Abstract
Photodynamic therapy is one of the more unique cancer treatment options available in today’s arsenal against this devastating disease. It has historically been explored in cutaneous lesions due to the possibility of focal/specific effects and minimization of adverse events. Advances in drug delivery have mostly been based on biomaterials, such as liposomal and hybrid lipoidal vesicles, nanoemulsions, microneedling, and laser-assisted photosensitizer delivery systems. This review summarizes the most promising approaches to enhancing the photosensitizers’ transdermal delivery efficacy for the photodynamic treatment for cutaneous pre-cancerous lesions and skin cancers. Additionally, discussions on strategies and advantages in these approaches, as well as summarized challenges, perspectives, and translational potential for future applications, will be discussed.
Highlights
In past decades, clinical demands for the utilization of photosensitizers (PSs) have increased with the advent of photodynamic therapy (PDT)
Mechanisms of of skin skin permeation permeationof oflipid-based lipid-basednano-vesicular nano-vesicularsystems systemsfor fortransdermal transdermal drug delivery photoFigure drug delivery in in photodydynamic therapy. (A) Conventional liposomes are superficially retained in the stratum corneum, disrupting and releasing namic therapy. (A) Conventional liposomes are superficially retained in the stratum corneum, disrupting and releasing the the drug, which continues the epidermal penetration through diffusion. (B) Transfersomes have edge activators (surfacdrug, which continues the epidermal penetration through diffusion. (B) Transfersomes have edge activators in tants) in their composition, which confer deformability, allowing for deeper drug release in the skin. (C) Ethosomes have their composition, which allowingincreasing for deepertheir drugflexibility release inand theallowing skin. (C)for
Paasch et al evaluated CO2 AFXL-LADD combined with indoor daylight (IDL) aminolevulinic acid (ALA)-PDT for effectiveness and safety to treat skin field cancerization associated with actinic keratosis (AK)
Summary
Clinical demands for the utilization of photosensitizers (PSs) have increased with the advent of photodynamic therapy (PDT). Pharmaceuticals 2021, 14, 772 partial response in 13, and only two resistant tumors [12] These findings led to the first approval of the PDT drug, Photofrin® , to treat bladder cancer in Canada in 1993 [13]. PS phototoxicity, due to increased selectivity, hydrophobic nature, aggregation proneness, poor bioavailability, high-dose revasculature surface area, higher membrane permeability of cancer cells, and decreased quirements, adverse side effects, off-targeting, and development of drug resistance [19,20,21]. The use of drug delivery systems (DDS) to overcome these shortcomings has been examintended area to “activate” the PS, boosting its selectivity over surrounding healthy tisined In this context, PSs can be ideally delivered to therapeutic action sites while reducing sues.
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