Evaluation of chlorophyll-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles for photodynamic therapy on cancer cell lines.

Chlorophyll (Chl) is a promising natural photosensitizer (PS) in photodynamic treatment (PDT). Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) were chosen to increase the effectiveness of PDT. This study aimed to evaluate the synergistic efficacy of chlorophyll-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles (Chl-MSNs) with photodynamic therapy (PDT) and to investigate their potential toxicity in HepG2, MDA-MB-231, and HSF cell lines. Chl-MSNs were prepared via the physical adsorption method. TEM, DLS, and zeta potential examined morphology, size, and surface characteristics. MSNs and Chl-MSNs were characterized using the same techniques. HPLC was used to assess the encapsulation efficiency. At pH 7.4, an in vitro release experiment of Chl-MSNs was performed. Chl, MSNs, and Chl-MSNs were applied to the three cell lines at different concentrations and subjected to red (650 nm) and blue (450-500 nm) lasers. MSNs and Chl-MSNs' sizes were 90.338 ± 38.49 nm and 123.84 ± 15.67 nm, respectively, as obtained by TEM; the hydrodynamic diameter for MSNs (93.69 ± 20.53 nm) and Chl-MSNs (212.95 ± 19.76 nm); and their zeta potential values are - 16.7 ± 2.19 mV and - 18.84 ± 1.40 mV. The encapsulation efficiency of Chl-MSNs was 70%. Chl-MSNs displayed no toxicity in dark conditions but showed excellent photostability under blue and red light exposure. Furthermore, using Chl over Chl-MSNs has a higher PDT efficiency than the tested cell lines. Chl-MSNs have the potential to be an effective delivery system. PDT proved to be an essential technique for cancer treatment. Blue laser is recommended over red laser with Chl and MSNs for destroying cancer cells.

The combinational application of photodynamic therapy and nanotechnology in skin cancer treatment: A review.

Skin cancer is considered a risky worldwide disease. Traditional treatments have several weaknesses, necessitating the creation of more effective treatments. In this case, photodynamic therapy and nanotechnology were used to demonstrate their therapeutic efficacy as combinational approaches in treating different types of skin cancer. In this review, we will discuss the photoexcitation mechanism of PDT, its cell destruction capability, and give a comprehensive outlook of the different photosensitizer types. Also, light sources and their properties will be addressed. Further, we will present some of the nanoparticles used as delivery systems in the skin and show their ideal characteristics for the effective delivery of drugs for skin cancer therapy. Finally, the review aims to cover topics from the most recent reported preclinical studies and clinical trials about nanoparticles loaded with different drugs and triggered with PDT to treat different types of skin cancer. The review will demonstrate that photodynamic therapy and nanoparticles have contributed to the great evolution of skin cancer treatment by having an effective therapeutic efficiency in treating different types of skin cancer such as melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and actinic keratosis (AK) which shows the need of using them instead of traditional technologies.