skin disease models the understanding of nanoparticle crosstalk with components of the immune system requires thorough investigation. Our studies highlight the biocompatible properties of CMS nanocarriers on Langerhans cells of the skin as they did neither induce cytotoxicity and genotoxicity nor cause reactive oxygen species (ROS) or an immunological response. Nevertheless, CMS nanocarriers were efficiently taken up by Langerhans cells via divergent endocytic pathways. Bioimaging of CMS nanocarriers by fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) and flow cytometry indicated not only a localization within the lysosomes but also an energy-dependent exocytosis of unmodified CMS nanocarriers into the extracellular environment. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. KW - Core-multishell nanocarriers KW - Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy KW - Langerhans cells KW - Nanoparticle uptake KW - Nanotoxicology Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2018.01.058 SN - 0142-9612 SN - 1878-5905 VL - 162 SP - 60 EP - 70 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Li, Mingjun A1 - Schlaich, Christoph A1 - Kulka, Michael Willem A1 - Donskyi, Ievgen S. A1 - Schwerdtle, Tanja A1 - Unger, Wolfgang E. S. A1 - Haag, Rainer T1 - Mussel-inspired coatings with tunable wettability, for enhanced antibacterial efficiency and reduced bacterial adhesion JF - Journal of materials chemistry : B, Materials for biology and medicine N2 - Over the last few decades, there has been a tremendous increase in research on antibacterial surface coatings as an alternative strategy against bacterial infections. Although there are several examples of effective strategies to prevent bacterial adhesion, the effect of the wetting properties on the coating was rarely considered as a crucial factor. Here we report an in-depth study on the effect of extreme wettability on the antibacterial efficiency of a silver nanoparticles ( AgNPs)-based coating. By controlling surface polymerization of mussel-inspired dendritic polyglycerol ( MI-dPG) and post-functionalization, surfaces with wetting properties ranging from superhydrophilic to superhydrophobic were fabricated. Subsequently, AgNPs were embedded into the coatings by applying in situ reduction using the free catechols-moieties present in the MI-dPG coating. The resulting polymer coatings exhibited excellent antibacterial ability against planktonic Escherichia coli ( E. coli) DH5a and Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus) SH1000. The antibacterial efficiency of the coatings was analyzed by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry ( ICP-MS) and bacterial viability tests. Furthermore, the antifouling properties of the coatings in relation to the antibacterial properties were evaluated. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c9tb00534j SN - 2050-750X SN - 2050-7518 VL - 7 IS - 21 SP - 3438 EP - 3445 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Frombach, Janna A1 - Unbehauen, Michael A1 - Kurniasih, Indah N. A1 - Schumacher, Fabian A1 - Volz, Pierre A1 - Hadam, Sabrina A1 - Rancan, Fiorenza A1 - Blume-Peytavi, Ulrike A1 - Kleuser, Burkhard A1 - Haag, Rainer A1 - Alexiev, Ulrike A1 - Vogt, Annika T1 - Core-multishell nanocarriers enhance drug penetration and reach keratinocytes and antigen-presenting cells in intact human skin JF - Journal of controlled release N2 - In reconstructed skin and diffusion cell studies, core-multishell nanocarriers (CMS-NC) showed great potential for drug delivery across the skin barrier. Herein, we investigated penetration, release of dexamethasone (DXM), in excised full-thickness human skin with special focus on hair follicles (HF). Four hours and 16 h after topical application of clinically relevant dosages of 10 mu g DXM/cm(2) skin encapsulated in CMS-NC (12 nm diameter, 5.8% loading), presence of DXM in the tissue as assessed by fluorescence microscopy of anti-DXM-stained tissue sections as well as ELISA and HPLC-MS/MS in tissue extracts was enhanced compared to standard LAW-creme but lower compared to DXM aqueous/alcoholic solution. Such enhanced penetration compared to conventional cremes offers high potential for topical therapies, as recurrent applications of corticosteroid solutions face limitations with regard to tolerability and fast drainage. The findings encourage more detailed investigations on where and how the nanocarrier and drug dissociate within the skin and what other factors, e.g. thermodynamic activity, influence the penetration of this formulations. Microscopic studies on the spatial distribution within the skin revealed accumulation in HF and furrows accompanied by limited cellular uptake assessed by flow cytometry (up to 9% of total epidermal cells). FLIM clearly visualized the presence of CMS-NC in the viable epidermis and dermis. When exposed in situ a fraction of up to 25% CD1a(+) cells were found within the epidermal CMS-NC+ population compared to approximately 3% CD1a(+)/CMS-NC+ cells after in vitro exposure in short-term cultures of epidermal cell suspensions. The latter reflects the natural percentage of Langerhans cells (LC) in epidermis suspensions and indicated that CMS-NC were not preferentially internalized by one cell type. The increased CMS-NC+ LC proportion after exposure within the tissue is in accordance with the strategic suprabasal LC-localization. More specifically we postulate that the extensive dendrite meshwork, their position around HF orifices and their capacity to modulate tight junctions facilitated a preferential uptake of CMS-NC by LC within the skin. This newly identified aspect of CMS-NC penetration underlines the potential of CMS-NC for dermatotherapy and encourages further investigations of CMS-NC for the delivery of other molecule classes for which intracellular delivery is even more crucial. KW - Drug delivery KW - Skin penetration KW - Cellular uptake KW - Nanoparticles KW - Dendritic cells KW - High resolution microscopy Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2019.02.028 SN - 0168-3659 SN - 1873-4995 VL - 299 SP - 138 EP - 148 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhou, Suqiong A1 - Pan, Yuanwei A1 - Zhang, Jianguang A1 - Li, Yan A1 - Neumann, Falko A1 - Schwerdtle, Tanja A1 - Li, Wenzhong A1 - Haag, Rainer T1 - Dendritic polyglycerol-conjugated gold nanostars with different densities of functional groups to regulate osteogenesis in human mesenchymal stem cells JF - Nanoscale N2 - Nanomaterials play an important role in mimicking the biochemical and biophysical cues of the extracellular matrix in human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Increasing studies have demonstrated the crucial impact of functional groups on MSCs, while limited research is available on how the functional group's density on nanoparticles regulates MSC behavior. Herein, the effects of dendritic polyglycerol (dPG)-conjugated gold nanostars (GNSs) with different densities of functional groups on the osteogenesis of MSCs are systematically investigated. dPG@GNS nanocomposites have good biocompatibility and the uptake by MSCs is in a functional group density-dependent manner. The osteogenic differentiation of MSCs is promoted by all dPG@GNS nanocomposites, in terms of alkaline phosphatase activity, calcium deposition, and expression of osteogenic protein and genes. Interestingly, the dPGOH@GNSs exhibit a slight upregulation in the expression of osteogenic markers, while the different charged densities of sulfate and amino groups show more efficacy in the promotion of osteogenesis. Meanwhile, the sulfated nanostars dPGS20@GNSs show the highest enhancement. Furthermore, various dPG@GNS nanocomposites exerted their effects by regulating the activation of Yes-associated protein (YAP) to affect osteogenic differentiation. These results indicate that dPG@GNS nanocomposites have functional group density-dependent influence on the osteogenesis of MSCs, which may provide a new insight into regulating stem cell fate. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/d0nr06570f SN - 2040-3364 SN - 2040-3372 VL - 12 IS - 47 SP - 24006 EP - 24019 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pan, Yuanwei A1 - Ma, Xuehua A1 - Liu, Chuang A1 - Xing, Jie A1 - Zhou, Suqiong A1 - Parshad, Badri A1 - Schwerdtle, Tanja A1 - Li, Wenzhong A1 - Wu, Aiguo A1 - Haag, Rainer T1 - Retinoic acid-loaded dendritic polyglycerol-conjugated gold nanostars for targeted photothermal therapy in breast cancer stem cells JF - ACS nano N2 - The existence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) poses a major obstacle for the success of current cancer therapies, especially the fact that non-CSCs can spontaneously turn into CSCs, which lead to the failure of the treatment and tumor relapse. Therefore, it is very important to develop effective strategies for the eradication of the CSCs. In this work, we have developed a CSCs-specific targeted, retinoic acid (RA)-loaded gold nanostars-dendritic polyglycerol (GNSs-dPG) nanoplatform for the efficient eradication of CSCs. The nanocomposites possess good biocompatibility and exhibit effective CSCs-specific multivalent targeted capability due to hyaluronic acid (HA) decorated on the multiple attachment sites of the bioinert dendritic polyglycerol (dPG). With the help of CSCs differentiation induced by RA, the self-renewal of breast CSCs and tumor growth were suppressed by the high therapeutic efficacy of photothermal therapy (PTT) in a synergistic inhibitory manner. Moreover, the stemness gene expression and CSC-driven tumorsphere formation were significantly diminished. In addition, the in vivo tumor growth and CSCs were also effectively eliminated, which indicated superior anticancer activity, effective CSCs suppression, and prevention of relapse. Taken together, we developed a CSCs-specific targeted, RA-loaded GNSs-dPG nanoplatform for the targeted eradication of CSCs and for preventing the relapse. KW - cancer stem cells KW - dendritic polyglycerol KW - gold nanostars KW - retinoic acid KW - photothermal therapy Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.1c05452 SN - 1936-0851 SN - 1936-086X VL - 15 IS - 9 SP - 15069 EP - 15084 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER -