Department of Structural and Functional Biology, Institute of Biosciences, UNESP-São Paulo State University, Botucatu, São Paulo 18618-689, Brazil.
Biological Science Center, Department of Biology, Luiz Meneghel Campus, Universidade Estadual do Norte do Paraná-UENP, Bandeirantes 86360-000, PR, Brazil.
Molecules. 2021 Jun 10;26(12):3562. doi: 10.3390/molecules26123562.
The use of nanosized particles has emerged to facilitate selective applications in medicine. Drug-delivery systems represent novel opportunities to provide stricter, focused, and fine-tuned therapy, enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of chemical agents at the molecular level while reducing their toxic effects. Melatonin (-acetyl-5-methoxytriptamine) is a small indoleamine secreted essentially by the pineal gland during darkness, but also produced by most cells in a non-circadian manner from which it is not released into the blood. Although the therapeutic promise of melatonin is indisputable, aspects regarding optimal dosage, biotransformation and metabolism, route and time of administration, and targeted therapy remain to be examined for proper treatment results. Recently, prolonged release of melatonin has shown greater efficacy and safety when combined with a nanostructured formulation. This review summarizes the role of melatonin incorporated into different nanocarriers (e.g., lipid-based vesicles, polymeric vesicles, non-ionic surfactant-based vesicles, charge carriers in graphene, electro spun nanofibers, silica-based carriers, metallic and non-metallic nanocomposites) as drug delivery system platforms or multilevel determinations in various in vivo and in vitro experimental conditions. Melatonin incorporated into nanosized materials exhibits superior effectiveness in multiple diseases and pathological processes than does free melatonin; thus, such information has functional significance for clinical intervention.
纳米颗粒的应用已经出现，以促进医学中的选择性应用。药物输送系统代表了提供更严格、更集中和更精细治疗的新机会，在分子水平上增强化学药物的治疗效果，同时减少其毒性作用。褪黑素（N-乙酰-5-甲氧基色胺）是一种小分子吲哚胺，主要在黑暗中由松果腺分泌，但也由大多数细胞以非昼夜节律的方式产生，不会释放到血液中。尽管褪黑素的治疗前景无可争议，但在适当的治疗结果方面，关于最佳剂量、生物转化和代谢、给药途径和时间以及靶向治疗的方面仍有待研究。最近，褪黑素的长效释放与纳米结构制剂联合使用显示出更大的疗效和安全性。这篇综述总结了褪黑素被纳入不同纳米载体（例如，基于脂质的囊泡、聚合物囊泡、非离子表面活性剂囊泡、石墨烯中的电荷载体、电纺纳米纤维、基于二氧化硅的载体、金属和非金属纳米复合材料）的作用，作为药物输送系统平台或在各种体内和体外实验条件下的多层次测定。与游离褪黑素相比，纳米材料中的褪黑素在多种疾病和病理过程中表现出更好的效果；因此，这些信息对临床干预具有功能意义。
