The present study was undertaken to assess the effects of potential probiotics in regulating the activity of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) along with other morphological and histological analysis during 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) induced colon carcinogenesis in rats. The rats were divided into 6 groups viz., normal control, Lactobacillus plantarum (AdF10) treated, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) treated, DMH treated, AdF10 + DMH treated and LGG + DMH treated. Probiotics were supplemented to rats at dose levels of 2 × 10¹⁰ cells per day for 6 days in a week. All the treatments were continued for a period of 16 wk. DMH treatment resulted in a statistically significant increase in the levels of total sialic acid (TSA). However, on supplementation with probiotics, a significant reduction in TSA was observed. DMH treatment brought about a significant increase in the expression of COX-2. But, supplementation of probiotics brought down the protein expression to moderate level. Further, supplementation with probiotics was also able to reduce tumor incidence, tumor multiplicity and average tumor size. Therefore, treatment with probiotics has the potential of providing protection against colon cancer by suppressing the COX-2 expression as one of the protective mechanisms.

Nanogels open up access to a wide range of applications and offer among others hopeful approaches for use in the field of biomedicine. This review provides a brief overview of current developments of nanogels in general, particularly in the fields of drug delivery, therapeutic applications, tissue engineering, and sensor systems. Specifically, cyclodextrin (CD)‐based nanogels are important because they have exceptional complexation properties and are highly biocompatible. Nanogels as a whole and CD‐based nanogels in particular can be customized in a wide range of sizes and equipped with a desired surface charge as well as containing additional molecules inside and outside, such as dyes, solubility‐mediating groups or even biological vector molecules for pharmaceutical targeting. Currently, biological investigations are mainly carried out in vitro, but more and more in vivo applications are gaining importance. Modern molecular imaging methods are increasingly being used for the latter. Due to an extremely high sensitivity and the possibility of obtaining quantitative data on pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties, nuclear methods such as single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) using radiolabeled compounds are particularly suitable here. The use of radiolabeled nanogels for imaging, but also for therapy, is being discussed.

This study optimized the radiolabeling of cisplatin with technetium-99m (99mTc) and evaluated its biodistribution in an experimental model of lung carcinogenesis. The percentage labeling of cisplatin with 99mTc was assessed using an ascending chromatographic technique. For biodistribution studies, male rats were divided into 2 groups. The control group received normal saline intratracheally, whereas the treatment group received intratracheal administration of carcinogen 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) at a dose of 20 mg/kg body weight. The resulting radiopharmaceutical (99mTc-cisplatin) showed 98% labeling efficiency and was found to be stable for up to 6 hours both in both serum and saline under normal conditions. The blood clearance of the 99mTc-cisplatin followed a biphasic release pattern whereby a fast-release phase was observed at 35 seconds and a slow-release phase was observed after 30 minutes of drug administration. The biodistribution studies of control and treated animals revealed high uptake of 99mTc-cisplatin by the liver and slow excretion via the kidneys. However, a time-dependent increase in the lung-to-muscle specific uptake ratio was observed in DMBA-treated rats. The study concluded that 99mTc-cisplatin possesses selectivity toward cancerous lung tissue and can be explored further for its diagnostic potential in the detection of lung cancer and the evaluation of treatment response.