Biocompatible Nanocarriers for Enhanced Cancer Photodynamic Therapy Applications

Abstract

In recent years, the role of nanotechnology in drug delivery has become increasingly important, and this field of research holds many potential benefits for cancer treatment, particularly, in achieving cancer cell targeting and reducing the side effects of anticancer drugs. Biocompatible and biodegradable properties have been essential for using a novel material as a carrier molecule in drug delivery applications. Biocompatible nanocarriers are easy to synthesize, and their surface chemistry often enables them to load different types of photosensitizers (PS) to use targeted photodynamic therapy (PDT) for cancer treatment. This review article explores recent studies on the use of different biocompatible nanocarriers, their potential applications in PDT, including PS-loaded biocompatible nanocarriers, and the effective targeting therapy of PS-loaded biocompatible nanocarriers in PDT for cancer treatment. Furthermore, the review briefly recaps the global clinical trials of PDT and its applications in cancer treatment.

Bibliometric Analysis of Global Research on Cancer Photodynamic Therapy: Focus on Nano-Related Research

“…And she and others also attempted to develop mechanism-based PDT combination strategies involving multiple inhibitors of oncogenic pathways for tumor therapy ( Verma et al, 2007 ; Huang et al, 2016 ). While Abrahamse Heidi mainly explored various biocompatible nanoparticles and nanocarriers for enhanced CPDT applications ( Dhilip Kumar and Abrahamse, 2021 ; Winifred Nompumelelo Simelane and Abrahamse, 2021 ). Similarly, Zhang Xianzheng focused on the investigation of nanoplatform or nanoparticles for enhanced PDT especially a variety of approaches to overcome hypoxic tumors ( Zheng et al, 2016 ; Liu et al, 2017 ; Li et al, 2019 ).…”

Recent Innovations of Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Combined with Photodynamic Therapy for Improving Cancer Treatment

“…Because of its efficacy and cost-effectiveness, photodynamic therapy seems to be an attractive option for cancer treatment [ 28 ]. It has been investigated for more than 25 years as an untraditional treatment process for cancer [ 3 ]. This technique integrates three components: a photosensitizer, a light source with an appropriate wavelength, and molecular oxygen inside the tissues [ 28 , 29 ].…”

“…In recent years, cancer has been one of the leading causes of death globally, and it continues to be a primary public health burden [ 1 ]. The term cancer refers to a group of medical conditions originating from abnormal regulation and cell growth that lead to unregulated proliferation and neoplastic development coupled with metastatic ability [ 2 , 3 ]. In 2020, more than 19.2 million new cancer cases were diagnosed, and around 9.9 million patients died worldwide [ 4 ].…”

The Photosensitizer Temoporfin (mTHPC) – Chemical, Pre‐clinical and Clinical Developments in the Last Decade†‡

“…As for many other anti-cancer drugs, nanoparticles and nanoparticle formulations play an important role in this respect (322), often with reference to the EPR (enhanced permeability and retention) effect (323,324). Hence, nanoparticles have been specifically exploited as carriers for photosensitizers (24,315,316,321,323,(325)(326)(327)(328)(329)(330)(331). Apart from serving as carriers, the nanoparticulate formulation of photosensitizers can additionally be used to enhance the singlet oxygen generation (332) or may be used to switch the operating photochemical mechanism (333).…”