Beneficial Microbes as Novel Microbial Cell …
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Probiotics have also been proposed to be involved in the mechanisms that lead to
development of Parkinson’s disease. In a mouse model, Perez-Pardo et al. (2018)
induce Parkinson’s disease using pesticide rotenone with the associated consequences of reduced incidence of Bifidobacterium and imbalance in the gut microbiota. In another study, administration of different species of Bifidobacterium along
with resistance training significantly decreased depression-anxiety scores and body
mass index in healthy elderly subjects (Inoue et al. 2018). Thus, nanobiotechnology
infused with probiotics could be a novel way to prevent or reduce the incidence
of Parkinson’s disease. For instance, a healthy bifidobacterial population can be
achieved through encapsulation with nanoparticles.
5.3 Cancer
Cancer is a disease at the molecular level, which is second to cardiovascular-related
ailment with regards to the number of mortality and morbidity. A lot of drugs have
been formulated, synthesized and/or isolated from the natural sources to treat the
disease. Toxicity to non-cancerous cells has been a major concern and a reason to
continue mining for the effective drugs with less toxicity on the non-cancerous cells.
The major cause of toxicity is the lowest effective drug concentration at the cancer
site, which calls for an effective drug delivery system at the site for improving the
utility (Fink et al. 1996). Nano drug delivery system is a critical and alternative way
to carry chemotherapeutic drug at the right time, dose and the controlled measure
and release to the required site to attain optimum therapeutic effect devoid of or at
lower toxicity. The small size of nanoparticles and its preparation using biodegradable
materials are fundamental essential properties of nanoparticles. Its smaller size allows
easy transference through small capillaries into the target cells, while biodegradable
materials allow controlled drug release in the target site (Shinde 2012). Drug carriers
in nanoscale are safer because of reduce side effects of the active drugs occasioned
by enhanced permeability, retentive effect, site-specific drug release and accumulation (Greish 2010). In addition, nanoparticles size variability is an added advantage
in anticancer therapy because of increased intratumoral distribution and accumulation for better therapeutic response (Hwang et al. 2017). Efficacy of drug infused
nanoparticles has been demonstrated which has led to proliferations of a number
drug-loaded nanoparticles such as Caelyx (R) (Doxorubicin encapsulated within
nanoliposomes), Oncospar (R) and Copaxone (R) (PEGylated protein conjugates)
amongst others (Shankarappa et al. 2014).
Hwang and co-workers used Fucoidan, a naturally occurring sulfated polysaccharide to fabricate nanoparticles with cisplatin a chemotherapeutic agent known
to exhibit indiscrimination between cancerous and non-cancerous cells. The fabrication improves the immunity of RAW 264.7 cells against cisplatin and increase
in manifold cytotoxicity of cisplatin when compared with cisplatin treated HCT-8
cells alone. This implies that the synthesized nanoparticles lower the toxicity of the
chemotherapeutic drugs against non-cancerous cells and also up-regulate the drug’s
327
Probiotics have also been proposed to be involved in the mechanisms that lead to
development of Parkinson’s disease. In a mouse model, Perez-Pardo et al. (2018)
induce Parkinson’s disease using pesticide rotenone with the associated consequences of reduced incidence of Bifidobacterium and imbalance in the gut microbiota. In another study, administration of different species of Bifidobacterium along
with resistance training significantly decreased depression-anxiety scores and body
mass index in healthy elderly subjects (Inoue et al. 2018). Thus, nanobiotechnology
infused with probiotics could be a novel way to prevent or reduce the incidence
of Parkinson’s disease. For instance, a healthy bifidobacterial population can be
achieved through encapsulation with nanoparticles.
5.3 Cancer
Cancer is a disease at the molecular level, which is second to cardiovascular-related
ailment with regards to the number of mortality and morbidity. A lot of drugs have
been formulated, synthesized and/or isolated from the natural sources to treat the
disease. Toxicity to non-cancerous cells has been a major concern and a reason to
continue mining for the effective drugs with less toxicity on the non-cancerous cells.
The major cause of toxicity is the lowest effective drug concentration at the cancer
site, which calls for an effective drug delivery system at the site for improving the
utility (Fink et al. 1996). Nano drug delivery system is a critical and alternative way
to carry chemotherapeutic drug at the right time, dose and the controlled measure
and release to the required site to attain optimum therapeutic effect devoid of or at
lower toxicity. The small size of nanoparticles and its preparation using biodegradable
materials are fundamental essential properties of nanoparticles. Its smaller size allows
easy transference through small capillaries into the target cells, while biodegradable
materials allow controlled drug release in the target site (Shinde 2012). Drug carriers
in nanoscale are safer because of reduce side effects of the active drugs occasioned
by enhanced permeability, retentive effect, site-specific drug release and accumulation (Greish 2010). In addition, nanoparticles size variability is an added advantage
in anticancer therapy because of increased intratumoral distribution and accumulation for better therapeutic response (Hwang et al. 2017). Efficacy of drug infused
nanoparticles has been demonstrated which has led to proliferations of a number
drug-loaded nanoparticles such as Caelyx (R) (Doxorubicin encapsulated within
nanoliposomes), Oncospar (R) and Copaxone (R) (PEGylated protein conjugates)
amongst others (Shankarappa et al. 2014).
Hwang and co-workers used Fucoidan, a naturally occurring sulfated polysaccharide to fabricate nanoparticles with cisplatin a chemotherapeutic agent known
to exhibit indiscrimination between cancerous and non-cancerous cells. The fabrication improves the immunity of RAW 264.7 cells against cisplatin and increase
in manifold cytotoxicity of cisplatin when compared with cisplatin treated HCT-8
cells alone. This implies that the synthesized nanoparticles lower the toxicity of the
chemotherapeutic drugs against non-cancerous cells and also up-regulate the drug’s