Microwave Responsive Nanoplatform via P-Selectin Mediated Drug Delivery for Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Distant Metastasis.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with metastatic disease is associated with a low survival in clinical practice. Many curative options including liver resection, transplantation, and thermal ablation are effective in local but limited for patients with distant metastasis. In this study, the efficacy, specificity, and safety of P-selectin targeted delivery and microwave (MW) responsive drug release is investigated for development of HCC therapy.

Mitochondria-targeted zirconium metal-organic frameworks for enhancing the efficacy of microwave thermal therapy against tumors.

Although microwave (MW) thermal therapy has been widely studied for the treatment of tumors due to its less invasiveness, recurrence of tumors is still observed because of the relatively low bioavailability of MW sensitizers. For enhancing the bioavailability of MW sensitizers, triphenyl phosphate (TPP)-conjugated and doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded porous zirconium metal-organic framework nanocubes (ZrMOF NCs) modified with polyethylene glycol (PEG), ZrMOF-PEG-TPP@DOX NCs, were prepared as a MW sensitizer with mitochondrial-targeting ability. Moreover, the mitochondria are more susceptible to heat than the tumor tissues; this leads to improved tumor cell apoptosis.

Microwave-Activated Mn-Doped Zirconium Metal-Organic Framework Nanocubes for Highly Effective Combination of Microwave Dynamic and Thermal Therapies Against Cancer.

Developing functional nanoagents for achieving the combination of microwave dynamic therapy (MDT) and microwave thermal therapy (MTT) is highly desirable due to the advantages of improving the therapeutic effect on tumors and minimizing the side effects. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), as emerging porous materials, exhibit many intriguing properties for application in biomedicine. Herein, new-style flexible Mn-doped zirconium metal-organic framework (Mn-ZrMOF) nanocubes (NCs) with the average size of about 60 nm were prepared easily by a one-pot hydrothermal method.

Porous PLGA microspheres with recruited ions and doxorubicin for triple-combination therapy of larger hepatocellular carcinoma.

Easy recurrence of large hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after microwave (MW) ablation or transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is still very challenging. In this study, porous polylactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) microspheres as a MW-susceptible TACE agent (P-PLGA@DN microspheres) for triple-combination therapy of large HCC were developed via the double emulsion technique using recruited ions (Na and Cl) and doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX·HCl) to enhance the efficiency of MW absorption and DOX chemotherapy after tumor embolization. The as-prepared microspheres with superior MW-heat conversion can enlarge the ablation area by >53% in a simulated physiological environment.