Recently, multifunctional drug delivery systems (DDSs) have been designed to provide a comprehensive approach with multiple functionalities, including diagnostic imaging, targeted drug delivery, and controlled drug release. Chitosan-based drug nanoparticles (CSNPs) systems are employed as diagnostic imaging and delivering the drug to particular targeted sites in a regulated manner. Drug release is an important factor in ensuring high reproducibility, stability, quality control of CSNPs, and scientific-based for developing CSNPs. Several factors influence drug release from CSNPs, including composition, composition ratio, ingredient interactions, and preparation methods. Early, CSNPs were used for improving drug solubility, stability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacotherapeutics properties. Chitosan has been developed toward a multifunctional drug delivery system by exploring positively charged properties and modifiable functional groups. Various modifications to the polymer backbone, charge, or functional groups will undoubtedly affect the drug release from CSNPs. The drug release from CSNPs has a significant influence on its therapeutic actions. Our review's objective was to summarize and discuss the relationship between the modification in CSNPs as multifunctional delivery systems and drug release properties and kinetics of the drug release model. Kinetic models help describe the release rate, leading to increased efficiency, accuracy, the safety of the dose, optimizing the drug delivery device's design, evaluating the drug release rate, and improvement of patient compatibility. In conclusion, almost all CSNPs showed bi-phasic release, initial burst release drug in a particular time followed controlled manner release in achieving the expected release, stimuli external can be applied. CSNPs are a promising technique for multifunctional drug delivery systems.

Pectin, a natural polysaccharide, has gained increasing attention due to not only its biomaterial properties but also its biomedical activities. One of the abundant sources of pectin is mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.) rind. In this study, we characterized the pectin from Indonesian mangosteen rind extract and evaluated its antioxidant activity. Pectin was extracted in acid condition and evaluated its physicochemical properties by fourier transform infrared (FTIR), powder X-ray diffractometer (PXRD), water content, ash content, equivalent weight, methoxyl level and of galacturonic acid content. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of pectin was also observed by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. Pectin was successfully extracted from dry weight of Indonesian mangosten rind with yield about 1,16 ± 0,17%, fine powder, brownish and odorless. FTIR and PXRD results showed that pectin from mangosteen rind extract was amorphous and similar characteristic with a commercial pectin. The chemical properties of pectin such as water content, ash content, equivalent weight, methoxyl level and of galacturonic acid level were 9.85 ± 0.12%, 3.91 ± 0.17%, 6330.76 ± 220.43 g/mol, 2.86 ± 0.05% and 75.98 ± 0.88%, respectively. In addition, pectin showed an antioxidant activity with the IC50 about 161.94 ± 31.57 ppm. These results suggest that pectin from Indonesian mangosteen rind has the potential properties as biopolymers for biomedical applications with a low-methylated pectin and a moderate antioxidant activity.

Breast cancer remains one of the world’s most dangerous diseases because of the difficulty of finding cost-effective and specific targets for effective and efficient treatment methods. The biodegradability and biocompatibility properties of chitosan-based nanoparticles (ChNPs) have good prospects for targeted drug delivery systems. ChNPs can transfer various antitumor drugs to targeted sites via passive and active targeting pathways. The modification of ChNPs has attracted the researcher to the loading of drugs to targeted cancer cells. The objective of our review was to summarize and discuss the modification in ChNPs in delivering anticancer drugs against breast cancer cells from published papers recorded in Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar. In order to improve cellular uptake, drug accumulation, cytotoxicity, and selectivity, we examined different kinds of modification of ChNPs. Notably, these forms of ChNPs use the characteristics of the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect as a proper parameter and different biological ligands, such as proteins, peptides, monoclonal antibodies, and small particles. In addition, as a targeted delivery system, ChNPs provided and significantly improved the delivery of drugs into specific breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231, 4T1 cells, SK-BR-3, MCF-7, T47D). In conclusion, a promising technique is presented for increasing the efficacy, selectivity, and effectiveness of candidate drug carriers in the treatment of breast cancer.

Lung cancer is the second most common type of cancer after breast cancer. It ranks first in terms of mortality rate among all types of cancer. Lung cancer therapies are still being developed, one of which makes use of nanoparticle technology. However, conjugation with specific ligands capable of delivering drugs more precisely to cancer sites is still required to enhance nanoparticle targeting performance. Monoclonal antibodies are one type of mediator that can actively target nanoparticles. Due to the large number of antigens on the surface of cancer cells, monoclonal antibodies are widely used to deliver nanoparticles and improve drug targeting to cancer cells. Unfortunately, these antibodies have some drawbacks, such as rapid elimination, which results in a short half-life and ineffective dose. As a result, many of them are formulated in nanoparticles to minimize their major drawbacks and enhance drug targeting. This review summarizes and discusses articles on developing and applying various types of monoclonal antibody ligand nanoparticles as lung cancer target drugs. This review will serve as a guide for the choice of nanoparticle systems containing monoclonal antibody ligands for drug delivery in lung cancer therapy.

Over the years, coronaviruses (CoV) have posed a severe public health threat, causing an increase in mortality and morbidity rates throughout the world. The recent outbreak of a novel coronavirus, named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) caused the current Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that affected more than 215 countries with over 23 million cases and 800,000 deaths as of today. The situation is critical, especially with the absence of specific medicines or vaccines; hence, efforts toward the development of anti-COVID-19 medicines are being intensively undertaken. One of the potential therapeutic targets of anti-COVID-19 drugs is the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). ACE2 was identified as a key functional receptor for CoV associated with COVID-19. ACE2, which is located on the surface of the host cells, binds effectively to the spike protein of CoV, thus enabling the virus to infect the epithelial cells of the host. Previous studies showed that certain flavonoids exhibit angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition activity, which plays a crucial role in the regulation of arterial blood pressure. Thus, it is being postulated that these flavonoids might also interact with ACE2. This postulation might be of interest because these compounds also show antiviral activity in vitro. This article summarizes the natural flavonoids with potential efficacy against COVID-19 through ACE2 receptor inhibition.