Abstract: Current strategies for the treatment of superficial non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC)
lesions include topical imoquimod, 5-fluorouracil, and photodynamic therapy. Although these
treatments are effective, burning pain, blistering, and dermatitis have been reported as frequent
side effects, making these therapies far from ideal. Plasmonic materials have been investigated
for the induction of hyperthermia and use in cancer treatment. In this sense, the effectiveness of
intratumorally and systemically injected gold nanorods (GnRs) in inducing cancer cell death upon
near-infrared light irradiation has been confirmed. However, the in vivo long-term toxicity of these
particles has not yet been fully documented. In the present manuscript, GnRs were included in a
crosslinked polymeric film, evaluating their mechanical, swelling, and adhesion properties; moreover,
their ability to heat up neonatal porcine skin (such as a skin model) upon irradiation was tested.
Inclusion of GnRs into the films did not affect mechanical or swelling properties. GnRs were not
released after film swelling, as they remained entrapped in the polymeric network; moreover, films
did not adhere to porcine skin, altogether showing the enhanced biocompatibility of the material.
GnR-loaded films were able to heat up the skin model over 40 ?C, confirming the potential of this
system for non-invasive local hyperthermia applications.
Keywords: non-melanoma skin cancer; hyperthermia; gold nanorods; polymeric films; near infrared
light; heating studies