Information on (10)B distribution in normal tissues is crucial to any further development of
boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). The goal of this study was to investigate the in vitro and in vivo
boron biodistribution in B16F10 murine
melanoma and normal tissues as a model for human
melanoma treatment by a simple and rapid colorimetric method, which was validated by HR-ICP-MS. The B16F10
melanoma cell line showed higher
melanin content than human melanocytes, demonstrating a greater potential for boronophenylalanine uptake. The melanocytes showed a moderate viability decrease in the first few minutes after BNCT application, stabilizing after 75 min, whereas the B16F10
melanoma showed the greatest intracellular
boron concentration at 150 min after application, indicating a different
boron uptake of
melanoma cells compared to normal melanocytes. Moreover, at this time, the increase in
boron uptake in
melanoma cells was approximately 1.6 times higher than that in normal melanocytes. The (10)B concentration in the blood of mice bearing B16F10
melanoma increased until 90 min after BNCT application and then decreased after 120 min, and remained low until the 240th minute. On the other hand, the (10)B concentration in
tumors was increased from 90 min and maximal at 150 min after application, thus confirming the in vitro results. Therefore, the present in vitro and in vivo study of (10)B uptake in normal and
tumor cells revealed important data that could enable BNCT to be possibly used as a treatment for
melanoma, a chemoresistant
cancer associated with high mortality.