Tumors can be considered as a very large group of highly diversified diseases, containing common elements that have been studied extensively in an attempt to combat them. These are diseases due to an uncontrolled division of cells in a certain part of the body. These rapidly dividing cells are poorly differentiated and acquire different capacities - including those of proliferating even following the cessation of the stimulus or of metastasizing - which they then transmit to the daughter cells. Cancer can be defined as an abnormal gene expression disease, although there is no single cause that can explain how and why it arises, as the development of these diseases is related to genetic or multifactorial aspects, linked to the individual himself, lifestyle, nutrition and many other concomitant factors. These are highly diffused diseases and the incidence rates all over the world are high and continuously growing both in developed and developing countries. To date, these diseases do not present definitive and completely effective and curative therapies, but the development of science is gradually leading to innovative treatments to try to combat them. One of these refers to the use of nanoparticles, thanks to their versatility as regards therapy, but also the improvement of the diagnosis. The nanoparticle systems include numerous structures, distinguished according to their composition and origin, such as inorganic nanoparticles used for hyperthermia therapy or to improve imaging by acting as a contrast medium. The purpose of this thesis is to offer a general overview of nanoparticles to understand their mechanisms of action, functioning and the different possibilities they offer, and then to focus on hepatocellular carcinoma, making a comparison between the effectiveness of the "old" methods of treatment and the "new" methods based precisely on nanoparticles.
I tumori si possono considerare come un gruppo assai numeroso di malattie tra loro altamente diversificate, contenenti elementi comuni che sono stati studiati a fondo nel tentativo di contrastarli. Sono patologie dovute ad una divisione incontrollata delle cellule in una determinata parte del corpo. Queste cellule in rapida divisione sono poco differenziate ed acquisiscono capacità diverse - tra cui quelle di proliferare anche in seguito alla cessazione dello stimolo o di metastatizzare - che poi trasmettono alle cellule figlie. Il cancro può essere definito come una malattia ad espressione genica anormale, anche se non esiste un’unica causa che possa spiegare come e perché insorga, in quanto lo sviluppo di queste malattie è correlato ad aspetti genetici o multifattoriali, legati all’individuo stesso, allo stile di vita all’alimentazione e a molti altri fattori concomitanti. Si tratta di patologie altamente diffuse ed i tassi di incidenza in tutto il mondo sono elevati ed in continua crescita sia nei paesi sviluppati sia in quelli in via di sviluppo. Queste patologie ad oggi non presentano terapie definitive e completamente efficaci e curative, ma lo sviluppo della scienza sta via via portando a trattamenti innovativi per cercare di contrastarle. Uno di questi fa riferimento all’utilizzo delle nanoparticelle, grazie alla loro versatilità per quanto riguarda la terapia, ma anche il miglioramento della diagnosi. I sistemi nanoparticellari comprendono numerose strutture, distinte in base alla composizione e all’origine, come ad esempio le nanoparticelle inorganiche sfruttate per la terapia ipertermica o per migliorare l’imaging fungendo da mezzo di contrasto. Lo scopo di questa tesi è quello di offrire una panoramica generale sulle nanoparticelle per capirne i meccanismi d’azione, il funzionamento e le diverse possibilità che offrono, per poi soffermarsi sull’epatocarcinoma, facendo un confronto tra l’efficacia dei “vecchi” metodi di trattamento ed i “nuovi” metodi basati appunto sulle nanoparticelle.
NANOPARTICELLE PER IL TRATTAMENTO DELL’EPATOCARCINOMA: PROPRIETÀ CHIMICHE E FARMACEUTICHE, MECCANISMO D’AZIONE E NUOVE PROSPETTIVE.
PIROVANO, CHIARA
2018/2019
Abstract
Tumors can be considered as a very large group of highly diversified diseases, containing common elements that have been studied extensively in an attempt to combat them. These are diseases due to an uncontrolled division of cells in a certain part of the body. These rapidly dividing cells are poorly differentiated and acquire different capacities - including those of proliferating even following the cessation of the stimulus or of metastasizing - which they then transmit to the daughter cells. Cancer can be defined as an abnormal gene expression disease, although there is no single cause that can explain how and why it arises, as the development of these diseases is related to genetic or multifactorial aspects, linked to the individual himself, lifestyle, nutrition and many other concomitant factors. These are highly diffused diseases and the incidence rates all over the world are high and continuously growing both in developed and developing countries. To date, these diseases do not present definitive and completely effective and curative therapies, but the development of science is gradually leading to innovative treatments to try to combat them. One of these refers to the use of nanoparticles, thanks to their versatility as regards therapy, but also the improvement of the diagnosis. The nanoparticle systems include numerous structures, distinguished according to their composition and origin, such as inorganic nanoparticles used for hyperthermia therapy or to improve imaging by acting as a contrast medium. The purpose of this thesis is to offer a general overview of nanoparticles to understand their mechanisms of action, functioning and the different possibilities they offer, and then to focus on hepatocellular carcinoma, making a comparison between the effectiveness of the "old" methods of treatment and the "new" methods based precisely on nanoparticles.È consentito all'utente scaricare e condividere i documenti disponibili a testo pieno in UNITESI UNIPV nel rispetto della licenza Creative Commons del tipo CC BY NC ND.
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14239/11578