Targeted Hyaluronate–Hollow Gold Nanosphere Conjugate for Anti-Obesity Photothermal Lipolysis

Abstract

Obesity is associated with the risk of developing several severe diseases, such as metabolic disorder, diabetes, and heart diseases. Despite wide investigation and trials, a noninvasive obesity therapy is still an important medical unmet need, targeting the abnormal adipose tissue. Here, we developed hyaluronate–hollow gold nanosphere–adipocyte-targeting peptide (HA–HAuNS–ATP) conjugates for the photothermal ablation of adipose tissues. The HA–HAuNS–ATP conjugate could be noninvasively delivered into the skin and effectively target to adipocytes in the subcutaneous. With near-infrared laser illumination, HA–HAuNS–ATP conjugate enabled highly effective photothermal ablation of adipose tissues in C57BL/6 obesity mice. The photoacoustic imaging confirmed the successful transdermal delivery and the photothermal lipolysis of HA–HAuNS–ATP conjugate. Taken together, the transdermal HA–HAuNS–ATP conjugate might have a great potential for noninvasive photothermal lipolysis.

Nanotechnology advances towards development of targeted-treatment for obesity

“…This study demonstrated the potential use of laser-based lipolysis for reduction of fat within the WAT, and for treatment of obesity [102]. However, these procedures are highly invasive, uncomfortable, painful, takes a long time to recover, causes deformities, and lumpy skin due to seromas [18, 19, 102]. These procedures can be improved through the use of nano-based thermal agents to reduce discomfort, and laser-induced tissue damage.…”

“…Their physico-chemical properties can be altered by attaching various molecules on the NPs. For instance, a dual targeted hollow AuNSs were able to pass through the three layers of the skin non-invasively, and through PTT, was able to induce adipocyte cell death in mice [18]. Hyaluronic acid (HA) attached to the hollow AuNSs allowed transdermal delivery of the NPs to the target tissue.…”

“…As shown in Fig. 8 [18], the NPs were able to pass through the stratum corneum and dermis, and localize in the subcutaneous tissue. After just an hour, a signal for PHB-targeted NPs was reduced significantly compared to untreated animals.…”

“…This review focuses on three potential nanotechnology-based anti-obesity strategies targeted on the WAT and its vascular system. These treatment strategies are based on the following three mechanisms (1) inhibition of angiogenesis in the WAT vasculature [13–15], (2) transformation of WAT into BAT [12, 16, 17], as well as (3) photothermal lipolysis of WAT [18, 19]. The targeted nano-based systems were able to deliver the therapeutic agents specifically at the local tissues, reduce drug toxicity towards healthy tissues, and was more effective at very low dosages [13–19].…”

Transdermal delivery of Minoxidil using HA-PLGA nanoparticles for the treatment in alopecia

“…To resolve the above issues, we have developed the transdermal drug delivery platform for the treatment of alopecia using MXD encapsulated Hyaluronate -Poly(-Lactide-co-Glycolide) nanoparticles (HA-PLGA/MXD NPs). Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a well-known natural polysaccharide for various biomedical applications [11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. The excellent characteristic of HA for the transdermal delivery has been reported in our previous works [12].…”