Nanotechnology in the Treatment and Detection of Intraocular Cancers

Abstract

Tremendous progress in nanotechnology has lead to the development of nanometer-sized objects as medical implants or devices. Many of these nanodevices have recently been tested in many cancer diagnostic and therapeutic applications, such as leukemia, melanoma, breast tumor, prostate tumor, and brain cancer. Despite the increasing importance of nanotechnology in cancer, the potential of these nanodevices in diagnosing and treating intraocular cancers has not been systematically evaluated. This review summarizes the significant advancements and potential areas for development in the field of nanotechnology-based intraocular drug delivery and imaging. KeywordsIntraocular cancer; uveal melanoma; retinoblastoma; nanoparticles; liposomes; quantum dots; intravitreal injection; drug delivery; imaging Intraocular Cancers -Overview and detectionThough less common, the risk of complications and metastatic potential of intraocular cancers presents a very dangerous condition, warranting the same vigilant management as other cancers. Due to their proximity to critical ocular structures, early diagnosis and treatment of intraocular cancer are essential to preserve vision. There are two common forms of intraocular tumors which can be characterized based on the typical age of occurrence: ocular melanoma in adults and retinoblastoma in children. Ocular melanoma is the most common malignancy originating in the eye in older patients with a median onset age of 55. 1,2 Retinoblastoma is a very common form of ocular malignancy occurring in children. 1Uveal melanoma is the most common type of ocular melanoma and typically presents as a small tumor near critical structures in the eye. 1,3 The potential causes and risk factors of uveal melanoma remain undetermined, 6 though incidence is slightly higher in men, with rates 150 times higher in Caucasians compared to those with darker skin. This is consistent with the statistically higher incidence seen in patients with light skin, blue eyes, and blonde hair. 1 Compared with other intraocular tumors, uveal melanoma has the highest rate of metastasis, with a 40% metastasis rate (median survival 2-7 months) and approximately The most concerning issue with this condition are problems with detection and treatment. 5 As such, the rate of metastasis and mortality has remained unchanged over the years. Typically, uveal melanoma is diagnosed by binocular indirect ophthalmicroscopy. 6 Indocyanine green angiography is also used to visualize the tumor and tumor margins. 6 The most common treatment options include enucleation, local resection, brachytherapy, of which brachytherapy would represent the most common. 6 These approaches are plagued by high failure rates and complications with large tumors or those near the optic nerve, 4 with other complications including iris neovascularization and neovascular glaucoma. 7 External beam radiotherapy has success rates similar to enucleation, providing local control and organ preservation along with unmatched cosmetic results and visual preservation. 3...

Intraocular Pressure Changes: An Important Determinant of the Biocompatibility of Intravitreous Implants

“…However, most drug administration techniques like topical administration or even implantable rods have their own drawbacks as has been reviewed in our earlier publication [3]. Administration of drug directly into the vitreous is also associated with a lot of problems; clearance of the drug being one of the main drawbacks [2], [45].…”

“…Administration of drug directly into the vitreous is also associated with a lot of problems; clearance of the drug being one of the main drawbacks [2], [45]. In light of this fact, nanotechnology has come to the forefront of ocular drug delivery and as such, understanding ocular tissue response to implanted nano-biomaterials is of paramount significance [2], [3], [8], [46]. Our selection of materials to synthesize various nanoparticles was based on the following facts.…”

“…Posterior ocular diseases, including glaucoma, macular degeneration, uveal melanoma and retinoblastoma are often hard to be treated due to ocular tissue barriers [1]–[3]. While topical administration is effective in the treatment of anterior chamber diseases, it is ineffective in the treatment of diseases afflicting the posterior segments of the eye [2].…”

“…However, although they achieve therapeutic drug levels, they are associated with high vitreal clearance which necessitates multiple injections. This in turn leads to complications of endophthalmitis and retinal detachment [2], [3], [6]. There is a need for the development of alternative treatments for posterior ocular diseases.…”

Electrospun Chitosan Nanofibers for Hepatocyte Culture

“…26 As a binary heteropolysaccharide containing linked 2-acetamide-2-deoxy-b-d-glucopyranose and 2-amino-2-deoxy-b-dglucopyranose residues, chitosan has characteristics similar to glycosaminoglycans, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, antimicrobial activity, wound healing properties, antitumor effects and so on. [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39] Electrospinning of chitosan has been reported by Yao et al and Yamamoto et al 40 41 and other chitosan-based electrospun nanofibers have exhibited improved growth of hepatocytes when used as a culture substrate, indicating potential applications such as bioartificial liver. [42][43][44] Chitosan-based nanofibers were fabricated by electrospinning from a solvent solution of 0.2 M and 90% aqueous acetic acid mixed with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) or PEO, but the latter reported that nanofibers could not be produced in the largely aqueous acetic acid solution with PVA or PEO.…”