Artigo De: orcid, cienciavitae

Aptamer-Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery to Gynecological Carcinoma Cells

Cancers

Lopes-Nunes, Jessica; Agonia, Ana S.; et al. — 2021 — MDPI

Informações chave

Autores:

Lopes-Nunes, Jessica; Agonia, Ana S.; Rosado, Tiago; Gallardo, Eugénia; Palmeira-de-Oliveira, Rita; Palmeira-de-Oliveira, Ana; Martinez-de-Oliveira, José; Fonseca-Moutinho, J.; Campello, M.P.C. (Maria Paula Cordeiro Crespo Cabral Campello Aboim de Barros); Paiva, A.; Paulo, António (António Manuel Rocha Paulo); et al.

Publicado em

11/08/2021

Resumo

Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers and is one of the major cause of deaths in women, especially in underdeveloped countries. The patients are usually treated with surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. However, these treatments can cause several side effects and may lead to infertility. Another concerning gynecologic cancer is endometrial cancer, in which a high number of patients present a poor prognosis with low survival rates. AS1411, a DNA aptamer, increases anticancer therapeutic selectivity, and through its conjugation with gold nanoparticles (AS1411-AuNPs) it is possible to improve the anticancer effects. Therefore, AS1411-AuNPs are potential drug carriers for selectively delivering therapeutic drugs to cervical cancer. In this work, we used AS1411-AuNPs as a carrier for an acridine orange derivative (C8) or Imiquimod (IQ). The AS1411 aptamer was covalently bound to AuNPs, and each drug was associated via supramolecular assembly. The final nanoparticles presented suitable properties for pharmaceutical applications, such as small size, negative charge, and favorable drug release properties. Cellular uptake was characterized by confocal microscopy and flow cytometry, and effects on cellular viability were determined by MTT assay. The nanoparticles were then incorporated into a gel formulation of polyethylene glycol, suitable for topical application in the female genital tract. This gel showed promising tissue retention properties in Franz cells studies in the porcine vaginal epithelia. These findings suggest that the tested nanoparticles are promising drug carriers for cervical cancer therapy.

Detalhes da publicação

Autores da comunidade :

Versão da publicação

AO - Versão original do autor

Editora

MDPI

Ligação para a versão da editora

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/cancers

Título do contentor da publicação

Cancers

Primeira página ou número de artigo

4038

Volume

13

Fascículo

16

ISSN

2072-6694

DOI

10.3390/cancers13164038

WoS (Web of Science)

WOS:000689930900001

Domínio Científico (FOS)

chemical-sciences - Química

Palavras-chave

  • cervical cancer
  • endometrial carcinoma
  • acridine orange derivative
  • Imiquimod
  • aptamer
  • gold nanoparticle

Idioma da publicação (código ISO)

eng - Inglês

Identificador alternativo (URI)

https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13164038

Acesso à publicação:

Acesso Aberto

Licença Creative Commons

CC-BY - CC-BY