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Description
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women worldwide [1]. The limitations of the current therapeutic highlight the need for new treatment modalities [2]. In this work, multifunctional lipid nanoparticles were developed for dual chemotherapy-photothermal therapy of breast cancer. Nanoparticles were also functionalized with different targeting agents to improve accumulation in breast cancer cells. Nanoparticles were optimized and fully characterized and demonstrated a high drug encapsulation efficiency and adequate properties for intravenous administration. A high anti-cancer efficacy was obtained in both 2D and 3D cell models of breast cancer [1]. Photothermal therapy was then explored by incorporating gold nanorods in the nanosystem. First, the influence of the NIR laser used (pulsed versus continuous) and other relevant parameters including the concentration of nanorods, the volume of the sample, and laser power settings were evaluated. Based on these results, the continuous laser was selected for further studies and an improvement of cancer cell death was obtained following laser irradiation after treatment with the developed nanoparticles. Finally, a preliminary in vivo biodistribution study was conducted in mice using IVIS® Optical Imaging.
References
- Granja, A., R. Lima-Sousa, C.G. Alves, D. de Melo-Diogo, M. Pinheiro, C.T. Sousa, I.J. Correia, and S. Reis, Mitoxantrone-loaded lipid nanoparticles for breast cancer therapy–quality-by-design approach and efficacy assessment in 2D and 3D in vitro cancer models. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 2021: p. 121044.
- Granja, A., M. Pinheiro, C.T. Sousa, and S. Reis, Gold nanostructures as mediators of hyperthermia therapies in breast cancer. Biochemical Pharmacology, 2021: p. 114639.
