Name: comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness and safety of placenta-targeted drug delivery using three complementary methods
Uploaded: 2018-09-10T14:30:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Comprehensive Evaluation of the Effectiveness and Safety of Placenta-Targeted Drug Delivery Using Three Complementary Methods at JoVE.com

This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Sciences Foundation (81771617) and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2016A030313178) awarded to X.F.; a grant from the Shenzhen Basic Research Fund (JCYJ20170413165233512) awarded to X.F; and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health &#38; Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01HD088549 (the content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health) to N.N.

All mouse experiments strictly followed protocols (SIAT-IRB-160520-YYS-FXJ-A0232) approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee of Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
1. Synthesis of Placental Chondroitin Sulfate A-Targeted Lipid-Polymer Nanoparticles
<ol>
	<li>Synthesize MTX- and ICG-loaded lipid-polymer nanoparticles (MNPs and INPs respectively) and plCSA-BP-conjugated nanoparticles (plCSA-MNPs and plCSA-INPs) as described in detail elsewhere<sup class=...

<ol>
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A., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Inherited+thrombophilia+and+pregnancy+complications+revisited.">Inherited thrombophilia and pregnancy complications revisited.</a> Obstetrics &amp; Gynecology. 112 (2 Pt 1), 320-324 (2008).</li><li>Brenner, B., Aharon, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Thrombophilia+and+adverse+pregnancy+outcome.">Thrombophilia and adverse pregnancy outcome.</a> Clinics in Perinatology. 34 (4), 527-541 (2007).</li><li>Fisk, N. 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In this manuscript, we outline a three-method system for determining whether plCSA-BP-guided nanoparticles are an efficient tool for targeting the delivery of drugs to the placenta. The use of in vivo imaging to monitor the infrared fluorescent ICG signal confirmed the placental targeting specificity of plCSA-BP. Using HFUS and HPLC, we demonstrated that plCSA-BP-conjugated nanoparticles can efficiently deliver MTX only to the placenta cells, not to the fetus.
In the in vivo ...

Placenta-mediated pregnancy complications, including pre-eclampsia, pregnancy loss, placental abruption and small gestational age (SGA), are common and lead to substantial fetal and maternal morbidity and mortality1,2,3, and very few drugs have been proven to be effective for treating pregnancy disorders4,5. The development of strategies for more selective and safer placenta-targeted drug delivery during pregnancy remains challenging in modern drug therapy.
In recent years, several reports have focused on the targeted delivery of drugs to uteroplacental tissues by coating nanoparticles with peptides or antibodies as placenta-targeted tools. These include an anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)6 antibody, tumor-homing peptides (CGKRK and iRGD)7, placenta-targeted peptides8, placental vasculature-targeted peptides9 and antibodies against the oxytocin receptor10.
Here, we demonstrate that a synthetic placental chondroitin sulfate A binding peptide (plCSA-BP) can be used for the targeted delivery of nanoparticles and their drug payloads to the placenta11. The plCSA-BP-guided nanoparticles are complementary to the reported uteroplacental targeting methods because they target the placental trophoblast.
As a non-invasive method, in vivo imaging has been used to monitor placenta-specific gene expression in mice12, and indocyanine green (ICG) has been widely used to track nanoparticles using fluorescence imaging systems13,14,15. Thus, we intravenously injected plCSA-BP-conjugated nanoparticles loaded with ICG (plCSA-INPs) to visualize the plCSA-INP distribution in pregnant mice with a fluorescence imager. We then intravenously injected methotrexate (MTX)-loaded plCSA-NPs into pregnant mice. High-frequency ultrasound (HFUS), another non-invasive, real-time imaging tool16,17 was used to monitor fetal and placental development in the mice. Finally, we used high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to quantify MTX distribution in the placentas and fetuses.
In this protocol, we describe in detail the three-method system used to assess the efficiency of placenta-targeted drug delivery by plCSA-BP-guided nanocarriers.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:785px;" width="786">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>CD-1 mice</td>
			<td>Beijing Vital River</td>
			<td>201</td>
			<td>Female (8-12 week)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Insulin syringe</td>
			<td>BD</td>
			<td>328421</td>
			<td>for IV injection</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ethanol absolute</td>
			<td>Sinopharm Chemical</td>
			<td>10009218</td>
			<td>for nanoparticles synthesis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Soybean lecithin</td>
			<td>Avanti Polar Lipids</td>
			<td>441601</td>
			<td>for nanoparticles synthesis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>DSPE-PEG-COOH</td>
			<td>Avanti Polar Lipids</td>
			<td>880125</td>
			<td>for nanoparticles synthesis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>PLGA</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>719897</td>
			<td>for nanoparticles synthesis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ultrasonic processor</td>
			<td>Sonics</td>
			<td>VCX130</td>
			<td>for nanoparticles synthesis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Methotrexate (MTX)</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>V900324</td>
			<td>for nanoparticles synthesis</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Indocyanine green (ICG)</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>1340009</td>
			<td>for in vivo imaging</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)</td>
			<td>Hyclone</td>
			<td>SH30028.01</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>IVIS spectrum instrument</td>
			<td>Perkin Elmer</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>for in vivo imaging</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ultrasound transmission gel</td>
			<td>Guanggong</td>
			<td>ZC4252418</td>
			<td>for ultrasound imaging</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Isoflurane</td>
			<td>Lunan Pharmaceutical</td>
			<td>I0040</td>
			<td>for maintain the anesthesia</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Depilatory cream</td>
			<td>Nair</td>
			<td>TMG001</td>
			<td>for removing fur</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>40 MHz transducer</td>
			<td>VisualSonics</td>
			<td>MS550S</td>
			<td>for ultrasound imaging</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>High-frequency ultrasound imaging system</td>
			<td>VisualSonics</td>
			<td>Vevo2100</td>
			<td>for ultrasound imaging</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Avertin</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>T48402</td>
			<td>for anesthesia</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Syringe pump</td>
			<td>Mindray</td>
			<td>SK-500III</td>
			<td>forcardiac perfusion</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>0.9% saline solution</td>
			<td>Meilunbio</td>
			<td>MA0083</td>
			<td>forcardiac perfusion</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1.5 mL Polypropylene tubes</td>
			<td>AXYGEN</td>
			<td>MCT-150-C</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>-80 &#176;C freezer</td>
			<td>Thermo Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>88600V</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Centriguge</td>
			<td>Cence</td>
			<td>H1650R</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Perchloric acid</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>311421</td>
			<td>for precipitating protein</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Homogenizer</td>
			<td>SCIENTZ</td>
			<td>SCIENTZ-48</td>
			<td>for homogenizing tissue</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Syringe filter (0.45 &#956;m)</td>
			<td>Millipore</td>
			<td>SLHV033RS01</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium hydroxide</td>
			<td>Sinopharm Chemical</td>
			<td>10019763</td>
			<td>for solving MTX</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>HPLC vials</td>
			<td>Waters</td>
			<td>670650620</td>
			<td>for HPLC</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Potassium phosphate dibasic</td>
			<td>Sinopharm Chemical</td>
			<td>20032117</td>
			<td>for HPLC</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Acetonitrile</td>
			<td>JKchemical</td>
			<td>932537</td>
			<td>for HPLC</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>C18 column</td>
			<td>Waters</td>
			<td>186003966</td>
			<td>for HPLC</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>HPLC system</td>
			<td>Shimadzu</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>for HPLC</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness and safety of placenta-targeted drug delivery using three complementary methods

No effective treatments currently exist for placenta-associated pregnancy complications, and developing strategies for the targeted delivery of drugs to the placenta while minimizing fetal and maternal side effects remains challenging. Targeted nanoparticle carriers provide new opportunities to treat placental disorders. We recently demonstrated that a synthetic placental chondroitin sulfate A binding peptide (plCSA-BP) could be used to guide nanoparticles to deliver drugs to the placenta. In this protocol, we describe in detail a system for assessing the efficiency of drug delivery to the placenta by plCSA-BP that employs three separate methods used in combination: in vivo imaging, high-frequency ultrasound (HFUS), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Using in vivo imaging, plCSA-BP-guided nanoparticles were visualized in the placentas of live animals, while HFUS and HPLC demonstrated that plCSA-BP-conjugated nanoparticles efficiently and specifically delivered methotrexate to the placenta. Thus, a combination of these methods can be used as an effective tool for the targeted delivery of drugs to the placenta and development of new treatment strategies for several pregnancy complications.

In this manuscript, plCSA-BP-conjugated nanoparticles loaded with MTX (plCSA-MNPs) or ICG (plCSA-INPs) were intravenously injected into pregnant mice. In vivo imaging revealed strong ICG signals in the region of the uterus 30 min after plCSA-INP injection. The INPs were mainly localized to the liver and spleen region (Figure 1A). At 48 h after plCSA-INP injection, pregnant mice were sacrificed, revealing ICG signals only in the placenta, while with n...

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Comprehensive Evaluation of the Effectiveness and Safety of Placenta-Targeted Drug Delivery Using Three Complementary Methods

We describe a system that utilizes three methods to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of placenta-targeted drug delivery: in vivo imaging to monitor nanoparticle accumulation, high-frequency ultrasound to monitor placental and fetal development, and HPLC to quantify drug delivery to tissue.

No effective treatments currently exist for placenta-associated pregnancy complications, and developing strategies for the targeted delivery of drugs to ...

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Sub-micrometer carriers (nanocarriers; NCs) enhance efficacy of drugs by improving solubility, stability, circulation time, targeting, and release. ...

Adapting the Electrospinning Process to Provide Three Unique Environments for a Tri-layered In Vitro Model of the Airway Wall

Adapting the Electrospinning Process to Provide Three Unique Environments for a Tri-layered In Vitro Model of the Airway Wall

Electrospinning is a highly adaptable method producing porous 3D fibrous scaffolds that can be exploited in in vitro cell culture. Alterations to ...

Manufacture and Drug Delivery Applications of Silk Nanoparticles

Silk is a promising biopolymer for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications due to its outstanding mechanical properties, biocompatibility and ...

Automated Contraction Analysis of Human Engineered Heart Tissue for Cardiac Drug Safety Screening

Cardiac tissue engineering describes techniques to constitute three dimensional force-generating engineered tissues. For the implementation of these ...

Use of High-Throughput Automated Microbioreactor System for Production of Model IgG1 in CHO Cells

Automated microscale bioreactors (15 mL) can be a useful tool for cell culture engineers. They facilitate the simultaneous execution of a wide variety of ...

Purification and Analytics of a Monoclonal Antibody from Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells Using an Automated Microbioreactor System

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are one of the most popular and well-characterized biological products manufactured today. Most commonly produced using ...

Evaluation of Keratinocyte Proliferation on Two- and Three-dimensional Type I Collagen Substrates

Type I collagen, useful as a substrate for cell culture, exists in two forms: the two-dimensional, non-fibrous form and three-dimensional, fibril form. ...

Preparing Protein Producing Synthetic Cells using Cell Free Bacterial Extracts, Liposomes and Emulsion Transfer

The bottom-up assembly approach for construction of synthetic cells is an effective tool for isolating and investigating cellular processes in a cell ...

Primary Clarification of CHO Harvested Cell Culture Fluid using an Acoustic Separator

Primary clarification is an essential step in a biomanufacturing process for the initial removal of cells from therapeutic products within the harvested ...