Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University

About: Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University is a education organization based out in Tabriz, Iran. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Graphene & Nanocomposite. The organization has 1477 authors who have published 3186 publications receiving 30278 citations. The organization is also known as: Azarbaijan University.

Preparation of Poly (methacrylic acid)–Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite as a pH-Sensitive Drug Carrier Through in-situ Copolymerization of Methacrylic Acid with Polymerizable Graphene

Abstract: A polymerizable Graphene Oxide (Graphene Oxide Monomer, GOM) was synthesized through attaching vinyl groups onto graphene oxide sheets. GOM was copolymeized with methacrylic acid in different ratios. Obtained nanocomposites were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, SEM and EDX to study their properties. Naproxen was entrapped in these pH-sensitive nano-carriers and the in vitro release profiles were established in both enzyme-free simulated gastric and intestinal fluids (SGF, pH 1) and (SIF, pH 7.4) respectively. It was observed that the drug release in SIF was higher, hence the prepared nanocomposite could be considered as a suitable carrier for colon specific drug delivery.

NGR (Asn-Gly-Arg)-targeted delivery of coagulase to tumor vasculature arrests cancer cell growth

Abstract: Induction of selective thrombosis and infarction in tumor-feeding vessels represents an attractive strategy to combat cancer. Here we took advantage of the unique coagulation properties of staphylocoagulase and genetically engineered it to generate a new fusion protein with novel anti-cancer properties. This novel bi-functional protein consists of truncated coagulase (tCoa) and an NGR (GNGRAHA) motif that recognizes CD13 and αvβ3 integrin receptors, targeting it to tumor endothelial cells. Herein, we report that tCoa coupled by its C-terminus to an NGR sequence retained its normal binding activity with prothrombin and avβ3 integrins, as confirmed in silico and in vitro. Moreover, in vivo biodistribution studies demonstrated selective accumulation of FITC-labeled tCoa-NGR fusion proteins at the site of subcutaneously implanted PC3 tumor xenografts in nude mice. Notably, systemic administration of tCoa-NGR to mice bearing 4T1 mouse mammary xenografts or PC3 human prostate tumors resulted in a significant reduction in tumor growth. These anti-tumor effects were accompanied by massive thrombotic occlusion of small and large tumor vessels, tumor infarction and tumor cell death. From these findings, we propose tCoa-NGR mediated tumor infarction as a novel and promising anti-cancer strategy targeting both CD13 and integrin αvβ3 positive tumor neovasculature.