Gold-Based Nanoplataform for the Treatment of Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma: A Step Forward

Abstract

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is a very rare subtype of thyroid carcinoma and one of the most lethal malignancies. Poor prognosis is mainly associated with its undifferentiated nature, inoperability, and failing to respond to the typically used therapies for thyroid cancer. Photothermal Therapy (PTT) entails using light to increase tissues’ temperature, leading to hyperthermia-mediated cell death. Tumours are more susceptible to heat as they are unable to dissipate it. By using functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) that transform light energy into heat, it is possible to target the heat to the tumour. This study aims to formulate ATC-targeted AuNPs able to convert near-infrared light into heat, for PTT of ATC. Different AuNPs were synthetized and coated. Size, morphology, and surface plasmon resonances band were determined. The optimized coated-AuNPs were then functionalized with ligands to assess ATC’s specificity. Safety, efficacy, and selectivity were assessed in vitro. The formulations were deemed safe when not irradiated (>70% cell viability) and selective for ATC. However, when irradiated, holo-transferrin-AuNPs were the most cytotoxic (22% of cell viability). The biodistribution and safety of this formulation was assessed in vivo. Overall, this novel formulation appears to be a highly promising approach to evaluate in a very near future.

The Role of Rosmarinic Acid on the Bioproduction of Gold Nanoparticles as Part of a Photothermal Approach for Breast Cancer Treatment

“…The AuNPs were synthesized through a modified version of a synthetic method previously reported [ 52 , 54 , 55 , 56 ], using here RA instead of the plant extract. Moreover, we studied the effect of the concentration of RA on particle’s properties.…”

“…Herein, AuNPs were synthesized using rosmarinic acid (RA) as one of the reducing agents, in substitution of the typically harmful cytotoxic reagents. This experimental approach was adapted from the method previously described by our group [ 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 ], this being the first report assessing the effect of RA on the resulting AuNP physicochemical and biological properties. Moreover, in previous publications from our group, an aqueous extract of a Lamiaceae species, Plectranthus saccatus Benth, was used as the main source of reducing and capping agents [ 52 , 53 ], which has now been replaced by RA.…”

Nanoparticles: Promising Auxiliary Agents for Diagnosis and Therapy of Thyroid Cancers

“…xenografts [67]. The mechanism by which hyaluronic acid-and oleic acid-coated gold nanoparticles functionalized with ATC-specific ligands, such as holo-transferrin-, EGF-, or lapatinib acting more cytotoxic on human TC 8505C cells than on HaCaT keratinocytes, is by absorption of NIR and conversion to thermal energy (photothermal therapy) [68]. Targeting of the EGFR with EGF or lapatinib acted less potently than the holo-transferrin coating.…”

An update of advanced nanoplatforms for glioblastoma multiforme management

“…The main disadvantage of a synthetic approach is that some chemicals used can be an environmental and/or health hazard. For this reason, various green methods using microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, plants and algae have been devised (Molnár et al, 2018[ 84 ]; Amina and Guo, 2020[ 7 ]) but also other methods with hazardous chemicals-free AuNPs for the treatment of melanoma (Silva et al, 2016[ 108 ]; Lopes et al, 2020[ 72 ], 2021[ 73 ]), breast cancer (Costa et al, 2020[ 28 ]) and thyroid cancer (Amaral et al, 2020[ 5 ], 2021[ 6 ]).…”

“…PTT is a method that combines the use of a light source in order to increase the temperature of a superficial tissue, such as a superficial cancer (Amaral et al, 2021[ 6 ]). Its main goal is to cause thermal ablation of the tumor while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue (de Paula et al, 2017[ 30 ]).…”