title: Indocyanine green delivery systems for tumour detection and treatments.
abstract: Indocyanine green (ICG) is a cyanine compound that displays fluorescent properties in the near infrared region. This dye is employed for numerous indications but nowadays its major application field regards tumour diagnosis and treatments. Optical imaging by near infrared fluorescence provides news opportunities for oncologic surgery. The imaging of ICG can be useful for intraoperative identification of several solid tumours and metastases, and sentinel lymph node detection. In addition, ICG can be used as an agent for the destruction of malignant tissue, by virtue of the production of reactive oxygen species and/or induction of a hyperthermia effect under irradiation. Nevertheless, ICG shows several drawbacks, which limit its clinical application. Several formulative strategies have been studied to overcome these problems. The rationale of the development of ICG containing drug delivery systems is to enhance the in vivo stability and biodistribution profile of this dye, allowing tumour accumulation and resulting in better efficacy. In this review, ICG containing nano-sized carriers are classified based on their chemical composition and structure. In addition to nanosystems, different formulations including hydrogel, microsystems and others loaded with ICG will be illustrated. In particular, this report describes the preparation, in vitro characterization and in vivo application of ICG platforms for cancer imaging and treatment. The promising results of all systems confirm their clinical utility but further studies are required prior to evaluating the formulations in human trials.
authors.affiliation: PhD in Experimental Medicine, Department of Diagnostic, Paediatric, Clinical and Surgical Science, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Porcu
authors.affiliation: University of Sassari, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Sassari, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salis
authors.affiliation: University of Sassari, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Sassari, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gavini
authors.affiliation: University of Sassari, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Sassari, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rassu
authors.affiliation: IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Foundation, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maestri
authors.affiliation: University of Sassari, Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Sassari, Italy. Electronic address: pgiunc@uniss.it.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Giunchedi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006801:Humans; D007208:Indocyanine Green; D051379:Mice; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D000068936:Theranostic Nanomedicine
chemical_list: D007208:Indocyanine Green
keywords: Delivery system; Imaging; Indocyanine green; Photodynamic therapy; Photothermal therapy; Tumour