Nina Filipczak

Northeastern University | NEU · Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Combination therapy with small interfering RNA (siRNA) and chemotherapeutic drug is proven to be effective in downregulating cancer resistance proteins, such as P-glycoprotein (P-gp). These proteins are involved in multidrug resistance (MDR) of tumors. A targeted formulation capable of delivering siRNA and chemotherapeutic drug will not only downre...

Our groups are involved in the development of multifunctional nanoparticles and combinations primarily for applications in cancer research is one aspect, we are developing multi-functional for better targeting of the cancer cells. An important part of our efforts is to visualize the effects of the compounds either by visualization, or by quantitati...

Volatile oil (VO) is the main chemical component of common plants in Chrysanthemum genus, and it possesses several beneficial pharmacological properties, including bacteriostatic, antioxidant, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, analgesic, anti-osteoporotic, antihypertensive, sedative, and hypnotic effects. To date, research on the effectiv...

A combination therapy with small interfering RNA (siRNA) and chemotherapeutic drug is proven to be effective in downregulating the cancer resistance proteins, such as P-glycoprotein (P-gp). These proteins are involved in multidrug resistance (MDR) of tumors. MDR lowers the efficacy of chemotherapy and even renders it ineffective. A possible strateg...

Purpose To characterize intratumoral immune cell trafficking in ablated and synchronous tumors following combined radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and systemic liposomal granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulation factor (lip-GM-CSF). Methods Phase I, 72 rats with single subcutaneous R3230 adenocarcinoma were randomized to 6 groups: a) sham; b&c) free...

Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are large DNA reticular structures secreted by neutrophils and decorated with histones and antimicrobial proteins. As a key mechanism for neutrophils to resist microbial invasion, NETs play an important role in the killing of microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, and viruses). Although NETs are mostly known for medi...

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women. Breast cancer is also the key reason for worldwide cancer-related deaths among women. The application of small interfering RNA (siRNA)-based drugs to combat breast cancer requires effective gene silencing in tumor cells. To overcome the challenges of drug delivery to tumors, various...

Purpose: A major hurdle in chemotherapy is multidrug resistance (MDR) observed in tumors. Downregulation of efflux proteins such as P-glycoprotein (P-gp) using small interfering RNA (siRNA) can be an effective way to treat resistant tumors. In this study, monoclonal antibody 2C5 (mAb 2C5) - PEG7k-DOPE conjugates were post-inserted into the mixed de...

Purpose: Scientific community is always searching for alternatives for cancer treatment and promoting drug repurposing is one of the ways. Rifamycin is a well-known antibiotic, that inhibits RNA synthesis and probably can be explored as cytotoxic agent. Thus, our goal was to repurpose rifamycin for breast cancer treatment using liposomes as a deliv...

Background: Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are composed of processed chromatin bound to granular and selected cytoplasmic proteins and released by neutrophils. NETs consist of smooth filaments composed of stacked nucleosomes. Fully hydrated NETs have a cloud-like appearance and occupy a space 10-15-fold larger than the volume of the cells th...

Simple Summary Glioblastoma multiforme is one of the hardest-to-treat brain tumors, often resistant to conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Despite advances in cancer research and treatment, the survival rate for glioblastoma patients remains low, with most patients only surviving for a few months to a year after diag...

With the passage of years and the progress of research on ribonucleic acids, the range of forms in which these molecules have been observed grows. One of them, discovered relatively recently, is circular RNA - covalently closed circles (circRNA). In recent years, there has been a huge increase in the interest of researchers in this group of molecul...

The innovative development of nanomedicine has promised effective treatment options compared to the standard therapeutics for cancer therapy. However, the efficiency of EPR-targeted nanodrugs is not always pleasing as it is strongly prejudiced by the heterogeneity of the enhanced permeability and retention effect (EPR). Targeting the dynamics of th...

Achieving the best possible outcome for the therapy is the main goal of a medicine. Therefore, nanocarriers and co-delivery strategies were invented to meet this need, as they can benefit many diseases. This approach was applied specifically for cancer treatment, with some success. However, these strategies may benefit many other clinical issues. S...

Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are structures consisting of decondensed chromatin with associated proteins, including histones and antimicrobial peptides, released from activated neutrophils. They are believed to be one of the body's first lines of defense against infectious agents. Despite their beneficial effect on the immune response proc...

Multidrug resistance (MDR) observed in tumors significantly hinders the efficacy of chemotherapy. Downregulation of efflux proteins, such as P-glycoprotein (P-gp), using small interfering RNA (siRNA) can be an effective way to minimize the resistance in tumors. In this study, monoclonal antibody 2C5 (mAb 2C5)-PEG7k-DOPE conjugates were post-inserte...

Combination therapy has gained a lot of attention thanks to its superior activity against cancer. In the present study, we report a cRGD-targeted liposomal preparation for co-delivery of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) small interfering RNA (siRNA) and anemoside B4 (AB4)─AB4/siP-c-L─and evaluate its anticancer efficiency in mouse models of L...

Introduction: Nano formulations continue to be a very attractive venue for the development of “smart” drug delivery systems. Emerging green (organic) formulations do not require harsh chemical solvents and are easy to prepare. Solid Core Lipid Formulations: The lipid phase (l.p.) contained a solid fatty acid (lauric acid) and liquid lipid (oleic ac...

Background Most of the traditional nanocarriers of cancer therapeutic moieties present dose-related toxicities due to the uptake of chemotherapeutic agents in normal body cells. The severe life-threatening effects of systemic chemotherapy are well documented. Doxorubicin, DOX is the most effective antineoplastic agent but with the least specific ac...

Nano silver is one of the most widely used engineering nanomaterials with antimicrobial activity against bacteria, fungi, and viruses. However, the widespread application of nano silver preparations in daily life raises concerns about public health. Although several review articles have described the toxicity of nano silver to specific major organs...

Achievement of a high dose of drug in the tumor while minimizing its systemic side effects is one of the important features of an improved drug delivery system. Thus, developing responsive carriers for site-specific delivery of chemotherapeutic agents has become a main goal of research efforts. One of the known hallmarks of cancerous tumors is hypo...

The most important goal of regenerative medicine is to repair, restore, and regenerate tissues and organs that have been damaged as a result of an injury, congenital defect or disease, as well as reversing the aging process of the body by utilizing its natural healing potential. Regenerative medicine utilizes products of cell therapy, as well as bi...

The delivery of therapeutics to brain tissues is one of the main challenges in neuropathology. For the past two decades, a variety of drug delivery systems has been designed to target components of the blood-brain barrier, including the transferrin receptor, a transmembrane glycoprotein highly expressed in the brain endothelium. In this protocol, w...

Cancer causes the second-highest rate of death world-wide. A major shortcoming inherent in most of anticancer drugs is their lack of tumor selectivity. Nanodrugs for cancer therapy administered intravenously escape renal clearance, are unable to penetrate through tight endothelial junctions of normal blood vessels and remain at a high level in plas...

Dendrimers comprise a specific group of macromolecules, which combine structural properties of both single molecules and long expanded polymers. The three-dimensional form of dendrimers and the extensive possibilities for use of additional substrates for their construction creates a multivalent potential and a wide possibility for medical, diagnost...

Biological barriers hamper the efficient delivery of drugs and genes to targeted sites. Cell penetrating peptides (CPP) have the ability to rapidly internalize across biological membranes. CPP have been effective for delivery of various chemotherapeutic agents used to combat cancer. CPP can enhance delivery of drugs to a targeted site when combined...

Recently, it has been discovered that the PEG layer on nanoparticle surface can create steric hindrance, preventing efficient cellular uptake of PEGylated nanoparticles. Thus, it would be ideal to have a nanoparticle system that sheds the PEG layer upon reaching the tumor microenvironment. Hypoxia, which is a hallmark of cancerous tumors, can be us...

Currently, various types of nanocarriers have been widely used to deliver bioactive compounds to improve the specificity/effectiveness of the active compound. Among these, dendrimers have gained considerable interest as a delivery system due to their exceptional properties including high water solubility, monodispersity, biocompatibility, and low i...

The liposomes have continued to be well-recognized as an important nano-sized drug delivery system with attractive properties, such a characteristic bilayer structure assembling the cellular membrane, easy-to-prepare and high bio-compatibility. Extensive effort has been devoted to the development of liposome-based drug delivery systems during the p...

Folic acid is often used for active targeting of tumor cells to enhance therapeutic outcomes. Here, folic acid was conjugated with chitosan and folate-conjugated chitosan-lipid hybrid nanoparticles were prepared by ionic gelation method using anionic lipid. These nanoparticles were in size range of 200 to 400 nm with spherical shape. In vitro drug...

Targeted delivery of chemotherapeutics to tumors has the potential to reach a high dose at the tumor while minimizing the systemic exposure. Incorporation of antibody within a micellar platform represents a drug delivery system for tumor-targeted delivery of anti-tumor agents. Such modified immunomicelles can result in an increased accumulation of...

Neutrophils can release DNA and granular cytoplasmic proteins that form smooth filaments of stacked nucleosomes (NS). These structures, called neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), are involved in multiple pathological processes, and NET formation and removal are clinically significant. The monoclonal antibody 2C5 has strong specificity toward int...

The effectiveness of existing anti-cancer therapies is based mainly on the stimulation of apoptosis of cancer cells. Most of the existing therapies are somewhat toxic to normal cells. Therefore, the quest for nontoxic, cancer-specific therapies remains. We have demonstrated the ability of liposomes containing anacardic acid, mitoxantrone and ammoni...

Amphotericin B (AmB) belongs to a group of polyene antibiotics commonly used in the treatment of systemic mycotic infections. A widely accepted mechanism of action of AmB is based on the formation of an oligomeric pore structure within the plasma membrane (PM) by interaction with membrane sterols. Although AmB binds preferentially to ergosterol, it...

Label free time-lapse holographic imaging and tomography applied to studies of the brain cancer glioblastoma.

Multiple factors are involved in the development of cancers and their effects on survival rate. Many are related to chemo-resistance of tumor cells. Thus, treatment with a single therapeutic agent is often inadequate for successful cancer therapy. Ideally, combination therapy inhibits tumor growth through multiple pathways by enhancing the performa...

Multidrug resistance (MDR) significantly decreases the therapeutic efficiency of anti-cancer drugs. Its reversal could serve as a potential method to restore the chemotherapeutic efficiency. Downregulation of MDR-related proteins with a small interfering RNA (siRNA) is a promising way to reverse the MDR effect. Additionally, delivery of small molec...

Lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles (LPHNP) are delivery systems for controlled drug delivery at tumor sites. The superior biocompatible properties of lipids and structural advantages of polymers can be obtained using this system for controlled drug delivery. In this study, cisplatin-loaded lipid-chitosan hybrid nanoparticles were formulated by the...

A series of caffeic acid derivatives were synthesized via a modified Wittig reaction which is a very important tool in organic chemistry for the construction of unsaturated carbon–carbon bonds. All reactions were performed in water medium at 90 °C. The aqueous Wittig reaction worked best when one unprotected hydroxyl group was present in the phenyl...

PurposeThe effect of existing anti-cancer therapies is based mainly on the stimulation of apoptosis in cancer cells. Here, we have demonstrated the ability of a catalytically-reactive nanoparticle-based complex of cytochrome c with cardiolipin (Cyt-CL) to induce the apoptosis and killing of cancer cells in a monolayer cell culture. Methods Cyt-CL n...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167787.].

Ovocystatin is a chicken egg white protein, generally known for its inhibitory activity against cysteine proteases. However, biological activity of ovocystatin does not seem to be well recognized in respect to other possible cellular effects. Our attention has been focused on ovocystatin cytotoxic effects in relation to its influence on actin cytos...

iposomes are one of the best drug delivery systems. They can favourably alter the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the encapsulated drugs. There are many factors like liposome composition, drug-bilayer interactions and encapsulation method which have a direct influence on drug leakage from liposomes and indirect on antitumour activity of th...

This paper describes a novel formulation of antineoplastic drug: mitoxantrone loaded into liposomal carriers enriched with encapsulated anacardic acid in the liposomal bilayer using a vitamin C gradient. Anacardic acid is a potent epigenetic agent with anticancer activity. This is the first liposomal formulation to combine an actively encapsulated...

The encapsulation of anticancer drugs in a liposome structure protects the drug during circulation and increases drug accumulation in the cancer tissue and antitumor activity while decreasing drug toxicity. This paper presents a new method of active drug loading based on a vitamin C pH/ion gradient. Formulations were characterized in terms of the f...