Gold Decorated Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (Au-SLN) offer a highly effective and affordable cancer treatment through photothermal therapy, converting near-infrared light into heat to destroy cancer cells with over 90% efficiency in lab tests. Made from biocompatible and biodegradable materials, they ensure patient safety and are easily cleared from the body. The simple and scalable production process keeps costs low, making this advanced treatment accessible and safe for widespread use.
Figure (1) Effect of NIR laser irradiation on Au-SLN. (a) FEG-TEM images of Au-SLN before irradiation and corresponding schematic showing the intact spherical core of lipid nanoparticles. (b, c, d) FEG-TEM images of Au-SLN and corresponding schematic after one shot (b), three shot (c), and four shots (d) of laser irradiation.
India faces a significant challenge in cancer treatment due to high costs and limited accessibility, with only 10% of over 1.5 million cancer patients able to afford the current treatments, which cost around 4000-5000 USD. Thus, there is a need for affordable, quick, and localized cancer treatments.
Emerging nanomaterials like photothermal therapy (PTT) offer promising localized treatment solutions but face limitations in scalability, biocompatibility, and cost. The development of biocompatible, scalable, and cost-effective nanomaterial-based PTT agents is essential to address these issues and provide effective cancer treatment to a broader population.
- High Photothermal Conversion Efficiency: Au-SLN exhibit heat to light conversion around 3 times more efficiently than other materials. This makes them very effective at killing cancer cells with less light exposure, and is important as it can lead to better outcomes with fewer side effects.
- Effective Cancer Cell Killing: over 90% of cancer cells were killed within 5 minutes when treated with Au-SLN.
- Biocompatibility and Biodegradability: Composed of biocompatible and biodegradable materials, making them safe for use in the body and capable of being cleared renally without causing toxicity.
- Ease of Synthesis and Industrial Scale-Up: The synthesis process is straightforward, facilitating large-scale production. The materials used are recognized as safe (GRAS), simplifying regulatory approval.
- Thermal Stability: Maintains photothermal transduction potential over multiple rounds of treatment, with only partial disintegration observed, ensuring repeated efficacy.
- Improved Cellular Uptake: Conjugation with hyaluronic acid (HA) enhances cellular uptake, particularly in cancer cells, improving the efficacy of the treatment.
- Multifunctional Capabilities: Can be used for both therapy and imaging, offering a comprehensive approach to cancer treatment by allowing for treatment monitoring and evaluation.
- Au-SLN demonstrate a ~64% efficiency in converting near-infrared light into heat.
- Achieved over 90% cancer cell death within 5 minutes when exposed to a 750 nm laser at concentrations of 7.5 μg/well and above.
- High cell viability (100%) at 100 μg/ml, indicating good biocompatibility.
- HA-conjugated Au-SLN exhibited improved uptake by cancer cells, increasing from 15% at 12 hours to 21% at 24 hours.
- Au-SLN maintained their photothermal efficiency over multiple rounds of laser treatment, indicating stability and potential for repeated therapeutic use.
- Au-SLN have been successfully developed and tested in vitro, demonstrating high photothermal conversion efficiency (~64%) and effective cancer cell destruction (>90% cell death within 5 minutes under laser exposure).
- The technology is at the preclinical stage, with ongoing research to confirm its safety and efficacy in vivo (animal models) before moving on to human clinical trials.
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- Improved access to treatment, particularly in low-income regions where high treatment costs are a significant barrier, due to ease and affordability of producing Au-SLN.
- Enhanced treatment outcomes due to high efficiency, biocompatibility (ensuring safety) and reliability
- Environmentally safe due to use of biodegradable materials.
- Cancer Treatment (Photothermal Therapy): Au-SLN enables localized destruction of cancer cells using near-infrared light with over 90% efficiency. This provides a non-invasive, targeted, and affordable cancer treatment option.
- Theranostics (Therapy + Imaging): The nanoparticles offer dual functionality—destroying cancer cells and allowing real-time imaging to monitor treatment. This supports precision medicine and better clinical outcomes.
- Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Industry: The technology is suitable for large-scale production and clinical translation due to its biocompatibility and ease of synthesis. It aligns with the growing demand for safe, nano-enabled therapies.
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202121006011
435844