Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36355533›Full record

ArticlePharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland)2022

The Anti-Melanoma Effect of Betulinic Acid Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles: A Mechanistic In Vitro Approach.

Roxana Ghiulai, Alexandra Mioc, Roxana Racoviceanu, Marius Mioc, Andreea Milan, Alexandra Prodea, Alexandra Semenescu, Cristina Dehelean, Lucian Barbu Tudoran, Ștefana Avram and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 23% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Solvent-Guided Fractionation of GreenPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Article
  2. Anoikis: To Die or Not to Die?International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Review
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Roxana GhiulaiDepartment of Pharmacology-Pharmacotherapy, Faculty of Pharmacy, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square No. 2, 300041 Timişoara, Romania.
Alexandra MiocDepartment of Anatomy, Physiology and Pathophysiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 2nd Eftimie Murgu Sq., 300041 Timisoara, Romania.
Roxana RacoviceanuDepartment of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square No. 2, 300041 Timişoara, Romania.ORCID 0000-0002-3378-0774
Marius MiocDepartment of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square No. 2, 300041 Timişoara, Romania.
Andreea MilanDepartment of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square No. 2, 300041 Timişoara, Romania.ORCID 0000-0002-6588-3241
Alexandra ProdeaDepartment of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square No. 2, 300041 Timişoara, Romania.ORCID 0000-0002-7955-422X
Alexandra SemenescuResearch Centre for Pharmaco-Toxicological Evaluation, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square, No. 2, 300041 Timișoara, Romania.ORCID 0000-0001-7718-4168
Cristina DeheleanResearch Centre for Pharmaco-Toxicological Evaluation, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square, No. 2, 300041 Timișoara, Romania.
Lucian Barbu TudoranElectron Microscopy Laboratory "Prof. C. Craciun", Faculty of Biology and Geology, "Babes-Bolyai" University, 5-7 Clinicilor Street, 400006 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Ștefana AvramResearch Centre for Pharmaco-Toxicological Evaluation, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square, No. 2, 300041 Timișoara, Romania.ORCID 0000-0002-4824-6769
Cristina TrandafirescuDepartment of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square No. 2, 300041 Timişoara, Romania.
Codruța ȘoicaDepartment of Pharmacology-Pharmacotherapy, Faculty of Pharmacy, "Victor Babes" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eftimie Murgu Square No. 2, 300041 Timişoara, Romania.
Victor Babeș University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timișoara · ROBabeș-Bolyai University · RO

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Implementing metallic nanoparticles as research instruments for the transport of therapeutically active compounds remains a fundamentally vital work direction that can still potentially generate novelties in the field of drug formulation development. Gold nanoparticles (GNP) are easily tunable carriers for active phytocompounds like pentacyclic triterpenes. These formulations can boost the bioavailability of a lipophilic structure and, in some instances, can also enhance its therapeutic efficacy. In our work, we proposed a biological in vitro assessment of betulinic acid (BA)-functionalized GNP. BA-GNP were obtained by grafting BA onto previously synthesized citrate-capped GNP through the use of cysteamine as a linker. The nanoformulation was tested in HaCaT human keratinocytes and RPMI-7951 human melanoma cells, revealing selective cytotoxic properties and stronger antiproliferative effects compared to free BA. Further examinations revealed a pro-apoptotic effect, as evidenced by morphological changes in melanoma cells and supported by western blot data showing the downregulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 expression coupled with the upregulation of pro-apoptotic Bax. GNP also significantly inhibited mitochondrial respiration, confirming its mitochondrial-targeted activity.

Indexed as

apoptosisbetulinic acidCAM assaygold nanoparticlesmelanomamitochondriaprotein expression

Identifiers

PMID36355533
PMCPMC9698836
OpenAlexW4308442031

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.