Solid lipid nanoparticles for cancer therapy: an in vitro study in prostate cancer cells

The use of nanocarriers in medicine (‘nanomedicine’) has opened new avenues in diagnostics and treatment of disease, ranging from imaging in monitoring surgical treatment to targeting and delivery of drugs to specific tissues and cells. Progress made so far is promising, and has shown the development and application of a host of such devices as potentially versatile therapeutic weapons to fight diseases such as cancer. Inherently, these developments have also led to recognizing and identifying advantages and disadvantages of applied systems, in particular when comparing viral- and non-viral delivery devices. Non-viral delivery devices have attracted particular attention in light of potential harmful immunological responses in case of the use of virus-based carriers, as well as for its potential for large-scale production. However, the lower efficiency in cargo-delivery of non-viral delivery devices has triggered major efforts in devising particles with a higher efficiency of delivery in order to match that obtained with viral particles. To accomplish such a goal, fundamental knowledge of the underlying mechanisms as to how nanoparticles interact with and are processed by cells, is imperative. The aim of this thesis is to develop and investigate the potential application of a specific class of non-viral delivery devices, i.e., solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) as a resourceful tool for delivery of therapeutics (drugs and/or nucleic acids) into cancer cells.