Abstract
Purpose
A hydrogel containing dextran-coated iron oxide nanoparticles (DEX-IONP) was developed, and its applicability in topical photothermal therapy (PTT) of skin cancer was explored in vitro and in vivo.
Methods
DEX-IONP carbopol hydrogel was prepared by adopting the pH-triggered in situ gel-forming method. After preparation, physical characteristics and the photothermal activities of the DEX-IONP gel were evaluated in vitro in varying DEX-IONP concentrations. The photothermal activity was further examined in B16F10 s.c. tumor-bearing mice. Lastly, the efficacy of DEX-IONP gel-based topical PTT was evaluated in vivo.
Results
The prepared DEX-IONP gel retained high viscosity favorable to maintain at the applied site. In addition, the DEX-IONP gel could induce effective heating by laser irradiation. The cellular and in vivo studies evidenced the applicability of DEX-IONP in topical PTT. Finally, the preliminary efficacy study results in the B16F10 s.c. mice model demonstrated that tumor volumes could be significantly reduced by the topical PTT with DEX-IONP gel. Notably, by a single PTT treatment with 100 μgFe/mL DEX-IONP gel and applying 0.5 W laser power for 10 min, the tumor growth could be significantly inhibited by 85%.
Conclusion
Overall, our results demonstrate that DEX-IONP gels may serve as an effective topical PTT agent.
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Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT; Ministry of Science and ICT) (NRF-2021R1F1A1058214 to Shin MC, and 2021R1F1A1064206 to Min KA) and funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (NRF-2018R1D1A1A02047809 to Shin MC, and 2018R1D1A1B07048818 to Min KA). The viscosity measurement of the DEX-IONP wet gel was carried out with the help of Korea Polymer Testing & Research Institute (Koptri).
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All authors (R. Amatya, D. Kim, K.A. Min, and M.C. Shin) declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
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All animal experiments were performed following the protocol approved by the University’s committee for animal research of Gyeongsang National University (GNU-191001-M0047). All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines provided by the Gyeongsang National University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee for the care and use of animals were followed in this study.
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Amatya, R., Kim, D., Min, K.A. et al. Iron oxide nanoparticles-loaded hydrogels for effective topical photothermal treatment of skin cancer. J. Pharm. Investig. 52, 775–785 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40005-022-00593-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40005-022-00593-9