Nano-Mediated Photodynamic Therapy for Cancer: Enhancement of Cancer Specificity and Therapeutic Effects

Abstract

Deregulation of cell growth and development lead to cancer, a severe condition that claims millions of lives worldwide. Targeted or selective approaches used during cancer treatment determine the efficacy and outcome of the therapy. In order to enhance specificity and targeting and obtain better treatment options for cancer, novel modalities are currently under development. Photodynamic therapy has the potential to eradicate cancer, and combination therapy would yield even greater outcomes. Nanomedicine-aided cancer therapy shows enhanced specificity for cancer cells and minimal side-effects coupled with effective cancer destruction both in vitro and in vivo. Nanocarriers used in drug-delivery systems are very capable of penetrating the cancer stem cell niche, simultaneously killing cancer cells and eradicating drug-resistant cancer stem cells, yielding therapeutic efficiency of up to 100-fold against drug-resistant cancer in comparison with free drugs. Safety precautions should be considered when using nano-mediated therapy as the effects of extended exposure to biological environments are still to be determined.

Photodynamic Therapy: A Brief History

“…This brief review has included only a fraction of the thousands of reports relating to PDT that have been published. PDT has entered the era of nanotechnology [44,45]. Several reviews, along with a summary of the early literature, have also been published [46,47,48,49,50].…”

“…This provides a means for targeting ER, mitochondria and lysosomes with a single agent requiring activation by a single wavelength of light. Use of nanoformulations may provide a better means for both formulating photosensitizers and providing a better targeting of neoplastic lesions [43,44,45].…”

Biodegradable Silica‐Based Nanoparticles with Improved and Safe Delivery of Protoporphyrin IX for the In Vivo Photodynamic Therapy of Breast Cancer

“…[ 23,24 ] Nanoparticles increase the selectivity and stability of PSs while reducing unwanted side effects, such as dark toxicity and light sensitivity, which can enhance the overall PDT effect. [ 25 ] Our group and others have investigated the use of stimuli‐responsive PSilQ platform to incorporate a high payload of PSs to improve PDT for cancer. Our group has reported on the use of redox‐responsive PpIX‐based PSilQ NPs to improve the PDT effect against cancer in vitro.…”

Bioactive nanotherapeutic trends to combat triple negative breast cancer

“…Active targeting by attaching ligands on nanoparticles enables to recognize and bind to receptors on target cancer cells. Such techniques were reported conjugating the nano-carrier systems to biomolecules including small molecules, peptides, aptamers, and antibodies [ 147 , 148 ]. Biological cells such as lymphocytes, macrophages, exosomes, erythrocytes, and platelets are used as whole-cell carriers to depot the free drug(s) or drug-loaded nanoparticles for a better tumor targeting and causing detrimental effects on the cancerous cells ( Fig.…”