Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25114653›Full record

ArticleNanoscale research letters2014

Validation of a Janus role of methotrexate-based PEGylated chitosan nanoparticles in vitro.

Fanghong Luo, Yang Li, Mengmeng Jia, Fei Cui, Hongjie Wu, Fei Yu, Jinyan Lin, Xiangrui Yang, Zhenqing Hou, Qiqing Zhang

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nanoscale research letters, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
2.6field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 29 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Nanomedicine (London, England) · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Fanghong LuoDepartment of Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China ; Department of Biomaterials and Research Center of Biochemical Engineering, College of Materials, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China ; Cancer Research Center, Medical College, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
Yang LiDepartment of Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China ; Department of Biomaterials and Research Center of Biochemical Engineering, College of Materials, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
Mengmeng JiaDepartment of Biomaterials and Research Center of Biochemical Engineering, College of Materials, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
Fei CuiDepartment of Biomaterials and Research Center of Biochemical Engineering, College of Materials, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
Hongjie WuDepartment of Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361002, China.
Fei YuDepartment of Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
Jinyan LinDepartment of Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China ; Department of Biomaterials and Research Center of Biochemical Engineering, College of Materials, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
Xiangrui YangDepartment of Biomaterials and Research Center of Biochemical Engineering, College of Materials, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
Zhenqing HouDepartment of Biomaterials and Research Center of Biochemical Engineering, College of Materials, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
Qiqing ZhangInstitute of Biomedical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin 300192, China.
Xiamen University · CNChinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Recently, methotrexate (MTX) has been used to target to folate (FA) receptor-overexpressing cancer cells for targeted drug delivery. However, the systematic evaluation of MTX as a Janus-like agent has not been reported before. Here, we explored the validity of using MTX playing an early-phase cancer-specific targeting ligand cooperated with a late-phase therapeutic anticancer agent based on the PEGylated chitosan (CS) nanoparticles (NPs) as drug carriers. Some advantages of these nanoscaled drug delivery systems are as follows: (1) the NPs can ensure minimal premature release of MTX at off-target site to reduce the side effects to normal tissue; (2) MTX can function as a targeting ligand at target site prior to cellular uptake; and (3) once internalized by the target cell, the NPs can function as a prodrug formulation, releasing biologically active MTX inside the cells. The (MTX + PEG)-CS-NPs presented a sustained/proteases-mediated drug release. More importantly, compared with the PEG-CS-NPs and (FA + PEG)-CS-NPs, the (MTX + PEG)-CS-NPs showed a greater cellular uptake. Furthermore, the (MTX + PEG)-CS-NPs demonstrated a superior cytotoxicity compare to the free MTX. Our findings therefore validated that the MTX-loaded PEGylated CS-NPs can simultaneously target and treat FA receptor-overexpressing cancer cells.

Indexed as

ChitosanDrug delivery systemMethotrexateNanoparticlesTumor

Identifiers

PMID25114653
PMCPMC4118220
OpenAlexW2168334719

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.