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Injection of soft tissue fillers plays an important role in facial reconstruction and esthetic treatments such as cosmetic surgery for lip augmentation and wrinkle smoothening. Adverse events are an increasing problem, and recently, it has been suggested that bacteria are the cause of a vast fraction these. We developed a novel mouse model and evaluated hyaluronic acid gel, calcium hydroxyl apatite microspheres, and polyacrylamide hydrogel for their potential for sustaining bacterial infections and their possible treatments. We were able to culture Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Probionibacterium acnes in all three gels. When contaminated gels were left for 7 days in a mouse model, we found sustainment of bacterial infection with the permanent gel, less with the semi-permanent gel, and no growth within the temporary gel. Evaluation of treatment strategies showed that once the bacteria had settled (into biofilms) within the gels, even successive treatments with high concentrations of relevant antibiotics were not effective. Our data substantiate bacteria as a cause of adverse reactions reported when using tissue fillers, and the sustainability of these infections appears to depend on longevity of the gel. Most importantly, the infections are resistant to antibiotics once established but can be prevented using prophylactic antibiotics.

Background: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a non-invasive and innovative cancer therapy based on the photodynamic effect. In this study, we sought to determine the singlet oxygen production, intracellular uptake, and in vitro photodynamic therapy potential of Cetixumab-targeted, zinc(II) 2,3,9,10,16,17,23,24-octa(tert-butylphenoxy))phthalocyaninato(2-)-N29,N30,N31,N32 (ZnPcOBP)-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles against pancreatic cancer cells. Results: The quantum yield (ΦΔ) value of ZnPcOBP was found to be 0.60 in toluene. In vitro cellular studies were performed to determine the dark- and phototoxicity of samples with various concentrations of ZnPcOBP by using pancreatic cells (AsPC-1, PANC-1 and MIA PaCa-2) and 20, 30, and 40 J/cm2 light fluences. No dark toxicity was observed for any sample in any cell line. ZnPcOBP alone showed a modest photodynamic activity. However, when incorporated in silica nanoparticles, it showed a relatively high phototoxic effect, which was further enhanced by Cetuximab, a monoclonal antibody that targets the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR). The cell-line dependent photokilling observed correlates well with EGFR expression levels in these cells. Conclusions: Imidazole-capped Cetuximab-targeted mesoporous silica nanoparticles are excellent vehicles for the selective delivery of ZnPcOBP to pancreatic cancer cells expressing the EGFR receptor. The novel nanosystem appears to be a suitable agent for photodynamic therapy of pancreatic tumors.

In recent years, phthalocyanines (Pcs) have been widely used as photosensitizer in photodynamic therapy applications. Because of their strong absorptions in the near-infrared region (640-700 nm). The integration of phthalocyanine derivatives to a nanoparticle is expected to be efficient way to improve the activity of the photosensitizer on the targeted tissue. It is known that the integrated molecules not only show better accumulation on tumor tissue but also reduce toxicity in healthy tissues. In this study, the ZnPc molecule was synthesized and integrated to the TiO nanoparticle, to investigate the potential of PDT and its cytotoxicity. Additionally, ZnPc and ZnPc-TiO molecules were labeled with I and it was aimed to put forth the nuclear imaging/therapy potentials of I labeled ZnPc/ZnPc-TiO by determining in vitro uptakes in mouse mammary carcinoma (EMT6), human cervical adenocarcinoma (HeLa). In result of our study, it was observed that the radiolabeling yields of the synthesized ZnPc and ZnPc-TiO with I were quite high. In vitro uptake studies shown that I-ZnPc-TiO could be a potential agent for nuclear imaging/treatment of breast and cervical cancers. According to PDT results, ZnPc-TiO might have as to be a potential PDT agent in the treatment of cervical tumor. ZnPc and ZnPc-TiO might be used as theranostic agents.

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