Assessment and Modeling of Plasmonic Photothermal Therapy Delivered via a Fiberoptic Microneedle Device Ex Vivo

Prospect of Gold Nanoparticles in Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is characterized by its notably poor prognosis and high mortality rate, underscoring the critical need for advancements in its diagnosis and therapy. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), with their distinctive physicochemical characteristics, demonstrate significant application potential in cancer therapy. For example, upon exposure to lasers of certain wavelengths, they facilitate localized heating, rendering them extremely effective in photothermal therapy. Additionally, their extensive surface area enables the conjugation of therapeutic agents or targeting molecules, increasing the accuracy of drug delivery systems. Moreover, AuNPs can serve as radiosensitizers, enhancing the efficacy of radiotherapy by boosting the radiation absorption in tumor cells. Here, we systematically reviewed the application and future directions of AuNPs in the diagnosis and treatment of PC. Although AuNPs have advantages in improving diagnostic and therapeutic efficacy, as well as minimizing damage to normal tissues, concerns about their potential toxicity and safety need to be comprehensively evaluated.

An Innovative Polymeric Platform for Controlled and Localized Drug Delivery

Precision medicine aims to optimize pharmacological treatments by considering patients' genetic, phenotypic, and environmental factors, enabling dosages personalized to the individual. To address challenges associated with oral and injectable administration approaches, implantable drug delivery systems have been developed. These systems overcome issues like patient adherence, bioavailability, and first-pass metabolism. Utilizing new combinations of biodegradable polymers, the proposed solution, a Polymeric Controlled Release System (PCRS), allows minimally invasive placement and controlled drug administration over several weeks. This study's objective was to show that the PCRS exhibits a linear biphasic controlled release profile, which would indicate potential as an effective treatment vehicle for cervical malignancies. An injection mold technique was developed for batch manufacturing of devices, and in vitro experiments demonstrated that the device's geometry and surface area could be varied to achieve various drug release profiles. This study's results motivate additional development of the PCRS to treat cervical cancer, as well as other malignancies, such as lung, testicular, and ovarian cancers.

Solid Fiber Inside of Capillary and Modified Fusion-Spliced Fiber Optic Microneedle Devices for Improved Light Transmission Efficiency

Convection-enhanced delivery (CED) is a drug delivery technique used to deliver therapeutics directly to the brain and is a continually evolving technique to treat glioblastoma. Early versions of CED have proven to result in inadequate drug volume dispersed (Vd), increasing the likelihood of tumor recurrence. Fiber optic microneedle devices (FMDs) with the ability to deliver fluid and thermal energy simultaneously have shown an ability to increase Vd, but FMDs have historically had low light transmission efficiency. In this study, we present a new fabrication method, solid fiber inside capillary (SFIC) FMD, and a modified fusion splicing (FS) method with the goal of increasing light delivery efficiency. The modified FS FMD resulted in an increase in light transmission efficiency between 49% and 173% compared to previous prototypes. However, the FS FMD resulted in significantly lower transmission efficiencies compared to the SFIC FMD (p ≤ 0.04) and FS FMDs perform much worse when light-absorptive materials, like black dye, are placed in the bore. The light absorption of a candidate cytotoxic agent, QUAD-CTX, appear to be similar to water, and light delivery through FS FMDs filled with QUAD-CTX achieves a transmission efficiency of 85.6 ± 5.4%. The fabrication process of the SFIC FMDs results in extremely fragile FMDs. Therefore, the use of a modified FS FMD fabrication process appears to be better suited for balancing the desire to increase light transmission efficiency while retaining a sturdy FMD construction.