Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery Systems for the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer: A Systematic Literature Overview

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease with the worst outcome of any human cancer. Despite significant improvements in cancer treatment in general, little progress has been made in pancreatic cancer (PDAC), resulting in an overall 5-year survival rate of less than 10%. This dismal prognosis can be attributed to the limited clinical efficacy of systemic chemotherapy due to its high toxicity and consequent dose reductions. Targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs to PDAC cells without affecting healthy non-tumor cells will largely reduce collateral toxicity leading to reduced morbidity and an increased number of PDAC patients eligible for chemotherapy treatment. To achieve targeted delivery in PDAC, several strategies have been explored over the last years, and especially the use of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) seem an attractive approach. MSNs show high biocompatibility, are relatively easy to surface modify, and the porous structure of MSNs enables high drug-loading capacity. In the current systematic review, we explore the suitability of MSN-based targeted therapies in the setting of PDAC. We provide an extensive overview of MSN-formulations employed in preclinical PDAC models and conclude that MSN-based tumor-targeting strategies may indeed hold therapeutic potential for PDAC, although true clinical translation has lagged behind.

Pore-engineered nanoarchitectonics for cancer therapy

“…In terms of toxicity, Shi et al reported that biodegraded products of MSNs with particle sizes of 420 nm show no obvious toxicity to either MDA-MB-468 cells or COS-7 cells 101 . Various morphologies, shell thicknesses, pore volumes, pore structures, and surface modifications provide distinct characteristics for drug delivery [102][103][104][105] . For instance, Li et al designed persistent luminant nanoparticles (PLNPs) with MSNs as templates 106 .…”

Evaluation of intracellular distribution of folate functionalized silica nanoparticles using fluorescence and hyperspectral enhanced dark field microscopy

“…Using mesoporous silica nanoparticles for drug delivery faces the problem of continuous drug release, which can be overcome by using various sealing strategies (the so called "caps" or "gate keepers"). 80,81 For this reason, mesoporous silica NPs drug carriers are less advanced in clinical studies although they proved to be very efficient drug carriers. For the specific case of nanoparticles as carriers for Irinotecan, a rather limited number of clinical trials are reported (for example see 82,83 ).…”

Shell‐sheddable and charge switchable magnetic nanoparticle as pH‐sensitive nanocarrier for targeted drug delivery applications

“…Over the last decade, the use of nanocarriers to minimize the side effects of available anticancer drugs and improve therapeutic effect has attracted significant attention. Various nanostructures have been explored as drug carriers, such as liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, nanogels, mesoporous silica nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, quantum dots, and magnetic nanoparticles 5–7 . Magnetic nanoparticles (MNs), especially iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have excellent hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, small particle size, low toxicity and unique superparamagnetic properties and have been most widely investigated in the medical fields, such as drug delivery, hyperthermia treatment, and magnetic resonance imaging 8,9 .…”

“…Various nanostructures have been explored as drug carriers, such as liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, nanogels, mesoporous silica nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, quantum dots, and magnetic nanoparticles. [5][6][7] Magnetic nanoparticles (MNs), especially iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have excellent hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, small particle size, low toxicity and unique superparamagnetic properties and have been most widely investigated in the medical fields, such as drug delivery, hyperthermia treatment, and magnetic resonance imaging. 8,9 However, due to the large surface-to-volume ratio and magnetic dipole-dipole interaction, IONPs tend to agglomerate, which leads to a significant reduction of their circulation time in the body.…”