ORCID Profile
0000-0001-5782-9184
Current Organisation
Deakin University
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Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-09-2019
Abstract: Targeted exosomal delivery systems for precision nanomedicine attract wide interest across areas of molecular cell biology, pharmaceutical sciences, and nanoengineering. Exosomes are naturally derived 50-150 nm nanovesicles that play important roles in cell-to-cell and/or cell-to-tissue communications and cross-species communication. Exosomes are also a promising class of novel drug delivery vehicles owing to their ability to shield their payload from chemical and enzymatic degradations as well as to evade recognition by and subsequent removal by the immune system. Combined with a new class of affinity ligands known as aptamers or chemical antibodies, molecularly targeted exosomes are poised to become the next generation of smartly engineered nanovesicles for precision medicine. Here, recent advances in targeted exosomal delivery systems engineered by aptamer for future strategies to promote human health using this class of human-derived nanovesicles are summarized.
Publisher: Ivyspring International Publisher
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.7150/THNO.10202
Publisher: Ivyspring International Publisher
Date: 2020
DOI: 10.7150/THNO.39706
Publisher: Springer New York
Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-3197-2_16
Abstract: Aptamers are proving to be exceedingly effective in a number of applications. Given the disadvantages of antibodies, such as batch-to-batch variation and cross-reactivity, aptamers have the potential to revolutionize the field of histopathology due to their high specificity and the ease of their synthesis and modification. Here, we describe a chromogenic staining method for paraffin-embedded tissue sections with FITC-labeled aptamers.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2023
DOI: 10.1016/J.TALANTA.2022.123997
Abstract: The microRNAs (miRNAs) play a critical role in many biological processes and are essential biomarkers for diagnosing disease. However, the sensitive and specific quantification of microRNAs (miRNAs) expression in living cells still faces a huge challenge. Our study designed a multifunctional linear DNA nanostructure (MLN) as a carrier of molecular beacons (MB-21) for detecting and intracellular imaging miRNA-21. The MLN-MB consists of three parts: aptamer, MLN, and MB-21. The aptamer (AS1411) could media MLN-MB enter live cells without additional transfection reagents. Once inside the cells, the intracellular miRNA-21 could hybridize the MB-21s, resulting in significantly enhanced fluorescence signals. The whole process was enzyme-free, autonomous, and continuous, which avoided the necessity of adding external fuel strands or enzymes. We demonstrated that the MLN-MB could be used to screen the miRNA-21 with a detection limit of 320 pM in a short time (10 min) and show high specificity toward miRNA-21 against other miRNAs. Moreover, the proposed MLN-MB could detect the miRNA-21 in complex matrixes stably. With its outstanding stability, dual recognition, and biocompatibility, MLN-MB is capable of delivering into living cells to identify specific cancer cells. Therefore, our sensing approach, with high sensitivity, specificity, and simplicity advantages, holds great potential for early cancer diagnosis.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2016
DOI: 10.1016/J.CANLET.2016.03.045
Abstract: As one of the life-threatening diseases involving multi-step genetic and epigenetic disorders, cancer has long been a dynamic research area for siRNA-based therapy as half of the current siRNA-based clinical trials are involved in oncology. However, despite consistent enthusiasm in the academic world, siRNA-based cancer treatment still faces obstacles and difficulties in clinical development. In this article, we discuss key challenges facing siRNA-based cancer treatment revealed from recent clinical and preclinical studies, including chemical modification, tumour penetration, endosomal escape, target selection and off-target effects. In addition, opportunities and avenues for translating siRNA technology from bench to oncologic clinics are explored.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2021
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2020
DOI: 10.1039/C9CS00738E
Abstract: This review provides a comprehensive overview of the latest advances in the synthesis, architectural design and biomedical applications of polypeptides and their hybrids.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.IJPHARM.2019.06.028
Abstract: Despite their great potential, the nano-sized extracellular vesicles are yet to become effective delivery systems for poorly water-soluble drugs. Here, we present a novel platform of exosomes as a drug delivery system by engineering of a poorly water-soluble drug into a poloxamer-based molecular nanostructured dispersion composed of a hydrophilic and a hydrophobic moiety for an enhanced anticancer efficacy. For the first time, aspirin was loaded into exosomes as an anticancer agent via a one-step fabrication combining the nano-matrix formation of the nanostructured dispersion and exosomes loading. Our approach could transform crystalline aspirin to a nanoamorphous form in the nano-matrix structured exosomes, leading to increased drug encapsulation efficiency for exosomes, improved dissolution and strongly enhanced cytotoxicity of aspirin to cancer cells. Interestingly, cytotoxicity of aspirin to both breast and colorectal cancer cells could be strongly enhanced by the nanoamorphous aspirin-loaded exosomes, and this cytotoxic effect was more pronounced to parental cells of the exosomes, reminiscent of homing effect. Hence, this study has pioneered a novel nanoplatform of nanoamorphous exosomal delivery system to transform an anti-inflammatory drug into a potent anti-cancer agent.
Publisher: Xia & He Publishing
Date: 18-09-2022
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2021
DOI: 10.1016/J.BBR.2021.113125
Abstract: Age-related cognitive decline is associated with chronic low grade neuroinflammation that may result from a complex interplay among many factors, such as bidirectional communication between the central nervous system (CNS) and gut microbiota. The present study used 2-month-old (young group) and 15-month-old (aged group) male C57BL/6 mice to explore the potential association between age-related cognitive decline and the microbiota-gut-brain axis disorder. We observed that aged mice exhibited significant deficits in learning and memory, neuronal and synaptic function compared with young mice. Aged mice also exhibited significant dysbiosis of the gut microbiota. Disruptions of the intestinal barrier and blood-brain barrier were also observed, including increases in intestinal, low-grade systemic and cerebral inflammation. Furthermore, plasma and brain levels of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were significantly higher in aged mice compared with young mice, with increasing expression of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and myeloid differential protein-88 (MyD88) and the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) in intestinal and brain tissues. These findings showed that microbiota-gut-brain axis dysfunction that occurs through LPS-induced activation of the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway is implicated in age-related neuroinflammation and cognitive decline.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2021
DOI: 10.1016/J.CANLET.2020.12.022
Abstract: Liver cancer has no effective therapies, hence a poor survival. Cancer stem-like cells not only contribute to cancer initiation and progression, but also to drug resistance, cancer metastasis, and eventually treatment failure. Hence, any approaches that can effectively kill cancer stem-like cells hold a great potential for cancer treatment. CD133 is a robust marker for liver cancer stem-like cells. We developed a specific aptamer against CD133 (CD133-apt), and then loaded this aptamer with an anticancer drug doxorubicin (CD133-apt-Dox). The efficacy of CD133-apt-Dox in targeting liver cancer stem-like cells and its overall effect in treating liver cancer were investigated using multiple in vitro and in vivo studies including in patients-derived liver cancer organoids. We have observed that CD133-apt could preferably delivered doxorubicin to CD133-expressing cells with efficient drug accumulation and retention. CD133-apt-Dox impaired the self-renewal capacity of liver cancer stem-like cells and attenuated their stem-ness phenotypes in vitro or in vivo. CD133-apt-Dox significantly inhibited the growth of liver cancer cells and patients-derived organoids and reduced the growth of xenograft tumours in nude mice inhibited the growth of DEN-induced liver cancer in immunocompetent mice. Hence, aptamer-mediated targeting of CD133 is a highly promising approach for liver cancer therapy.
Publisher: Impact Journals, LLC
Date: 19-10-2015
Publisher: Mary Ann Liebert Inc
Date: 02-2019
Abstract: As a nucleic acid alternative to traditional antibody, aptamer holds great potential in various fields of biology and medicine such as targeted gene therapy, drug delivery, bio-sensing, and laboratory medicine. Over the past decades, the conventional Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (SELEX) method has undergone dramatic modifications and improvements owing to developments in material sciences and analytical techniques. However, many of the recently developed strategies either require complex materials and instruments or suffer from low efficiency and high failure rates in the selection of desired aptamers. Accordingly, the development of aptamers against new or novel targets is still a major obstacle for aptamer-based research and application. Here, an improved protein-SELEX procedure is presented for simplified and highly efficient isolation of aptamers against protein targets. Approaches are described that ensure a high success rate in aptamer selection by simplifying polymerase chain reaction procedures, introducing denature gel, utilizing an electro-elution-based single-stranded DNA separation strategy, as well as an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-based highly sensitive binding assay. In addition, a simplified s le preparation method for MiSeq-based next-generation sequencing is also introduced. While a recombinant protein as a bait protein for SELEX is discussed here, this protocol will also be invaluable for researchers wishing to develop aptamers against targets other than proteins such as small molecules, lipids, carbohydrates, cells, and micro-organisms for future gene therapy and/or diagnostics.
No related grants have been discovered for Wei Duan.