Perspectives on the application of nanotechnology in photodynamic therapy for the treatment of melanoma

Recent developments in hyaluronic acid-based nanomedicine for targeted cancer treatment

INTRODUCTION

Hyaluronic acid (HA) has emerged as a promising applicant for the tumor-targeted delivery of various therapeutic agents. Because of its biocompatibility, biodegradability and receptor-binding properties, HA has been extensively investigated as the drug delivery carrier. In this review, recent advances in HA-based nanomedicines are discussed.

AREAS COVERED

This review focuses on HA-based nanomedicines for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. In particular, recent advances in HA-drug conjugates and HA-based nanoparticles for small molecular drug delivery are discussed. The bioreducible HA conjugates for small interfering ribonucleic acid delivery have been also discussed.

EXPERT OPINION

To develop a successful HA-based nanomedicine, it has to be prepared without significant deterioration of intrinsic property of HA. The chemical modification of HA with drugs or hydrophobic moieties may reduce the binding affinity of HA to the receptors. In addition, since the HA-based nanomedicines tend to accumulate in the liver after their systemic administration, new strategies to overcome this issue have to be developed.

Aluminium-phthalocyanine chloride nanoemulsions for anticancer photodynamic therapy: Development and in vitro activity against monolayers and spheroids of human mammary adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cells

Background

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) combines light, molecular oxygen and a photosensitizer to induce oxidative stress in target cells. Certain hydrophobic photosensitizers, such as aluminium-phthalocyanine chloride (AlPc), have significant potential for antitumor PDT applications. However, hydrophobic molecules often require drug-delivery systems, such as nanostructures, to improve their pharmacokinetic properties and to prevent aggregation, which has a quenching effect on the photoemission properties in aqueous media. As a result, this work aims to develop and test the efficacy of an AlPc in the form of a nanoemulsion to enable its use in anticancer PDT.

Results

The nanoemulsion was developed using castor oil and Cremophor ELP®, and a monodisperse population of nanodroplets with a hydrodynamic diameter of approximately 25 nm was obtained. While free AlPc failed to show significant activity against human breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cells in an in vitro PDT assay, the AlPc in the nanoemulsion showed intense photodynamic activity. Photoactivated AlPc exhibited a 50 % cytotoxicity concentration (CC50) of 6.0 nM when applied to MCF-7 cell monolayers and exerted a powerful cytotoxic effect on MCF-7 cell spheroids.

Conclusion

Through the use of spontaneous emulsification, a stable AlPc nanoemulsion was developed that exhibits strong in vitro photodynamic activity on cancer cells.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12951-015-0095-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Photodynamic therapy of melanoma using new, synthetic porphyrins and phthalocyanines as photosensitisers - a comparative study

Melanoma, a cancer that arises from melanocytes, is one of the most unresponsive cancers to known therapies and has a tendency to produce early metastases. Several studies showed encouraging results of the efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT) in melanoma, in different experimental settings in vitro and in vivo, as well as several clinical reports.

A safety study of a novel photosensitizer, sinoporphyrin sodium, for photodynamic therapy in Beagle dogs

Sinoporphyrin sodium (DVDMS) based photodynamic therapy (PDT) showed skin phototoxicity in Beagle dogs, did not accumulate in blood plasma, and had an effect on the immune organs and the liver.