Abstract
This review article is based on specifically targeted nanoparticles that have been used in the treatment of melanoma. According to
the Skin Cancer Foundation, within 2017 an estimated 9730 people will die due to invasive melanoma. Conventional treatments
for nonmalignant melanoma include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. For the treatment of metastatic melanoma, 3 therapeutic
agents have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration: dacarbazine, recombinant interferon a-2b, and highdose
interleukin 2. Photodynamic therapy is an alternative therapy that activates a photosensitizer at a specific wavelength forming
reactive oxygen species which in turn induces cell death; it is noninvasive with far less side effects when compared to conventional
treatments. Nanoparticles are generally conjugated to photosynthetic drugs, since they are biocompatible, stabile, and durable, as
well as have a high loading capacity, which improve either passive or active photosensitizer drug delivery to targeted cells.
Therefore, various photosynthetic drugs and nanoparticle drug delivery systems specifically targeted for melanoma were analyzed
in this review article in relation to either their passive or their active cellular uptake mechanisms in order to deduce the efficacy of
photodynamic therapy treatment for metastatic melanoma which currently remains ongoing. The overall findings from this review
concluded that no current photodynamic therapy studies have been performed in relation to active nanoparticle platform
photosensitizer drug carrier systems for the treatment of metastatic melanoma, and so this type of research requires further
investigation into developing a more efficient active nano-photosensitizer carrier smart drug that can be conjugated to specific cell
surface receptors and combinative monoclonal antibodies so that a further enhanced and more efficient form of targeted photodynamic
therapy for the treatment of metastatic melanoma can be established.