Endogenously-Activated Ultrasmall-in-Nano Therapeutics: Assessment on 3D Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Nanomedicine
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas (HNSCCs), both HPV-positive and negative, are aggressive neoplasms with high recurrence rates and poor prognoses, often linked to metastasis.
• Current standard treatment, cisplatin-based chemotherapy, offers limited efficacy and significant side effects, necessitating improved therapeutic strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a high-throughput 3D model system for evaluating therapeutic agents against HPV-associated HNSCCs.
• To assess the therapeutic potential of gold ultrasmall-in-nano architectures containing an endogenously activatable cisplatin prodrug for HNSCC treatment.

Main Methods:

• Development of a straightforward protocol for generating high-throughput 3D cell culture models of HPV-associated HNSCCs.
• Utilizing these 3D models to evaluate the efficacy of novel gold nano-architectures loaded with a cisplatin prodrug.

Main Results:

• Successful production of high-throughput 3D models representing both HPV-negative and HPV-positive HNSCCs.
• Demonstrated the therapeutic evaluation of gold ultrasmall-in-nano architectures with an activatable cisplatin prodrug in these 3D models.

Conclusions:

• The developed 3D models provide a robust platform for HNSCC drug screening and therapeutic evaluation.
• The novel gold nano-architectures show potential for enhanced cisplatin biosafety and offer a foundation for developing synergistic co-therapies for HNSCC using excretable noble metals.