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Pharmaceutics
Special Issues
Applications of Nanotechnology for Melanoma Treatment and Diagnosis
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Applications of Nanotechnology for Melanoma Treatment and Diagnosis

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanomedicine and Nanotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 November 2023) | Viewed by 10673

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Mariana Matias

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Institute for Medicines, iMed.ULisboa, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: drug delivery; cancer; epilepsy; lipid-based nanosystems; drug discovery and development
Dr. Maria Manuela Gaspar

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Institute for Medicines, iMed.ULisboa, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: drug delivery systems; lipid-based systems; establishment of murine models and alternative routes of administration; pharmacokinetic and biodistribution studies; infectious diseases; melanoma; colon cancer; inflammation; in vitro and in vivo studies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Melanoma is an aggressive form of skin cancer with increasing global incidence, which constitutes an alarming public health problem. Despite the favorable prognoses attributed to patients diagnosed at early stages of the disease, those in advanced stages entail high rates of mortality and morbidity, with concerning profiles of pharmacoresistance. In this context, extensive research on innovative therapies for melanoma has emerged, encouraged by the increased knowledge of the pathogenesis of this disease and unsatisfactory results from the existing treatments.

The role of nanotechnology as a valuable strategy to effectively deliver selective drugs has been highlighted in melanoma treatment and diagnosis through the use of different types of nanoparticles. Moreover, nanotechnological techniques have demonstrated benefits in improving the anti-melanoma activity of different therapeutic approaches, reducing adverse effects, enhancing a compound’s physicochemical properties and promoting accumulation in tumoral tissues.

In this Special Issue, we invite researchers to submit their work on strategies to boost and improve the treatment and/or diagnosis of melanoma, using emerging nanotechnological approaches. Topics include, but are not limited to new incorporated/encapsulated synthetic molecules, natural-derived compounds, photosensitizing agents, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, metal-based complexes, drug- or protein-conjugates, novel cellular delivery approaches, lipid-based systems, polymeric and metallic nanoparticles, preclinical research, etc. We hope this Special Issue will provide new insights into understanding the progression of melanoma, developing more effective methods for diagnosis and promoting novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of this disease.

Dr. Mariana Matias
Dr. Maria Manuela Gaspar
Guest Editors

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • melanoma
  • in vitro and in vivo studies
  • efficacy and safety assessment
  • lipid-based systems
  • polymeric nanoparticles
  • metallic nanoparticles
  • chemotherapy
  • immunotherapy
  • targeted therapy
  • treatment and diagnosis

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 3813 KiB  
Article
Surface Functionalised Parenteral Nanoemulsions for Active and Homotypic Targeting to Melanoma
by Federica Foglietta, Annalisa Bozza, Chiara Ferraris, Luigi Cangemi, Valentina Bordano, Loredana Serpe, Katia Martina, Loretta Lazzarato, Stefania Pizzimenti, Margherita Grattarola, Marie Angele Cucci, Chiara Dianzani and Luigi Battaglia
Pharmaceutics 2023, 15(5), 1358; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15051358 - 28 Apr 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1665
Abstract
Despite recent progressions in cancer genomic and immunotherapies, advanced melanoma still represents a life threat, pushing to optimise new targeted nanotechnology approaches for specific drug delivery to the tumour. To this aim, owing to their biocompatibility and favourable technological features, injectable lipid nanoemulsions [...] Read more.
Despite recent progressions in cancer genomic and immunotherapies, advanced melanoma still represents a life threat, pushing to optimise new targeted nanotechnology approaches for specific drug delivery to the tumour. To this aim, owing to their biocompatibility and favourable technological features, injectable lipid nanoemulsions were functionalised with proteins owing to two alternative approaches: transferrin was chemically grafted for active targeting, while cancer cell membrane fragments wrapping was used for homotypic targeting. In both cases, protein functionalisation was successfully achieved. Targeting efficiency was preliminarily evaluated using flow cytometry internalisation studies in two-dimensional cellular models, after fluorescence labelling of formulations with 6-coumarin. The uptake of cell-membrane-fragment-wrapped nanoemulsions was higher compared to uncoated nanoemulsions. Instead, the effect of transferrin grafting was less evident in serum-enriched medium, since such ligand probably undergoes competition with the endogenous protein. Moreover, a more pronounced internalisation was achieved when a pegylated heterodimer was employed for conjugation (p < 0.05). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Nanotechnology for Melanoma Treatment and Diagnosis)
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23 pages, 42953 KiB  
Article
Safety of Gold Nanoparticles: From In Vitro to In Vivo Testing Array Checklist
by Joana Lopes, Tânia Ferreira-Gonçalves, Lia Ascensão, Ana S. Viana, Lina Carvalho, José Catarino, Pedro Faísca, Abel Oliva, Dragana P. C. de Barros, Cecília M. P. Rodrigues, Maria Manuela Gaspar and Catarina Pinto Reis
Pharmaceutics 2023, 15(4), 1120; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15041120 - 31 Mar 2023
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3306
Abstract
In recent years, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have aroused the interest of many researchers due to their unique physicochemical and optical properties. AuNPs are being explored in a variety of biomedical fields, either in diagnostics or therapy, particularly for localized thermal ablation of cancer [...] Read more.
In recent years, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have aroused the interest of many researchers due to their unique physicochemical and optical properties. AuNPs are being explored in a variety of biomedical fields, either in diagnostics or therapy, particularly for localized thermal ablation of cancer cells after light irradiation. Besides the promising therapeutic potential of AuNPs, their safety constitutes a highly important issue for any medicine or medical device. For this reason, in the present work, the production and characterization of physicochemical properties and morphology of AuNPs coated with two different materials (hyaluronic and oleic acids (HAOA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA)) were firstly performed. Based on the above importantly referred issue, the in vitro safety of developed AuNPs was evaluated in healthy keratinocytes, human melanoma, breast, pancreatic and glioblastoma cancer cells, as well as in a three-dimensional human skin model. Ex vivo and in vivo biosafety assays using, respectively, human red blood cells and Artemia salina were also carried out. HAOA-AuNPs were selected for in vivo acute toxicity and biodistribution studies in healthy Balb/c mice. Histopathological analysis showed no significant signs of toxicity for the tested formulations. Overall, several techniques were developed in order to characterize the AuNPs and evaluate their safety. All these results support their use for biomedical applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Nanotechnology for Melanoma Treatment and Diagnosis)
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14 pages, 4185 KiB  
Article
Mouse Syngeneic Melanoma Model with Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Expression
by Tatiana A. Slastnikova, Andrey A. Rosenkranz, Alexey V. Ulasov, Yuri V. Khramtsov, Tatiana N. Lupanova, Georgii P. Georgiev and Alexander S. Sobolev
Pharmaceutics 2022, 14(11), 2448; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics14112448 - 12 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1844
Abstract
The development of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeting agents for the treatment of malignant melanoma requires cheap and easy animal tumor models for high-throughput in vivo screening. Thus, the aim of this study was to develop mouse syngeneic melanoma model that expresses human [...] Read more.
The development of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeting agents for the treatment of malignant melanoma requires cheap and easy animal tumor models for high-throughput in vivo screening. Thus, the aim of this study was to develop mouse syngeneic melanoma model that expresses human EGFR. Cloudman S91 clone M3 mouse melanoma cells were transduced with lentiviral particles carrying the human EGFR gene followed by a multistep selection process. The resulting M3-EGFR has been tested for EGFR expression and functionality in vitro and in vivo. Radioligand assay confirmed the presence of 13,900 ± 1500 EGF binding sites per cell at a dissociation constant of 5.3 ± 1.4 nM. M3-EGFR demonstrated the ability to bind and internalize specifically and provide the anticipated intracellular nuclear import of three different EGFR-targeted modular nanotransporters designed for specific anti-cancer drug delivery. Introduction of the human EGFR gene did not alter the tumorigenicity of the offspring M3-EGFR cells in host immunocompetent DBA/2J mice. Preservation of the expression of EGFR in vivo was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. To sum up, we successfully developed the first mouse syngeneic melanoma model with preserved in vivo expression of human EGFR. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Nanotechnology for Melanoma Treatment and Diagnosis)
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Review

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42 pages, 5191 KiB  
Review
Photosensitizers-Loaded Nanocarriers for Enhancement of Photodynamic Therapy in Melanoma Treatment
by Ana Maria Udrea, Adriana Smarandache, Andra Dinache, Catalina Mares, Simona Nistorescu, Speranta Avram and Angela Staicu
Pharmaceutics 2023, 15(8), 2124; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics15082124 - 11 Aug 2023
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 3107
Abstract
Malignant melanoma poses a significant global health burden. It is the most aggressive and lethal form of skin cancer, attributed to various risk factors such as UV radiation exposure, genetic modifications, chemical carcinogens, immunosuppression, and fair complexion. Photodynamic therapy is a promising minimally [...] Read more.
Malignant melanoma poses a significant global health burden. It is the most aggressive and lethal form of skin cancer, attributed to various risk factors such as UV radiation exposure, genetic modifications, chemical carcinogens, immunosuppression, and fair complexion. Photodynamic therapy is a promising minimally invasive treatment that uses light to activate a photosensitizer, resulting in the formation of reactive oxygen species, which ultimately promote cell death. When selecting photosensitizers for melanoma photodynamic therapy, the presence of melanin should be considered. Melanin absorbs visible radiation similar to most photosensitizers and has antioxidant properties, which undermines the reactive species generated in photodynamic therapy processes. These characteristics have led to further research for new photosensitizing platforms to ensure better treatment results. The development of photosensitizers has advanced with the use of nanotechnology, which plays a crucial role in enhancing solubility, optical absorption, and tumour targeting. This paper reviews the current approaches (that use the synergistic effect of different photosensitizers, nanocarriers, chemotherapeutic agents) in the photodynamic therapy of melanoma. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Nanotechnology for Melanoma Treatment and Diagnosis)
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