Journal of Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology
Open Access

Abstract

Functionalized Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery, One- and Two-photon Photodynamic Therapy as a Promising Treatment of Retinoblastoma

Audrey Gallud, Afitz Da Silva, Marie Maynadier, Ilaria Basile, Simon Fontanel, Cyndie Lemaire, Philippe Maillard, Mireille Blanchard-Desce, Olivier Mongin, Alain Morere, Jean-Olivier Durand, Laurence Raehm, Marcel Garcia and Magali Gary-Bobo

Retinoblastoma is a rare cancer triggered by genetic mutation that forms in the eyes of children. In industrialized countries, 95% of patients are cured by chemotherapy and conservative treatments. However these treatments can increase the risk of secondary tumors in patients with a constitutional alteration of the retinoblastoma gene Rb1. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) represents a therapeutic approach and may reduce the incidence of secondary tumors. PDT is an established cancer treatment based on the light activation of a photosensitizing agent thus generating cytotoxic reactive oxygen species that cause cellular damage. We focused on mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) for one-photon excited PDT combined with drug delivery and carbohydrate targeting applied on retinoblastoma. We demonstrated that bitherapy (camptothecin delivery and PDT) performed with MSN was efficient in inducing retinoblastoma cell death. Alternatively, MSN designed for two-photon excited PDT were also studied and irradiation in near-infrared at low fluency efficiently killed retinoblastoma cancer cells. These data provide new evidences of the potential of functionalized and targeted MSN for treatment of retinoblastoma and could lead to propose a non-invasive therapy with reduced side effects.