Multi-nanolayer drug delivery using radiofrequency plasma technology.

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Cancer Therapeutics

Background:

• Achieving clear surgical margins in cancer surgery can be challenging with unresectable tumors.
• Local drug delivery post-surgery is a strategy to improve tumor control rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel drug delivery system for localized anticancer treatment.
• To investigate the efficacy of carboplatin-loaded nanolayers on collagen membranes for cancer therapy.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of multi-nanolayer coatings (10-330 nm) using plasma deposition on collagen membranes (100 μm).
• Loading of carboplatin (300 μg/cm²) onto the nanolayered collagen mesh.
• In vitro and in vivo evaluation using ovarian (OVCAR-3NIH) and colon (CT26) cancer cell lines in mouse models.

Main Results:

• Carboplatin was successfully loaded without altering mesh architecture or drug properties.
• Sustained drug release was observed for over 2 weeks in vitro and 10 days in vivo.
• The cytotoxic mesh significantly reduced cancer cell adherence (5.42-fold) and induced cell destruction (7.87-fold).
• In vivo studies showed a 50.26% reduction in tumor size due to induced apoptosis.

Conclusions:

• Plasma technology enables the creation of multi-nanolayer drug delivery systems on collagen membranes.
• This approach offers a viable method for localized, sustained anticancer drug delivery.
• The developed mesh demonstrates significant potential for enhancing tumor control post-surgery.