{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,22]],"date-time":"2026-03-22T04:05:02Z","timestamp":1774152302878,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,8,11]],"date-time":"2021-08-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1628640000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Cancers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers and is one of the major cause of deaths in women, especially in underdeveloped countries. The patients are usually treated with surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. However, these treatments can cause several side effects and may lead to infertility. Another concerning gynecologic cancer is endometrial cancer, in which a high number of patients present a poor prognosis with low survival rates. AS1411, a DNA aptamer, increases anticancer therapeutic selectivity, and through its conjugation with gold nanoparticles (AS1411-AuNPs) it is possible to improve the anticancer effects. Therefore, AS1411-AuNPs are potential drug carriers for selectively delivering therapeutic drugs to cervical cancer. In this work, we used AS1411-AuNPs as a carrier for an acridine orange derivative (C8) or Imiquimod (IQ). The AS1411 aptamer was covalently bound to AuNPs, and each drug was associated via supramolecular assembly. The final nanoparticles presented suitable properties for pharmaceutical applications, such as small size, negative charge, and favorable drug release properties. Cellular uptake was characterized by confocal microscopy and flow cytometry, and effects on cellular viability were determined by MTT assay. The nanoparticles were then incorporated into a gel formulation of polyethylene glycol, suitable for topical application in the female genital tract. This gel showed promising tissue retention properties in Franz cells studies in the porcine vaginal epithelia. These findings suggest that the tested nanoparticles are promising drug carriers for cervical cancer therapy.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cancers13164038","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,8,11]],"date-time":"2021-08-11T04:56:22Z","timestamp":1628657782000},"page":"4038","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":41,"title":["Aptamer-Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery to Gynecological Carcinoma Cells"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Jessica","family":"Lopes-Nunes","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"CICS-UBI Centro de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Ci\u00eancias da Sa\u00fade, Universidade da Beira Interior, Av. Infante D. Henrique, 6200-506 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1031-329X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ana S.","family":"Agonia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Labfit-HPRD Health Products Research and Development, Lda, Edif\u00edcio UBIMEDICAL Estrada Municipal 506, 6200-284 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Tiago","family":"Rosado","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CICS-UBI Centro de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Ci\u00eancias da Sa\u00fade, Universidade da Beira Interior, Av. Infante D. Henrique, 6200-506 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"},{"name":"C4-Cloud Computing Competence Centre, UBIMedical, Universidade da Beira Interior, EM506, 6200-284 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1802-8998","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eug\u00e9nia","family":"Gallardo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CICS-UBI Centro de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Ci\u00eancias da Sa\u00fade, Universidade da Beira Interior, Av. Infante D. Henrique, 6200-506 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9311-8355","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rita","family":"Palmeira-de-Oliveira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CICS-UBI Centro de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Ci\u00eancias da Sa\u00fade, Universidade da Beira Interior, Av. Infante D. Henrique, 6200-506 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"},{"name":"Labfit-HPRD Health Products Research and Development, Lda, Edif\u00edcio UBIMEDICAL Estrada Municipal 506, 6200-284 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"},{"name":"Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Universidade de Coimbra, Rua Larga, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Ana","family":"Palmeira-de-Oliveira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CICS-UBI Centro de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Ci\u00eancias da Sa\u00fade, Universidade da Beira Interior, Av. Infante D. Henrique, 6200-506 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"},{"name":"Labfit-HPRD Health Products Research and Development, Lda, Edif\u00edcio UBIMEDICAL Estrada Municipal 506, 6200-284 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Jos\u00e9","family":"Martinez-de-Oliveira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CICS-UBI Centro de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Ci\u00eancias da Sa\u00fade, Universidade da Beira Interior, Av. Infante D. Henrique, 6200-506 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Jos\u00e9","family":"Fonseca-Moutinho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CICS-UBI Centro de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Ci\u00eancias da Sa\u00fade, Universidade da Beira Interior, Av. Infante D. Henrique, 6200-506 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"},{"name":"Quinta do Alvito, Centro Hospitalar Universit\u00e1rio Cova da Beira, 6200-251 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Maria Paula Cabral","family":"Campello","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Ci\u00eancias e Tecnologias Nucleares, Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Estrada Nacional 10, 2695-066 Bobadela LRS, Portugal"},{"name":"DECN-Departamento de Engenharia e Ci\u00eancias Nucleares, Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Estrada Nacional 10, 2695-066 Bobadela LRS, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6562-5859","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Artur","family":"Paiva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unidade de Gest\u00e3o Operacional em Citometria, Centro Hospitalar e Universit\u00e1rio de Coimbra (CHUC), 3000-075 Coimbra, Portugal"},{"name":"CIMAGO\/iCBR\/CIBB, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Coimbra, 3000-370 Coimbra, Portugal"},{"name":"Ci\u00eancias Biom\u00e9dicas Laboratoriais, Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Coimbra, ESTESC-Coimbra Health School, 3046-854 Coimbra, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9164-0913","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ant\u00f3nio","family":"Paulo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Ci\u00eancias e Tecnologias Nucleares, Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Estrada Nacional 10, 2695-066 Bobadela LRS, Portugal"},{"name":"DECN-Departamento de Engenharia e Ci\u00eancias Nucleares, Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Estrada Nacional 10, 2695-066 Bobadela LRS, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Alexa","family":"Vulgamott","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA"}]},{"given":"Andrew D.","family":"Ellignton","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9519-4044","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paula A.","family":"Oliveira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Research and Technology of Agro Environmental and Biological Sciences (CITAB), Inov4Agro, University of Tr\u00e1s os Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6630-1242","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carla","family":"Cruz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CICS-UBI Centro de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Ci\u00eancias da Sa\u00fade, Universidade da Beira Interior, Av. Infante D. Henrique, 6200-506 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,8,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"394","DOI":"10.3322\/caac.21492","article-title":"Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA","volume":"68","author":"Bray","year":"2018","journal-title":"Cancer J. 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