Skin Cancer Treatment with Subcutaneous Delivery of Doxorubicin-Loaded Gelatin Nanoparticles and NIR Activation.

Subcutaneous (SC) administration of chemotherapeutics combined with near-infrared (NIR) light activation can effectively target skin tumors by triggering localized drug release and enhancing cytotoxic effects. In this study, we developed NIR-responsive indocyanine green (ICG) and the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin (Dox) loaded into gelatin nanoparticles (NPs) for SC delivery in a skin tumor-bearing mouse model. Histological examination (hematoxylin and eosin staining) confirmed the successful delivery and swelling behavior of the Dox/ICG-loaded gelatin NPs at the SC site. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that NIR activation of the Dox/ICG-loaded gelatin NPs generated significant photothermal heat (48 and 46 °C), leading to targeted drug release and a substantial reduction in skin tumor size (from 15 to 3 mm3). Our findings suggest that this dual-modality approach of SC chemotherapeutic administration and NIR-triggered photothermal therapy can concentrate cytotoxic drugs at the tumor site, offering a promising strategy for improving skin cancer treatment.

Trackable Liposomes for In Vivo Delivery Tracing toward Personalized Medicine Care under NIR Light on Skin Tumor.

We report an near-infrared (NIR)-trackable and therapeutic liposome with skin tumor specificity. Liposomes with a hydrodynamic diameter of ∼20 nm are tracked under the vein visualization imaging system in the presence of loaded paclitaxel and NIR-active agents. The ability to track liposome nanocarriers is recorded on the tissue-mimicking phantom model and in vivo mouse veins after intravenous administration. The trackable liposome delivery provides in vitro and in vivo photothermal heat (∼40 °C) for NIR-light-triggered area-specific chemotherapeutic release. This approach can be linked with a real-time vein-imaging system to track and apply area-specific local heat, which hitchhikes liposomes from the vein and finally releases them at the tumor site. We conducted studies on mice skin tumors that indicated the disappearance of tumors visibly and histologically (H&E stains). The ability of nanocarriers to monitor after administration is crucial for improving the effectiveness and specificity of cancer therapy, which could be achieved in the trackable delivery system.