NANOforBCC – project summary

Cancer targeted therapy is a treatment that targets the cancer’s specific genes, proteins, or the tissue environment that contributes to cancer growth and survival and blocks the growth and the spread of cancer cells while limiting damage to healthy cells. In order to minimize the impact of systemic toxicity of the anti-cancer drugs, the achievement of reliable and efficient delivery systems of therapeutics is necessary. In this context, nanoscale biomedical engineering can provide efficient drug delivery systems for the skin cancers, current project enrolling in this research direction, with the purpose to obtain new formulations based on nanoparticulate systems capable to include, transport and release anti-tumor drugs specific to skin cancer (BCC) in a sustained/controlled manner. The original approach of this project has not only the advantage of targeting specifically the tumor cells and, consequently, to increase the efficiency of the treatment by releasing antitumoral drugs directly to the site of disease but also to increase the patient compliance. Studies will be performed to confirm the potential application of obtained drug-delivery systems in the treatment of BCC, such as: evaluation of nanoparticles drug loading, in vitro skin permeation studies, in vitro cytotoxicity, skin irritation potential, in vitro targeting capability and apoptotic effects. The experimental experience of the project leader–confirmed by numerous papers published in journals of wide international circulation – is a guarantee of solving the objectives of this project.