RACI QLD Analytical & Environmental Group
"The Health Effects and Applications of Nanoparticles in Medicines and the Food Industry"
Date: Wednesday 3 November 2021
Time: 11am - 12pm
Location: Via Zoom
Cost: Free
Queensland Analytical and Environmental Group
Seminar: The health effects and applications of nanoparticles in medicines and food industry
There has been an increased interest in the use of the nanoparticles and their applications over the years. Nanoparticles are generally defined as particles that have the structures ranging from 1 to 10 nm in at least one dimension. The sources of nanoparticles could come from accidential nanoparticles such as vehicle engine exhaust; from engineered nanoparticles, manufactured by humans for specific properties and applications; and from naturally produced nanoparticles in the bodies of organisms. Interest in nanoparticles has led to advance in nanoscience which is the study of molecular structures of nanoparticles and their applications in areas of medicines, drug and food products, manufacturing and environmet. The seminars will discuss the use of nanoparticles in cancer therapy and the impact in the environment and safety.
Program:
11:00 am Welcome
11:05 – 11:30 Speaker 1 Professor Janice Aldrich-Wright (School of Science, Western Sydney University)
Topic: “Platinum Anticancer Prodrugs”
11:35-12:00 Speaker 2 Dr Asa Jamting (National Measurement Institute, Sydney)
Topic: “Particle characterisation: a nanometrologist’s toolkit”
Date: Wednesday 3rd November 2021
Speaker 1: Professor Janice Aldrich-Wright
Biography
Professor Janice Aldrich-Wright is a Medicinal Bioinorganic Chemist, Associate Dean of Higher Degree research in the School of Science and the Academic Lead for our Science in Australia Gender Equity initiative at Western Sydney University. Undertook a BSc in applied science at University of technology, Sydney, work in the chemical industry for some years before returning to undertake a PhD at Macquarie University. Her PhD thesis was awarded the Cornforth Medal in 1993 for the best Chemistry PhD in Australia, and she now has a strong international research reputation in anticancer prodrug design as the focus of her research. She has been awarded the Vice Chancellor’s Excellence in Postgraduate research supervision three times and has mentored 36 PhD, 22 Masters and 38 Honours students during their candidatures. She has published over 120 papers, holds three patents, is a fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. She is an important mentor to early career academics and a strong advocate for gender equity.
Abstract
Janice R. Aldrich-Wright1, Dan Gibson2, Emanuele Petruzzella2, Valentina Gandin3, Krishant Deo1, Brondwyn McGhie1, Aleen Khouy1, Benjamin Pages1, Angelico Auputen1, Rachel Day1
1School of Science and Health, University of Western Sydney, Australia, 2Institute for Drug Research, School of Pharmacy, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel. 3Dipartimento di Scienze del Farmaco, Università di Padova, Italy.
Platinum(II) anticancer drugs are administered in ~ 50% of all chemotherapeutic treatments, despite the significant clinical disadvantages such as acquired resistance, cross-resistance and severe side effects that are to some extent moderated by a cocktail of additional medications. Overcoming these clinical disadvantages requires us to create of complexes with inherently different modes of action.1-3 In this search we have designed, and developed an innovative “proof of concept” Quad-Action Pt(IV) prodrug (cis-DCA-Pt56MeSS-PhB, Figure 1) that releases four different bioactive moieties, simultaneously inside the cancer cell. The cytotoxicity determined in 2D and 3D cancer cells is substantially better than cisplatin. Moreover, it is 200-450 fold more cytotoxic than cisplatin against KRAS mutated colon and pancreatic cancers (Table 1). This is critical because RAS proteins play a vital role in regulating cell differentiation, proliferation, and survival furthermore, KRAS is mutated in resistant cancers such as pancreatic adenocarcinomas, colorectal cancers, and lung adenocarcinomas. The selectivity index is twice that of cisplatin, signifying that there is a preferential cytotoxicity in neoplastic cells. This combination prodrug induces cell death the through inherently different modes of action such as DNA platination, mitochondrial membrane hypopolarization, disrupts of the microtubule cytoskeleton, HDAC inhibition and Cytochrome C release.
References
[1] F. J. Macias, K. M. Deo, B. J. Pages, P. Wormell, G. Zheng, J. R. Aldrich-Wright, Synthesis, characterisation and diffusion studies of platinum(IV) complexes, Chemistry A European Journal Vol 21 (47), (2015) 16990-17001
[2] M. Galanski, M. A. Jakupec, B. K. Keppler, “Update of the preclinical situation of anticancer platinum complexes: Novel design strategies and innovative analytical approaches.” Current Medicinal Chemistry, Vol. 12, (2005), pp 2075-2094
[3] E. Petruzzella, J. P. Braude, J. R. Aldrich-Wright, V. Gandin, D. Gibson, “A quadruple action PtIV prodrug with anticancer activity against KRAS mutated cancer cell lines.” Angewandte Chemie, Vol. 56, No. 38, (2017) pp 11539-11544
Speaker 2: Dr Asa Jamting
Biography
Dr. Åsa Jämting is a senior scientist in the Nanometrology Section, National Measurement Institute, Lindfield, Sydney. She is the manager of the state-of-the-art nanoparticle characterisation facility, specialising in measurement and characterisation of a large number of different nanoparticle systems using a wide range of characterisation techniques. She is particularly interested in characterising nanoparticles in complex matrices, such as wastewater, food and sunscreen formulations. Her current research is focussed on various projects related to emerging measurement challenges for particulate materials, such as nanoparticles and microplastics in matrices of varying complexity.
Abstract
Åsa Jämting, Malcolm Lawn, Bakir Babic and Victoria Coleman
National Measurement Institute Australia, West Lindfield, NSW, Australia, [email protected].
Accurate measurements of the physical and chemical characteristics of nanomaterials and nanostructures are critical for understanding the fate, transport and toxicity of nanomaterials in the environment. Nanometrology, the science of measurements at the nanoscale, helps to ensure that measurements of the relevant nanomaterial properties are quantifiably comparable. It thus not only facilitates the design and implementation of nano-enabled functionality, but also allows assessment of the technology’s potential risks for human health and for the natural environment.
Some of the most relevant nanomaterial properties to be measured include the number and/or mass concentration, chemical composition, particle size distribution, agglomeration/aggregation state, surface charge and surface chemistry. Characterisation of these parameters in nanoscale systems presents numerous challenges, particularly in application-relevant matrices such as tissue, physiological fluids, food or environmental systems. Additional complexities can arise, in particular for environmental applications, when there is a need to distinguish anthropogenic, engineered nanomaterials from naturally occurring or incidental materials. No single measurement technique or instrument is capable of addressing all of these challenges, and usually a combination of different measurement methods should be applied. We illustrate some of the differences and complementarities of commonly used techniques using practical examples.