Macrophages as Cell-Based Delivery Systems for Nanoshells in Photothermal Therapy

Abstract

Site-specific delivery of nanoparticles poses a significant challenge, especially in the brain where the blood–brain barrier prevents the entry of most therapeutic compounds including nanoparticle-based anti-cancer agents. In this context, the use of macrophages as vectors for the delivery of gold–silica nanoshells to infiltrating gliomas will be reviewed in this article. Gold–silica nanoshells are readily phagocytosed by macrophages without any apparent toxic effects, and the results of in vitro studies have demonstrated the migratory potential of nanoshell-loaded macrophages in human glioma spheroids. Of particular interest is the observation that, after near-infrared exposure of spheroids containing nanoshell-loaded macrophages, sufficient heat was generated to suppress spheroid growth. Collectively, these findings demonstrate the potential of macrophages as nanoshell delivery vectors for photothermal therapy of gliomas, and they certainly provide the basis for future animal studies.

The Combination of Laser Therapy and Metal Nanoparticles in Cancer Treatment Originated From Epithelial Tissues: A Literature Review

“…In all in vitro and animal studies, the result of combined use of nanoparticle and laser for therapeutic purposes was the death of cancerous cells and enhancement of tumour contrast for imaging intentions. 3,7,25,38,48 The type of Laser applied in most of the investigations was NIR with wavelength spectra of 785 nm up to 1046 nm, 4,7,10,15,21,39,40,56,59 with 808 nm wavelength used more frequently. 10,20,25,29,34,41,49,62,72 As mentioned earlier, the 808 nm wavelength was the most effective in studies aiming at photothermal destruction of cancer cells.…”

“…[3][4][5][6] Among metallic nanoparticles, gold and silver nanoparticles are highly regarded with increased use in biomedical field. 3,7,8 Nanoparticles are most widely used in the biomedical fields for diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Treatment of tumours surrounded by vital tissues is problematic and there is a probability that tumour margins remain unclear.…”

“…3,34,35,39,40 Some studies used macrophages as biocarriers of nanoparticles, through phagocytosis. 7,27 The main tasks of macrophages are to overwhelm and digest alien material of the body, so they easily move due to their migration capability and can simply surround cancer tumours. Besides macrophages are exceedingly located inside and around cancer tumours, while some studies show that up to 30% of cancer tumours consist of macrophages.…”

“…Besides macrophages are exceedingly located inside and around cancer tumours, while some studies show that up to 30% of cancer tumours consist of macrophages. 7,27 Most studies used gold as the only nanoagents. These nanoparticles powerfully absorb laser light, are nontoxic, easily conjugates with proteins and antibodies, and have tunable optical properties.…”

A Light‐Triggered Mesenchymal Stem Cell Delivery System for Photoacoustic Imaging and Chemo‐Photothermal Therapy of Triple Negative Breast Cancer

“…Stem cells with the intrinsic tumor tropism have attracted huge interests as the emerging biovehicles to deliver therapeutic agents for cancer treatment 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. Studies show that chemokines such as stromal cell–derived factor‐1 (SDF‐1) are important factors to facilitate stem cell migration to lesion locations via the specific receptors like CXCR4 21, 22.…”