The microneedles carrying cisplatin and IR820 to perform synergistic chemo-photodynamic therapy against breast cancer

Abstract

Backgrounds Surgical resection and adjunct chemotherapy or radio-therapy has been applied for the therapy of superficial malignant tumor in clinics. Whereas, there are still some problems limit its clinical use, such as severe pains and side effect. Thus, it is urgent need to develop effective, minimally invasive and low toxicity therapy stagey for superficial malignant tumor. Topical drug administration such as microneedle patches shows the advantages of reduced systemic toxicity and nimble application and, as a result, a great potential to treat superficial tumors. Methods In this study, microneedle (MN) patches were fabricated to deliver photosensitizer IR820 and chemotherapy agent cisplatin (CDDP) for synergistic chemo-photodynamic therapy against breast cancer. Results The MN could be completely inserted into the skin and the compounds carrying tips could be embedded within the target issue for locoregional cancer treatment. The photodynamic therapeutic effects can be precisely controlled and switched on and off on demand simply by adjusting laser. The used base material vinylpyrrolidone—vinyl acetate copolymer (PVPVA) is soluble in both ethanol and water, facilitating the load of both water-soluble and water-insoluble drugs. Conclusions Thus, the developed MN patch offers an effective, user-friendly, controllable and low-toxicity option for patients requiring long-term and repeated cancer treatments.

Chemo-photodynamic therapy with light-triggered disassembly of theranostic nanoplatform in combination with checkpoint blockade for immunotherapy of hepatocellular carcinoma

“…The focus of our study was to evaluate whether chemo-PDT had a stronger ability to kill tumor cells and activate anti-tumor immunity when compared to single therapy model. To simplify the groups set, "light only" group was not included in the next study, and this did not affect the conclusions of the study [ 40 , 44 ]. As shown in Fig.…”

“…However, poor tumor targeting, multidrug resistance and severe side effects of chemotherapeutic agents have hurdled its application in triggering an immunogenic response in vivo [ 39 , 40 ]. Combinational therapy that integrates different therapeutic modalities provides an opportunity to achieve better therapeutic efficacy and decreased side effects [ 16 , 40 – 44 ]. Based on this concept, combination of PDT and chemotherapy may be a rational strategy for a more powerful activation of immune response and enhanced therapeutic effect with ICB therapy.…”

Photosensitizer-Functionalized Nanocomposites for Light-Activated Cancer Theranostics

“…In their study, the anticancer activity against C26 cancer cells could be improved by the combination of the photodynamic effect of IR820, the photothermal effect of IR820 and chit-rGO, as well as the chemotherapeutic effect of DOX. Using microneedle (MN) patches to deliver IR820 and cisplatin, Fu and co-workers fabricated a nanodevice for breast cancer therapy by delivery of the PDT and chemotherapy agents from the drug-carrying needle tips, with inserted MN in the skin for local cancer treatment [114]. The developed MN patch was shown to be with low toxicity for controllable synergistic chemo-photodynamic therapy efficacy.…”

Multifunctional nanoplatforms as cascade-responsive drug-delivery carriers for effective synergistic chemo-photodynamic cancer treatment

“…Therefore, a combination of nanoparticle drug delivery systems (NDDSs) [ 19 – 24 ] balances the relationship between GNA002-mediated chemotherapy and PDT and enhances the efficacy of anticancer treatments. In detail, combining cancer therapy-based NDDSs [ 25 – 27 ] can not only exploit the selective cytotoxicity of PDT to cancer, owing to its temporal and spatial controllability, but also take advantage of chemotherapy to eliminate deep cancer cells and overcome the limitations of PDT. Moreover, the ideal NDDSs should be specifically sensitive to the target sites, by responding to biological and environmental stimuli [ 28 , 29 ], precisely delivering drugs from the injection sites to the intracellular targets where they become activated [ 30 , 31 ], and controllably exercising their unique functions [ 32 , 33 ].…”